Encouragement

1 Thessalonians 3:11Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.
King James Version (KJV) And for their increase in grace.

Prayer is religious worship, and all religious worship is due unto God only. Prayer is to be offered to God as our Father. Prayer is not only to be offered in the name of Christ, but offered up to Christ himself, as our Lord and our Saviour. Let us acknowledge God in all our ways, and he will direct our paths. Mutual love is required of all Christians. And love is of God, and is fulfilling the gospel as well as the law. We need the Spirit's influences in order to our growth in grace;

and the way to obtain them, is prayer. Holiness is required of all who would go to heaven; and we must act so that we do not contradict the profession we make of holiness. The Lord Jesus will certainly come in his glory; his saints will come with him. Then the excellence as well as the necessity of holiness will appear; and without this no hearts shall be established at that day, nor shall any avoid condemnation. Hebrews 3:13King James Version (KJV)
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

The Hebrews are urged to go forward in the doctrine of Christ, and the consequences of apostacy, or turning back, are described.

Days of temptation are often days of provocation. But to provoke God, when he is letting us see that we entirely depend and live upon him, is a provocation indeed. The hardening of the heart is the spring of all other sins. The sins of others, especially of our relations, should be warnings to us. All sin, especially sin committed by God's professing, privileged people, not only provokes God, but it grieves him. God is loth to destroy any in, or for their sin; he waits long to be

gracious to them. But sin, long persisted in, will make God's wrath discover itself in destroying the impenitent; there is no resting under the wrath of God. to ?Take heed: to ? all who would get safe to heaven must look about them; if once we allow ourselves to distrust God, we may soon desert him. Let those that think they stand, take heed lest they fall. Since to-morrow is not ours, we must make the best improvement of this day. And there are none, even the strongest of the flock, who do not

need help of other Christians. Neither are there any so low and despised, but the care of their standing in the faith, and of their safety, belongs to all. Sin has so many ways and colours, that we need more eyes than ours own. Sin appears fair, but is vile; it appears pleasant, but is destructive; it promises much, but performs nothing. The deceitfulness of sin hardens the soul; one sin allowed makes way for another; and every act of sin confirms the habit. Let every one beware of sin.

(Heb 3:14-19) "Smart People"

"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:12,13). "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:22).

Are you smart? I recently read a survey of where the smart people live basing "smart" on the percentage of population who had at least a four year college degree. On this basis Seattle was determined to be the smartest city with San Francisco coming in second.*

We can be bamboozled by this and other worldly criteria for what constitutes "smartness". With all due respect to the amount of college education one has it is a very poor determinant of smartness, let alone wisdom! Some of the smartest people I have known, let alone the wisest, never went to college or even finished high school.

I believe all earnest followers of Christ should memorize and hide the first daily verse deep in their hearts. Jesus is speaking of conditions that will characterize the end times prior to His return. An increase in wickedness will cause the love of most to grow cold. I find that a very interesting cause and effect relationship.

Why is this? I believe it speaks of the very deceptive nature of wickedness or lawlessness. For many years moral standards have been eroding and so many in the professing church are blinded to it. The incremental erosion slowly hacks away at our moral sensitivities and many scarcely notice. This is especially true here in America because of the accompanying prosperity. Sodom was also prosperous. (See Genesis 13:9-11.)

Our second daily verse speaks so accurately in summarizing the human condition, "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:22). It is in a context concerning the human response to God, from His perspective.

Modern man claims to be so wise. We are surely the most educated age in history based on years of schooling. Modern man feels intellectually superior and so very enlightened. By and large the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible are scoffed at or ignored. Modern man has no use for them in this "enlightened" age. But the Bible says, "they became fools."

Today I encourage you to keep a sharp sense of spiritual discernment. I note two dangers in my life on this matter. I can become so disgusted with the slide into godlessness that I lose my focus on God and the joy and peace that is my inheritance as a child of God as I go through this very temporary earthly journey. I get focused on the problems, which are a natural consequence of man's rejection of God, and become cynical and negative.

Or I may become so accustomed to the incremental slide into moral depravity and decadence that I no longer even notice. Consider the content and language in many TV programs that many Christians likely watch! The slide continues and with caution I suggest you see this webpage*2 concerning an upcoming special on NBC with Madonna. It is disgusting.

May God give us spiritual discernment so we don't just "go with the flow." I want to be one that "stands firm to the end". Don't you?


Be encouraged today,


Stephen C. Weber

Daily prayer: Father, help me to keep the godly perspective presented in Your Word regarding sinfulness and righteousness. There is no true sophistication in sinful behavior, for it is abhorrent and unacceptable in Your sight. Though the world might dress it up, classify it with a new trendy name, sin is still sin and it brings about disastrous consequences. May my heart always be drawn to righteousness. May those things which are true, honest, lovely, and praiseworthy occupy my thoughts and be visible in my interaction with others. I seek the wisdom imparted through the inspirational writing of Your holy Word. May it always be the filter I use to screen the wisdom of this age.
© Copyright 2006 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved