The Old Cross and the New

The Old Cross and the New

All unannounced and mostly undetected there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.

From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique-a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egotist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrill seeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.

Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul's day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to God's approval.

Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power.

--A. W. Tozer in Man, the Dwelling Place of God, 1966

Fear the Smiles

Yes, the character of the world is evil; and the appeal of the world is real. With its disarming appeal, the world has swallowed up many one-time believers.

Lot lost nearly everything to the world. Demas lost it all; he sacrificed his soul on the altar of the world.

The nearer one gets to the world, the stronger the pull of the world becomes. Its attractions are very glittering. It is patient, and yet it is persistent. It has many tactics. In order to captivate the unsuspecting, it stoops even to compromise. It has a philosophy which says, "If you can't beat them, join them." So it sends out many wolves in sheep's clothing. Like the Gibeonites, it has a very disarming approach. Instead of appealing to the baser appetites of the Israelites, they appealed to their good qualities. They appealed to their sympathy, their compassion; and consequently, they deceived the Israelite leaders.

The world will likewise direct its appeal to that which is highest and best among Christians. "Look at how wonderfully humanitarian we are. Here is a list of people we have helped. Our organization needs people like you. Imagine what a contribution you can make through our channels."

Those who are spiritual recognize that we have less to fear from the frowns of the world than we do from the smiles of the world.

The pull of the world is resistible by God's grace. If you are a saint of God living up to your spiritual potential, those appeals of the world will fall upon deaf ears. The most useful saints are those least attracted by the world. God has given them the power to see through the disguise the world wears.

Someone said this about one of God's servants: "There was nothing in the world that held the slightest attraction to him."

--Excerpt: 'Dying to Live with Christ' -M. Ruth

Mud or Stars?

"Two men look out through the same prison bars;
One sees the mud, the other sees the stars."
--Frederick Langbridge

As strangers and pilgrims on this earth, we are essentially imprisoned by flesh and blood. Romans 8 tells us the whole creation is imprisoned in the "bondage of corruption" and that the whole creation "groaneth and travaileth" as we do, waiting for the redemption of our body.

Some have also suffered behind earthly prison bars for their faith. Some suffer in prison bars of affliction, either of body, mind or spirit.

What do we see when we look through our prison bars?

Do we see mud (the world, earthly cares or desires, darkness, discouragement)?

Or can we look beyond -- far beyond -- to the stars and the realm of light where our Father dwells? Is our vision fixed far above the mud and mire of this earth so that we can have hope, joy, peace and contentment in whatever our circumstances?

Are we truly strangers and pilgrims? Or are we merely earthly dwellers?

Do our lives, our hearts, our conversations give evidence that we are not citizens of this world? That we are hardly aware of the prison bars because we are focused beyond the stars to Heaven?

Paul and Silas were in the "inner prison" and "...at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them." -Acts 16:25

Who might we be able to inspire by our consistent "looking to the stars"; by our desire to sing and praise God in the worst of prisons?

Alone With God

When a human reaches a point in life in which he finds himself with no one left but God to turn to, then he realizes that God is all he needs. What an advantage!

This is a discovery that far surpasses any human understanding that can be acquired by man: An ultimate realization; enthroning God and dethroning self. John the Baptist stated it this way: "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30) It is when man is alone with God that he, like Moses, is exhorted to take off his shoes because of the holy presence of God. Or he covers his mouth as Isaiah and cries, "Unclean, Unclean!" Being alone in His presence condemns the sinful nature of the flesh. Being alone with God influences one to be more holy and less Adamic. As one preacher declared, "Follow the cloud and not the crowd!"

Many a person has found Him standing by his side when all others forsook him. Alone with God is the greatest comfort humans can experience. Friends will let you down; Jesus won't! Family will forsake you; Jesus won't! You can deceive yourself; Jesus won't! Being alone in His presence produces a likeness to God that no crowd can give.
--J.M. Skinner

Bitterness: The Worst of Criminals

"Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled." --Hebrews 12:15

Bitterness follows hard on the heels of rejection. But any who give it lodging are harboring the worst of criminals. In the dark night of depression and discouragement, bitterness will stealthily bind the spirit, rob the inner life of joy and peace and love, slosh its wicked fuel over the whole life -- over memories, problems, personalities, situations past and present -- and light the whole scene with the fire of hell.

It takes faith to thwart bitterness effectively. "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." (Ephesians 6:16) Faith chooses to acknowledge a sovereign God. Faith responds with an obedient yes to the direction of God. Faith receives heaven's responses to human needs. Faith changes the focus from the offender to the mighty DEFENDER. Thus, faith learns to rejoice in God and refuses to grovel in self-pity, blame and resentment. Faith is the key to overcoming bitterness and rejection.
--John Coblentz

Which Voice?

God's Voice... Satan's Voice....
-Stills you -Rushes you
-Leads you -Pushes you
-Reassures you -Frightens you
-Enlightens you -Confuses you
-Encourages you -Discourages you
-Comforts you -Worries you
-Calms you -Obsesses you
-Convicts you -Condemns you

Forsake Me Not

O, forsake me not, Thou ever faithful,
Though to try me Thou Thy face dost hide;
Till I bear Thy likeness and impression,
Purge me as the gold is purified!
--Zion's Harp #182 vs. 14

Have you ever felt that God has forsaken you?

Perhaps He is only "hiding His face," as the hymn writer says, to try your faith.
All His efforts and desires in our behalf are for the purpose of purifying us as gold so that we can reflect "His likeness and impression."

Take courage in His promise: "...for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

Take Him at His Word. Believe His Word is true, even when you cannot "feel" it. Such faith in Him will make the Word true in your life.

Lay Down Our Own Will and Accept His

The Song of [Solomon] expresses the desire implanted in every human heart, to be reunited with God Himself, and to know perfect and unbroken union with Him. He has made us for Himself, and our hearts can never know rest and perfect satisfaction until they find it in Him.

It is God's will that some of His children should learn this deep union with Himself through the perfect flowering of natural human love in marriage. For others it is equally His will that the same perfect union should be learned through the experience of learning to lay down completely this natural and instinctive desire for marriage and parenthood, and accept the circumstances of life which deny them this experience. This instinct for love, so firmly implanted in the human heart, is the supreme way by which we learn to desire and love God Himself above all else.

But the High Places of victory and union with Christ cannot be reached by any mental reckoning of self to be dead to sin, or by seeking to devise some way or discipline by which the will can be crucified.

The only way is by learning to accept, day by day, the actual conditions and tests permitted by God, by a continually repeated laying down of our own will and acceptance of His as it is presented to us in the form of the people with whom we have to live and work, and in the things which happen to us.

Every acceptance of His will becomes an altar of sacrifice, and every such surrender and abandonment of ourselves to His will is a means of furthering us on the way to the High Places to which He desires to bring every child of His while they are still living on earth.
--Hannah Hurnard

Pride

Pride: The Bottom of All Great Mistakes

Pride is everywhere. It is the root of many human ills and weaknesses.

Pride masquerades as charity. "Charity feeds the poor, so does pride; charity builds a hospital, so does pride. In this they differ, charity gives her glory to God, pride takes her glory from man." -Quarles

Pride wants to look good rather than be good. Adding pride to service changes "selfless service" to "self-service."

Pride pretends to be humble. Pride is the darling sin that apes humility. "None have more pride than those who dream they have none. You may labor against vainglory till you conceive that you are humble, and the fond conceit of your humility will prove to be pride in full bloom." -Spurgeon

Pride is competitive. "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man ... It is the comparison that makes you proud; the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone." -C.S. Lewis

Pride is not easily taught. A proud person won't admit a mistake. A proud person does not like to be wrong. The proud do not receive correction easily. "Pride is increased by ignorance; those assume the most who know the least." -Gay

Pride takes people into debt. The proud want today's pleasures on tomorrow's labors. The proud live beyond their means.

Pride is ungrateful. "A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves." -Beecher

Pride holds grudges. Pride nurses hurts. It is easily offended and is slow to forgive. Healing waits while pride exacts its due.

Pride elevates self and diminishes others. "The disesteem and contempt of others is inseparable from pride. It is hardly possible to overvalue oneself but by undervaluing our neighbors." -Claredon

Pride is disobedient. "Disobedience is a prideful struggle against someone in authority over us. A proud person hates that there is someone over him. He thinks this lowers his position." -Ezra Taft Benson

Pride is contentious. Pride justifies, fights, argues, abuses and rebels. Being "right" is the kindling that starts the flame of anger.

Pride inspires envy. "Pride loves no man and is beloved by none. It is the friend of the flatterer, the mother of envy, the nurse of fury ... It hates superiors, scorns inferiors and owns no equal ... Pride defeats its own end, by bringing man who seeks esteem and reverence, into contempt." -Bolingbrooke

Pride drives a wedge between people. "There is a diabolical trio existing in the natural man, implacable, inextinguishable ... pride, envy and hate. Pride makes us fancy we deserve all the goods that others possess, envy that some should be admired while we are overlooked, and hate, because all that is bestowed on others, diminishes the sum we think is due ourselves." -Colton

Pride is selfish. Pride seeks after power, glory and money. Once this is obtained then conceit, boastfulness, arrogance and haughtiness quickly follow. The proud find pride in others and do not recognize it in themselves. Pride is the self in self-fulfillment, self-gratification and self-seeking.

Pride lashes out against the more fortunate. The proud find fault, gossip and backbite. The proud covet. They are jealous and envious. They disparage another's virtues. They withhold praise, gratitude and encouragement that might lift another. The proud think, "If you are a success, then I am a failure."

Pride comes between man and God. The proud cannot accept God's authority to direct their lives. They dislike any bridle other than their own over their desires, appetites and passions. "The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren't interested in changing their opinions to agree with God ... The proud stand more in fear of man's judgments than God's judgments." -Ezra Taft Benson

Pride is blind. Spiritual pride is deadly. Man thinks he is close to God when in reality he is far away and doesn't know it. It is like being lost and not knowing it. There is no awareness of the need to search for a better way. "Pride is a vice, which pride itself inclines every man to find in others, and to overlook in himself." -Johnson

Pride is everywhere. Pride's foundation is built on achievement, talent, beauty, intellect, power and wealth. Its seduction comes from recognition, praise and approval of others. Pride is the Achilles heel of an otherwise well-lived life.

Pride is everywhere. It lives in huts as well as mansions - sometimes it is too close to home. "I have been more and more convinced, the more I think about it, that, in general, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes." -Ruskin

Copyright 2009 by Val Farmer

Deny Ourselves to Follow Him

Modern psychology has assured us that self needs are primary needs. We are told we need self-esteem, a good self-image, self-confidence, self-actualization and self-love. All-important is the need to accomplish MY goals, to realize MY full potential. This focus on self is exactly what the natural man does not need. It lies at the heart of much of the discontent, irritation and frustration in the modern home. The world fortunately doesn't revolve around one human being.

Christ calls us to deny ourselves to follow Him. That doesn't make for very popular psychology, but it is basic to Christianity. There is a grain of truth in the self-talk. We do have inner yearnings for acceptance and fulfillment. But according to the Scriptures, we find those needs met, not by serving ourselves, but by serving God and others. We need the mind of Jesus, "Who, being in the form of God ... made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:6, 7)
--John Coblentz

Thanksgiving Proclamation

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.

To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

[Signed]
A. Lincoln

Who Shall Separate Us...?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall:
-tribulation?
-distress?
-persecution?
-famine?
-nakedness?
-peril?
-sword?

Nay! in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us!

For I am persuaded, that neither:
-death, nor
-life, nor
-angels, nor
-principalities, nor
-powers, nor
-things present, nor
-things to come, nor
-height, nor
-depth, nor
-any other creature
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
--Romans 8:35, 37-39

What a comprehensive list! What triumph sounds in the Apostle Paul's ringing words!

Is there then anything that can separate us from the love of Christ and God?

There is one thing that is notably missing from this list: self.

Self-pity,
Lack of self-denial,
Self-exaltation and pride,
Any focus on self ... can and will separate us from the love of our Lord.

Do Not Fear the Cross

"Though the cross of Christ has been beautified by the poet and the artist, the avid seeker after God is likely to find it the same savage implement of destruction it was in the days of old. The way of the cross is still the pain-wracked path to spiritual power and fruitfulness.

"So do not seek to hide from it. Do not accept an easy way. Do not allow yourself to be patted to sleep in a comfortable church, void of power. Do not paint the cross nor deck it with flowers. Take it for what it is, as it is, and you will find it the rugged way to death and life. Let it slay you utterly."
--A.W. Tozer

O, do not fear the cross' affliction!
The Saviour suffered on it, too,
To cause eternal joy and pleasure
To ripen evermore for you.

Then bear thy woes with Jesus gladly,
And fear the cross of life no more,
For when thy journey here is ended,
The cross will open heaven's door!
--Zion's Harp #171 vs. 4, 11

Dying to Self

Seven Laws of Dying to Self

When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient loving silence, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.

When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any impunctuality, or any annoyance; when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility...and endure it as Jesus endured it, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.

When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, and interruption by the will of God, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works, or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.

When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met, and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.

When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
--Author Unknown

Strait is the Gate, and Narrow is the Way

A popular thought of the day is that if a church is not growing in numbers, then God is not working or the church is not alive.

Studies are conducted to find out how to better appeal to people and draw them to attend church. "Re-defining" church and what it stands for are quite popular topics. The preaching of the cross and the Gospel message are altered to attract more interest. II Timothy 4:3-4 prophesies this trend: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." People will listen to sermons more readily if they hear only what they want to hear.

Jesus Christ's message is just the opposite of the current prevailing wisdom. His words are: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
--Matthew 7:13-14

Few will come in broken repentance through the strait gate and, in humility, walk the narrow way. The only way which leadeth unto life will hold few travelers.

If we are traveling in a path populated with many other travelers, if our beliefs are popularly accepted by many, if we consider ourselves "broad-minded" and can align our thoughts with various ideas and philosophies of the day, then, according to the words of Christ, we could very well be in great spiritual danger.

Glory in Tribulations

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
--Romans 5:3-5

Do we glory in our tribulations? Or do we simply endure them?

Are we bitter or angry at God for difficulties or heartaches in our lives? Or do we rejoice because we know that these situations are working patience, experience and hope in our lives?

Are We Acceptable to God?

Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
--II Corinthians 5:9-10

In the world today, we often hear the phrase that someone has "accepted Christ." Modern Christianity teaches this doctrine as a substitution for true repentance and conversion. However, a simple search of the Bible shows this to be completely false doctrine. Nowhere do the Scriptures teach that it is possible for us accept Christ. Rather, over and over, the Scriptures exhort us that we must become acceptable to Him.

Isn't it tragic that satan could use this false doctrine to obscure the truth of the way of the cross? Let us not be deceived!

The Scriptures are clear:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
--Romans 12:1

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
--Romans 14:17-18

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour
--I Timothy 2:1-3

For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
--I Peter 2:20

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
--I Peter 2:5

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.
--Acts 10:34-35

Antidote for Anxiety

A look at today's headlines can produce anxiety -- fear and uncertainty as to the future. Recession, depression, socialism, atheism, nuclear development, terrorism, the list goes on...

How should a child of God react? How to cope with all these depressing and anxiety-producing statistics?

Isaiah 25 tells us: "Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall." (vs. 3-4)

This is the Lord our God. When we are needy and in distress, when terrible ones and terrible nations come against us in a blast -- He is our strength.

Isaiah 26:3 prescribes for us the antidote for anxiety: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

Yes, we can have perfect peace in the midst of all the turmoil in this world, IF we STAY our minds on HIM. If we trust only in HIM.

Traits of the Self-life

Traits of the Self-life

The following are some of the features and manifestations of the self-life. The Holy Spirit alone can interpret and apply these to your individual case.

As you read, examine yourself in the very presence of God. Are you demonstrating the self-life? It shows itself as:

#1. A spirit of pride. Do you have an exalted feeling because of your success or position, because of your good training or your appearance, or because of your natural gifts and abilities? Do you show an important, independent spirit?

#2. Love of praise. Do you have a secret fondness to be noticed, a love of supremacy? Do you draw attention to yourself in conversation? Does your self swell out when you have had a time to speak or pray in the presence of others?

#3. Stirrings of anger. Are you irritable, and do you cover it over by calling it nervousness or holy indignation? Do you have a touchy spirit, a disposition to resent and retaliate when disapproved of or contradicted? Do you throw sharp words at others?

#4. Self-will. Do you show a stubborn, unteachable spirit? Do you argue? Are you harsh, sarcastic, driving, or demanding? Do you come through as unyielding or headstrong? Do you have a disposition to criticize and pick flaws when you are ignored or decisions don't go your way? Do you have a peevish spirit that loves to be coaxed and humored?

#5. Carnal fear. Are you controlled by a man-fearing spirit, that causes you to shrink from duty? Do you reason around your cross? Are you afraid your commitment to righteousness will cause some prominent person to think less of you? Do you compromise principle to please others?

#6. Jealousy. Do you hide a spirit of envy in your heart? Do you harbor an unpleasant sensation in view of the prosperity and success of another? When someone is more talented or appreciated than you, are you disposed to speak of his faults rather than his virtues?

#7. Dishonesty. Do you evade or cover the truth? Do you hide or minimize your real faults and attempt to leave a better impression of yourself than is strictly true? Do you show false humility? Do you exaggerate, straining the truth? Do you show one face to one person and quite the opposite to another?

#8. Unbelief. Do you demonstrate a spirit of discouragement in times of pressure and opposition? In your heart, is there a lack of quietness and confidence in God, a lack of settled trust? Do you have a disposition to worry and complain in the midst of pain, poverty, or trials that God allows? Are you overanxious about whether situations will turn out all right?

#9. Religious formality. Are you complacent about the lost? Is your relationship with God characterized by dryness and indifference? Does your life lack spiritual power? Do you regularly meet God?

#10. Selfishness. Are you drawn to a love of ease, a catering to your appetites, a repeated hankering for short-lived pleasure? Do your joys and sorrows fluctuate around personal interests? Is there a yearning for money and earthly possessions?

These are some of the traits that generally indicate a carnal heart. By prayer, hold your heart open to the searchlight of God until nothing is hidden. "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23, 24).

The Holy Spirit will enable you, by confession and faith, to bring this self-life to the death. Do not patch over, but be thorough. Nothing else will avail.

Oh, to be saved from my self, dear Lord,
Oh, to be lost in Thee;
Oh, that it might be no more I,
But Christ that lives in me.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).

--E. E. Shelhamer, adapted
© Copyright, Christian Light Publications

Global Warming

Global Warming is one of the most popular topics in today's current events.

We may question the scientific "evidence" which is being advanced, claiming that humans have so much power that they are able to effect change in the earth's atmosphere.

But the interesting truth is that, according to the Scripture, there will be "global warming" some day, by means quite unexpected to most scientists and journalists.

"But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same Word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
"Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat..."
–II Peter 3:7, 10, 12

Peter then asks us the very pertinent question: "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?" (vs. 11)

And the question is answered very clearly in the remainder of the chapter: "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

"Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (vs. 14, 17-18).