November 1 - Friday

(Healing Comes From Doing, Not From Sitting) -OR- (Doing Something Vs. Nothing)

Today's Reading - Luke 14 - 17

(Luke 17:14 KJV) "And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed."

In today's reading, we begin the month of November on a major principle of the Christian Walk. Jesus was walking into a village, where a few lepers had met Him and asked Him if He would have mercy on them. Now, this is quite an interesting situation, because Jesus did not heal them when they were sitting right there. Instead, He gave them the command to, "Go show yourselves unto the priests." Here we have a similar situation, like in the wedding of Cana, when Jesus merely spoke the Word, and the water was turned into the best wine. Here we see that Jesus just told them to go to the priest. Their healing came when they began to move. Jesus is giving us a great principle here in that the great blessings in the Christian life come from doing, and not from sitting.

These ten lepers remind me of good church people who think that the blessings of the Christian Walk come from sitting in church and then adopting a passive lifestyle. In reality, there is no such thing as a passive Christian life. Aggressive Christianity is the method that God uses to spread the Word as found in Scripture. Can anyone point to Peter (after Pentecost) or Paul and say they were passive? Can anyone say that the martyrs in the early church and the church in the Middle Ages were passive? Then where do we get the idea that we should be passive? I'll tell you! --From Satan! Satan loves "Couch Potato Christianity!" We can work 60 hours a week for a boss who doesn't like us, yet we can't give five hours to THE boss who loves us and died for us? It was when the lepers obeyed the command of the Lord is when they experienced the blessings in their lives. In this discourse, we also see only one leper returning to thank Jesus for the healing. The other nine just kept on going without saying even a mere, "Thank You." This reminds me: Husbands, when was the last time that you sincerely thanked God for your wife, or do you just take her as part of a Heavenly Grant Program?

Yesterday was Reformation Day, and as God opened the eyes of millions to the truths of Scripture, today would be a good day to put into action the principle in today's verse. Maybe you haven't seen too many extra blessings in your Christian Walk lately, simply because you are not taking the Lord's command to get involved in some phase of Christian Work. Please don't say you are too busy, because God can easily remove whatever you believe is hindering you. There is NO limit to the ways that a Christian can get involved. You see, we must do something, not only because we are commanded to do so, but in the USA, there are false major religions encroaching upon our nation, and many people are falling into its traps. Even if people do not become saved by the materials we hand out, at least we are getting the Truth out to the populous. Out of our efforts, there will be some that become saved, but maybe only one out of ten, like the ratio of thankful lepers to unthankful lepers. Nevertheless, it is our responsibility to get the True Gospel out, no matter who gets saved. Numbers are not our concern. Keep in mind that Noah preached for over one hundred years. He was faithful to God's message, even though there were no results. NEVER get discouraged in doing ministry. If it is done to God's Glory, then He will handle the results.

I remember about seven years ago, I was discussing preaching with a Minister friend of mine, and I had asked him a question out of disgust, "What is the purpose of preaching? Does it really change lives? Are they really listening?" His response to me was, "That's none of your business. You just be faithful to God in your preaching." He was right! Our responsibility as Christians is to be obedient like the ten lepers AND thankful like the one.

(Isaiah 55:11 KJV) "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

 

November 2 - Saturday

(When We See False Gospels/Apostasy) -OR- (Abomination Of Desolation/Armies Of Satan)

Today's Reading - Luke 18 - 21

(Luke 21:20 KJV) "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh."

In today's reading, we come across a prophecy, which is related to every Christian. Luke 21 is closely tied to Mark 13 and Matthew 24, in that they are all prophetic chapters. Many people look at these verses and believe they are speaking of National Israel, and this is why so many people believe that end-time focus needs to be on the Middle East. Well, that is problematic in that nowhere in the Bible are we told to interpret the Bible according to events outside of the Bible.

(1 Cor 2:13 KJV) "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

We are to interpret the Bible with the Bible, and NOT political or other world events. Prophecy preachers make millions of dollars writing false prophecy books, because they know Christian gullibility is at an all-time high concerning this area of prophecy. The problem is that the armies which surround Jerusalem are not physical armies, but the armies of Satan. These are the ones which bring the desolation. In Matthew 24:15, the Bible refers to this as "the abomination of desolation." It was prophesied as far back as the time of Daniel. In our Luke verse, the word "see" is the word in Greek, which carries with it the meaning of a "physical seeing and knowing." This word has double duty, but is apropos for understanding the meaning of this verse.

If we are to understand the meaning of this verse, we must also know which Jerusalem is in view. In Galatians 4, there are two Jerusalems. One is the heavenly Jerusalem, which pertains to the body of believers, which is otherwise known as the New Jerusalem. The other Jerusalem is the physical Jerusalem, which pertains to the Law. The believers are in the New Jerusalem, which means we approach Luke 21 from the standpoint of believers --and not unbelievers under the Law. The reason we do this is because in Luke 21, those whom the Lord is speaking to are the believers. He is not speaking to those under the Law and in the synagogue system, because they are already under the abomination of desolation, and since they are spiritually-dead, they cannot recognize it. And the only ones who can recognize spiritually assessed situations are those who have become saved.

When we look at our Luke verse, we are told when we "see." This, of course, means when we physically see and know, which is why the word "eidon" in the Greek is so apropos. For example, when we go into our church on Sunday, and last week we had a saved man in the pulpit preaching to us, but then this week, we have a different man speaking to us who is speaking about everything but the Bible. So we give him another chance, and the following week, he tells us that it is God's Will that we save the whales and our environment, plus we must be tolerant of homosexuality. At that point, we will know that the man in the pulpit is an unbeliever. Since Satan is not omnipresent and cannot be in every unsaved congregation, he has many unbelievers in the pulpit. As believers who know the True Gospel, we are not only seeing physically a man, but we are hearing him teach a false Gospel. So within the next few weeks, we see an exodus of believers from that congregation, and what is left? It is a spiritually-dead man teaching worldly things. His unsaved teachings have desolated that church, and with the Christians gone, it has become a desolate place, because there is no more True Gospel being preached. The abomination is the false Gospel in individual congregations, which makes them desolate like deserts.

(Mat 23:38 KJV) "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."

This verse comes from a discourse where Jesus is telling the religious leaders that since they reject Him, their house is left desolate. Without Christ in the churches, it is left desolate. Now does this principle apply only to churches? It applies to every and any ministry, which was once faithful, but has now fallen into apostasy. Christians are found both inside the church and outside, especially in lands where Christianity is forbidden. As we get closer to the End, the True, unadulterated Gospel will be harder and harder to find. This Luke verse also tells us that with the church and ministry situation today, we are very close to the End.

(Rev 11:7 KJV) "And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."

There is going to come a time when the desolation will be complete, which will usher in the end of time and the beginning of Eternity. --Are You Ready?


November 3 - Sunday

(Belief & Unbelief Of The Resurrection)

Today's Reading - Luke 22 - 24

(Luke 24:11 KJV) "And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not."

In today's reading, we come across this verse, which is quite interesting. After the Crucifixion, on Sunday, the followers of Jesus went to prepare the body for burial. When the women came to the tomb, they had found the rock rolled away, and the angel told them that the Lord had risen. I don't know about you, but I would have been scared. So they came and told the disciples that the body of Jesus was not there. Our verse above says that the disciples did not believe the women. Yet, in verse 12, it says that Peter got up and ran to the tomb. This brings up a principle we need to be careful of. Peter did not believe that the Lord's body was missing, yet he ran to the tomb. This means that a person can be just as zealous in operating their life in unbelief, as they can in belief. Only God can change that "tomb experience" into a "Resurrection experience." Then the Lord had made some appearances to the disciples, yet, some of them did not believe. In the Book of Matthew, Jesus came to his disciples after the Resurrection and yet some did not believe.

(Mat 28:17 KJV) "And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted."

This, I do not understand. If He was right there in front of them, then how could you not believe you are seeing Him? It baffles me, but this verse is very important for the believer, because it shows us that whenever we are going to preach about the Resurrection, there is going to be much doubt. If there was doubt by His disciples when they literally saw Him, then we can expect doubt from unbelievers who are spiritually-dead and unable to accept the Resurrection by words alone.

There were so many false theories about the Resurrection. One of them was started by the Gnostics, which is the false teaching that Jesus did not rise from the grave bodily, but only spiritually. The Jehovah's Witnesses still believe the error that Christ rose only in spirit, and not in body. The two verses to use that put that theory to death is a simple one:

(Luke 24:42-43 KJV) "And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. {43} And he took it, and did eat before them."

A spirit does not eat food. It behooves us Christians to have answers to some of these so-called "intellectual assessments" of the Resurrection. Of course, we know that spiritual things to the unbeliever is foolishness, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 1. Even the disciples thought it was idle tales. Without the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is NO hope for anyone in this world. Paul even says that we would be the most miserable. This is because we would be hoping in something that does not exist. The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest Hope that mankind has, since it proves that death is not the final conqueror of humanity.

I wonder how many that died in the World Trade Center, whose bodies were never found, are going to be resurrected with their new body on the Last Day? Resurrection Day for humanity is going to be a great and horrible day. It will be great for the Christians who will be resurrected unto Eternal Life, but horrible for those unbelievers who will be resurrected to Eternal Damnation. But in the meantime, continue to teach about the Resurrection. Many may not believe you, but there might be one who will run to the tomb, and have their unbelief turned into belief.


November 4 - Monday

(Intellectuals Understanding Spiritual Things)

Today's Reading - John 1 - 3

(John 3:10 KJV) "Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?"

In today's reading, we come across this very famous discourse between Jesus and Nicodemus, who had become saved. Up to this point, Nicodemus was having a discourse with Jesus on a different level. The Lord was speaking to him in heavenly terms, but Nicodemus was only understanding these things on an earthly level. Now, Jesus did not castigate Nicodemus for not understanding the spiritual aspects of the conversation, because he was obviously trying to reason these things out in his mind.

This is the way many people are when they are presented with the Gospel. These people create a challenge when they come back with questions, like Nicodemus did. Instead of us casting off the idea that those who are thinkers are not able to be saved, we must also keep in mind that God does not gain much glory from Christians who choose not to think. There is nothing wrong or sinful about using the intellect that God gave us. God not only has His Elect among the poor people, but He also has them among the intellectual community. Eventually, they will become saved, if they are God's Elect. Can we doubt that Nicodemus was an educated man? Now, it is true that many times education does get in the way of trying to understand spiritual things. This is because they are both on different levels.

God does not condemn education, but when education becomes our god, then we need to back off. I have heard theologians and pastors make their messages and articles so difficult to understand, because of all the intellectualism used in their presentations. We must be very careful that we are not filtering our Gospel message through our diplomas. The bottom line is that the majority of people we speak to will not be Ph.D's, and we should not try to impress them with speech that is filled with 12-letter words. Quite frankly, I get bored at those presentations. Worldly philosophy and education is touted by many, and these people want to be spoken to on their intellectual level. Don't condemn them for this, but instead, speak with them as lost people. Don't stand there and yell at them, "Turn or Burn!" Those kind of statements really devalue the truths of the Gospel. Instead, we want to gain a hearing by these people, and we want them to respect us as people.

Now, I am not saying that we reduce our zeal, or even butter up the truth of Hell, but smart people need to be reasoned with and convinced. Jesus could have said to Nicodemus, "If you don't get saved, you will go to Hell," and then just left him standing there. Jesus took time with Nicodemus, and this is a principle of witnessing to people. Remember, we need smart people in this world, and they should not be condemned. Would you like to have your Gall Bladder removed by a guy who cuts lawns, or a trained surgeon? Actually, it might even be easier to witness to a surgeon, because every time they open up a body, they see the magnificence of a special creation. In the Bible, God uses things like money, medicine, military, religion, and government, for the purposes of not only giving us spiritual truths, but to also help us witness to people in various social positions. So don't let these great uses of the Bible escape you. God will do the convicting. All you have to do is the presenting.

 

November 5 - Tuesday

(Our Resurrection On The Last Day) -OR- (Hold On, It's Almost Over!)

Today's Reading - John 4 - 6

(John 5:28-29 KJV) "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, {29} And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."

In today's reading, we come across these verses, which speak of the resurrection of the believer. A few days ago, we saw the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ being the Hope for mankind. Now, when we come across these verses, we see the great Hope that the believer has when it comes to our resurrection. I believe the old timers called it, "That great gittin' up morning." We see that on the Last Day, every human being --both saved and unsaved-- will be resurrected. There are belief systems which teach there will be two separate resurrections: The saved will go up first, and then a few years later, the unsaved will follow. This could not be the proper biblical interpretation, because when we look at our day verses, we see that verse 28 speaks of, "all that are in the graves." If we look at these verses in concert with Matthew 25:31-34, we see that both unbelievers and believers will be standing before the Lord. Notice also that the believers are ushered right into the Kingdom of God, because is there NO Judgment of any kind that the believers have to face? All our sins were paid for at Calvary, and we have been washed clean. The only other Judgment that the Lord Jesus will preside over will be that of the unbeliever.

Many times, I have frequented old cemeteries and have seen many of the old stones, which carry on them the Hope of the Resurrection. Too bad when we started hitting the end of the 19th century, the testimonies of Hope, which were written on the stones, were reduced to a hyphen. It is nice when walking through any cemetery to read the final testimony of a believer. All of them that have been buried for hundreds of years are just bones, but on that Great Morning, when death shall be turned into Life, all the believers are going to shine as the Noon day sun. Then we will see all the dry bones in the graves of the believers become a person. It is just like the dry bones in Ezekiel 37, which became the Redeemed church of God. The prophecy is going to be fulfilled in its entirety on the Last Day.

The Resurrection is what sets Christianity apart from every other major, so-called faith. Even Peter says to the Lord that who should we go to since He has the words of Eternal Life. Christianity is the most hopeful of all "religions" on this earth, yet, it is the most hated and persecuted. This is why many will be weeping at the Judgment Seat of Christ, for they will see that what they had persecuted was the ONLY Way of Eternal Life. But on that same Day, what joy awaits the Christian, because ALL the suffering will be gone, and an Eternity of Peace and Joy will begin! --Hold on, brethren, it's almost over!

 

November 6 - Wednesday

Today’s Reading - John 7 - 10

Today’s Zion’s Gate was written by Bishop Jerry Ogles of the Orthodox Anglican Church. URL is a bottom of Page.

The Crux of the Matter

“Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.” - Gospel of St. John 8:56

~ by Bishop Jerry Ogles

 

CRUX is the Latin word for cross. The English language is much influenced, in its derivation of words, by the Latin. For example: excruciating is our English word for severe pain whose intensity is so great that it is incomprehensible. It is made up of two Latin derivatives: Ex, or ‘from‘, or ‘out of‘; and Crux, or ‘cross‘. When joined together, the combined meaning is “pain as from the cross“.

The word crux in English means the “essential point, or deciding factor. For all of humanity , the Cross of Christ is the great point of decision for all time and eternity. It is the most profound event that has ever occurred, or will ever occur, in the history of the world.

Let us go on a journey in time - a journey of the imagination. Remember back to a time preceding your own birth, further back to the great Reformation, back still further to the time of Christ.... Continue back in time to the days of Abraham, Noah, Adam.....back still further when the world was “without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” Back even further to a point in time when there was not even this formless mass we call Earth...back to a point in Eternity Past when there was only God. This is a point in Eternity where there was only the Powers of Heaven to comprehend all of reality - a point during which the Triune God and His great Heaven existed apart and alone from all that we know as Time. “.....for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” - Gospel of St. John 17:24.

The Great Father God determined in His omniscient Wisdom that He would create a world whose canopy would be the starry expanse of celestial lights and beauty. And in that world, He would place the crowning achievement of His creative genius - Man. The imperative that Man would need a Savior did not escape the foreknowledge of this Creator God. “But with the precious Blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” -1 Peter 1:19-20

The Cross of Christ was ordained of God the Father to be the CRUX of all time and eternity - an epochal event of utmost cataclysmic proportion. The single event which divided, not only earthly time, but the timeless scale of Eternity into two divisions: before and after. It is so crucial to the history of the earth that we base all our calendar calculations on the periods Before Christ (B.C.) and after His dominion (A.D. or Anno Domini). All the righteous of the centuries preceding this great event looked forward to His coming; and all believing peoples of our day look back in the Hope and Sure knowledge of that great event which enabled us to approach the Throne of Grace through His shed blood at Calvary.

But the great Redemptive act of Christ would have profited us nothing except that the events of that first Easter morning should have transpired. Though others, such as Enoch and Elijah, were translated directly to God, and still others awakened from the deep sleep of death, yet no man had ever risen by force of His own Word from the eternal sleep of death; yet Christ rose, “according to the scriptures” on the third day following these events.

The Saints of ages past yearned, in their graves, to see this great event - an event that would free them from eternal darkness and arouse them from the depth of their sleep to the eternal life assured them, and all others, who were in Christ. On that first Easter morning, Christ defeated death and Hell for us and thereby made it possible for us, the elect of God, to have everlasting Life in Christ. Being in Him, we too shall arise from the power of death to eternal life. For He it is who paid our sin penalty and reconciled us to the Father. He has become our Ark of Hope in these latter days so that, just as surely as the Ark of Noah was lifted up above the turbid waters of the Flood, so may each of us be lifted above the ruin and damnation which will surely come upon the earth to those who do not believe. It was the events of Easter morning, two thousand years ago, which enabled us to enjoy eternal Life in Christ.

My friends - brothers and sisters - are you and your loved ones securely aboard the Ark of Christ? This is the most pressing matter in your conscious life upon this earth. Please, without delay, make your salvation sure in Christ this moment while the great door of the Ark is open and you are being invited to board. - in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

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November 7 - Thursday

Today’s Reading - John 11 - 13

(John 11:35 KJV) Jesus wept.

In today’s reading we come across this most memorized verse by Sunday School children in the world. Remember when the teacher told us to memorize a Scripture verse? What was the first one we wanted to memorize? John 11:35! These two words present a very powerful picture of Jesus. Many times we see Him walking the dusty roads of Palestine teaching and bringing the Gospel to many people. We also see Him rebuke the religious leaders for their hypocrisy. In this verse, which is in the middle of the greatest picture of salvation, where Jesus raises Lazarus. Lazarus was in the tomb for four days and that length of times was significant because in Jewish thought, the spirit of the deceased person remained with the body for three days but on the fourth day, it left the body. Jesus had arrived at Bethany after Lazarus had died. Now He knew exactly what He was going to do because He intentionally delayed His arrival. He could have gone to Mary and Martha and said, “don’t worry about anything because soon you will see your brother again.” He didn’t come with a jovial air about Him, instead He commiserated with the grieving people and wept with them. This is because Jesus knew what devastation sin had brought into the world and with it one of the most horrible consequences, which was death. It is because of sin that the human body suffers deterioration and dies. Even though we never view it this way, it is really a blessing in disguise. If Adam and Eve would have eaten from the tree of life, after sinning, then every human being would be living in the sick or deteriorated condition for eternity.

Would you like to live with crippling Arthritis or painful cancer for eternity? It was an act of mercy on the part of God of expelling them from the Garden of Eden. Even though this chapter deals with death, yet our verse shows a great empathy that the creator of the universe has for those who lose loved ones. Jesus can be touched with all the frailties of life. (Heb 4:15 KJV) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. The Bible teaches that God is never detached from His children. When we hurt, He is sensitive to that. Whenever we go through those valley experiences, we will encounter the Father heart of God as He gently cares for His children. Too many times we follow the religious description of God and only view Him as a Judge. As Christians we must always remember that God is constantly involved with the lives of His children. He sees the suffering that we go through but eventually there is going to be an end to that suffering. It will be on that great gittin’ up morning. Until then we must endure the suffering that comes into our lives as it does in the lives of every human being. Jesus can always be touched and He never turns us away. Whenever we weep before the Lord, He is always affected by our situation. He treats us tenderly and does not treat us harshly. Sometimes our greatest understanding of God comes from when we go through the valley tears. We serve a compassionate God! (Psa 56:8 KJV) Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

 

November 8 - Friday

Today’s Reading - John 14 - 17

(John 14:27 KJV) Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

In today’s reading we come across this very famous verse which speaks to us concerning the peace that will pervade a Christian’s life. Notice I stated that it “will” pervade a Christian’s life because the peace that the Lord Jesus Christ gives us is part of our permanent inheritance. The peace that the world gives is an outward based peace, rather than the inward based peace the Lord gives us. The peace of the world is also dependent on many factors. Some of them are situation, times set aside for peace such as vacations, weekends, etc. The peace that the Lord gives His children is only dependent on Him, and there are no variables in His peace. The only variables that the Christian is subject to, is outward circumstances. These circumstances will never affect the true peace that God gives us, simply because the peace is rooted in Him and not the worldly situations which fluctuate, plus it is applied to the inward person through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The peace that Jesus gives His children is a stabilizing peace. Whenever we encounter a situation in our life which seems to be overwhelming, the peace of God will rule in our hearts and stabilize both our actions and thoughts. (Col 3:15 KJV) And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. We get into trouble when we allow our emotions, in reaction to a situation, override the peace of Christ. That is when things get out of control.

The stabilizing peace the Lord Jesus gives us will allow us to think clearly and be “sober minded” in every and any situation. Another great tenet of the peace of Christ is that it is contagious. Have you ever been able to mollify a situation by allowing the peace of Christ to rule you, thus allowing it to spill over into the situation you are in? It allows you to see a situation in a manner like “spiritual triage.” Then you will be able to allow proper linear thinking to take over, even at the height of a serious situation. The peace the Lord gives us is also the real peace which the world and all its allurements tries to emulate. If there is one thing this world cannot imitate, it is trying to use the temporary to imitate the permanent. The peace we have is a permanent part of our life and not parceled out. For some people the next time they may experience peace will be their vacation or even this weekend. For the child of God, that peace is as stable on Monday morning as it is on Sunday morning. Let me give a warning here about the peace of Christ ruling in your life. It may cause people to misunderstand you. It will appear to some that because you are not panicking, that you are not really concerned. In my own life, I have faced this. Some people have accused me of being indifferent to the situation at hand simply because my blood pressure was not through the ceiling and my face all red. The world handles its situations based on either panic, revenge, or reaction. We Christians handle situations under girded by the peace of God which causes us to act. Whenever we react, it is because of a fleshly reversion. This is why when something crops up in your life, it is always the wise thing to assess the situation. Remember what Nehemiah did? He went out by night, without telling anyone he was doing this, and assessed the situation of the task at hand. If you have been operating in panic mode, then allow the peace of Christ to rule in your hearts and you will see a tremendous difference in the way you handle things plus the outcome will be better for you and those involved. Don’t allow the unsaved to intimidate you concerning a peaceful tenacity in your life. Instead, you show them one of the greatest benefits of your salvation, PEACE!

 

November 9 - Saturday

Today’s Reading - John 18 -21

(John 19:30 KJV) When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which is the pivotal verse in God’s salvation plan pointing to the fact that it is now complete. The words “it is finished” in the Greek is one word which means that “it is completed.” The verse is speaking of God’s salvation plan. This salvation plan was begun in eternity in which God had written all the names of His Elect in the Book of Life before the foundation of the world. Now many people despise this biblical fact. Here are two verses which plainly states these names were already written:

(Rev 13:8 KJV) And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

(Rev 17:8 KJV) The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

When we look at these two verses, we see that God has already named those He was going to save.

(Heb 4:3 KJV) For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

This verse teaches us that the works, in principle, were finished before the world was created. Our daily verse teaches us that the sealing of the Elect of God took place when the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary and completed the salvation program for those who God was going to save. Now for those of us who live 2000 years after the cross, God is still applying His Grace to those whom He wrote in the Book of Life. Now some would say, “If God already knows who He is going to save, then why should we evangelize?” Let me answer that with another question. Do you know who God is planning to save? None of us do, but we are commanded to go forth with the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Why?

(1 John 2:2 KJV) And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

This verse teaches us that John is telling the local believers that the sacrifice of Christ not only covers their sins, but all the Elect in the world who will become saved through the preaching of the Word. Let us look at it from another vantage point. The Bible teaches that man is spiritually dead. (Eph 2:5 KJV) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Now since man is spiritually dead, this means that he is unable to regenerate himself. If salvation was up to man to accept or reject, he would, by instinct reject, because he needs to be regenerated from the outside. God has to do the work of regeneration before anyone can believe. Therefore, if man is dead and incapable of understanding his need of salvation, you could preach the Gospel till you are blue in the face and they will never accept. The question then remains, “Why evangelize if man cannot accept on his own?

Many years ago, when Spurgeon was preaching, a lady come up to him and asked him, “Aren’t you supposed to be preaching to the Elect?” Spurgeon responded, “bring all the Elect to me and I will preach to them.” We do not know who God has chosen for salvation and that is why we are to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Questions like, “what about remote tribes in unreached areas?” The Bible has an answer for that. (Rom 1:20 KJV) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: If no Gospel message is specifically preached to a certain group or place, then God will have no Elect there, yet, they have the testimony of creation. If there is some of God’s Elect in a remote area, He will get the Word of God to them so they can hear and be saved. This Biblical doctrine is rejected by many who put man as sovereign and God as the beggar in salvation. This cannot be! Christ died for a certain group of people and not for every human being in the world. It is a tough cookie to swallow but it is a biblical doctrine. To hate it, is to hate biblical truth. If you are a Child of God, then thank Him today that your name is on the books.

 

November 10

Today’s Reading - Acts 1 - 2

(Acts 1:7 KJV) And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which gives Christians and other a stern warning. Right before the Lord Jesus ascended into Heaven, He gave a commission to His disciples. That commission was to wait for the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Then they were to go out and begin the process of evangelizing the world which may possibly culminate in our day. However, when we look at verse seven, we are seeing an answer to a query. The disciples had asked the Lord if He was going to restore the Kingdom of Israel at this time? The Lord did not answer that question but He refocused their attention on the issue at hand and that was the beginning of the sending forth of the gospel to the world. This verse brings up an issue which has caused much dismay in the Christian community. It is the issue of date setting. The disciples were wondering if now was the time that Christ was going to restore Israel. They were stuck in the present and instead of looking to the future and what their tasks were, they were concerned about a kingdom of their own. This is the problem we run into with date setters. They focus on some date which they believe the Lord Jesus Christ will return, and then the adherents will go along with it and continue to try and bring in more evidence of that date. While this is going on, what has happened is that many Christians have been sidetracked from evangelism to follow a possible date.

There is one person who claims that December 25, next month, the Lord will return. Some have set dates of 2007, 2011, and others. Many of these so-called date setters use dreams and visions to claim their authority for dates. Some believe they have put time paths together from the Bible and claim that authority for their date. No matter how you arrive at it, it will always be erroneous. The day of the Lord’s return is set in the secret counsels of God and will happen in His time. The Bible tells us that the Lord will return as a thief in the night. This means it is going to be at a time when He is not expected. Does a thief do a mailing and tell his intended victims what day he is going to rob their house? Of course not! If God allowed someone to come up with the correct date, then everyone would be warned and the Scripture could not be fulfilled which would mean that we have two erroneous Scriptures, which cannot happen. (1 Th 5:2 KJV) For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. (2 Pet 3:10 KJV) 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. So the next time you come across someone who claims they have the date of the Lord’s return, just leave them and do not waste your time even listening to them because they have been sidetracked and diverted from the global mission at hand. Don’t fall into their snare of an elaborate system of numbers and rationale, because it may divert you and completely change your direction. Beware!

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