“How can I forgive those who sin against me?”

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Everyone has been wronged, offended, and sinned against at some point. How are Christians to respond when such offenses occur? According to the Bible, we are to forgive. Ephesians 4:23 declares, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Similarly, Colossians 3:13 proclaims, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” The key in both Scriptures is that we are to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Why do we forgive? Because we have been forgiven! Those who are not Christians, however, have not been forgiven by God and have neither the power nor the desire to forgive others.

Forgiveness would be simple if we only had to grant it to those who come asking for it in sorrow and repentance. The Bible tells us that we are to forgive, without condition, those who sin against us. Refusing to truly forgive a person demonstrates resentment, bitterness, and anger, none of which are the traits of a true Christian. In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to forgive us our sins, just as we forgive those who sin against us (Matthew 6:12). Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” In light of other Scriptures that speak of God’s forgiveness, Matthew 6:14-15 is best understood to be saying that people who refuse to forgive others have not truly experienced God’s forgiveness themselves.

Whenever we disobey one of God’s commands, we sin against Him. Whenever we wrong another person, we not only sin against that person, but also against God. When we consider the extent to which God forgives all our transgressions, we realize that we do not have the right to withhold this grace from others. We have sinned against God infinitely more than any person can sin against us. If God forgives us of so much, how can we refuse to forgive others of so little? Jesus’ parable in Matthew 18:23-35 is a powerful illustration of this truth. God promises that when we come to Him asking for forgiveness, He freely grants it (1 John 1:9). The forgiveness we extend should know no limits, in the same way that God’s forgiveness is limitless (Luke 17:3-4).

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GRIN AND SHARE IT: “T-Totaler Terrific”

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Dr. Mike Harmon

A preacher went to visit a member of the community and
invited him to come to church Sunday morning. It seems that this
man was a producer of fine peach brandy, and told the preacher
that he would attend his church IF the pastor would drink some of
his brandy and admit doing so in front of his congregation. The
preacher agreed and drank up.

Sunday morning the man visited the church. The preacher
recognized the man from the pulpit and said:

“I see Mr. Johnson is here with us this morning. I want to thank
him publically for his hospitality this week and especially for the
peaches he gave me and the spirit in which they were given.”

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“Does God still speak to us today?”

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Dr. Mike Harmon

The Bible records God speaking audibly to people many times (Exodus 3:14; Joshua 1:1; Judges 6:18; 1 Samuel 3:11; 2 Samuel 2:1; Job 40:1; Isaiah 7:3; Jeremiah 1:7; Acts 8:26; 9:15 – this is just a small sampling). There is no biblical reason why God could not or would not speak to a person audibly today. With the hundreds of times the Bible records God speaking, we have to remember that they occur over the course of 4,000 years of human history. God speaking audibly is the exception, not the rule. Even in the biblically recorded instances of God speaking, it is not always clear whether it was an audible voice, an inner voice, or a mental impression.

God does speak to people today. First, God speaks to us through His Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Isaiah 55:11 tells us, “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” The Bible records God’s words, everything we need to know in order to be saved and live the Christian life. Second Peter 1:3 declares, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

Second, God speaks through impressions, events, and thoughts. God helps us to discern right from wrong through our consciences (1 Timothy 15; 1 Peter 3:16). God is in the process of conforming our minds to think His thoughts (Romans 12:2). God allows events to occur in our lives to direct us, change us, and help us to grow spiritually (James 1:2-5; Hebrews 12:5-11). First Peter 1:6-7 reminds us, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Finally, God may sometimes speak audibly to people. It is highly doubtful, though, that this occurs as often as some people claim it does. Again, even in the Bible, God speaking audibly is the exception, not the ordinary. If anyone claims that God has spoken to him/her, always compare what is said with what the Bible says. If God were to speak today, His words would be in full agreement with what He has said in the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God does not contradict Himself.

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“What does the Bible say about complaining?”

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Dr. Mike Harmon

The Greek word translated “complainer” means literally “one who is discontented with his lot in life.” It is akin to the word grumbler. Complaining is certainly not a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and, in fact, is detrimental to the peace, joy, and patience that come from the Spirit. For the Christian, complaining is destructive and debilitating personally and only serves to make our witness to the world more difficult. Who, for instance, would be attracted to a religion whose adherents are dissatisfied with life and who continually grumble and complain?

The first complainer was Adam who, after he and Eve disobeyed, complained to God that “the woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (Genesis 3:12). The son of Adam, called Cain, also complained, although undoubtedly within himself (Genesis 4:6). We also know of the complaints made by Moses, when he met God at the burning bush (Exodus 3–4). Also, Moses cried to the Lord repeatedly for deliverance from the Israelites’ grumbling and idolatry (Exodus 17:4; 32:31-32). We also know of the complaints that David offered up to the Lord in the Psalms (Psalm 2:1; 12: 1-2; 22:1) and the complaints made by the prophets concerning the idolatry of the Jewish nation. However, the book of Job offers the most in the way of complaints toward God, and yet Job did not sin (Job 1:22, 2:10). That is not to say that the aforementioned people never sinned in voicing their complaints to God, but Job was a man who was able to sanctify his complaints, and that took humility.

Clearly, as believers we are challenged not to grumble or complain (Philippians 2:14-15; 1 Peter 4:9); rather, we are to love one another deeply so that we may become “blameless and pure” in God’s eyes. If we grumble and complain, it shows how worldly we still are (James 4:1-3). A complaining spirit leads to fighting and quarrelling because complaints come from unfulfilled desires, which lead to envy and strife. Was that not at the root of the problem with the sons of Israel, when they chose to dispose of their brother Joseph, because of his dream (Genesis 37:3)?

Finally, while it is not wrong to complain to God, it is wrong to complain about God. Those that did so met the anger of the Lord, as was the case of Moses’ sister Miriam (Numbers 12) and Korah and Dathan (Numbers 16). But note that they spoke against God’s servant and, in doing so, spoke against God Himself. If we must complain, let it be to Him about our own sinfulness so that He will forgive and cleanse us (1 John 1:9) and put within us a new heart, one that rejoices rather than complains.

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“What is Nibiru?”

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Nibiru is the name given to a large planetary object that is supposedly going to crash into Earth at some point in the not-so-distant future. This event is commonly known as the Nibiru cataclysm. Some link the idea of Nibiru with the Mayan calendar’s “reset” date of December 21, 2012. Some believe Nibiru is what the Bible refers to as “Wormwood” (Revelation 8:10-11). Is there any truth to the Nibiru cataclysm / end of the world theory?

First, we’ll look at Revelation 8:10-11, since this passage is cited by some believers in the Nibiru cataclysm. It reads, “The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water—the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.” Many Bible interpreters believe this passage refers to some kind of interplanetary object, likely a meteor or comet, crashing into Earth. While this sounds similar to the Nibiru idea, the object the Bible describes is much smaller. If a planet-sized object were to crash into Earth, it would do far more than poison the waters. It would very likely destroy the entire planet. So, no, what the Bible refers to as “Wormwood” is not the same thing as Nibiru.

All reputable astronomers and planetary scientists dismiss the idea of a planet-sized object crashing into Earth in the foreseeable future. While ancient Babylonian mythology contains some parallels to the Nibiru concept, the modern Nibiru theory was invented by a woman in the 1990s after she was supposedly contacted by extraterrestrials called Zetas. She has since predicted the arrival of Nibiru multiple times. As each of her cataclysmic predictions fails to occur, she simply adjusts the date. The origin of the Nibiru theory is yet another reason to reject it.

The idea of a Nibiru cataclysm is not supported by the Bible or by science. Like the Mayan prophecy and other end-of-the-world theories, the Nibiru idea is a result of irrational fear and biblical ignorance. The Bible gives a great deal of information about what will happen in the end times. While the idea of a space object crashing into Earth has biblical support, the Bible also makes it clear that the world will not end due to Nibiru or anything else impacting Earth. The world will end when God makes all things new: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…” (Revelation 21:1).

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GRIN AND SHARE IT: “The Philosophy Class”

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Philosophy Class

A college student was in a philosophy class, where there was a class
discussion about whether or not God exists, The professor had the
following logic:

“Has anyone in this class heard God?” Nobody spoke.

“Has anyone in this class touched God?” Again, nobody spoke.

“Has anyone in this class seen God?” When nobody spoke for
the third time, he simply stated, “Then there is no God.”

The student did not like the sound of this at all, and asked for permission
to speak. The professor granted it, and the student stood up and asked
the following questions of his classmates:

“Has anyone in this class heard our professor’s brain?”
Silence.

“Has anyone in this class touched our professor’s brain?”
Absolute silence.

“Has anyone in this class seen our professor’s brain?” When
nobody in the class dared to speak, the student concluded, “Then,
according to our professor’s logic, it must be true that our professor
has no brain!”

The student received an “A” in the class.

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“Is it wrong for a couple to live together before marriage?”

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Dr. Mike Harmon

The answer to this question depends somewhat on what is meant by “living together.” If it means having sexual relations, it is definitely wrong. Premarital sex is repeatedly condemned in Scripture, along with all other forms of sexual immorality (Acts 15:20; Romans 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:13, 18; 7:2; 10:8; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Jude 7). The Bible promotes complete abstinence outside of (and before) marriage. Sex before marriage is just as wrong as adultery and other forms of sexual immorality, because they all involve having sex with someone you are not married to.

If “living together” means living in the same house, that is perhaps a different issue. Ultimately, there is nothing wrong with a man and a woman living in the same house—if there is nothing immoral taking place. However, the problem arises in that there is still the appearance of immorality (1 Thessalonians 5:22; Ephesians 5:3), and it could be a tremendous temptation for immorality. The Bible tells us to flee immorality, not expose ourselves to constant temptations to immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18). Then there is the problem of appearances. A couple who is living together is assumed to be sleeping together—that is just the nature of things. Even though living in the same house is not sinful in and of itself, the appearance of sin is there. The Bible tells us to avoid the appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22; Ephesians 5:3), to flee from immorality, and not to cause anyone to stumble or be offended. As a result, it is not honoring to God for a man and a woman to live together outside of marriage.

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GRIN AND SHARE IT: “New Ideas”

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Said the elder priest, “I know you were reaching
out to the young people when you had bucket seats
put in to replace the first four pews”. It worked. We
got the front of the Church filled first.

The young Priest nodded and the old one continued.
“And, you told me a little more beat to the music
would bring young people back to Church, so I
supported you when you brought in the Rock’N’Roll
gospel choir.”

So,? asked the young priest, “Whats the problem?”

Well, Said the elder priest “I’m afraid you’ve gone too
far with the drive through confessional and the
flashing neon sign which reads ‘Toot’N’Tell
or Go To Hell’.”

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“Does the Bible teach that the earth is flat?”

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Many a skeptic claims that the Bible depicts a flat earth. Scriptural references such as Revelation 7:1 are cited, which speaks of “four angels standing at the four corners of the earth.” However, this passage makes reference to the cardinal directions as seen on a compass – i.e. north, south, east and west. Terminology to a similar effect is used today when we speak of the sun rising and setting each day, even though we know that it is, in fact, the earth which orbits around the sun.

Another passage often referred to is Pslam 75:3, which speaks of God holding the pillars firm. However, the psalms are written in the poetry genre. Rather than referring to literal pillars, this is representative of God’s guaranteeing the earth’s stability. Even when the moral order of the world seems to have crumbled, God will not fully withdraw His sustaining power.

In contrast to the supposed “flat earth” verses, there are numerous Scriptures that clearly indicate otherwise. The earth is described in Job 26:7 as being suspended over empty space, implying a spherical figure. This notion is further entertained in Isaiah 40:21-22, which refers to “the circle of the earth.” This is further supported by Proverbs 8:27 , which speaks of God drawing a circle on the face of the deep. From a “bird’s-eye view” of the ocean, the horizon is seen as a circle. Such an observation indicates that where light terminates, darkness begins, describing the reality of day and night on a spherical earth.

The round-earth idea is further supported by Jesus in Luke 17:31,34: “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back…I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left.” This would seem to indicate the phenomenon of day on one side of the globe while darkness abides on the other.

In conclusion, the curvature of the earth is certainly a biblical concept, and there is little or no basis for the charge that the Bible teaches a flat earth. The Scriptures that seem to present a flat earth can all easily be explained when correctly interpreted and understood.

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GRIN AND SHARE IT: “The Dieter’s Prayer”

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Dr. Mike Harmon

(Author Unknown)

Lord, my soul is ripped with riot,
Incited by my wicked diet.


“We are what we eat,” said a wise old man.
Lord, if that’s true, I’m a garbage can.


I want to rise on Judgment Day, that’s plain,
But at my present weight I’ll need a crane.


So grant me strength that I may not fall
Into the clutches of cholesterol.


May my flesh with carrot curls be sated,
That my soul may be polyunsaturated.


And show me the light that I may bear witness
To the President’s Council on Physical Fitness.


And oleo margarine I’ll never mutter
For the road to h*** is spread with butter.


And cream is cursed, and cake is awful,
And satan is hiding in every waffle.


Mephistopheles lurks in provolone,
The devil is in each slice of bologna.


Beelzebub is a chocolate drop
And lucifer is a lollipop.


Give me this day, my daily slice
But cut it thin and toast it twice.


I beg upon my dimpled knees,
Deliver me from Ju Jubees.


And when my days of trial are done
And my war with malted milks is won,


Let me stand with the saints in Heaven
In a shining robe, size thirty-seven !


I can do it, Lord, if you’ll show to me
The virtues of lettuce and celery.


If you’ll teach me the evil of mayonnaise
The sinfulness of hollandaise,


And pasta Milanese
And potatoes a la Lyonnaise,


And crisp fried chicken from the south.
Lord, if you love me, SHUT MY MOUTH!

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