Feb. 20, 2006
Blood Entertainment?

Some years ago we were visiting in the home of a pastor. I don't recall how it came up, but in the course of conversation with his wife she made the statement that she loved gory movies. I have this recollection of her exclaiming, "I love to see the blood fly!" with a considerable amount of zeal. To be frank, I was shocked. I would have never thought it of this nice young mother of several small children.

Sad to say, bad as it is, this is not the only type blood entertainment that many Christians enjoy today. Computer/video games, fiction books, and even artificial blood such as that sold at Hallowe'en have all worked their way into Christians' lives. Paint ball wars emphasize the killing aspect very intensely and are very popular among some Christians.

One question we could ask is, "Should Christians find this type of 'entertainment' appropriate?" That may be a good question, though it leans more toward the legalistic side of the issue. To me the real question is, "Does this glorify GOD?" How people feel about it does not really interest me. What does God say about blood?

Genesis 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. 6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

In speaking of the shedding of innocent blood and unsolved murders, God told Israel, Numbers 35:33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. 34 Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.

The Jerusalem church elders wrote to the Gentiles, Acts 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; 29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

1Peter 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Psalm 72:14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.

Revelation 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

This is not intended to be an in-depth study. It is intended to get you to start thinking for yourself. Consider the above verses. Does it sound to you like blood is very important to God? The blood of animals, man's blood and the blood of Jesus Christ are all spoken of in a very serious context. Can it glorify God for His children to use blood as a toy or for entertainment? Does it make a difference when it is artificial or "digital" blood? Does it make a difference when it is "only pretend" (as in movies and paint ball)? These are not popular questions and will doubtless offend some.

It is a curious thing that as our cultures degrade and devalue life, they become more and more entertained by the shedding of blood, death and killing. Blood has become a toy, a play thing. It is actually not surprising in the secular world. More often than not, bloodshed accompanies the decline of nations. The Roman empire exulted in violent and perverse blood sports as it sank into decay. But...in the Lord's church how should it be; among God's own children? Is this behavior fitting to ...a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people... (1 Peter 2:9)?

I encourage you to study the subject of blood in the Bible. The verses given here are just a small start. God has said some very interesting things about blood. Seek to follow the leading of God's Holy Spirit in this matter. He will only lead you to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

CA

Feb. 4, 2006
Sing Unto the Lord

Psalm 147:1 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

In his hymn "Come, We That Love the Lord" Isaac Watts wrote the words:

"Let those refuse to sing who never knew our God;
But children of the heavenly King may speak their joys abroad."

There are various excuses given for not singing in the assembly of the saints. There are people who excuse themselves with, "I can't sing" and refuse to participate. One person I heard of said he "couldn't sing" but then actually implied that if the Lord would give him a wife he would! (Any girl stupid enough to believe that probably deserved him.)

Some years ago we met an alleged evangelist/pastor who appeared to hate singing "in church." He declared it a waste of time and didn't want more than one hymn, or so, to be sung so that he could get on with his preaching. To him, what he had to say was obviously of much more importance than praising and singing unto our God. The question arose in our minds as to whether a man with that kind of an attitude could even be saved. Only the Lord knows if he is. He surely doesn't show it in that area. (In retrospect I am inclined to think the man is narcissist, which would account for the self-importance at the expense of praising God.)

As the verse above states, singing praise to our God is pleasant and comely. His saints should find it enjoyable. I have found this also in my experience. We've known many saved folks who loved to sing praise to the Lord. Some of them "couldn't sing" either, but they growled or droned or hopped up and down the scale in spite of that and seemed to be have the greatest time - a pleasant time - singing unto the Lord!

Isaac Watts' comment "Let those refuse to sing who never knew our God..." in some way crystallizes the thought here. When people who profess Christ have no desire, no pleasure, no joy in singing praise to Him and His Father, it may be that they never knew our God. I understand that some people really cannot sing for some physical reason, and occasionally perhaps for some emotional reason. I'm not talking about that. But what of those who refuse to sing, and who refuse to listen with joy to others sing?

The best we can say for them is that they are saved but not filled with the Spirit nor the word of Christ. Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

The "natural" outflow of being filled with the Spirit and the word of Christ is to sing! Have you ever pondered that? Even if it's "only" in our hearts, it's the reaction that God desires. Obviously it is not a proof of salvation or filling of the Spirit since there are those who can fake this quite well. But, God intends for us to minister to each other through music! He desires our sung praise. In the Old Testament we are told that He inhabited the praises of Israel! (Ps. 22:3)

Do you refuse to sing? How is it with us? Do we sing as we go about our work? Do we sing in the assembly of the believers - sing as if we meant it and had someone worth singing about? Those who don't have the greatest voices can hum or whistle. We can make melody in our hearts to the Lord.

A friend of mine who suffered from years of depression was so thankful when she could again wake up in the morning with a spiritual song or hymn going through her mind. She had prayed for a restoration of that from the Lord, and as she recovered it came back. One young man we knew whistled hymns on his job. A coworker recognized him as a fellow saint and they took turns whistling hymns as they worked together. They were ministering to each other even in the midst of the ungodly! (Ps. 23:5)

These are things to ponder. How can we include music and singing praise to the Lord more in our daily lives? Ask the Lord to show you. He will always aid us in doing His will as revealed in His word.

Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. 16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

CA

Feb. 3, 2006
Remember God IS Holy

In reading Psalm 97 recently, the last verse struck me as it hadn't before, 12 Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

One of the marks of false gods is that they are not holy. Even "the best" of them have some immoral aspect or legend about them. At best they are mere creations of the Creator. Most are decidedly UNholy. (All the so-called goddesses are unholy too, by the way.)

The Lord God Almighty is not so. He is holy. There is no sin in Him. There is nothing in Him that we should be ashamed of. This is something we must remember as we watch the unholiness of the world around us. More than that, we should give thanks when we remember that He is holy. And, truly, it is something to be thankful for.

Have you ever contemplated how hopeless it is to trust in a god who is not better than ourselves? Many do. In fact, some gods could actually be proven to be worse than their devotees. How pathetic! Then too, how pointless to worship a god who needs his followers to protect him. The true God never has and never will, despite what some people think. He was there before we were and nothing takes Him by surprise. He is in total control of His entire creation (including Satan, see Job 1-2).

More than that, His holiness is "equal to any occasion," in a manner of speaking. That is, He always will do the holy thing. We never have to worry about Him doing wrong. Have you stopped to think about what a blessing and comfort that is? Many people throughout history, and at present cannot have that confidence in their god. Sadly, many people who profess to worship the God of the Bible do not have that confidence in Him because they do not remember His holiness and they do not believe His word.

Yes, the Lord's holiness is something to remember, not just with reverent fear but also with thankfulness!

Revelation 15:4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

CA

Feb. 2, 2006
Is It Charity or Sin?

Something came to mind recently which I hadn't thought of before in so many words. My family has had the experience of seeing people we loved who had apparently high standards and ideals tolerating real slop for the sake of "being in church." I admit, it has been confusing at times to see this type of thing. You wonder how they can countenance such disgusting practice in the people they fellowship with and the pastor they sit under when they appear to know so much better themselves. They may even assure you that they teach their kids otherwise at home.

Now, I realize there are several different reasons (and problems) involved in this, and I'm not going into all of them at this point. However, the thought that came to me recently was that some folks have apparently mistaken compromise for charity. It is true that ...charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8; and that Charity suffereth long, and...Beareth all things..., 1 Corinthians 13:4 and 7. But, it seems to me that it can be carried too far.

Someone will probably protest that. But think again. There are ways that people, supposing they are being "charitable," can tolerate sin and teach their children to also.

For example, is it really charity to allow your kids to participate in something wrong so as not to offend someone you are "trying to reach"? How and where do we draw the line?

Note: There is a difference in enduring a thing and tolerating it. Sometimes we are forced into situations against our will that make us uncomfortable.  Naaman was the captain of the host of the king of Syria, but after he was healed from his leprosy through Elisha, he believed and desired to worship the Lord God of Israel. He was bothered that he had to go into the temple of the heathen god with his master. Elisha told him to "Go in peace", indicating that God would not hold it against him.  It was his unavoidable duty.  2 Kings 5:18-19 In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing. And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.

 It's a hard question. In many cases we have to make that decision case by case. The real problem enters when we stop paying attention because it's just so hard, or we're distracted or, we like the people or the entertainment ourselves and don't want to give it up. But, what is the long term affect? What is the risk factor involved? What habits of life or thinking might we or "our" children learn from the particular situation in question? I once had an email from a woman boasting about how her husband had gotten such wonderful victory over pornography that he could now allegedly visit the porn discussing boards and witness to the other men. You might think I was a skeptical about that, and you would be right. This is a somewhat extreme example, and yet people are doing similar things regularly in the name of "showing charity" - hanging out with bad friends/family, watching things at other people's homes because they don't want to rock the boat, attending parties and events of questionable content or location, etc.

We hear a lot about being "charitable," "patient" and "gracious" from some people, and yet it's interesting how often these same "charitable" people will tear your face off when you decide you have to take a stand on something, or when you just quietly abstain from participating. It's also curious that their "charity" leads them into such compromised situations and yet they seem so blind to it. Frankly, that is not in keeping with true biblical charity. How do I know? Because godly charity will not lead you into sin. If it does, it is not godly charity! Charity ...Doth not behave itself unseemly...Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 1 Corinthians 13:5 and 6.

Now, I'm not saying we can't show true charity some other way to people who are in sinful or compromised situations. We can. It's tolerating and even participating in things that are really wrong and interpreting that as "charity" that is the problem. This kind of "charity" falls under a rule a Christian police officer told my dad years ago. "There are three steps down - First you tolerate it. Then you serve it. Then you do it." He was speaking of drinking alcohol in particular, but the principle holds true across a wide variety of sins. You can be a friend of a sinner without approving of their sins. Jesus gave us the perfect example of that. But, in order to not approve, there are times we simply cannot participate.

2Peter 3:17 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. 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.