You can’t analyze God.

1 Corinthians 1:18-19

“You can’t analyze God. He is too awesome, too big, too mysterious,” writes C.S. Lewis.  But yet to our shame many of us try, and I did say try, like the man who told the preacher, I’m leaving my wife for a woman who makes me happy, and I know God desires me to be happy.  That dude needs to have a talk with Job, in that it was God who asked the devil if he had noticed His servant Job, a righteous man.  Now what God allowed to happen to Job by the devil does not look to this writer as happiness. 

So let’s examine what is being said in 1 Corinthians 1:18-19, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”  A division is taking place in this world, those who put faith in the finished work of the cross, and those who believe it to be total foolishness.  I believe Skip Moen is on target with these insights; "God does not come to us in nicely defined, rationally explained, thought categories.  God does not fit Himself into our theological textbooks. The Hebrew God breaks all the rules.  He is near, yet transcendent; clothed in human form, yet holy; more terrifying than can be imagined, yet compassionate; invisible, yet revealed; judging, yet merciful; sovereign, yet humble.  No matter where you look, God breaks the molds."  - Skip Moen

C.S. Lewis wrote that George McDonald had a profound affect on his life and his writings and I also believe I can also make that statement.  This is a quote from George McDonald, "Man finds it hard to get what he wants because he does not want the best. God finds it hard to give because He would give the best and man will not take it." - George McDonald

My desire is to awaken the dead who have placed faith in a denomination or anything other than Jesus Christ, and to make them search the Scripture for truth.  I believe the best will not be found in anything this world can offer, nor in anything you earn, it will be found in the grace of our Father, who has given His Son, a gift that many call free, and yes, it comes without earning it, but never forget it cost God, for it was His only Son.
It is time to get honest, not with me but with yourself, are you sure of the path you are on?   

Do you fear what is waiting around the corner, death is a certainty and the Scriptures are clear on this, Jesus came to conquer both death and sin, and for all who come into a relationship with Christ, it no longer has a hold on us.  The apostle Paul’s words are very clear about who we are in Christ; “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 8:37-39)

From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice

Authority

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

What happens in a family when there are division and quarreling, does it not lead to mistrust?  How would you define a family; a mother and dad who have children, and they live together in a household?  Maybe you define it as a group of people related to one another by blood, marriage, or adoption.  But for the family to work it requires the parents to be the authority, and to not have turf battles, but to show a unified approach with love for God and all He is doing, a love for each other, and love is the core, it produces loyalty and trust.

Most of my life I’ve heard the term church family, and being raised in small Baptist churches, it seemed like it was the most dysfunctional family one could have known, or been a part of.  Jan and I often laugh when we see a small Baptist church with the name of Unity, and one of us will say, they just split from another little Baptist church and the unity is very temporary.  Now we laugh, but it is shameful, and an affront to our LORD, so why does it happen?   Authority!  One or more people want to run the show, and they are ignorant of how the LORD set-up His Church, or just full of self and want to be the kingpin.

You may ask, is this a new thing and it’s clear from this first letter to the church in Corinth that it is not.  Now listen to the apostle Paul; “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.”  Someone in the household of Chloe was troubled by what was taking place in the church family and shared it with Paul.  With whose authority did Paul come to the church, it was in the name of Jesus Christ?  What is his requesting from them, is it not unity, not division, but to have the same judgment or mind of Christ?

And this was the problem; “What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

As you and I have found in our family and church life the problem on the surface does not expose the source, so what was the source?   The bad news is it has not changed, it goes by many names, pride, arrogance, fear, and even disdain for others in the family, but the source is the evil one, the one Jesus tells us in John 10:10, has come to kill, steal, and destroy.  And the deceiver is good at his job, he plants seeds of greed, and rebellion in the hearts of foolish people who are ignorant of Jesus’ teaching, and you have division.

 I’ve been told that sheep are not the smartest of animals and yet they learn the voice of the sheepherder and though many sheep are put into the same pen, they will only follow the voice of their shepherd.  Do you know that God calls us sheep, so much for the smart thing, but we need to learn the voice of our Shepherd?  The evil one or deceiver does not come to us with a strange voice, it sounds like ours, but one of his great lines and lies is, “You deserve, you're smarter, you're better, have more talent, and the list keeps going, and his goal is to have you rebel against the authority God has placed over you.  This is true in the home, at work, on a ball team, or as a member of a local body of believers called the church.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Grace much Grace

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

It has been said that as a people we are the most unthankful people who ever lived.  That conclusion I’m not sure of, for it seems that mankind has always had a problem of being thankful for all they have been blessed with.  You want to see a difference in your life, in the life of your family, and your church, apply 1st Thessalonians 5:16-22, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”

The Scripture informs us about this truth; Jesus Christ is our High Priest and He sits at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for each of us; Romans 8:24; Hebrews 7:25, and it does not get better than that!  But when God sends a person into your life, who will give thanks for the grace that God has put into your life, what a blessing for both people.  You have heard that prayer changes things, but when you or I see God’s grace in one another and give thanks in prayer, it changes us, gives us a grateful heart. 

Often, someone will say I do not have that specific gift, is that why you do not give?  If you do not have the gift of faith to share, did you get an “out card” telling you not to share with others what Jesus has done for you?  Is this true or not? “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”  But, the question must be asked; does Jesus Christ abide in me?  And if Jesus abides, that means lives in you, is He lacking in Spiritual gifts?

“So that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Death brought Life

Joel 3:17-21

Joel is seeing what we call judgment of the enemies of Israel, this is still future, but was written for us.  We, like them, should be looking forward to this day, a horrifying day for the enemies of God, but a blessed day for a repentant people.  In no way is this the end of the world, but it is the beginning of Jesus return and reign as stated in Matthew 25:31-32, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”

When God restored you, what did your life look like before it was restored?  Mine was ugly, full of fear, thinking about what I might do if this or that happened.  There were days of happiness but never peace or joy, new car, new deer rifle, but when the new car got a dent, and there was no money to fix it, the happy turned into disgust that I was so poorly prepared and I would spend days beating myself up for not having what I wanted.  It was easy to find pleasure in the blame game, and I knew that if anyone knew the real me they would hit the door running, so I never did I allow that to happen.  But Jesus put to death that old Bob and I became reborn, a new creation, not a redo, or a do-over, a new creation in Christ.

Now the new Bob still had memories of how the old Bob worked, how he got his needs met outside of Christ, and now at 74 the new Bob is still in a battle with the flesh to allow the Spirit of Christ to be my only hope of living in peace, filled with joy.

It all began at the “Cross,” where the Lamb of God did battle with sin and death, and all who have entered into Christ are being transformed into His likeness, we are more than a conqueror.  Joel uses the land and the water being restored, and it will be, but something better can happen to you; Christ will forgive your sins, and He will come in and live in you and you in Him. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Better than Holleywood - Jesus > the Worlds best

Joel 3:9-16

I Marvel At The Wisdom Of My God.  God has set a time in history for judgment of the nations, it has been declared, it has been consecrated and the nations of the world will come to a Valley that Joel refers to as Jehoshaphat to make war against Israel, all their energies will go to this purpose.  Can you envision what that is going to look like, the best of the best out front, the best of technology and skilled warriors, with the latest and greatest tools of war, never in all of mankind has the world seen anything close to this.  The odds made in casinos of the world are saying God and Israel are such a long shot they will not take bets, the war will not last one day.

From the time Jesus returned to His Father, men have been giving a timeline for His return, others have made fun of those who follow Jesus and said it is just a fable but it’s worth a read.  Verses 8 and 9, give this insight; “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.”  My friend Carroll Ray Jr. wrote on the Omega man, the last person to receive Jesus Christ, for in God’s plan there will be one last person that comes to repentance before this final day of the LORD’s return.  Could that person be you?

Often the Father does not share all the information and yes, that is where faith comes into play, but not blind faith, for in the apostle Paul’s letters to the Romans, we are told that man has been given from the beginning all the information needed to place faith in God.  Romans 1 should be read and reread by all people; verses 18-21, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

But in this final battle we have this insight from John’s Revelation, now sit down, this is better than Hollywood, better than any superhero, it’s Jesus the only Son of God, and by the name He is called “The Word of God,” do you recall the gospel of John chapter 1:1, Jesus is called “The Word,” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  Now Jesus “The Word of God” comes riding out of heaven on a White horse, and the armies of heaven are behind Him on white horses.  We need to look at the armies of the earth there in the valley, overhead they have the most powerful air force ever assembled, many of the planes are stealth aircraft designed to avoid detection using a variety of stealth technologies that reduce reflection/emission of radar.  On the ground are long-range missals with nukes and armies and equipment that have never been seen before, and how can anyone stand against such force.

It is getting interesting, for out of the rider on the white horse, the one who is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called The Word of God, and from His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.  That if Jesus wins, and you should not be surprised, for, in the book of beginnings, Genesis 1:1-3, this same Jesus spoke the world into being. 

So if you have not bowed your knee to the rider on the white horse, the one we call Jesus, you may be the one He is waiting for.  Many of us can’t wait to see Jesus against the world, in this battle, but we are sure of the outcome.  And my dear Jewish friend, verse 16, tells us that the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Standing before the Judge

Joel 3:1-8

Has there been a time where you were fearful of having to go to court, to stand before a judge and have him decide your punishment?  If so, you have a better understanding than many of us about what is taking place in Joel chapter three.  Joel is getting to see clearly into what you and I regard as the future, this has not taken place, it did not happen in Joel’s lifetime nor has it happened in ours.  But you can believe it will take place, listen to these words from the prophet Isaiah 46:10, “I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: My plan will take place, and I will do all My will.”  Our mighty God always keeps His word, so we need to pay close attention to what the prophet Joel is telling us in chapter three.

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land, and have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it.
“What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily. For you have taken my silver and my gold and have carried my rich treasures into your temples. You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border. Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and I will return your payment on your own head. I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far away, for the LORD has spoken.” Joel 3:1-8

In Scripture, the term used for “the valley where Yahweh judged” is what is literally the Valley of Jehoshaphat.  There is no valley by that name and many scholars believe it is referring to the valley of Jezreel near Megiddo where the battle of Armageddon will take place. (Thoughts from HCSB page 1487)

In the apostle John’s vision, we call it the book of the Revelation we have this account of what I believe to be the Judgment of God that Joel is telling us about.  Turning to Revelation 19:11-16, “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse!  The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, he judges and makes war.  His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.  He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.  And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following Him on white horses.  From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.  He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.  On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”  Revelation 16:16, gives us the name of the valley, it is called Armageddon.

And you may wonder why God is calling out Tyre and Sidon and all the regions of Philistia.  They were the hubs for slaves; they took the children of Israel and sold them as one would a bag of flour.  These nations also sinned against God when they took the gold and silver from the temple it was not Israel’s gold, it was God’s. 

From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice

The Future and the Now

Joel 2:28-32

Chapter two began with an alarm of doom the day of the LORD is coming, and an army will come that is sent by God to bring devastation on Judea.  The people are called to repentance, to return to God with a broken and contrite heart, and once that had happened the LORD had pity on His people and restored their land.  As we read verse 27, give thought to what this would look like in your life, your family, the church, and the nation.  “You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.  And my people shall never again be put to shame.”

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.  Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.”  And it shall come to pass afterward, and in our instance gratification mindset we want that now, and I do not believe that mindset is a new thing but has exploded in our culture.  If we explore the teaching of the prophets it is clear they were looking for a time, a day when God would allow His people to keep His covenants and laws by giving them a new heart.  But one must remember that prophesy is often future, much has been fulfilled but some is still to come.  The prophet Jeremiah tells of such a day in Jeremiah 31:33-34, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

This prophecy had its beginning after the cross after Jesus was raised from the dead, it began at Pentecost and each time the gospel is preached and a sinner looks to Jesus as their only hope of being in right standing with God, this once more is being fulfilled.  You and I should never forget we serve a mighty God, who always keeps His promises, and to the people of Israel, we see salvation coming after the fullness of the Gentiles has come.  This is recorded by the apostle Paul in Romans 11:25-32, and aren’t you glad that the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

When verse 30-31 takes place what a day that will be for those in Christ, but for those who have rejected Him it will be a day of great fear, the salvation for believers who have entered into a personal relationship with the LORD, but judgment for all who have not.  It is spelled out clearly in John’s gospel chapter 3:18, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

We end with verse 32, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”  We have two calls, all who call on the name of the LORD and the LORD’S call, the invitation was stated by Jesus in John 3:16, and the apostle Paul makes it clear, it includes everyone in Romans 10:13.  But it is clear not all will call, many will let pride or the desire to find God by another way, but Jesus has stated in John 14:6; “I am the way, and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” The HCSB study Bible on page 1487 under notes has this insight: “God does not save those who do not call on Him, and none call whom He has not called.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Daniel's prayer of Repentance

Joel 2:18-27

When Daniel prayed for Jerusalem in Daniel 9:1-23, he took ownership of the sins of his people, as if they were his own, shall we explore verses 3-10: “Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our, God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.”

That is not the prayer of a religious man looking down on and blaming others for the state of affairs, and we are told in Scripture in Psalms 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  The LORD has spoken by His servant Joel to call the people to a solemn assembly, and to rend their hearts, or to have a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart.  And verses 18-27 are what only God can do to a nation without hope the LORD had pity on His people.

I believe God in His mercy and love has today set in the heart of His servant Franklin Graham a call to the people of the United States of America who are called by His name, people who go by Christian to solemn assembly.  It is a simple message, “Our nation is in trouble.  Jesus Christ is the only hope.”  Now let me be very clear, a prayer meeting will not change our nation, but if we, that is you and I will repent as Daniel did, if we will take ownership of the sins of our nation, and come with a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, our great and mighty God may have pity on our nation.

The following are words from Franklin Graham; “America’s spiritual and moral foundation is crumbling.  What can we as followers of Jesus Christ do?  We must pray, seek God’s face, and stand firm on His Word.

That’s why we’re bringing the Decision America Tour to each of the 50 states.  I’m going to proclaim the Gospel and challenge Christians to pray fervently and boldly live out their faith in Jesus Christ – at home, in public, and at the ballot box.  Will you join us in this effort?”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Awake, awake, the hour is late!

Joel 2:12-17

Can one return to where they have never been?  The answer is obvious one cannot return to where they have never been in the first place, a question must be asked when reading Joel 2:12-13, have I ever been with the LORD? “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.”  Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.” (Joel 2:12-13)

A hymn we often sang in small Baptist churches I attended as a child was;

“Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?  Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?  Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?”  And I sang it with great gusto, but I had never been to Jesus, I knew a lot about Him, but I did not know Him, and I could not have returned to where I had never been. The Jewish people were into religion, and when in trouble they would fast, for my American readers that mean they would go without food for a time.  If someone rends their garments it was a sign of anger, grief, or despair, it was an outer act to be seen by others, but the LORD is saying do not do this to be seen by men, but by God only.  A reversal of course, once you were the captain of your ship, and now God is asking each of us to allow Him to be the only GPS we listen to.  Could it be that many into religion and into the church have no understanding of God, that we falsely believe one who has broken the big sin, and you have those in your mind, become an enemy of God?  If so, go back and read Hosea where God said His chosen people were whores and yet He shows mercy to them, in fact, He redeems them, and after awhile they believe their GPS is better than God’s.  When one desires to be the captain of their own ship, and disaster keeps returning to your life, and you run to God, you seek forgiveness, it becomes clear; God is “is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.”  For one must ask: “Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?” Awake, awake, the hour is late, your GPS is not working, your ship is heading to troubled waters, it is in the middle of a class 6 storm, it’s time to acknowledge your own sin, and repent, ask the LORD to take the helm of your life, and cry for mercy for your nation.  This is what the people of Joel’s time did; “Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people.  Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants.  Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.  Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and say, “Spare your people, O Lord, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations.  Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” From the Back Porch, Bob Rice

How did we get to this point of leadership?

Joel 1:15-20 -2:1-11

This morning as I spent time with Paul Wendell, the question came up how did we get to this point of leadership where we would accept men and women who want to lead this great nation and their pledge means nothing to them.  We embarrassingly had to agree that of all those in the race for the office of President, the Socialist was the only one who believed what he was saying, and that is very sad.  How did we get to that point?  It has been the frog in the cold water on top of the stove, it would have jumped out of boiling water, but he does not move if you turn the fire up a little at a time, till it’s too late and you have boiled frog legs.  As a nation whose foundation was built on God’s commandments and freedom, that all men are created equal, and that government was necessary but looking to God, not to man is what has made us a great nation.  Can you believe we have exchanged that for socialism, a system that is anti-God, and has failed and imprisoned people everywhere it has been tried?

Could it be that we are at the boiling stage and it is too late to get out of the pot? That is where Judea was they awoke from their drunken stupor to find the land devastated; the locust had come.  And now they are fearful that the day of the LORD is near, and they begin to take inventory of the years the locust had run amuck.

They are now willing to fear the one who can both take their life and their soul, and you need to read the account in verses 1-11.  Let’s look at verses 1 and 2b   we will end with verse 11.  “Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain!  Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord, is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness!  It certainly does not sound like a party they are looking forward to!   In verse 11, “The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful.  For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it? 

It is not in vogue to talk about hell, and many in and out of the church do not believe in hell, but Jesus did, in fact, Jesus had a lot to say about hell, and I copied these words from Billy Graham; “Yes, Jesus did talk about the reality of hell — in fact, He talked about it more than any other person in the Bible. He warned, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
Did He say this simply to scare us? The reality of hell should frighten us because not one word in the Bible about hell would ever make you want to go there — not if you take it seriously. The Bible speaks of hell as a place of absolute loneliness and despair and hopelessness. It calls it a place of “darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:13).
But Jesus didn’t talk about hell just to scare us. He talked about it instead because He wanted us to know that God has provided a way of escape! Listen: God doesn’t want you to be separated from Him forever. He loves you, and He wants you to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Unlike hell, heaven is a place of joy and peace and freedom from all the fears and pains of this world. Who wouldn’t want to go there?
Don’t gamble with your soul, and don’t turn your back on Jesus. Instead, by faith turn to Christ and commit your life to Him. He alone gives us hope — hope for today, and hope for eternity.”

From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice

A Nation in a Drunken Stupor

Joel 1:5-14

I’ve never been a drunkard, but I have in my youth and early adult years overindulged in adult beverages and found myself in an intoxicated stupor.  Not a fun thing, some people get very mean and others are less intimidated and are told later the foolish things they did.  As an adult, I’ve seen the results of alcohol on families, marriages, and careers and it often leaves a mess behind.  Early in my 3M career one of our supervisors who was hooked on alcohol found himself one morning in a ditch miles from home, and he had no recall of how he got there when he got there, or how long he had been there.  But that morning he took inventory, he loved his wife, and he had five daughters he was crazy about a good job, and it was all on the line because of the control that alcohol had on his life.  My friend made a decision that morning to never have another drink, and with God’s help to my knowledge he never has; the price of a drink was just too costly.

Joel is talking to a nation of drinkers, or as he states drunkards; for something terrible has taken place but in a drunken stupor they are clueless, that is until the wine is no longer.  Now it is time to face up to the devastation many a person has encountered waking from their stupor, and many a nation, my prayer is that the USA will soon awaken.  The grapevines and figs were two big crops and now war and the swarming locust have done great harm to their economy.  The people of Judah are called to a time of repentance, and they put on sackcloth, now sackcloth is a rough and uncomfortable fabric that irritated the skin, according to my HCSB Bible on page1483.  But sackcloth was their form of acknowledging they were in trouble, and only God could fix the problem, in the USA many in and outside of the church are still looking to government, and to men and women with no integrity to solve our problems.

As one reads verses 10-12 there is little to hope, all the natural resources are gone, the fields are destroyed, the new wine is gone, the olive oil has failed, and the wheat and barley have perished.  In fact, the grapevine is dead or dying, the fig tree also, and so are the date palms, the apples, and the pomegranate, all they looked to for food and income is gone.  The options of the future look grim, and whom do they run to, not the government, not men, but the only one who has the ability to fix the mess, and in the USA we are still in our drunken stupor looking to politicians.

Verse 13, 14, “Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar.  Go in; pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God!  Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.

Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly.  Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.”  The priest and the minister were to lead by example, and then go and gather the elders and the inhabitants to a solemn assembly in an expression of corporate confession before God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Plagues & Drought

Joel 1:1-4

“The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel: Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land!  Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?  Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation.”

What we know about Joel, as a person is very little, he was the second of the minor prophets, his name means “The LORD is God” and the Scripture never again gives reference to his dad.  His prophecy was to Judah and it may have been at the time of King Uzziah, but this we do know it was after a locust plague and a drought.

As a follower of Christ, one has to be excited when we get still, turn off the noise, and get a word from our LORD.  Often, I’ve been shocked at how God has spoken to me, in church, at home while picking up a piece of old rotten wood and wondering if it was worth keeping.  Yes, often it is while searching for the right words when putting my thoughts on paper, or just the desire to find direction for the day in the Psalms and the Proverbs.  But unlike Joel, God has not gifted us with the ability to discern a disaster as a judgment from God, it is clear that in the past God has used all kinds of natural disasters to bring his people to repentance.

Now listen to whom God is addressing through his prophet Joel, first the elders, and in that they were the leaders of the people it was the right place to begin.  But often the elders had their own agenda, much like many who have the role of leadership in our families, our government, and our churches.  So God did not leave the inhabitants of the land out of the picture; that would be you and me, and God asked this question; “Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?”

It’s a big deal, and I’m not sure we can grasp having the locust come in and remove our source of livelihood, our food supply, and when we believed it could not get worse, it did.  Verse four gives the account; “What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten.  What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.”

Now this is the sad news, we as a people seem to have forgotten that our mighty, loving Father is the same today as in Joel’s time, and the Word of God is written to guide us in this life, not the one to come.  So when Joel is speaking as a spokesperson for God, he tells the people to: “Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation.”  Why aren’t we as His church doing this, for sure it is not because we do not love our children, but are we expecting someone else to do what God has called us to do?  Could it be that old thief Jesus talks about in John 10:10 has fed us a line of bull so that our children and grandchildren will be ignorant of the ways of our Father, and the grace He has given to all who will receive the gift of the cross.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice