Our daily spiritual vitamin:
Podcast: Why Go To Church
Dr. Mike Harmon
Can Animals Sin?
Sin is breaking the law of God (I John 3:4). The law of God says such things as do not lie, do not steal, etc. These are moral commands and are intended for people, not animals. Animals don’t have moral beliefs, nor do they have consciences. Also, animals are not made in the image of God as mankind is (Genesis 1:26), and are not under the moral laws intended for people. Therefore, they can’t sin. Animals work off of instinct, not off of moral purpose or obligation to honor God, and not with any spiritual connection to God.
Adam represented all mankind and the animal kingdom. When he sinned, the world was affected by it. Through him sin entered the world (Romans 5:12), which is why we have plagues, famines, etc. Until Adam sinned, there is no record in the Bible about any animal dying. God clothed Adam and Eve with the coat/skin of an animal/animals (Genesis 3:21).
The Lord’s Day Should Be Holy
(An Email From A FB Friend)
The elderly lady was on the phone with the newspaper office and trying to be nice and polite as a Christian should be. She asked in a very calm, pleasing voice, “Sir, could you give me an explanation as to why my Sunday paper has not been delivered?” The gentleman on the other end responded, “I suppose the reason is, today is Saturday.” He heard her say, more to her self than to him, “I guess that is why no one was at church this morning?”
The lady may have been confused on which day of the week it was, but she knew one thing for certain; Sunday is the Lord’s day.
There was not so long ago when most people treated Sunday as being a special, if not a Holy day. When Sunday came it was time to cease from your labors. In many a small town, only the pharmacy would be open, and if there were more than one pharmacy in the town, they alternated on being open.
Many of the commandments that God gave to us to perform had an underlying reason that would behoove us to obey the commandment. Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy, is such a commandment. When God had completed his work of creation on the sixth day, he then rested from his labors. That is a pattern he expects us to follow.
There have been attempts to try to change the schedule of God, usually resulting in a disaster. France experimented with a ten-day work week. That experiment ended in failure for them. Coal mines that used donkeys to pull the carts of coal to the surface discovered the donkeys performed better when they had the day of rest.
I often hear people quote scripture for their reason for doing something, though that might be the only scripture they try to follow. Such is the man who desecrates the Sabbath. He very well may say, “The ox was in the ditch and I had to get him out.” Obviously that is true, but it ceases to be valid if we first push the ox into the ditch.
There was a case in federal court, prior to Arkansas becoming a state, in which a man was charged with desecrating the Sabbath. His offense was–burning a brush pile on Sunday. Whether we understand all the reasoning behind the ten commandments, we must remember they are not the ten suggestions. We speak about breaking the ten commandments, we really mean transgress against or violate the commandment. You can’t break the commandments, however, you may break yourself against them.
Many a person scoff at the words of the Bible, but there is one truth they cannot deny, “It is appointed unto man once to die….” Would it not be better to “...fear God and keep his commandments for it is the whole duty of man.”
What is the meaning of BC and AD (B.C. and A.D.)?
It is commonly thought that BC stands for “before Christ” and AD stands for “after death.” This is only half correct. How could the year 1 B.C. have been “before Christ” and 1 A.D. been “after death“? BC does stand for “before Christ.” AD actually stands for the Latin phrase “anno domini” which means “in the year of our Lord.” The B.C. / A.D. dating system is not taught in the Bible. It actually was not fully implemented and accepted until several centuries after Jesus’ death.
It is interesting to note that the purpose of the BC / AD dating system was to make the birth of Jesus Christ the dividing point of world history. However, when the B.C. / A.D. system was being calculated, they actually made a mistake in pinpointing the year of Jesus’ birth. Scholars later discovered that Jesus was actually born in around 4-6 BC, not 1 AD. That is not the crucial issue. The birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ are the “turning points” in world history. It is fitting, therefore, that Jesus Christ is the separation of “old” and “new.” BC was “before Christ” and since His birth, we have been living “in the year of our Lord.” Philippians 2:10-11), “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
FOR PREACHERS ONLY: How To Live 24 Hours A Day
HOW TO LIVE 24 HOURS A DAY
(A Sermon Outline)
Text: “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
Introduction: God is indiscriminate with the commodity of time. He does not give me 26 hours per day, and you 23 hours. We all get exactly 24 hours per day. Our priorities dictate how we spend it. Today is a given day; a governed day and should be a gladdened day.
We should realize that each day is:
1. A PROVIDED DAY “This is the day the LORD HATH MADE…”
God has made this day and given it to us.
God does not “take life”, He just stops “giving it.”
“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)
We should awaken every day and say, “Good morning Lord”; rather than, “Good Lord, it’s morning.”
2. A PESENT DAY “THIS IS the day which the LORD hath made…”
There are two days that can ruin today for you:
(1) YESTERDAY
“…This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” (Philippians 3:13) Paul wanted to forget:
a. Past guilt-
b. Past glory-
c. Past grief-
d. Past grudges-
(2) TOMORROW
Jesus said, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matthew 6:34)
God gives us enough grace to make it through today. When we begin to carry tomorrow’s burdens today, we do not the grace to bare them.
Professor William Markston interviewed 3,000 people and found that 94% of them were enduring today and living for tomorrow.
It is said that, “Girls spend 20 years dreaming about having children, 20 years raising them, 20 years remembering them; and did not enjoy the 20 years with them.”
3. A PRECIOUS DAY “This is the day that THE LORD hath made…”
A gift is no greater than the maker. The Lord made this day and it is precious.
When we give someone part of our time, we are giving them part of ourselves because we
have a limited amount of time to give. This is not true of God. His time is not expiring. He
can not give us part of His time.
Begin each day alone with God. We have enough time to do all we need to do. If God expected us to do more than there is time to do, He would be forcing us to sin.
Set our priorities. The problem for the Christian is not choosing between good and bad, but
between good and better. (This includes: books, sports, entertainment, etc.)
4. A PASSING DAY
Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work.” (John 9:4)
Things you can not do with time: save it, borrow it, loan it, leave it. You must use it or lose it.
You may call “time out” in ball, but not in life.
When as a child I laughed and wept, time crept; when as a youth I dreamed and talked, time walked; when I became a full grown man, time ran; when older still I daily grew,
flew; when I saw I should be passing on, time was gone.
Lost: One hour, studded with 60 diamond minutes, no reward, lost forever.
5.A PROVIDENTAL DAY “ …we will rejoice and be glad in it…”
David knew that God was in control of the day and therefore he decided that it would be a good day and that he would rejoice.
Paul said, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ concerning you.” (I Thessalonians 5:18)
Romans 8:28 teaches that all things work together for our good. It does not say that all things are good, but that all things will work together for our good.
We thank Him for the sun, do we thank Him for the rain? We thank Him for the joy, do we thank Him for the pain? We thank Him for gains, do we thank Him for the losses?
We thank Him for the blessings, do we thank Him for the crosses?
Conclusion:
For those who have not yet accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, the Bible says, “Today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time.” (II Corinthians 6:2)
My favorite preacher is the late, Evangelist Angel Martinez. Angel began preaching at the age of 13 in San Antonio, Texas. A group of businessmen purchased a tent for him to conduct “Tent Revivals” in various parts of the city. At the close of one service a young Mexican boy asked, “Who is in charge here?” Angel replied that he was. The young man requested to be of help by putting up the song books, arranging the chairs, etc. Angel gave him the job.
One evening Angel noticed that the young man was under conviction during the invitation. After everyone else had left, he turned to his friend and said, “Jesse, you wanted to be saved tonight, didn’t you?” Jesse said, “Yes sir.” Angel explained that he could be saved right then. They could knell in the sawdust and he could accept Christ. Jesse said, “Not tonight Angel. I will borrow a suit and tie and be saved tomorrow night.” Jesse got on his bicycle and faded into the darkness telling Angel, “Don’t worry Angel, I will be saved tomorrow night. I will be the first one to come down the isle tomorrow night.”
The next day Angel was summoned to a local hospital. A nurse met him at the door and said, “Are you Reverend Angel Martinez?” Angel said that he was. She informed him that a young boy named Jesse was riding his bicycle and was hit by a motorist. All he had been saying was, “Please get Angel Martinez.” Angel rushed to his room and found a nurse pulling the sheet over the face of Jesse. Jesse was gone.
Angel returned to his room and wept and prayed most of the day. He preached that evening under the tent. When it came time for the invitation he said, “I can’t give an invitation tonight. A friend of mine promised that he would come forward and be saved tonight and my friend isn’t here.”
All we have is today. Accept Christ now and you than can begin living to the fullest, 24 hours a day.
THE WALL: a blog of Baptist Voice Ministries 