Last night at Bible study, we read from 2 Timothy 3. As we read, a certain video I had seen on YouTube instantly came to mind. I'd like to share that this morning. Here's the reading, emphasis added.

(v 1) This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. (v 2) For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (v3) Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, (v 4) Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; (v 5) Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (v 6) For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, (v 7) Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 3:1-7

180 Revisited with Mention of Hitler and the RCC

So, a week, or so ago, I had a post about the 180 movie that had just come out. It was very well done and astonishing. I really liked how Mr. Comfort paralleled Hitler's holocaust with the holocaust going on right here in America through legalized abortion. What Hitler was doing in his day was legal but that did NOT make it right. And the same goes for legalized abortion. It may be legal but it is NOT right. Thousands upon thousands of innocent babies are being murdered, and most people think that it is okay! It is absolutely heart-breaking! Thankfully though, those sweet little innocent ones are now resting peacefully.

I wanted to make mention of something else though. I had mentioned in my previous post about how Hitler was a Catholic. Well, I had mentioned some quotes of Hitler in the comments section but yesterday I came across this video about Hitler and the Roman Catholic Church. I did not search out this video. I found out a brother in Christ had a YouTube channel, so I decided to check it out. And I found this video pretty informative, and worthy to share...

I don't share this because I hate Catholics. I don't hate them, I love them. Just as I love ALL people, from ALL religions. The Lord wants history to be known, so that the bad stuff is not repeated. He wants His Truth to be learned by ALL people. If people would just heed His council in the Bible, the world would be a very different place!

Pictures don't lie. Pictures speak volumes. God's people should NOT be shaking hands with Hitler, or his soldiers. God's people should NOT be getting Hitler's autograph! God's people should NOT be saluting Hitler. God's people SHOULD be searching His Holy Word for Truth. Only His Word. No man should add their interpretation to the Bible. Why does one need to? The Bible defines itself perfectly!

"For precept [must be] upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little:" -Isaiah 28:10

"All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" -2 Timothy 3:16

"What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it." Deuteronomy 12:32

"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." -2 Peter 1:20

I pray everyone, everywhere finds the Lord's Perfect Truth. Sadly though, some will find it but will turn their feet from it. And the Lord tells us in His infallible Word , "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:" -2 Thessalonians 2:11.

How Big is God?

God is so big, we can't even imagine!!! Isn't it amazing that the God of the universe loves us, and care for us? It is so hard for me to understand why He cares about me. I have to realize that that is how BIG He is! He is so big that He cares about even me, a lowly sinner. WOW!!

Here's a little video to help see how small we are, and how BIG God is. He truly is an amazing, loving God!

180

Yesterday I watched the movie "180", by Ray Comfort from Living Waters. All I can say is, WOW! If you haven't watched it yet, I recommend that you do. It was so sad at the beginning when people were asked if they knew who Adolf Hitler was, and they had no clue. The Holocaust was not that long ago, and people are too busy with nonsense to learn history. My children will not be like this. They will know our world's past. It is so very important.

Like I said, I do recommend the video. I just want to point out a few things that I thought are just as important to mention, that were not. It's true Hitler hated the Jews, and Christians. But, it didn't mention that Hitler was a Catholic. Here is Hitler and the Pope shaking hands. 

Interesting.

I'm guessing that wasn't really impertinent information for the message that was trying to be put across in the video. And, I get that. I just wanted to point that out. Also, when Mr.Comfort is talking about the Ten Commandments, and how the people are breaking them, he never once talks about the 4th Commandment. You know, the one that God specifically tells us to REMEMBER. The one and *only* commandment that men have thought to change (Daniel 7:25). Even though we are told by Jesus that He has not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17). And, we are to do as Jesus did. Which, by the way, He kept ALL of His Father's Commandments. Including the 7th day Sabbath.

Interesting.

So yeah, great movie to watch and share. People really do need to be aware of the Holocaust going on right now. I just wanted to point out those other things as well because they popped into my mind while I was watching it.

Still, Small Voice

This morning, as I was reading through our church's youth study for today, this excerpt from Prophets and Kings by Ellen White really spoke to me. It gave me some comfort, and opened my eyes. In light of the events that have taken place in this last week, this is something I needed to read. I hope it blesses you as well.

 "What Doest Thou Here?"

     Elijah's retreat on Mount Horeb, though hidden from man, was known to God; and the weary and discouraged prophet was not left to struggle alone with the powers of darkness that were pressing upon him. At the entrance to the cave wherein Elijah had taken refuge, God met with him, through a mighty angel sent to inquire into his needs and to make plain the divine purpose for Israel. 

     Not until Elijah had learned to trust wholly in God could he complete his work for those who had been seduced into Baal worship. The signal triumph on the heights of Carmel had opened the way for still greater victories; yet from the wonderful opportunities opening before him, Elijah had been turned away by the threat of Jezebel. The man of God must be made to understand the weakness of his present position as compared with the vantage ground the Lord would have him occupy. 

     In bitterness of soul Elijah mourned out his complaint: "I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." 

     Calling upon the prophet to leave the cave, the angel bade him stand before the Lord on the mount, and listen to His word. "And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave." 

     Not in mighty manifestations of divine power, but by "a still small voice," did God choose to reveal Himself to His servant. He desired to teach Elijah that it is not always the work that makes the greatest demonstration that is most successful in accomplishing His purpose. While Elijah waited for the revelation of the Lord, a tempest rolled, the lightnings flashed, and a devouring fire swept by; but God was not in all this. Then there came a still, small voice, and the prophet covered his head before the presence of the Lord. His petulance was silenced, his spirit softened and subdued. He now knew that a quiet trust, a firm reliance on God, would ever find for him a present help in time of need. 

     It is not always the most learned presentation of God's truth that convicts and converts the soul. Not by eloquence or logic are men's hearts reached, but by the sweet influences of the Holy Spirit, which operate quietly yet surely in transforming and developing character. It is the still, small voice of the Spirit of God that has power to change the heart. 

     "What doest thou here, Elijah?" the voice inquired; and again the prophet answered, "I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." 

     The Lord answered Elijah that the wrongdoers in Israel should not go unpunished. Men were to be especially chosen to fulfill the divine purpose in the punishment of the idolatrous kingdom. There was stern work to be done, that all might be given opportunity to take their position on the side of the true God. Elijah himself was to return to Israel, and share with others the burden of bringing about a reformation. 

       Elijah had thought that he alone in Israel was a worshiper of the true God. But He who reads the hearts of all revealed to the prophet that there were many others who, through the long years of apostasy, had remained true to Him. "I have left Me," God said, "seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." 

     From Elijah's experience during those days of discouragement and apparent defeat there are many lessons to be drawn, lessons invaluable to the servants of God in this age, marked as it is by general departure from right. The apostasy prevailing today is similar to that which in the prophet's day overspread Israel. In the exaltation of the human above the divine, in the praise of popular leaders, in the worship of mammon, and in the placing of the teachings of science above the truths of revelation, multitudes today are following after Baal. Doubt and unbelief are exercising their baleful influence over mind and heart, and many are substituting for the oracles of God the theories of men. It is publicly taught that we have reached a time when human reason should be exalted above the teachings of the Word. The law of God, the divine standard of righteousness, is declared to be of no effect. The enemy of all truth is working with deceptive power to cause men and women to place human institutions where God should be, and to forget that which was ordained for the happiness and salvation of mankind. 

     Yet this apostasy, widespread as it has come to be, is not universal. Not all in the world are lawless and sinful; not all have taken sides with the enemy. God has many thousands who have not bowed the knee to Baal, many who long to understand more fully in regard to Christ and the law, many who are hoping against hope that Jesus will come soon to end the reign of sin and death. And there are many who have been worshiping Baal ignorantly, but with whom the Spirit of God is still striving. 

     These need the personal help of those who have learned to know God and the power of His word. In such a time as this, every child of God should be actively engaged in helping others. As those who have an understanding of Bible truth try to seek out the men and women who are longing for light, angels of God will attend them. And where angels go, none need fear to move forward. As a result of the faithful efforts of consecrated workers, many will be turned from idolatry to the worship of the living God. Many will cease to pay homage to man-made institutions and will take their stand fearlessly on the side of God and His law.

Psalm 119

My family has been reading the Psalms together lately. Each day someone picks a number 1-150, and that's the Psalm we read. Well, last night it was Daddy's turn to choose the number. And, of course, he picks Psalm 119. The longest chapter in the Bible. It has 176 verses! Needless to say, we are breaking that one up over a few days time.

Since it was the beginning of Sabbath, we read the first 2 parts - ALEPH & BETH. (I say parts because they are broken up quite nicely into sections.) And we'll be reading more throughout the day. This morning we read GIMEL. 

v17 Deal bountifully with thy servants, that I may live, and keep thy word.

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.

My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.

Thou has rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.

Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.

Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.

v 24 Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.

What a beautiful Psalm to pray, especially on God's Holy day! I pray that I keep close to the Lord in all things. I pray this for all of you out in cyber land today also. Draw near to Him dear ones! He will draw near to you!

Have a blessed Sabbath day!

Law & Order

God's Law is an amazing thing. He not only spoke it on Mount Sinai but He wrote it with His own finger! He meant business! Did you know that there are three types of laws in the Bible - Moral, Ceremonial & Civil? And all were given to us from God. Our Father sure likes order! Each law type has it's own purpose. They are unique from each other. I want to share with you part of a study we did in church last night. It was great!

Three Types of Laws

The Old Testament contains three basic types of laws – Moral, Ceremonial, and Civil. All

three were given under God’s direction.

Moral Law

The Moral Law is the basis of God’s universal kingdom. It is the expression of God’s

character. It exists because God exists, and as God is, so it is. The Moral Law combines a perfect

blend of justice and mercy. It may be summed up in one word: Love.

All the requirements of God’s Moral Law hang upon two great principles. The first is

Deuteronomy 6:5 - “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and

with all thy might.” The second is Leviticus 19:18 - “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

God created men with His law “written in their hearts.”(4) But because they “did not like to

retain God in their knowledge,”(5) the law was, for the most part, forgotten. It was therefore

necessary for God to express His law in such a way that it would ever be remembered. With His own

mouth He spoke the Ten Commandments, and with His own finger, wrote them on two tables of

stone. The first four commandments, written on the first table, express one’s love for God. The last

six commandments, written on the second table, express one’s love for his neighbor.

To carefully guard the sacredness of the Ten Commandments, God gave Moses additional

precepts with minute instructions for everyday life. These “right judgments” and “good statutes”(6)

were simply applications of the principles of the Ten Commandments, and as such are classed as

moral law.

The Moral Law defines righteousness, but has no power to redeem those who transgress it.

A remedial system was therefore necessary whereby God “might be just, and the justifier of him

which believeth.”(7)

Ceremonial Law

Ceremonial laws were those which regulated the services of the sanctuary, the offering of

sacrifices, and the priestly ministration. The Ceremonial Law is clearly distinguished from the Moral

Law.

Whereas the Moral Law defines the conduct of the righteous, the Ceremonial Law had to do

with the plan of salvation and God’s work of grace for the repentant, believing sinner. It was through

the Ceremonial Law that the righteousness of God was able to be “witnessed by the law and the

prophets.”(8)

Every ordinance of the Ceremonial Law pointed to Christ and His work of saving man from

sin. Every animal that was slain typified Christ’s death on the cross. Every function the priests

performed symbolized Christ’s ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary. Every sacred festival

foreshadowed a saving event in the redemption of the world.

God never gave the Ceremonial Law as a covenant of works whereby one could earn God’s

favor through meritorious acts. There was no saving value in the sacrificial activities themselves. But

through those activities the believer could by faith(9) claim the righteousness of Christ to atone for

his sins. Thus the believer was continually to look forward to the “Lamb of God, which taketh away

the sin of the world.”(10)

Civil Law

Every country has civil regulations and the God-given authority for enforcing law and order.

So to Israel as a nation were given laws governing the administration of justice.(11) These laws,

distinguished by their very nature, were of an inherently national type. Israel was subject to these

laws in the same way in which we are subject to the laws of the land in which we live. “Submit

yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake.” “Let every soul be subject unto the higher

powers. For...the powers that be are ordained of God.”(12)

Unlike the Ceremonial Laws, which were wholly symbolic in nature, the Civil Laws were not

abolished by the death of Christ. Rather, they lost their force when Israel ceased to be a nation. The

following chart contrasts the three types of Old Testament law.

TYPE OF LAW     SUBJECTS OF THE LAW   DURATION OF THE LAW

MORAL                    All people                      Till heaven and earth  pass                                           

CEREMONIAL       All believers                 From Adam’s fall until Christ’s death  

 

CIVIL            All Israelites and From the time of Moses         strangers in the land

The Moral Law: The Historic Protestant Position

The most widely accepted position on the Ten Commandments is reflected in the following

quotations from an introductory article in a popular Bible produced for Sears, Roebuck and Co.(13)

“The enduring stone on which it was written is a clear symbol that His law is permanent and

eternal....What Moses received was the Word of God, which had, and still has the force

of law....They have been written out so that they may ever be before us, and we may

become doers, as well as hearers of God’s law. (Rom. 2:12-15)....It is through His love

for us that He has brought these rules together so that we may be better prepared to face

life.”

However, the idea has been promoted that God has withdrawn His great moral standard of

Ten Commandments, so that we are no longer under obligation to obey it. This teaching represents

a radical departure from the historic Protestant position. Never in the history of Christianity have

churchmen spoken so openly against God’s law as they do today.

Considering the admonition in Jude 3 to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once

delivered unto the saints,” let us review what our forefathers taught regarding the unchanging,

eternally-binding nature of the moral law of God. Here are a few quotations from various individuals and groups.

John Calvin:

“We must not imagine that the coming of Christ has freed us from the authority of the law:

for it is the eternal rule of a devout and holy life, and must, therefore, be as

unchangeable, as the justice of God, which it embraced, is constant and uniform.”(14)

“The law has sustained no dimunution of its authority, but ought always to receive from us

the same veneration and obedience.”(15)

Martin Luther:

“But how does it follow from this that on this account the law should be done away? Such

a conclusion I cannot find in my dialectics; besides, I should like to see and hear the

master who could prove it.

“...He was stricken for our sin – is the law thereby discarded?...Can anyone suppose that sin

exists where there is no law? Whoever puts away the law must also put away sin.”(16)

Charles H. Spurgeon:

“He [Christ] took care to revise and reform the laws of men; but the law of God he

established and confirmed....Our King has not come to abrogate the law, but to confirm

and reassert it....The Lord Jesus does not set up a milder law, nor will he allow any one

of his servants to presume to do so. Our King fulfils the ancient law, and his Spirit works

in us to will and to do of God’s good pleasure as set forth in the immutable statutes of

righteousness.”(19)

“The law is one of the most sublime of God’s works. There is not a commandment too many;

there is not one too few.”(20)

John Wesley:

“In the highest rank of the enemies of the gospel of Christ, are they who...teach men to

break...all the commandments at a stroke; who teach,...`There is but one duty, which is

that of believing.’...It is no other than betraying him with a kiss, to...set light by any part

of his law, under pretence of advancing his gospel.”(21)

“The ritual or ceremonial law, delivered by Moses to the children of Israel,...our Lord did

indeed come to destroy....

“But the moral law contained in the ten commandments, and enforced by the prophets, he

did not take away. It was not the design of his coming to revoke any part of this. This is

a law which never can be broken, which ‘stands fast as the faithful witness in

heaven.’...Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages;

as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstance liable to change.”(22)

Footnotes:

4. Romans 2:15.

5. Romans 1:28.

6. Nehemiah 9:13.

7. Romans 3:26.

8. Romans 3:21.

9. It was “by faith” that Abel “offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he

obtained witness that he was righteous” (Hebrews 11:4). And it was “through faith” that Moses “kept

the passover, and the sprinkling of blood” (Hebrews 11:28).

10. John 1:29.

11. Specific instructions were given regarding the inflicting of penalties for the violation of the Moral

Law (See Leviticus 24:16-20). These Civil Laws reflected mercy as well as justice (See Numbers

35:11-15).

12. 1 Peter 2:13; Romans 13:1.

13. The National Bible Press, Philadelphia, 1958.

14. John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, trans. by William Pringle (Grand

Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1949), Vol. 1, p 277, comment on Matt. 5:17.

15. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, bk. 2, chap. 7, sec. 15, trans. by John Allen (7

th

American ed., rev.; Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Christian Education, 1936), Vol. 1, p 392.

16. Martin Luther, “Wider die Antinomer” (Against the Antinomians) in Sammtliche Schriften, ed. by

Joh[ann] Georg Walch, Vol. 20 (St. Louis: Concordia, 1890), cols. 1613-1614.

17. Samuel Mather, The Gospel of the Old Testament (London: R. B. Seeley and W. Burnside, 1834),

Vol. 1, p 210.

18. D. L. Moody, Weighed and Wanting, Addresses on the Ten Commandments, (Chicago: Fleming

H. Revell Company, 1898), p 10-17.

19. Charles H. Spurgeon, The Gospel of the Kingdom, comment on Matt. 5:17-20 (New York: The

Baker & Taylor Co., 1893), p 47-48.

20. C. H. Spurgeon, Sermons, 2d series (New York: Sheldon, Blakeman & Co., 1857), sermon 18, p

280.

21. John Wesley, Works, Sermon 25 (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan [reprint of 1872 ed.]), Vol. 5,

p 317.

22. John Wesley, Sermon 25, “Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount,” Sermons on Several

Occasions, Vol. 1 (New York: B. Waugh and T. Mason, 1836), p 221-222.