THE LORD'S MEMORIAL

THE LORD’S MEMORIAL

Rev. Ron A. Moore Jr.

            Memorial Day is the day where we commemorate the deceased that have served in our military.  This nationally observed holiday was first recognized in 1865 after the Civil War for the fallen Union soldiers.  Since then thousands upon thousands of brave men and women have given their lives to for the empowerment of this great country.  All too often, I think that we take for granted the liberty that we enjoy in our United States.  Our freedom is at the expense of someone else’s blood.  I would like to send out a heart-felt thank you to all of our past and present military personnel.

            As a country that was founded on the principles and statutes of the bible we must keep in remembrance the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ paid for all of man-kind.  The Cross will forever be the highest example of perfected love.  The bible tells us that the penalty for sin is death.  The truth is that every one of us has sinned and deserves to go to hell.  However, our eternal destination has been altered for those of us that have accepted the Lord as our Savior. 

            Contrary to popular opinion, good works is not enough for you go to heaven.  Being nice to people is not enough for you to go to heaven.  There isn’t enough money in the world for anyone to buy their way into heaven.  That is why we all need Jesus. There isn’t anyone in this world that could die for you even if they wanted to.  The payment for our sin required sinless blood, and Jesus is only one that qualified for this position.  He is the Risen Savior.

            So this Memorial Day, as remember our soldiers that have served this country, let us also remember our Savior Jesus Christ.  His blood was spilled on the cross for our benefit.  John 14:15 tells us, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 

John 10:10 Part 1 (Good God, Bad Devil)

The thief cometh not, for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:  I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  John 10:10

     In my next few post, we will be examining this verse from several different angles. This is such a rich verse with many “nuggets” that we will dig for.  However, in this particular post, I want to examine the subtitle--Good God, Bad Devil.
  In John 10:10, Jesus exposes the agenda of Satan.  As we can see, the devil has nothing good for us.  He hates us with great hatred because God is in love with us.  Since he knows he can’t mess with God, He tries to mess with God’s children (u and I).  What irks me more than anything is when somebody blames God for their misfortune.  Under the new testament/covenant, you can’t find one situation were God was the root of the calamity.  In fact, Jesus makes a very bold statement in John 14.

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? John 14:9 

In other words, Jesus is saying that if you want to know how God would respond to any situation, just watch me.  In the 1st chapter of the book of Hebrews, the amplified bible tells us that Jesus is the perfect imprint and very image of God’s nature.  The New Living translation of the bible tells us that Jesus expresses the very character of God.  Still, the Message bible says, This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature.  When we see Jesus in the bible, we see God in man.
  Remember when the religious leaders of Jesus’ time caught that woman in adultery.  They were ready to stone her to death!  However, the Lord told them all that the person that does not have any sin can throw the first rock at her.  After all of the church leaders left, it was just the woman and Jesus.  Now keep in mind that the person without any sin was Jesus.  He had the right to knock her upside the head until she died!  Nevertheless, what did he say?  He told her that I don’t condemn you, and then Jesus told her to go and sin no more.  This is the kind of God we serve.  He is not out to cause us harm or calamity.  He is a loving and forgiving God.

For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to for give; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.  Psalm 86:5

This verse proclaims that God is ready to forgive!  However, many people that are ignorant of the character of God, will tell you that God is ready to give you some problem.  Remember our main verse (John 10:10).  The devil’s agenda is to cause harm and misfortune.  Jesus is on our side, and he wants us blessed.  Don’t listen to people that attribute misfortune as the workings of God.  They cannot prove it using scripture under the new covenant.  
  Not too long ago, I was attended the funeral of a young man who committed suicide.  It was a very sad tragedy, and it shook our community.  One of the ministers that were there made a comment that was totally wrong.  He went on to say how terrible this situation was.  Next, he said that we don’t know why God does these things, but perhaps it was to get everyone together in church.  I wanted to snatch that microphone out of his hand and tell him to sit down!  GOD IS NOT A KILLER!  In the life of Jesus, how many people did Jesus kill?  Now take that number and compare it to how many people did Jesus heal?    Lets not forget that when we see Jesus, we see the Father.  Jesus never killed, but He always healed.

God's Mercy is Our Pencil Eraser! (partIII)

        Let me start out by paraphrasing the first two parts of this article:  You and I will make mistakes in this life.  The only one to ever do it right was Jesus.  However, it is absolutely vital to know that when we do miss it, we need to run to God-not from God.  The bible says that God  is rich in mercy.  His mercy is our pencil eraser.  When we call on God, for forgiveness of sins, His great mercy swallows up our mistakes!
In Luke 18, Jesus gives us a perfect illustration of the power of God’s mercy.  He tells of a parable about two men that went into the temple to pray.  One man attended church regularly, and the other man was a sinner.  Luke 18:11, says the man that went to church prayed like this, …God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  (12) I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
       However, the sinner prayed a different prayer.  Luke 18:13 says his prayer went like this, …God be merciful to me a sinner.  Now look at what Jesus says in the next verse, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other…  What is Jesus saying?  Good deeds do not make you right before God.  Now don’t get me wrong, we are supposed to do those things that the first man did.  However, our motive should not be if I can just do enough good deeds, then God may accept me.  As Christians, we are right before God because of the power of His mercy and the precious blood of Jesus!
If you have ever read Psalm 136, I think that you can see the Holy Spirit is trying to drill something in our heads.  Twenty-six times, the Holy Spirit through David pens this inspirational phrase:  for his mercy endureth for ever.  One definition for the word endure is to continue in existence.  That is exactly what God’s mercy has done through out the ages!  His mercy has continued to exist.  Just think of all the sins that have been committed since Adam and Eve.  Yet, God stills has fresh mercy for us everyday!

God's Mercy is Our Pencil Eraser! (partII)

In part I, I discussed how the mercy of God is very similar to a pencil eraser.  Just think back (way back :)) when you were in your early grade school years.  Remember how important an eraser was.  You may have answered that two plus two is five, or maybe you left one of the e’s out when tried to spell green.  No matter the mistake, as long as you caught it before you turned your assignment in, you could just turn your pencil upside down and erase it!
Even though you actually answered the question wrong, when you erased that wrong answer, it was as if you never made that mistake.  You could have been penalized for that mistake.  It could have affected your score.  Depending on your situation, your mistake could have held you back.  Possibly, you might not make it to the next level!  However, that eraser is much more valuable than just a chewing toy ( I never knew why some kids chewed on their eraser--Yuck).  That eraser just saved your butt, and in my case I mean that literally.
That is exactly what the Mercy of God has done.  It has saved our butts!  Look at Titus 3:5, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.  I am so thankful that our God is a merciful God.  Where would we be without His mercy?  That is a scary thought.  The bible says that God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4)!  You wanna know how rich God is in mercy?  Go with me to Lamentations 3:22, It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. (23) They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.  There will be days when you just do something stupid; there will be days when you say something stupid; there may be day when you mess up all day long.  When them days come around, repent to the Lord for your “mess ups”, and realize that God is cooking up a fresh batch of mercy in the morning!  Now that, my friend, is what I call being rich in mercy.

God's Mercy is Our Pencil Eraser (part 1)

I don’t have much use for a pencil anymore.  Not since my first couple of years of high school have I routinely used a pencil. As I got older, I noticed my teachers would allow us to use pens.  However, I remember in grade school a pencil was a primary requirement for school.  Just as much as I had to have a pencil, I also had to have an eraser.   There are many types of erasers.  I personally liked the ones that just slide on top of my pencil.
There are many, many people today that live in constant torment because of past decisions, failures, and mistakes.  The devil is relentlessly reminding these people of their flawed past.  Too often severe depression plays a major role in their life.  “After all you made that bed, so you lay in it”!
Well God sent me to tell you that He wants to make up your bed! Over and over in the Word, the Holy Spirit has pointed out to me how that God’s Mercy is our pencil eraser.  In other words, that messed up past (no matter how messed up it is) is no match for God’s Mercy!
In the first book of Timothy, chapter one, Paul describes himself before Christ as being “The Chief Sinner”.  Paul is basically saying that of all the sinners on the earth during that time, I was the leader!  The devil deceived Paul into believing that by killing the Christians he was doing God a just service.  Nevertheless, look at what Paul writes in 1st Tim Ch. 1:16, Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, … Paul clearly insinuates that yes I did have a messed up pass, but because of God’s Mercy it has been erased.  King David said the same thing in Psalm 94:18, When I said, “My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord held me up.  This is very powerful verse! Of coarse there will be times when you slip up and do something stupid.  That slip should have set you back; it should have caused a major delay in receiving from God.  However, your mess up ain’t bigger than God’s Mercy!!!!  The Mercy of God is available to assist you to finish your course.  I’m not preaching you can do what ever you want and it is o.k.  I’m saying to the person that is in the will of God, and he/she is pursuing God with real passion His Mercy is available.  Always remember this:  On the other side of your obedience to God is your blessing!