Christianity is based on an event

Isaiah 66:1-2

“Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?  All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”  (Isaiah 66:1-2 ESV)

It is my opinion that humans have in their DNA the call to worship; and worship can be problematic; both difficult and challenging.  The other night Jan and I were watching Andy Stanley and he made this statement; “Believe deeply enough and any religious system becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”  Andy makes it clear, as children we are told to believe certain things by our parents, teachers, priest, or preachers, and most of us say yes and it forms our belief system.  

So what you believe, especially about God, has much to do with the DNA of your faith, if you see Him as a grandfather type who gives you everything you want, you will have doubts when prayers are not answered and you don’t get what you want.  Andy made a great point, when Jesus died on the cross what did His disciples and followers believe?  They believed He was dead.  They forgot much of His teaching, like John 14:6, where Jesus claimed to be the only way to God, what they believed was lost in the observation of being a witness to His death.  So why did they give their lives to a dead man?  At this point His followers drew this conclusion, we hope He was the Messiah, but we were eyewitnesses to His death, and we believe He is dead. 

And yet three days later some of these same people who had a crisis of faith saw Jesus, some touched Him, some talked with Him, and some ate with Him.  When He went to His Father, over 500 witnessed the event.  Andy explains that Christianity is based on an event, not a system.

When God makes the statement in Isaiah 66:1-2 that you read above, many are still trying to build a building for Him or even falsely believing God has made their place of worship more holy than all others.   We would be wise to look to the Scriptures; the apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.”  If you by faith have entered into Christ, He has also entered into you.

As a follower of Christ your belief system should be based on an event of God’s grace, when you by faith entered into a relationship with Jesus.  And the hard work began the day you entered into that relationship, and let me be clear, we all came into our relationship with idols.  It is referred to as flesh in the Bible and we are told it wars against the Spirit.  Billy Graham and the Pope have the same problem as you and I have, to live and walk guided by God’s Holy Spirit means that death to the flesh and its desires is required. This is what our Father in heaven has made clear to us: “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  The prophet Isaiah also stated in Isaiah 57:15 this insight; “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The News of 4-29-15

News of the Day seen from the Proverbs of the Day

Baltimore mom smacks son for throwing rocks at police is the headline.

“The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” (Proverbs 29:15 ESV)

The Clinton Foundation reportedly failed to disclose identities of 1,100 donors is the headline.

“He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.” (Proverbs 29:1 ESV)  “By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down.” (Proverbs 29:4 ESV)

Baltimore Relatively Quiet Overnight is the headline.

“Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.” (Proverbs 29:8 ESV)

IRS watchdog recovers thousands of missing Lois Lerner emails is the headline.

“If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked.” (Proverbs 29:12 ESV)  “When the wicked increase, transgression increases, but the righteous will look upon their downfall.” (Proverbs 29:16 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Act on what you know

Isaiah 65:17-25

This is one of those passages in the Bible that a wise person says, it’s all good, but I’m not sure we have been given the full picture of what God is sharing with Isaiah.  In Isaiah 42:8-9, “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.  Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”  If you will go back to 42:1, the new thing is God’s Servant, and as you read these verses God is introducing or announcing the coming of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.  In Isaiah 43:19, once more God is announcing a new exodus from Israel’s captives, but not through water, no through wilderness and this deliverance is a reversal of nature, with rivers in the desert. (Thoughts taken from HCSB page1196)  In Isaiah 48:6, “”You have heard; now see all this; and will you not declare it?  From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known.”  According to Childs, the new things included God’s use of Cyrus to deliver His people.  In Isaiah 65:17, we have God telling Israel of a new thing and it is big, a new heaven and earth and the past will not be remembered.  When it comes to Israel, it would be kind to say they had a bad reputation when it came to being under the authority of God, but God is telling them He is putting that out of His mind and giving them a new heaven and earth.  This is where it gets outside of what I understand at this time.  But that does not change what God has spoken.

Now shall we go to what we understand; you will find it in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  I experienced being made a new creation at the age of 27, but I was a total mess when I came into a relationship with the Creator.  Baptist in mind-set from birth, I believed what my parents and the preachers said about Jesus, about heaven and hell, and to some degree was religious, but had a strong belief that the world had much to offer me and I wanted all I could get.  The longer I chased what the world offered, and it has much to give, the more I worked to fill a hole in my spirit that needed a fix, for I had no lasting peace or joy in my life.  It was many years after my friendship with Jesus that He showed me the reason the world would never have given me real hope, peace, or joy; it is found in 1 John 2:16-17,  “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

And this is what all who become by faith a new creation in Christ have to look forward to:  

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had 

passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming 

down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard 

a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He 

will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their 

God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither 

shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed 

away.”  (Revelation 21:1-4 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The News of the Day looking at Proverbs 28

The News of the Day

As I read this morning in Proverbs, I was directed to look into the news of the day from the book of Proverbs.  Violent riots in Baltimore is the headline.

Proverbs 28:4, 5, “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them.” 5 “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.”

The Nepal Earthquake over four thousand killed, many homeless and help is needed is the headline.

Proverbs 28:27, “Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.”

The Clintons have now made another mess, is the headline.

Proverbs 28:18, “Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

http://fromourbackporch.blogspot.com

Being a time critter has its draw-backs

Isaiah 65:17

Being a time critter has its draw-backs the prophet Isaiah lived in the time line of 740-698 B.C. in Jerusalem and he saw future things that John the apostle would also see and record.  It is believed the Emperor Domitian who ruled in A.D. 81-96 exiled John to Patmos, and John wrote the Revelation in 90 A.D.  There is about 450 years of history taking place from the last of the prophet’s writing to the New Testament writing and from 60-90 years before God spoke and revealed to John this vision of what was going to take place in the future.  Now here is the problem for us time critters, short memories, short retention, busy with life’s many challenges, and waiting is not a strong suit for most of us.

Isaiah gets this word from God “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. (Isaiah 65:17) Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, left the Jewish people with this central teaching; “Honor God and wait for His righteousness” and this message is for us.  And this is what God revealed to John in a vision: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”  (Revelation 21:1-7 ESV) 

The apostle Peter has these wise words from the Holy Spirit for us: “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.  Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.  Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.  (2 Peter 3:8-14 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Faithful will go through the Judgment

Isaiah 65:8-16

Isaiah speaking for the LORD:“As the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it, ’so I will do for my servants' sake, and not destroy them all. I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah possessors of my mountains; my chosen shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there.” (Isaiah 65:8-9 ESV)  You may not be into making wine, I’ve sure not attempted doing so.  God is using the analogy of a cluster of grapes and the making of wine to point out to the children of Israel that not all have turned away from His commands and precepts.  The faithful will go through the judgment but they will not be destroyed, they will be the ones God will use to rebuild. 

Listen to verse ten; “Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for my people who have sought me.” (Isaiah 65:10 ESV)  If you are a people in bondage and you may have seen or have been told that Sharon is like a desert, reference to Isaiah 33:9, you might have a few doubts, but before going there remember these are the remnant of the faithful, the ones who believe God is a Promise keeper.  For us living in the U.S.A., it would be like God was telling us East St. Louise was going to be a wonderful place to live, for He was going to restore it to its former state before sin and corruption made it a hell hole, or Detroit is another great example. 

But God also has a word for the unfaithful, and there has always been those people, they were a large number when Moses lead them out of Egypt, and there is a very large number today in Jewish communities, as there is in the Church.  And yet, they did not listen to the warning then and I’m sure the unfaithful in the church are not listening today.  But God has spoken; “But you who forsake the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in.”  (Isaiah 65:11-12 ESV)

As you read verses 13-16, it is clear God has drawn a line in the sand, those who reject Him will suffer and those who follow Him will be blessed.  I have known more than one person who thinks John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Is too narrow, but when you agree, it is very restrictive but it is Jesus, the Creator who said it, and does He not have the right to make the rules?  Sinful mankind is entitled to their opinions, but what does it profit one if they gain followers and fame, and power, and lose their own soul because they wanted life on their terms?  The question is the same today as then, who are you following, self or the Lord who gave His life to buy you out of the control of sin?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Time like Now

Isaiah 65:1-7

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.  I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name.  I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks; who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig's flesh, and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels; who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”  These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.  Behold, it is written before me: “I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their lap both your iniquities and your fathers' iniquities together, says the Lord; because they made offerings on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, I will measure into their lap payment for their former deeds.”

There are those who say this is God responding to the people’s prayer uttered by Isaiah, and others say it is about the Gentiles, and this writer does not know which is correct, maybe both.  But this I’m convinced of, God’s word is living an active, sharper than a two edged sword, and our Helper the Holy Spirit will open its truth to us, if we ask.  With that stated, are we not living in a time where these words cut to the depth of our society.  The gospel of John states clearly that Jesus became flesh, and He brought life not just for heaven, but also for now.  John makes it clear that Jesus is the only true light and He alone has the power to enlighten everyone, even people like you and I.  And John makes it clear that Jesus who created the world and came from heaven, was not received by the world as their Creator, and even His own, the Jewish people rejected Him.  But listen to verses 12-13, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” 

God is very clear to not add or take away from His word, in Proverbs 30:6, “Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” And in Deuteronomy 4:2, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.”  And the strongest warning comes from Revelation 22:19, “And if anyone takes away from the words of this prophetic book, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, written in this book.”  So I will end with a question; does this sound like it applies to our time: “I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually. . .”   

If your answer is yes, it does apply, but it also applied to the time of Isaiah, and the people of Israel.

From the Back Porch,

Bob

Isaiah Prayer for his Nation

Isaiah 63:15 – 64:12

Isaiah laments over Israel’s sin and God’s silence to His people, a prayer of mercy to the only One who can change the heart and mind of a people who are called His special possession.  Listen to the heart of Isaiah in verses 16-19, “For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name. O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants,  the tribes of your heritage. Your holy people held possession for a little while; our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.  We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.”  Isaiah is acknowledging that Abraham as well as his son Jacob are not who he is calling to, but only to God, for Isaiah confessing the fatherhood of God supersedes Abraham, and Jacob who God renamed Israel.  What can you and I learn from this lamentation?

How quick we as a nation, a people, and the Church have moved from the founding of all men are created equal under God’s rule, this is not to say all of its founding fathers were devout Christians, but that orthodox Christianity had a very significant influence on America’s Founders.   Even the most uneducated of us know something has changed, we are not the same people our grandparents were in the most important aspects of life; our moral fiber, our family values, our trust in government and our worship of God.  As a Christian it is my opinion that the problem lies at our door, and it could be said, “We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.” 

Are we asking God to show up on the world’s stages to save our culture so that we can continue living full of pride and self with little concern for a world whose only hope is in Jesus Christ?  God will not listen to such a prayer, but if we can find the heart of Isaiah and pray for the mercy of God on our foolish and self- serving hearts, maybe we would see the hand of God.  Listen to Isaiah’s prayer: “From ancient times no one has heard, no one has listened, no eye has seen any God except You, who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him.  You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right; they remember You in Your ways.  But we have sinned, and You were angry.  How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?  All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.  No one calls on Your name, striving to take hold of You.”  Can you hear the hunger and desire of this broken man before God, do you wonder what it will take to bring you and I to this point?

Could it be we need to bow down and acknowledge this part of Isaiah’s prayer; “Yet Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we all are the work of Your hands.  Lord, do not be terribly angry or remember our iniquity forever.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The choice - Blessing or Curses

Isaiah 63: 10-14

“But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.”

The Scriptures from the beginning teach us of a triune God, three in one, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  A Creator who spoke kingdoms and worlds into being, a God who made time for mankind, but over Him time has no control, and this may be of some help; a God who sees what we call the past and the future as we see the present.  It kind of messes with Carbon dating and many other things people have built theory and belief structures on.  When God formed man, He did not make a baby to grow into a man, when He formed a mountain range, how old was the carbon dating, or the trees of the forest, but in that we are time critters, time controls us and we have tried to put God under that same control.

We also, over time forgot that an all present God, who has never had to learn anything, a God who is Sovereign, who is merciful, who is Personal, and who does not change, has emotions, and in verses 8-9 we grasp the fullness of God’s heart for us: “He said, “They are indeed My people, children who will not be disloyal,” and He became their Savior. In all their suffering, He suffered,  and the Angel of His Presence saved them.”  And we see the Holy Spirit being grieved by their sin of putting self before God and it states that the Holy Spirit became their enemy and fought against them.  I sure hope our understanding of God is not that He has gone from love to hate for these Covenant people.  Do you recall Stephen’s speech to the high priest and the people before they stoned him to death?  He was reminding them of God’s mercy and goodness, His Salvation and how the leaders of the people refused to obey him, and thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, and you recall how Aaron made gods for them, now listen; “But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars.”  And you recall Stephen telling these leaders, after Jesus has returned to His Father, these words: "You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!”  The apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”  God’s love and patience far exceeds my understanding, it would be foolish of me to try, so I will not go there.

When you look at verse 11, and God recalls His acts of kindness to Moses and His people, it’s about God being faithful to His name, His character, this is a quote from Gills Exposition; "he had mercy for the glory of his name, and because of the remembrance of his goodness of old, the mighty things he did by the hands of Moses to his people.''  We also are people who have entered a covenant relationship by the blood of Jesus Christ, and should daily look to how God can increase and self decrease, so that the world will see Jesus Christ living in us.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

“In all their affliction he was afflicted”

Isaiah 63: 7-14

I am reflecting on the past as I did yesterday, memories of God’s faithfulness come to our minds, but as in my case, my sins also flooded my mind.  As we look back in what is called the past or history, it becomes apparent you and I are not that much different than the people of Isaiah’s time on planet earth.  Sin and disobedience bring about a breaking of fellowship with a Holy God.

We see Isaiah looking to a distant past, where in Joseph’s life Egypt was a place of safety and prosperity but the people allowed the culture and customs of Egypt to take God’s place, fellowship was broken and they made a choice, they chose Egypt’s way over God’s.  And we have the history of what followed, not just for those only, but also for generations to come, a time of slavery.   Now Isaiah is reflecting on God’s goodness and mercy in rescuing them from bondage in Egypt, but look at verses 8-9, “For he said, “Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely.” And he became their Savior.  In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”  If we read past those words, “In all their affliction he was afflicted” we will have missed the heart of our Father in heaven.  God has not taken joy in their affliction, nor does He take pleasure in our time of suffering, He is a loving Father, and our sin causes heartache and yes, He was afflicted.  Isaiah receives this insight about the Messiah; Jesus Christ in chapter 53, listen to what God told Isaiah Jesus would do for you: “Surely he has borne our grief’s and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.           (Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV)

Do you recall these words from Jesus: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11)

From the beginning, we human critters have made choices to follow God and be blessed, or to choose our own way and receive curses; it is still a choice and it’s not to late to choose blessing.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Steadfast Love of the Lord

Isaiah 63:7

“I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.” (Isaiah 63:7 ESV)

One evening, I ask Jan what she was doing and she said that she was going through old pictures of what hurricane Celia did to our home and belongings on August 3,1970.  Seeing those pictures flooded my mind with God’s faithfulness and I recounted the steadfast love of the Lord.  If you have not looked back in time, to recall what God has done for you, maybe a picture album is needed.

I was only 3 years into following Jesus and was like most babies, wanting to walk before I had learned to crawl.  I also had the curse of being in little Baptist churches from birth and had much to unlearn and enormous amounts to learn about walking by faith and not by feel.  I was still very much a mess and acted like I knew things I had no clue about, but one thing God kept reminding me about and putting to the front of my mind was to give thanks in all things.  So my giving all thanks became lost sales, flat tires, and I was asking Jesus to help me in the relationship with my young bride.  Then Celia came and destroyed our 12 X 60 mobile home that was sitting on our five acres of land with all the stuff we had at this early stage of marriage.  The Lord had awoken me that morning and made it clear I was to leave the area and go to Beeville, Texas, where my sister and her husband were living.  In Beeville, we experienced 110 mile an hour winds, and after the storm we went back to our home in Odem only to discover it and our stuff was gone with the wind, and little was ever found.

It was that day, as I looked down our road almost a football field length that I discovered the only thing standing was a workshop we had built and our mailbox where I had stopped to observe the destruction.  It was at that moment the Holy Spirit reminded me “To give thanks in all things, in all circumstances and I was faithful but it seemed to go down hill from that point.  Did I tell you the mobile home was paid for, we had a clear title and we discovered the insurance was not on contents, in fact, it only paid out $1,300.00 on a used mobile home we had paid almost $10,000 for it?  It gets worse, we could not get a HUD trailer at that time, and moved in with my parents in a damaged 900 sq. ft. home with no electricity for over a month, with a one year old baby girl.

We had no bank account to fall back on, someone at 3M was nice and sent me $10.00 and I went back to work calling on businesses in town that had little or no need for what I was selling at that time, but God was faithful and though it seemed the sky was falling, Jan’s brother Ray drew plans for a new home to go where the trailer had been.  HUD rented us a trailer for $50.00 per month and we were able to get a government loan for $13,500.00 at 3% interest and with that loan we paid off our land and began to build a 1275 sq. ft. home.  Our great God began to provide materials at bargain prices, and when the house was build we owned it clear with no mortgage, and it was only a few months before the loan was repaid and we added another 1500 sq. ft. to the house.   We are sure of this, we know God’s steadfast love and His great goodness was poured out on us, my sales were good, but it was clear God was doing something special in our lives.

Now, I must confess it was only a few years later that my flesh took over and I walked for a while in the flesh, full of myself believing foolishly that I knew what was best for me, and almost lost the most important things in my life, my fellowship with Jesus and my family that sat in the car with me on August 3, 1970.  But once more, God was faithful and restored us and after awhile we moved us to Spring, Texas, and we began a new chapter and a new walk with our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.  Thanks honey for pulling out the album, and once more allowing God to remind me of all His goodness to us.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

God as a Warrior

Isaiah 63:1-6

Most of us do not equate God as a warrior, and I’m not sure why that is, unless it has been absent from the messages and teachers we hear.   Shall we take a small sampling of Scripture that addresses God as a warrior; Moses sings about a Warrior God in Exodus 15:1b-3, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; the horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.  “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him; my father’s God, and I will extol Him.  “The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name.”  Moses and the people have experienced their mighty warrior, God defeating Pharaoh’s vast army coming to crush them, and you wonder why they called God a warrior? 

Do you recall Isaiah referring to God as a warrior in chapter 42:13, “The Lord will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war.  He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry.  He will prevail against His enemies.”  Some of you may be saying that is the Old Testament God, I have news for you He does not change, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and 1 Corinthians 15:24-28, may help you in your understanding of that truth.  “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.”  Now it sounds like Jesus is a warrior, and this last battle will be over every rule and every authority and power, and the last to fall under His submission is death. 

How we could learn from the Psalm of David, as David tells the people of Israel, “If the Lord had not been on our side – let Israel say –“ and David goes on to say we would not have had a chance, and he ends with this; “Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”  We the Church need to awake to this confession, for our help comes in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

As we return to Isaiah 63:1, first the watchman ask a question and God answers them with this assurance; the warrior God has waged war and is returning in victory over His enemies.  He is mighty to save!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice