Conversion

Hebrews 2:1-4

Having knowledge of something, and acting on that knowledge are two vastly different things.  Growing up in a Christian home, we were admonished to not neglect Salvation, we were taught, yes, we were educated in the ways of God.  From a very young age I learned and believed Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” I knew that included me, I also knew and believed, Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Through Jesus, God gave us a way to be saved from our sins. God showed us His love by giving us the potential for life through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.  You may not believe that I could be so stupid as to understand these truths and not ask Christ into my life, but it goes much farther than that, I understood, Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Folks, I had many of these verses put to memory along with Romans 10:9-10, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."  I was able to quote Romans 10:13, “For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”  Not only could I quote it I believed it, I believed that it did not require me to do any religious act, I only had to call on the name of the Lord and I would be saved.

My issue is not that different than many others who have been educated in the ways of God, who have attended church services and been active in Sunday school, it’s a surrender of will, an absolute and irrevocable surrender, a bowing of the knee to Jesus Christ, believing He is truth, that He is life, and that He keeps His promises.  I’ve come to this understanding, I had experienced conversion, I knew and I believed, but I had not received remission of my sin.  I was full of self, there was no pressing need to have God interrupt my life.  I joined the Baptist church, I became a Baptist, but I had not received anything from Jesus Christ.  My eyes were open to truth, and that is conversion, but it is not Salvation.  Salvation comes when a person is born again, when a person receives something from God.  I knew that night in Victoria, Texas, in a hotel room that I had received regeneration, I bowed my knee to Jesus Christ, and He came into my life that is what happens in Salvation.  Many in the church are converted, but they have not received the free gift of God, His Son, and yes, Jesus will interrupt what you call life, in fact, once you have received His life, you will be on a great journey.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Satan is in to Identity Theif

Hebrews 1:4-14

Has anyone stolen your identity?  It has not happened to me, but I got this information from the BBB. “First, although it may be a small consolation, you are not alone. This past year, various surveys put the number of identity theft victims in the U.S. alone at between 700,000 and 9 million, depending on how broadly the crime is defined and how recently the survey was taken.”  So identity theft seems to be alive and well in our world, in fact many businesses have been started to alert a person that their identity has been stolen.

In Hebrews 1:4-14 the Holy Spirit is using the service of the writer to establish the supremacy of Jesus Christ over all others and all things.  It is assumed that a group referred to as Gnostics, a religious movement teaching that salvation comes by learning esoteric spiritual truths.  The apostle Paul gave this insight in Colossians 2:18, “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind.”  It is a wise Christian who tests every thought by the revealed word of God. 

“Still, there's "no new thing under the sun."  False worship has been around ever since Satan aspired to the throne of God.  Unfortunately, the mad rush to worship and glorify angels always comes at the expense of sound Christian doctrine.  In most cases, as in the New Age writings, Christ is left out altogether, or else He is reduced to merely one of the pantheon of characters, that have visited earth.  In Hebrews 1:4, the writer begins describing the absolute supremacy of Christ in all things.  And almost immediately, only three verses in, he starts putting angels in their proper place.  He does it by reaching back into the Psalms and reclaiming verses, which his Hebrew audience would be familiar with.  It's a perfect format for learning how to "see Christ" in the Old Testament.” Jim McClarty

The enemy of our souls has a goal and it is to turn your heart away from truth, and Jesus Christ is the Truth.  Satan would prefer that you worship him, but he will settle for religion, yes, I know Baptists that worship being a Baptist, and he has no problem with you worshiping a goat or an angel.  In fact, the worship of angels is quite trendy in 2011, many books are written about angels, and most of them leave Christ’s supremacy out of their books.  As Jim stated, “There’s no new thing under the sun.”  We are told in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

The bottom line is who will I believe, some person who puts a spin on Scripture or will I agree with the authority of Scripture?  Hebrews 1:3, states, “He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”  As you read verses 4-14, you see the Holy Spirit making a clear case that Jesus is to be worshipped for these reasons: He is God’s only Son, angels were created by Him.  God the Father called Jesus His Son, angels are never referred to in this manner.  We are told that God the Father called Jesus God and said His throne is forever.  He is also Creator and verse ten is very clear on that. 

Now verse 14 is clear that angels are being sent out by God to serve those who are to inherit salvation.  But they should never be the object of our worship, only Jesus Christ has that place of honor, all others fall way short.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Ceremonial Observance

Hebrews 1:1-4

This letter is addressing Christians who were by culture and birth Jews, and the writer is addressing the danger of relapsing into Judaism, and going back to ceremonial observances.  The writer is showing a comparison of the Christian age to the Old Testament.  As a non-Jewish Christian, but a Christian who grew-up in the culture of a small Baptist church in a low-income family, did we face the same challenge that the writer is addressing?

It is important to understand that God required many of the ceremonial observances so that His chosen people would remember His faithfulness.  But it seems common to the human race to always add a few more rules, I know, I grew-up in a small Baptist church and we lived more by rules than by faith.  I assumed that living by rules and observance of Easter and Christmas and acting spiritual at church services was not the same as bowing your knee to the will of God?

We may have much in common with the letter to the Hebrew church, if only we will stop and ask the Holy Spirit to teach us and give us understanding of these truths.  The first chapter in my English Standard Version of the Bible is titled, “The Supremacy of God’s Son.”  Now that’s not Scripture, it is a title given by some person.  As we look into the first four verses, that title is very descriptive.  “Long ago, at many times in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom he created the world.  He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.  After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.”

Some may want it both ways they like religion but do not like authority.  The verses in Hebrews leave no wiggle room.  The Spirit of God is telling us in these verses that in these last days, and they began when the Church age came into being, God is doing something new.  If we were playing poker, it is time to show your cards, God’s Spirit gives you this option, believe or reject.  Jesus is Creator God, all that we see and much we do not see He has created.  It goes back to Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God, created the heavens and the earth.”  He has all authority, over all people, nature, climates, and He alone has made purification for sin.

That was the message to the Hebrew Christian church and it is the message to the Christian church today.  What kind of hand are you putting your confidence in: The fool says in his heart there is no God, that’s a hand some are holding.  The religious person often holds this hand, “I’m better than most, and I’m in many Bible studies, I give to help the poor, and I’m sure that God would not send some good person like me to a place called hell.  In fact, I’m not sure there is a place called hell, that is the hand far too many are holding.  But our Creator Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled.  Believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1)  But he does not stop there and you would be wise to keep reading, for he goes on to tell his disciples that he is going to make a place for them in heaven, now that sounds good, we all want to go to heaven.  But Thomas, and aren’t you glad we have a Thomas to ask the questions we want to ask, is fearful of looking foolish; Thomas asked “Lord we do not know where you are going.  How can we know the way?”  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.  From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:5-7)  I am not into poker, but if this was a poker hand, and it is God’s rules, only one hand is worth holding, all others must fold.  The song writer Kenny Rogers gave us some great advise; “You got to know when to hold them, you got to know when to walk away, and you got to know when to fold.  Your life on this earth is like a vanishing vapor, that is stated very clearly in James 4:14.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Value of a Letter

Philemon 25

It is amazing to think that not long ago a personal letter from someone you knew was always opened, read, and sometimes read more than once.  In our modern world of text messages, face book, and the Internet, we have lost much of the value of a letter.  We often get too many from the same person, I’m guilty of that, and often they are stuff we are passing on with no personal message to the one who is receiving the message.  So we look at the sender or the title block and make a judgment whether to hit the delete button or put that person in our Spam file so that we are not bothered by their emails.  That is the world we live in, and it would be horrible if they were sharing a personal prayer need with us, but we spam them. 

We live in a time where more words are being sent out in one of these forms, but so little is being said.  When you get a letter in your mailbox at home and it is from someone you know, I’m guessing you open it, and read it because it came in the U.S. mail and we know it took some effort from the sender.

The 25th verse of Philemon’s letter is the last line and it is understood, that it had no verses, just sentences, so this would be the last sentence.  “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”  I have a bad habit of dismissing the greeting and the final greetings, much like many of you do with emails that you assume you understand the contents.  But are we missing something of great value in doing so, and I’m talking about the greetings. 

What is your spirit; is it not the real you, is it not hidden from others sight, and it has residence in our earth-suit. The spirit is that which gives us the ability to have an intimate relationship with God.  James 2:26 states that a body apart from the spirit is dead and Job 32:8 states this truth; “But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.”  We also have this insight from Stephen in Acts 7:59, “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  When “spirit” is used, it often refers to the immaterial part of humanity that “connects” with God, who Himself is Spirit.  Jesus tells us, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.  God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24)

Is this not what Paul is saying, may the unmerited favor of Jesus Christ be all over you.  If we only grasp that Paul is stating so much more than what is understood in that greeting.  When the Spirit of Jesus Christ and His grace is with our spirit, He is compassionate, gentle and humble, longsuffering, forgiving, burden bearing, faithful, tender, quiet, gentle, just, and faithful.   He is a saving spirit, and we are blessed with all Spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Watch-out what you Love

Philemon 23-25

What can be learned from a final greeting?  That is what these verses are dealing with and in verse 23 we are introduced to Epaphras, Paul’s fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, and we would not know that he is a companion of Paul’s, unless we look to Colossians 1:7-8 and we find that he is from Colossae.  Paul said this about him, “just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant.  He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.”  In Colossians 4:12-13, we are given more information about Epaphras; “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.  For I bear witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea, and in Hierapolis.”  It is important to understand that Epaphras has taught the gospel to these people of Colossae, and they have received it and the gospel is growing and bearing fruit because of this faithful minister of Christ.  But now he is in Rome with Paul, maybe a prisoner, but Paul calls him a servant of Christ Jesus, a man of prayer, and he is also telling Philemon that he is a fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus.

In verse 24, Paul calls these men my fellow workers; they were in Rome with him, not as prisoners, but co-workers in the kingdom of Christ.  You may be familiar with the names Mark and Luke, but Aristarchus and Demas may not have hit your radar.  The first time we hear of Aristarchus is in Acts 19:29, he is from Macedonia and is a companion of Paul’s and is taken captive in a riot at Ephesus; that’s the first time we hear of him.  Acts 27:2, gives insights that I’ve missed.  Paul is a prisoner going to Rome, and was accompanied by none other than Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica.  And in the book of Colossians 4:10, Paul refers to Aristarchus as my fellow prisoner.

Demas, another of Paul’s co-laborers, whom we may not be familiar with is found in Colossians 4:14, “Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.”  So this we know that the church at Colossae knows who Demas is and must have some kind of history with him.  And in the letter to Philemon, Demas is called my fellow worker, but in 2 Timothy 4:10, we see a part of Demas that should awaken every Christian that reads it.  What insight from 2 Timothy 4:9-10; “Do your best to come to me soon.  For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.”

Demas was a co-worker, a follower of Christ and was involved in growing the kingdom of Christ on this earth, what happened?  Somehow, someone got him to remove his focus from the kingdom of God, to this present world and it did not happen over night, Demas never saw it coming, he was polluted by a love for stuff, and maybe the way others saw him.  In the gospel of Luke 12:15, Jesus said these words; “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  In the gospel of Luke 8, Jesus is talking about the parable of the Sower beginning in verses 4-15, it seems that Demas and so many that are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life are unfruitful.  They, like Demas, have fallen in love with this present world.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Is your guest room open for a Friend?

Philemon 19-22

How well do you know the people you call friends?  I’ve shared in the past that I believe the word friend is over used almost as much as the word love.  If I came from another planet and heard all the uses of the word love, I might define it as; they like that thing or person a lot, but I would not have any real understanding of what love is.  Love is an action, love always has an object of its love, and love never puts self above the object of that love.  Friend is also used often in our culture in the same manner, what is your definition of a friend?  How many of the people you call friend would you call if you needed money, or your mate was injured in an accident, or you just needed to share about a great thing that had just happened to you; those are your friends.  Everyone else is an acquaintance, some have been in your life for years, and others have just shown up.

Philemon is more than an acquaintance to Paul, an it may have been a long time since they last spoke are saw one another, but Paul is sharing in this very private letter things you would only say to a friend.  Beginning in verse 19, “I Paul am writing this with my own hand. (I believe Paul is implying this is too personal and important to trust to anyone else) I will pay it back – not to mention that you owe me your very self.  I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.  Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.  And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.”

Often in our culture we are obtuse in our understanding of words and especially when it comes to relationships, and men have a greater degree of difficultly than do women.  After living in the Houston area for over twenty years, Jan and I have many people who are dear to us, many we enjoy hearing from and wish would feel the freedom to come and spend time with us in our little home in the Texas hill country.  I often wonder how we get so caught up in the busyness of life that we do not place even greater value on those relationships?  Could it be they were just relationships, very good relationships but they never moved to the place of being a friend?

What kind of friend am I to Jesus, has our relationship moved to friendship?  This is what Jesus has said about that subject: “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.  ¹³“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.  ¹⁴“You are My friends if you do what I command you.  ¹⁵“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”  (John 15:12-15)  Have you prepared a guest room in your heart for Jesus to come and stay with you?

I read this poem, and it spoke volumes to me:

 I heard the call, ‘Come follow,’ That was all.  Earth’s joys grew dim, My soul went after Him, I rose and followed ---That was all.  Will you not follow If you hear His call?  ------------- Leonard Ravenhill

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Are you a Follower of Jesus Christ?

Acts 17:16

Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?  I did not ask you if you go to a Christian church, nor did I ask if you believe in Jesus, from Scripture we understand that demons believe James 2:19, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” So believing in Christ may put you in the company of demons, but when we begin to be followers of Christ, it goes from empty words to application.  In Romans 2:17-29, the Holy Spirit addresses these truths through Paul’s pen, the foolishness and damage that is done by Jews in this case, who put great stock in the law of Moses and in circumcision, however they did not obey those laws but still taught others to do so.  This also holds true with people who claim to believe in Jesus; who live their lives in contrast to the teaching of Jesus and the Bible.   This is what the Holy Spirit said through Paul’s lips, “You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Romans 2:23-24 ESV)

For years I believed that Jesus tells the truth, I went to church, and at the age of 27 years I ask Jesus Christ to come into my life and He did.  Things began to change, but I was not a follower of Christ, I was a new person and my life began to take on new desires and some of the old Bob began to leave, but I had not come to the place of being offended by the things that were an affront to my Lord.  Now that confession brings me to Acts 17:6, “Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.” Why should idols provoke our spirit?  Often I need to define what something is before I move on, so what is an idol: “When any thing or anybody gets What God Alone Deserves ... Even good things can become idols...” A.W. Tozer:  But this quote sums it up on how foolish our idols are and how they come from our minds: “When we try to imagine what God is like we must of necessity use that-which-is-not-God as the raw material for our minds to work on; hence whatever we visualize God to be, He is not, for we have constructed our image out of that which He has made and what He has made is not God. If we insist upon trying to imagine Him, we end with an idol, made not with hands but with thoughts; and an idol of the mind is as offensive to God as an idol of the hand.” - A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of The Holy

An now let’s get real, what provoked you; and are the things that incite your anger, and that trouble you deep in your spirit, do they also offend God?  If they do not, then you have a higher standard than God, or maybe you have not allowed the word of God to instruct you in what provokes God’s anger?

Let me give you a very current example of what the Democrat Nation Convention did that provoked me, and I believe angered God: they removed His name from their platform and once they understood that it would cost them votes, they had three voice votes and the not for God won on all three votes, but the leaders knew it was a death nail to their hopes so they ignored the vote and put it back in the platform.  I also believe that God is provoked when anyone says a man can marry a man or a woman a woman, because it goes against what God has said in Geneses 2:24, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  If you are a follower of Christ look at what Jesus said on the subject: “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.” (Mark 10:6-8 ESV)

When we become followers of Christ, we become His ambassador’s and ours is the same goal as our leader, to stay on message, His message should be our only message, what is your message?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Politics and Religion

Acts 17:13

It is here again, it happens every four years, and you may be wondering what happens, a Presidential Election, and you see people on both sides attacking the candidate of the other party.  If you have lived in the United States, it will come as no surprise that many untruths are told on both sides, and one side always uses the same lies that the other party is for dirty water, to take away funding for programs that help the needy and the old people.  Why would they keep repeating this lie, because it works!  They also tell lies about the other, to this date I’ve not heard one say this is an honorable person, and they have the best interest of our country at heart, but I also am honorable and have the best interest of our nation on my heart, so listen to what their views are for this country and then listen to mine and decide who has the best plan to govern this great nation.  It is never going to happen; no they come up with lies right from the father of lies, the devil.

Now that is politics and if your politics are your religion, then you’re going to do what is needed to protect your base.  It has become clear to me in this Presidential election that many a church person is willing to share untruths, to be mean spirited, expressing opinions that are directed to attack the moral fiber of the person they are against.  Some use humor to do this and others just use any tool, and truth is not the measuring stick, winning at all cost is what they desire.  How does that stack-up with the teaching of our Lord, not very well?  Jesus asked this question:  “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?”  (Luke 6:39 ESV) “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.  (Luke 6:46-48 ESV)  I personally believe we are very close to that flood coming against our nation, how is your foundation?  Do you live your life as if Jesus tells the truth?  If so, review John 10:10 and see whose voice you are listening to.

You are asking, how does all of that tie into Acts 17:13, and so let me explain first by looking at this verse,  “But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.”  Do you understand that the religious Jews religion and their politics were on display, God was using Paul and Silas to show that the Messiah was not coming in the way they had been hoping, and that much of their worship was for the eyes of men and not toward the heart of God.  So they, much like the political parties of today, had a vested interest, it is called power, it’s called being the one that tell the others how to live life on planet earth, and so the same group that ran Paul out of Thessalonica came to Bera to agitate and stir up trouble for Paul.  They care not one little bit for truth, they wanted to keep control, and history tells us they did the most horrible things to the followers of Christ.  Hebrews 11:35-38, gives this account of religious people at there best: “Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

           

A question I’ve asked myself, and let me confess, I found myself guilty.  Am I acting like a religious man or am I being a follower of Christ?  Scripture tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith, 2 Corinthians 13:5, I hope it is something you do on a regular basic.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Has the Game Changed?

Acts 17:3-9

When reading or studying your Bible do you ever wonder if we as a people have learned anything, has two thousands years of living on planet earth enlightened us to the ways of God?  Are we more tolerant of those who live in proximity to us; family, neighbors, people with different political views, and what about those who hate us because we refuse to bow our knee to a worldview that keeps changing, one that says good is evil and evil is good; a philosophy that does not agree with the teaching of the Bible, and would find great pleasure in removing its influence from our schools, government, families, and even the church.

How did Paul and Silas get into so much trouble?  They proclaimed Christ who suffered the cross to make the payment for sin, and he arose from the grave and is seated at the right hand of His Father in haven.   Who would oppose such a teaching, and the answer is the same today as it was in the time of Paul and Silas, the religious folks and the world system that is harmed when people become followers of Jesus, when they live life as if Jesus tells the truth, in fact they look to Jesus as the source of all truth.

First look at the religious leaders, they had no problem with the messenger, how can we say this because Paul spoke on three Sabbath days, that is, until people began to believe in the message that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah.  Doctor Luke gives this account: “And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. (Acts 17:4-5 ESV)

Now shall we visit the ones who got the crowd (the world system) stirred, it has its roots in religious people who joined with what Dr. Luke calls wicked men of the rabble (unruly crowd) and they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring our Paul and Silas, to the crowd.  Dr. Luke gives this report of what happened; “And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” (Acts 17:6-7)

When you stand on the authority of Scripture, not on what your church teaches, or what some great Christian Speaker has said, but on what the Holy Spirit has said in the Scriptures, the Bible, God’s written word, you have become an enemy of this evil generation, whose god is their belly; and what they desire, is no moral authority over them.  Let me give you some current examples:  Cardinal Dolan prayed at the conclusion of the DNC convention, making references to welcoming those waiting to be born and religious freedom.  Is that the message that the DNC promotes, no it is for taking the life of a baby up to birth, and calling that choice, and Cardinal Dolan’s stand for religious freedom, that also was not popular at DNC, for you see they had removed God from their Convention, and on a voice vote God was rejected three times, but the leaders knew that would turn some of the DNC and the public against them, so they ignored the voice vote and put the name of God back, but God is far from the hearts of such people.

What happens to anyone who dare to stand against the group that calls evil good, and good evil, ask Mark Regnerus?  The Regnerus study has been the target of vitriolic attacks since its release on June 10 by the peer-reviewed journal Social Science Research. The study found some negative outcome for children of parents who had same-sex relationships when compared to those in intact biological families. These findings contradict the “no differences” claim that has helped propel judicial activism on the issue of marriage.”  Beyond labeling the study “dangerous propaganda” and “appalling and irresponsible,” opponents have sought to discredit the author himself.  An assistant editor at The New Republic called Regnerus a “retrograde researcher” and suggested that this study should “mark the beginning of the end of Mark Regnerus’s credibility with respectable news outlets.”  The source of this document: Case Closed at UT Austin: Regnerus Exonerated by Jennifer Marshall.

The game has not changed, just the players, and many in the church fit well in the religious groups that say; Jesus does not tell the truth.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Partners

Philemon 17-18

When I began to have a desire to write and that was not that long ago, my childhood friend Tom Martin gave me this advice; look up the word you are using to make sure you understand it’s meaning.  You have heard me say that words mean things, and their meaning should be the same for one and all, if we hope to communicate.

Paul refers to Philemon as a partner, now I’m sure we all understand the meaning of that word, it is the agreement of two people to enter into a venture.  Often, I think of a business relationship, or a couple in a relationship, but I had no knowledge that it also refers to one of the timbers on a ship underneath the deck that is used to support the mast.

Paul is using the word as in a relationship; he is asking Philemon if he considers him as a partner.  I found it of interest that Paul also calls Titus his partner in 2 Corinthians 8:23, “As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ.”  Partners should have the same desires and goals, so what does Paul consider a partner?  If we go back to 2 Corinthians 8:16-17, “I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you.  For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.”  Paul is telling us that he sees the same heart in Philemon as he did in Titus, that both of these men have put others before themselves.

Do you have a Paul in your life, someone who has the same passion as you, to see the kingdom of our God grow and flourish, and to refresh the hearts of fellow believers.  That is what Paul has seen in Philemon, a man with a deep faith and a love for Christians.  Paul is also praying that Philemon will have a passion to share his faith with all people that he comes in contact with.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A story similar to Ours

Philemon 14

What an interesting concept we find in verse 14, “but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own free will.”  Many a parent has adopted this concept in child rearing only to understand later, that consistent training must come first, and training based on the precepts found in the Bible will produce children with values and standards of how to make good choices.  If you want to see a total disaster, raise a child letting them make the choices, with no guidance, that’s not someone you want to be within ten miles of. 

Now in the very brief information we have on Philemon, we see a man who loves Jesus Christ and has a kingdom mindset.  Paul tells us that a church meets in his house, and that he has heard of his love for the Lord, and for all the saints.  He also shares that Philemon is being used by God to refresh the hearts of the saints.  In verse 19, Paul tells us that it is he who introduced Philemon to Jesus Christ. 

With that background on Philemon, the wisdom of God is very clear, Philemon has a desire to put others before self, but much more important is this fact; he has a heart to please God, to be about the things of God.  Paul knew this truth, that a person of good character will always far exceed your expectations when given a choice over a command.

I could not find any other mention of Philemon in the Bible, but I did find that Onesimus was referred to also in Colossians 4:9.  Paul wrote Colossians and Philemon while he was imprisoned in Rome.  It would also make sense that the very personal letter to Philemon was sent before he wrote to the church at Colossae.  We find in verses 7-9, Paul introduced Tychicus to the saints at Colossae, and along with him are Paul’s words, “and with him, Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you.  They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.”

Onesimus returns home as a son of Paul in the faith, and a brother to his master Philemon.  At one time Philemon saw Onesimus as property; his value was 30 pieces of silver - about a month's salary.  If a runaway slave could be retrieved, he could be sold or he could be punished, by a lashing.  It is apparent from Colossians 4:9, that Philemon chose to receive him back as a brother.  Is that not your story and mine, we all sinned, we all ran away from the authority of God, but He redeemed us by the shedding of His only Son’s blood.  God has every right to demand to use compulsion, but instead He lets us choose to receive by faith, by our free will, all the blessings of son-ship. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Authority Versus Love

Philemon 8-16

This could be titled; “Authority versus Love” for Paul is telling Philemon that in Christ he has the authority to command him to do what is required, yet for love’s sake he would prefer to appeal to Philemon.  What is taking place is of interest; it’s the story of Onesimus, a runaway slave of Philemon.  “It is implied that he robbed his master and fled to Rome v. 18, where he came under the influence of Paul and was converted (cf. v, 10).”  Taken from “The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible” page 1544.”

We could easily get lost in the story and fail to notice this issue of “Authority versus Love.”  When we stop and look at our culture, it becomes apparent that authority is under attack, whether it is in the schools, law enforcement, the home, or the church.  So the question that must be asked is; do those God has put over you in the body of Christ, (the church) have authority, the right to instruct you in what you should do?  You may want to first ask the question, where does authority come from?  The Scriptures give this insight to that question in Matthew 28:18, Jesus has risen and has encountered Mary Magdalene and the other Mary and gives them this instruction, tell His disciples to meet Him in Galilee.  This is that meeting: “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

The book of Ephesians also gives insight into the authority of Christ; “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church.” (Ephesians 1:22)  So if you accept the Bible as your authority, then you must agree that authority has its being in Christ.  So whom has Christ delegated this authority to? To his disciples, see John 20:23, the church in Matthew 18:18, and the church has the authority to deal with immorality that defiles the church in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5.  The church has been given the authority to handle grievances against a member and it is clear that a brother or sister should not go to a civil court, but to the church leaders to settle disputes in 1 Corinthians 6:1-7.

When it comes to the authority of pastors, and they do have authority over the local body as seen in Hebrews 13:17, I believe that Barnes’ notes on the Bible handles this in a correct way; “Obey them that have the rule over you - Margin, guide; see notes on Hebrews 13:7. The reference here is to their religious teachers, and not to civil rulers. They were to show them proper respect, and to submit to their authority in the church, so far as it was administered in accordance with the precepts of the Saviour. The obligation to obedience does not, of course, extend to anything which is wrong in itself, or which would be a violation of conscience. The doctrine is, that subordination is necessary to the welfare of the church, and that there ought to be a disposition to yield all proper obedience to those who are set over us in the Lord; compare notes on 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13.”

All authority is found in Jesus Christ and so it is a given, that authority is delegated from Christ to the government, to the leaders that have been put over you, and to His church.  Authority can compel, but love never does, love always gives the object of its love the choice, and that is what Paul has done with Philemon.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Is the United States a Christian Nation?

Have you ever ask the question, what has happened to our culture, our moral fiber as a Nation?  This past weekend Jan & I attended a prayer conference in the Woodlands and Larry York shared statistics from the book “Bridger Generation” by Thomas Rainer.  If you have never heard of Thomas Rainer, you and I are on the same page, so this is a brief bio on Rainer.  Thomas Rainer is the president and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources.  Prior to Lifeway, he served at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for twelve years where he was the founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism.  In writing the book called the Bridger Generation, the following was part of his research for the book.

Believers by Generation (all denominations)

In a survey of 6000 people, with 1300-1500 people in each of the generations, the following percentages of each generation identified themselves as Christian.

GI and Silent generations - born before 1926, and 1927-45, respectively - 65% Christian

Baby Boom - born 1946-64 - 35% Christian

Gen X (baby bust) - born 1965-76 - 15% Christian

Older Bridgers (age 17+) - born 1976-81 - 4% Christian

The same survey showed that 83% of those who become Christians do so before age 20.

When the President of the United States said that we are no longer a Christian nation, many of us in my generations (65%) said he is crazy, but this data proves otherwise, that statement agrees with the finding of this survey.  If you return to that time of my generation, we had good guys and bad guys, we knew right from wrong, and if you have not noticed that was a time where the family consisted of 90 percent of homes that had a mother and dad, and there was an ethical teaching in the home.

You may be wondering how did we as a people lose this moral compass?  It is clear that each one of these age groups have drifted from the teaching of the church, and from knowledge of how our nation was founded, and from the very basic Ten Commandments of God.

My hope is that these findings of Thomas Rainer shock you as a parent or grandparent, and you ask God to show you how you can be part of the solution.   First, I found it is important to make sure that I ask God to show me what I need, so that I hear His voice clearly, then to show me how to pray for each of my grandsons, and those who they hang with, their teachers, and that God would put a thirst into each of these to know Him, and a desire to obey His teachings. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Working Faith

Philemon 6

As a businessman, my job was to be a want creator, but my goal was to turn that want into a need.  Much of my life in sales was spent changing the mind of a person who was using a technology that worked, a proven technology that often was out of date.   My job was to make them desire a newer or better way to do the same job.  Becoming effective was essential, but how to do that became my focus; and I was taught that working hard and long hours was the answer.  But it was not long before it became apparent that learning to work smarter, being cognizant of my prospects time and my time, and understanding the customers needs, problems, and wants, made me more effective.  But efficiency happens when the salesperson assimilates their understanding of customer problems, wants, and needs into his presentation of how this new technology not only solves the problem, but also makes money, in my case by not having down time.  It is the goal of every professional sales person to become effective.

Now the apostle Paul is telling Philemon that he is praying that when he shares his faith it will be effective.  For years, I could have been described as an undercover Christian; I read my Bible, went to church, prayed at meals, even in public, and loved my family, but being effective in sharing my faith in the workplace was not in my schedule.   If you identify with me, do not be fooled, you are sharing your faith, but it is a faith that has no appeal to anyone who is watching.

So what does an effective faith look like?  Effective faith lived out in public and in the home relays this message; I believe Jesus tells the truth.  You learn that Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me,” will not work until you have discovered what Anabel Gillham discovered, not her strength, but letting God do it all for you.  I believe her amplified paraphrase of Philippians 4:13, is worth repeating: “I have discovered – very painfully – that I am not capable within myself to deal with the world and all that is in it.  When that shocking and humiliating discovery was made, I turned to God and said, “I cannot do this.  Please do it for me.”  I now have great confidence in Him – in all things, and His strength working through me.”  Grasping that truth and asking the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth so that your faith will grow is needed in the Church, and it is essential to believe John 14:26, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  Your title in life will not make you love Jesus, but when Christ becomes your life, His life is manifest in everything you do, and the sharing of your faith will become effective.  George MacDonald had this to say on the subject: “The Kingdom of heaven is not come, even when God’s will is our law; it is come when God’s will is our will.  While God’s will is our law, we are but a kind of noble slave; when his will is our will, we are free children.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Confident Woman

Yesterday was a very special day in my life, it began like all others, it was Sunday, it was Jan’s birthday, and we had plans for after church.  It was a cold day, 30 degrees when we got up and I put on wool brown dress slacks, a beige shirt and a sport coat that went very nice with the shirt and slacks.  As I was getting out of the car at church, I checked to see if I had a pen in my coat pocket and to my surprise found a piece of paper with a ladies picture and her name; Anabel Gillham 1928-2010, I must not have worn that sports jacket since attending her memorial service.

Why was the day special, because Jan and I have witnessed many a birthday, and each one reminds us how blessed we are to have shared so many with each other.  It was also special because we had lunch at the Vineyard and Jan enjoyed the sea bass special; then we went to the Mall so she could open her birthday present, and that was whatever she wanted at Macy’s.  Our pastor’s message was also very good; it was a reminder that we can live without regrets. 

Before our pastor had begun his message, God had used the back of that paper in my coat pocket to speak to my heart, He had also reminded me that Jan and I met Anabel at a dark time in our marriage, and that her life had a profound effect on us living without regrets.  Anabel was a beautiful lady; she was also a very wise and transparent lady, who was a wife of noble character to Bill, and a light to all who were blessed to know her.  This is what was on that piece of paper, but I’m going to change the order of how it was placed on that paper, I believe you will understand.

Anabel’s amplified paraphrase of Philippians 4:13; “I have discovered – very painfully – that I am not capable within myself to deal with the world and all that is in it.  When that shocking and humiliating discovery was made, I turned to God and said, “I cannot do this.  Please do it for me.”  I now have great confidence in Him – in all things, and His strength working through me.”  At the bottom of this paraphrase was this note: “Oh, I am a very confident woman.  Thanks to You, Lord Jesus.”

If I had not changed the order, this would have been first:

The Basics in the life of

The Confident Woman

1. Essential: To know – unequivocally – that Jesus loves you.

2. Essential: To discover who you are now that you are in Christ Jesus.

3. Essential: To tap into the power of the indwelling Christ.

4. Essential: To have practical applications for appropriating these truths.

I began this by stating that yesterday was a very special day and I listed many reasons, one was that God spoke to me from a piece of paper found in my sport coat, just words, but these words if taken into your heart can change you and I from a life of regrets to a life lived in fullness; a life of confidence, and like Anabel, each of us can say “Thanks to You, Lord Jesus.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice