GRIN AND SHARE IT: “Squirrels”

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Squirrels

There were three country churches in a small Texas town: the
Presbyterian church, the Methodist church and the Catholic
church. Each church was overrun with pesky squirrels.

One day, the Presbyterian church called a meeting to decide
what to do about the squirrels. After much prayer and
consideration they determined that the squirrels were
predestined to be there and they shouldn’t interfere with
God’s divine will.

The Methodist group got together and decided that they were
not in a position to harm any of God’s creations. So, they
humanely trapped the squirrels and set them free a few miles
outside of town. Three days later, the squirrels were back.

It was only the Catholics who were able to come up with
the best and most effective solution.

They baptized the squirrels and registered them as members
of the church. Now they only see them on Christmas and Easter.

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“Is there such a thing as an ex-Christian?”

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon


This is a question for which there is definitely a clear and explicit biblical answer. First John 2:19 declares, “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” This Scripture makes it abundantly clear—there is no such thing as an ex-Christian. If a person is truly a Christian, he/she will never depart from the faith “…for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us…” If a person who claimed to be a Christian denies the faith, he/she was not truly a Christian. “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us…their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” No, there is truly no such thing as an ex-Christian.

It is important to distinguish between a true Christian and an “in name only” Christian. A true Christian is a person who has fully trusted in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. A true Christian is a person who understands what the Bible says about sin, sin’s penalty, who Jesus is, what Jesus did for us, and how that provides for the forgiveness of sin. A true Christian is a person who has received Jesus Christ as personal Savior, has been made a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), and is progressively being transformed into the image of Christ. A true Christian is a person who is kept a Christian by the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:13, 30; 2 Corinthians 1:22). This true Christian can never become an ex-Christian. No one who has truly and fully trusted in Christ as Savior could ever deny Him. No one who truly comprehends the evil of sin, the terror of sin’s consequences, the love of Christ, and the grace and mercy of God, could ever turn back from the Christian faith.

There are many in this world who claim to be Christians, but are not. Being a Christian does not mean being an American or having white skin. Being a Christian does not mean recognizing that Jesus was a great teacher or even seeking to follow His teachings. Being a Christian means being a representative of Christ and a follower / servant of Christ. There are people who have had some connection to a “Christian” church and then later renounced that connection. There are people who have “tasted” and “sampled” Jesus Christ, without ever actually receiving Him as Savior. However, there is no such thing as true ex-Christian. A true Christian will never, and could never, renounce the faith. Any person who claimed to be a Christian, but later rejects the Christian faith, was never truly a Christian.

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GRIN AND SHARE IT: “Friends of Whom?”

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Friends of Whom?

At an Easter mass, at which some young ladies were to take
their final vows to become nuns, the presiding bishop
noticed two Baptist pastors enter the church just before the mass
began.

They were seated at the back of the sanctuary and insisted
on sitting on the right side of the center aisle.

The bishop wondered why they had come but didn’t have time
to inquire before the mass began. When it came time for some
announcements, his curiosity got the best of him. He
announced that he was delighted to see two Baptist pastors in their
midst at the mass but, was curious as to why they were
present at this occasion where the young ladies were to
become the “brides of Christ.”

The eldest of the pastors slowly rose to his feet and
explained, “Family of the Groom.”

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“What does the Bible mean that we are not to judge others?”

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon


This is an issue that has confused many people. On one hand, we are commanded by the Lord Jesus, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1). On the other hand, the Bible also exhorts us to beware of evildoers and false prophets and to avoid those who practice all kinds of evil. How are we to discern who these people are if we do not make some kind of judgment about them?

Christians are often accused of “judging” whenever they speak out against a sinful activity. However, that is not the meaning of the Scripture verses that state, “Do not judge.” There is a righteous kind of judgment we are supposed to exercise—with careful discernment (John 7:24). When Jesus told us not to judge (Matthew 7:1), He was telling us not to judge hypocritically. Matthew 7:2-4 declares, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” What Jesus was condemning here was hypocritical, self-righteous judgments of others.

In Matthew 7:2-5, Jesus warns against judging someone else for his sin when you yourself are sinning even worse. That is the kind of judging Jesus commanded us not to do. If a believer sees another believer sinning, it is his Christian duty to lovingly and respectfully confront the person with his sin (Matthew 18:15-17). This is not judging, but rather pointing out the truth in hope—and with the ultimate goal—of bringing repentance in the other person (James 5:20) and restoration to the fellowship. We are to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). We are to proclaim what God’s Word says about sin. 2 Timothy 4:2 instructs us, “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction.” We are to “judge” sin, but always with the goal of presenting the solution for sin and its consequences—the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

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GRIN AND SHARE IT: “Adam’s Rib”

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Adam’s Rib

At Sunday School they were teaching how God created
everything, including human beings.

Little Johnny seemed especially intent when they told
him how Eve was created out of one of Adam’s ribs.

Later in the week his mother noticed him lying down as
though he were ill, and said, “Johnny what is the matter?”

Little Johnny responded, “I have a pain in my side. I think
I’m going to have a wife.”

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GRIN AND SHARE IT: “Left-Handed”

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Dr. Mike Harmon's avatarTHE WALL: a blog of Baptist Voice Ministries

Left-Handed

Little Bobby was spending the weekend with his
grandmother after a particularly trying week in
kindergarten. His grandmother decided to take
him to the park on Saturday morning. It had been
snowing all night and everything was beautiful.

His grandmother remarked…”doesn’t it look like
an artist painted this scenery? Did you know God
painted this just for you?”

Bobby said, “Yes, God did it and he did it left handed.”

This confused his grandmother a bit, and she asked
him “What makes you say God did this with his
left hand?”

“Well,” said Bobby, “we learned at Sunday School
last week that Jesus sits on God’s right hand!”

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“What/where was the land of Nod in the Bible?”

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Dr. Mike Harmon's avatarTHE WALL: a blog of Baptist Voice Ministries


The land of Nod was where Cain settled after he was punished by God for the murder of his brother, Abel (Genesis 4:8). The Bible reads, “Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden” (Genesis 4:16). No one knows where the land of Nod was located, only that it was east of Eden. The Bible does not mention the land of Nod again.

Cain’s settling “east of Eden” implies that he was further removed from the garden than Adam and Eve were. His fate was to live the life of an outsider. The fact that Cain left God’s presence suggests that he lived the rest of his life alienated from God.

The word Nod, in Hebrew, means “wanderer, exile or fugitive.” This corresponds to God’s word to Cain that he would “be a fugitive and a wanderer…

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GRIN AND SHARE IT: “We No Longer Need You”

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Dr. Mike Harmon's avatarTHE WALL: a blog of Baptist Voice Ministries

We No Longer Need You

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had
come a long way and no longer needed God. They picked one scientist
to go and tell Him that they were done with Him. The scientist walked
up to God and said, “God, we’ve decided that we no longer need you.
We’re to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous
things, so why don’t you just go on and get lost.”

God listened patiently and kindly to the man and after the scientist
was done talking, God said, “Very well! How about this? Let’s have
a man making contest.”

To which the man replied, “OK, great!”

But God added, “Now we’re going to do this just like I did back in the
old days with Adam.”

The scientist said, “Sure, no problem” and bent down and grabbed
himself…

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“Where is hell? What is the location of hell?”

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Dr. Mike Harmon's avatarTHE WALL: a blog of Baptist Voice Ministries


Various theories on the location of hell have been put forward. A traditional view is that hell is in the center of the earth. Others propose that hell is located in outer space in a black hole. In the Old Testament, the word translated “hell” is Sheol; in the New Testament, it’s Hades (meaning “unseen”) and Gehenna (“the Valley of Hinnom”). Sheolis also translated as “pit” and “grave.” Both Sheol and Hades refer to a temporary abode of the dead before judgment (Psalm 9:17; Revelation 1:18). Gehenna refers to an eternal state of punishment for the wicked dead (Mark 9:43).

The idea that hell is below us, perhaps in the center of the earth, comes from passages such as Luke 10:15: “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell” (KJV). Also, in 1 Samuel 28:13-15, the medium of Endor sees the spirit…

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“Where is heaven? What is the location of heaven?”

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon


Heaven is most certainly a real place. The Bible very definitely speaks of heaven’s existence—and access to heaven through faith in Jesus Christ—but there are no verses that give us a Mapquest-style location. The short answer to this question is, “heaven is where God is.” The place referred to in this question is called the “third heaven” and “paradise” in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4, where the apostle Paul tells of a living man who was “caught up” to heaven and was unable to describe it. The Greek word translated “caught up” is also used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 in describing the rapture, wherein believers will be caught up to be with the Lord. These passages have led to the conclusion that heaven is beyond the earth’s airspace and beyond the stars.

However, since God is spirit, “heaven” cannot signify a place remote from us which He inhabits. The Greek gods were thought of as spending most of their time far away from earth in sort of a celestial equivalent of the Bahamas, but the God of the Bible is not like this. He is always near us when we call on Him (James 4:8), and we are encouraged to “draw near” to Him (Hebrews 10:1, 22). Granted, the “heaven” where saints and angels dwell has to be thought of as a sort of locality, because saints and angels, as God’s creatures, exist in space and time. But when the Creator is said to be “in heaven,” the thought is that He exists on a different plane from us, rather than in a different place.

That God in heaven is always near to His children on earth is something which the Bible expresses throughout. The New Testament mentions heaven with considerable frequency. Yet, even with this frequency, detailed description of its location is missing. Perhaps God has intentionally covered its location in mystery, for it is more important for us to focus on the God of heaven than the description or location of it. It is more important to know the why than the where. The New Testament focuses on the purpose of heaven more than telling us what it is like or where it is. We have seen that hell is for separation and punishment (Matthew 8:12; 22:13). Heaven, on the other hand, is for fellowship and eternal joy and, more importantly, worshipping around the throne of God.

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