Show Others Godly Grace - Leviticus 25:10-22,35-38

Have you ever tried to extend your best example of Godly Grace to a hateful, down right disruptive child? Have you ever tried to treat in a graceful manner some adult that has just mistreated you intentionally in the presence of others who were your friends, co-workers or just peers? As a school administrator, I found that children who had never been taught to respect authority really did not understand or even know that they were personally obnoxious individuals. You can be assured that children that are brought up in a broken home where there is nothing but argumentation, disrespect and little or no love shared or extended between parents and children will reflect this same life style when they arrive in your Sunday school class—if you are lucky enough to have them come at all.

Just remember that Christ faced death on the cross in order to save obnoxious children that cursed him, and voted to have him crucified. He suffered as we do. He felt pain and neglect when it occurred. And when he faced the cross, He prayed that God [his father] would let the cup pass if it was possible—but he also prayed that God’s will be done in the end. He extended his grace to you and me; [our forbearers, you and I, and our offspring were the children in his classroom that day] and he was kind and generous to us and we did not deserve his grace.

Our church is crying for help in the classrooms of Children’s Church. I can understand why the need is as great as it is. Many of the children are “sent” to church by parents that really just want to bee free from parenting for a couple of hours each Sunday, and if they bring the children—they just drop them off and pick them up later. Our teachers are faced with a problem as they are confronted by overwhelming numbers of “untrained” young citizens who do not know how to act at church. Here is my information for you [teachers and aids] today as taught in Leviticus. Just make sure that you recognize what your problem really is and who is the cause and do not fail to show your grace [God’s grace] toward the children who need it so badly especially during this time of growth when they do not realize that they are being neglected.
We have reminded you before that the last ten chapters of Leviticus are known as the Holiness Code. It is so because God warned his people to be “holy because I, the Lord your God am holy” Children that come from homes that practice God’s holiness and teach it to their offspring are usually not the ones that cause the greatest problems at church and in school.

Most if not all of our problems emanate from the fact that parents do not realize who owns their homes. They act as though they bought and paid for it, and no one else has any authority over them and their homes. Just you remember this: God created this old earth and everything it contains, and therefore it belongs to Him. As owner of the earth…land….God has always had the right to decide who would live on it. He also created us [you and me] and therefore he has a right to decide on a code of behavior or conduct for us. He treated us gracefully, and now he demands that we treat others as he treated us. Listen to me! Don’t get to cocky and self assured. Remember that there was a day when the Canaanites were a powerful nation who owned and liven in the land of Canaan. They simply refused to live according to God’s directions and God evicted them and gave their land to the Israelites.

In America we have refused to live according to God’s values. Parents have refused to keep the home sacred and refused to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We have sent our kids to church, when God demands that we not forsake the gathering of ourselves together to worship him—which means that we are compelled to take our children to church. You may not believe me…and I really hope that I am wrong…but I fear that we are nearing the time when we will not enjoy a free America any more. The end to our way of life that we have enjoyed for over two hundred years is just a few days ahead. The only one single true opportunity that Christians still have is the opportunity to show God’s grace to those we encounter each day. Don’t expect the people you encounter daily, or even our own government to show God’s grace in return. God will see that we are rewarded if we continue to treat others as he requires believers to do.

If you want to really understand how important it is to God for his people to obey him and treat each other with respect and dignity, you owe it to yourself to read this entire lesson from Leviticus 23 to the end of the book. Tithes and offerings are the Lords and his people have no choice but to obey his instructions. The misuse of God’s name is to blaspheme him, and required death in that time. A blasphemer was stoned to death, and all of those who heard were required to take part in the stoning. Here is where we get the law regarding the penalty for murder. A murderer should be killed. The bible teaches “an eye for an eye and a life for a life.” If chapter 24 were practiced in our courts today, we would enjoy far less carnage than we have today.

God even demanded that we treat his land with honor and that we use the land for six years and let it rest on the seventh. Just think how much more productive land would be today if this practice had been put in motion when America was discovered. On the 7th year…Sabbath year…the land could have had two or three cover crops of soil-building crops like lespedeza which has the nodules of nitrogen on its roots—these could and should have been plowed under—thus rebuilding the soil.

Some would still ask; what would we eat on that seventh year, when all growth was plowed under? Why don’t you read verses 18 through 21 of Chapter 25? Does God mislead his people? It sounds to me like we would have all prospered greatly by following his commands.

Some of the conditions have changed over the years from Old Testament time to this dispensation. But God has not changed. See 26; 14 and on. If you disobeyed God then there was punishment meted out—and if you are disobedient today, you will pay a price. The gift of salvation…God’s grace is not a license to disobey. Neither is it a license to ignore, mislead, or mistreat others who are in need of knowledge about God and who need to be shown the power of God’s grace to save through their faith.

This reminder is so important that it must be emphasized over and over. Christians are saved by God’s GRACE through the faith that God has given them. Now that they are saved, they are obligated to teach and demonstrate their Christian life by extending their grace to others even when they may not be pleasant and lovable. To fail is to disobey God. Disobedience will bring disaster into one’s life. Disobedience is sin. Sin causes death and can only be redeemed by a blood sacrifice. Christ shed the only healing blood—we must accept it as payment in full for our sin…there is no other way.

Stay Away from Perverted Practices - Leviticus 18:1-5,20-26; 20:6-8

I have had my personal computer for ten or twelve years and it has really filled a void in my life during these years. Like so many other things that have come along in the past century, it has its faults and serves as another avenue for sin to creep into our homes. There is hardly a week that goes by that some pervert doesn’t break in my home with a page or two of pornography. The thing about it that irks me most is that many times it takes several minutes of my precocious time to find a way to remove the junk from the screen. There should be some way that I could force the perpetrator to use his time to remove it from my computer screen.

The title of the lesson today orders us to stay away from perverted practices. This is good advice, but it is a hard order to carry out in the land today when there seems to be more interest in the crude and rude than ever before in our history. Parents during the early part of the last century did not accept minds that were filled with ideas built around perverted minds and exposed bodies. They had the audacity to speak out against immoral perverted exploitation. About the only opportunity for the young people to be exposed was when a traveling circus would visit the town park. There was usually what was called a ‘side show’ featuring nudity and explicit actions that were vulgar. Christian parents kept an eye on their children and very few ever successfully attended one of these “forbidden” shows. Today almost every movie produced and even the prime time TV programs are using this forbidden vulgarity to sell their products. What has happened to the minds of Americans?

You are raising your children in a world where anything goes. Leading the list is the drug culture that is running rampant. In the enter cities and even the smaller towns drug cartels and established gangs are controlling the lives of otherwise decent young people. Many parents have expressed to me that there is nothing they can do. They are wrong! We can all do something positive;--simply by living a life that sets the right example; by using our right to vote against the politicians that allow these things to happen and even grow right before their eyes.

Don’t ever think that you do not have examples to live by. As the background material for this lesson we can go back to Leviticus and find legit instructions. Somewhere on our law books there are important laws and instructions that—if properly enforced—would prevent most of what I am talking about that is so negative and destructive.

Many of the exhibits of nudeness, illicit expressions, and hard pornography have been derived from or have descended down to us from the study of pagan practices. God has warned us that life like the pagan live will lead to destruction. The exact opposite of practice of paganism is the practicing of Godly Lifestyles. If Christians would practice living like Christ, it would go a long way in solving some of the problems of this day.

The last thing I will mention is also a fault of the liberal Christian; at least in most cases. We do not demand our ministers to stand against all of these open sins with force in their sermons. The bible says that in the last days we will listen with itching ears to only that which we want to hear. Far too often the congregation does not want their preacher to fight open sin. It gets on too many personal toes. This reminds me of an old cowboy who riding range close to a church and so he decided to attend the Sunday service. He was sweaty, with a worn look and a bad smell. After church the preacher ask him to talk to God about how he should dress when visiting this church. The next Sunday his heard was still close by and so he dropped in and set on the back row, hoping he would not be noticed. But, after church the same thing happened, the preacher asks him if he talked to God about what to wear. He said, yes, I surely did and God told me that he had no idea what one should wear in this church because He had never been invited to visit there.

We need to live like Christians in our churches and communities. We should demand that our ministers preach the bible, truth, and love—and then we should make acceptable offerings to support the church and its work.

The book of Leviticus is considered to be a copy of God’s holiness code. This idea and name for the book derives its being from what God said in chapter 19 the second verse. God said, “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” It is hard to see holiness in the world today, and that is because the condition is a “state of existence” that is apart from the presence of evil. The Hebrew said that you had to be separated from evil in order to live holy. You can not live an acceptable life before God and be a part of the life style today that includes the perverted practices that are so prevalent.

You should never think that the Hollywood perverts of 2010 have anything new to offer this perverted world. These people in this lesson had just been delivered from the wicked nation of Egypt where adultery ran wild and the Gays practiced their perverted ways in front of all. Sodom and Gomorrah were burned to the ground and all the perverts that live there were destroyed because of their wicked ways. In this lesson God warns us that we are not to profane the name of your God; “I am the Lord.” “ YOU ARE NOT TO SLEEP WITH A MAN AS WITH A WOMAN, IT IS DETESTABLE.” “IT IS ABONDABLE IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD.”

“We are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice before God.” The only way you can present yourself correctly is by learning what God has said in his word about how we should live. Lou Holtz, our former foot ball coach at the U of A had only one rule for his players…”DO RIGHT”…This is the only rule that one needs to live a Christian Life! But…But…there is a catch to this rule. You can not know what the rule “DO RIGHT” means until the bible spells it out for you….for God only knows…and he is the only one that can tell you how to always “do right.”

Do Right When You Do Wrong - Leviticus 1-16

The next three lessons will attempt to summarize the book of Leviticus, a book with 27 chapters, written by Moses, while the Family of God was still camped out around the first Tabernacle built by the people as instructed by Moses who received his instructions from God in a personal meeting on Mt. Sinai in 1445 BC. They had started the Exodus the year before in 1446 BC, then received the Law from God along with the instructions for building the tabernacle and establishing the laws they were to live by daily in 14445 BC.

The purpose of the book of Leviticus was written by Moses to reflect God’s will for the people to live by. It was a handbook for the priest and Levites to use in teaching and worship and a document from God regarding what He expected in the holy living of the Hebrews. The key verse reflects the theme of the book; it is 19:2—“Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” This scripture is parallel to the other scriptures in the New Testament that teach us over and over today that we are to live our lives so that they imitate the life of Christ. The truths recorded in Leviticus came from God to Moses while they were camped in the area of Mt. Sinai.

Have you ever felt like God was off out there in space millions of miles away? Do you ever struggle with loneliness? Are you ever burdened with despair? Torn to pieces by sin and overwhelmed with the growing problems of the day in which we live? Do you know why? I think it is because we are made in the image of God and created to have a close relationship with him. Any time that close relationship is broken, we are in a sense no longer complete and are in need of restoration. Communication with God is actually the essence of worship in truth,

In your prayers to him and discussions with him, is there a sense of loneliness and despair because you are unable to hear an actual voice answering your calls for help? We only have his holy word to read and believe. At least these people had a strong spiritual leader that was there to help them know the will of God for their lives. His name was Moses. We have a strong leader too, and his name is J. R. DeBusk. We have two additional helpers, leaders that give us assurance. The first one is the Holy Spirit, the one promised by Jesus Christ just prior to his resurrection who would be our counselor. The second is our faith which will work only to the extent that we grow in it, use it, practice using it, and only to the extent that we measure it, remember the times it has proven successful, and always give Jesus credit for giving us a working faith.

If our pastor [Bro. JR] would disappear into the woods and rocks of one of the mountains around Heber Springs for 40 straight days and nights, would you feel comfortable about him? Would you wonder where he was and what he was doing? Would you totally believe him if on his return he would explain that he had actually conversed with God, and received commandments, written on stone by the finger of God, for our direction? When I think about what your answer to these questions would be, it is not hard for me to realize that the Israelites grew anxious when Moses was gone for 40 days.

This may be the reason that God commanded Moses to write the book of Leviticus. There is a picture here in this long story. Can you see, and believe that these people were in slavery in Egypt; this represents being in sin and lost on their way to Hell. Moses led them out of bondage which represents being saved, born again. And now they have been camped out around the foot of Mt. Sinai for two years being taught how to worship and serve God as all saved people are commanded to do. They were redeemed in Exodus and this gave them a firm foundation. Their cleansing, glorification, worshipping of God and services to each other and God are to be found in Leviticus.

Their first major sin of unbelief resulted in the people insisting that Aaron build the golden calf idol. The first lesson that they had to learn was that unholy people can not approach a holy God. They were still his people, but were unholy, lining in sin. God demands that sin be dealt with before a man can truly worship him. The first seven chapters of Leviticus gave the people instructions in how to make and offer five different acceptable sacrifices. Every animal offered as sacrifice had to be number one and pure because they always pointed forward to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and his blood at the cross. The sacrificial system and the laws associated with it were designed to teach the Israelites the principles for maintaining a right relationship with God and with each other. It is out of this concept that the title of the lesson today is drawn—“DO RIGHT WHEN YOU DO WRONG.” These early Israelites all thought of themselves as being God’s people because God had declared that they were his. They had to go through the wilderness to give God time to teach them that although they were his—they could do wrong—they were sinners. They were people lost in Egyptian bondage and had to be delivered by God. They are people lost in sin and this requires a blood sacrifice to bring them out which will be delivered by the person Jesus Christ. All the sacrifices of the day were pointing forward to the day Jesus would died on the cross, shedding his blood once and for all BC and AD.

His blood shed on the cross covered our every transgression to the date of our acceptance of Him as our Savior: but it requires our true repentance for our sins and our acknowledgement of Christ as our Lord and savior for all sins committed after salvation. Dear ones in Christ, I have contended all along that true repentance is absolutely necessary for one to be saved. However it is just as important for any Christian to always to right when they do wrong. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

What If You Falter? - Exodus 32:1-4,30-34; 34:6b-9

I acknowledge the use of Life Way Literature and appreciate the great job they do in helping us understand God’s word. Sometimes I wonder how they come up with their topics for the lessons, and this is one of those occasions. I just want to tell you in the beginning of this lesson that you WILL FALTER, and there is no ‘WHAT IF’ ABOUT IT. Therefore I think the question is…WHEN YOU FALTER—WHAT SHOULD YOU DO ABOUT IT?

Even the most sincere Christian will falter occasionally; the bible assures us of this fact. “There is none perfect, no not one.” “He that says that he has no sin is a liar and there is no truth in him.” “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We also have strong promises that if we will repent of our sins and pray for forgiveness it [forgiveness] will be forthcoming. “When you repent of your sins and ask God to forgive you, He is faithful and just and will forgive you of your sins.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and though shalt be saved.”

Moses led the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage and, for some reason that only God knows, they seemed to remain faithful and dependent on God for about forty days—and then began to falter. They gave up, repented and prayed at the Red Sea and were saved. They were without water and faltered until God opened a hole in a rock and gave them pure water to drink. They became hungry and started complaining before they were fed manna and quail. They reached Mt. Sinai and demanded a word from God regarding their future.

God instructed Moses to climb the mountain, stand on sacred ground, and receive his commandments for his people. The people wanted an answer now! God and Moses took forty days. The people began to falter; fall away, go on their own, and demanded that Aaron create a new image that they could worship as God; one that they could see, feel, and trust. The wording here seems to indicate that they were gathered around Aaron as an angry mob, demanding that he do something that he may have resented doing. Anyway he relented to the pressure of the people and preceded by collecting the gold jewelry, even the ladies ear rings and processed it [the gold] into a golden idol; a male calf. It really seems to me that this action constitutes more than a falter. It was not the denial of God; it was an attempt to create a new one.

I hope you will bear with me as I try to draw the conclusion here that places the actions of many American people today in the same category with the actions of these disbelievers at Sinai. America was once our forefathers Promised Land. They were being persecuted in most of the European countries and were ready to follow strong leaders like Moses that would bring them to this New Country. The USA did not exist, but the American Continent did and it became their PROMISED LAND. Similarly to the original Promised Land; it was inhabited by several tribes of giant red men that would fight to hold their positions. Not just a narrow Red Sea, but the entire Atlantic Ocean lay in their way. It was by far their greatest enemy as they made their move to America.

I can assure you that during the first forty years they were in a wilderness here in America. I do not remember from my history lessons that God ever rained manna from heaven to feed them, and no quail came to the table unless the hunter did his job. It took two years for them to start raising enough food to prevent hunger. Some may have starved, but not all, and the nation grew and prospered. The English, Spanish and French all made war against us and the civil war tore us apart, but God has sustained this nation all these years. We have been known as a Christian Nation and have stood strong in the face of two world wars and several minor ones.

During the last fifty years we have watched our supreme court dismantle our constitution. Liberalism is now in control. There are more babies aborted [murdered] each year than there are soldiers who die in all the wars being fought. Hardly a year passes that we do not loose another right to pray, display godly images, or a copy of the Ten Commandments. God’s name has now been removed from the new gold dollar that was minted just recently, and the plan is clear that God’s Name must be removed from America. The only difference I see in this move and what the Israelites did is that they wanted a new god, and America is choosing to have no God at all…The move is on to even deny that a God exists—to remove his name completely.

Your President says we are not a Christian Nation. Is he right? Wait a minute. Don’t shut me out just yet. If we are a majority Christian Nation, then why are so many non-Christian laws being passed, and why is there not a national rebellion against it? The Israelites gave up on God and made a new one out of gold…but even so, they never did deny that there was a god.

America needs to study the flight of the people from Egypt—their sins cost them 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, until a complete generation died and never did see the Promised Land.
Unless America awakens soon, there is a good chance that we will be real lucky if we have forty more years to wander in this wilderness of sin. Our deadline may be less than forty years.

God made a law. The wages of sin is death. To deny God, is sin, and if you want his name removed from vision that is denial.

I realize that those of you who read this lesson are not in agreement with what is happening, surely a majority is not. However, we are making little or no effort to correct the errors that are being made.

Let me ask you a personal question. What will you do with, for, against the minting of the new Dollar Coin that does not contain the words “In God we Trust.” The designer should be fired and fined the cost of its production. The politician that ordered it done should be impeached and hung for treason against all God loving Americans. I can do neither of these, but would vote to have it done. And I will not honor the coin by using it as currency.

Why Do You Worship? - Exodus 25:8-9,17-22; 29:38-46

The Faith Builders Bible Class has been made up of the older men in First Baptist Church of Heber Springs for many years. During the past twenty or more years there have been very few [if any] that were physically able to work at a steady job, especially one of hard labor. However, there is no single group in the church that is more involved in contributions to the church.

There are so many ways that active members can contribute that there is no reason for anyone to feel left out of church activates. Even the home bound have found avenues of service through an established call-service that is extended to other home bound, and or those in the hospital, nursing homes, and retirement homes.

Members of our class that are active and able organized a construction group called the Nail Benders many years ago. They bought a covered trailer and equipped it with a well organized set of tools. They have a complete set of the needed equipment to build a small church, Sunday school rooms, or a parsonage. These men have their own portable homes that they move to the building site to live in while they construct for God. They have built churches all over Arkansas, and several in other states. This has formed one of the mission arms of the church.

Others in this class have made it known that they were available to furnish transportation to members of the church that have a need to visit a doctor, hospital, or see a dentist. Then there are always two or three that enjoy visitation to the homes of those that have missed church, or have a crisis in their home. There is and has always been a cry for help among God’s people. The background for this study today was in Egypt and the senior adult that was called to help was 80 years old at the time.

We have all heard of the Israelite descendants of Jacob who were enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years, when they cried out for deliverance and god sent the 80 year old fugitive named Moses to bargain for their release. Pharaoh finally released God’s people from bondage and they were allowed to take with them great amounts of silver, gold, and fine linens as they made their way toward the Promised Land. After years of wandering in the wilderness and maintaining a rebellious state of mind toward God, at the foot of Mt. Sinai, God delivered his law for their guidance and also his demand that they build a tabernacle to be used to worship him.

The explicit plans were given to Moses regarding the size of all the rooms and the furnishings of the tabernacle, including the materials with which they were to be built. It was made clear that the people would be responsible for the building of the worship center. All of the workers were to contribute to the building according to their skill and ability. Even the women and children got involved as they were called on to donate their jewelry they had brought with them out of Egypt.

All of the structure of the tabernacle was to be formed from Acacia wood. The reason was that the Acacia timber was abundant and could be used for construction as well as for wood for heat and cooking. All members of each family could be involved in the production of the building materials and the needed fuel. There was a place for everyone to be involved in God’s plan to build a tent for His worship.

When the tabernacle was finished and made ready for the people to use in worship, God demanded that Aaron and his sons be brought in and washed or anointed as priest to serve the people as their priest. When one looks back just a few months ago and remembers that Aaron was involved in the making of an idol bull calf to be worshipped as the god that brought them out of Egypt—it is hard to understand why he was chosen to be the new priest of all the people. Just remember that God has chosen me and you to do a work for him and we may not understand why—but no one else can take our place. We are totally responsible and therefore must be totally committed and willing to contribute what ever we are ask, or directed.

Last Sunday our pastor, Brother J. R., preached a wonderful sermon from the book of Acts indicating that the people had a problem; a new need arose in the church and they selected seven new members of the church to fill that need. They contributed to the solution of a problem in the church. He then related this to a new need that has arisen in the Children’s Department of our church. The church should not have to beg for help. There is someone out there that has the ability and they should step forward and contribute to the work that needs to be done for our little ones. This is not a unique problem. I feel sure that the same kind of need exists wherever you attend church and the opportunity is there for you to give of your time and talent as your contribution to God’s work.

Just remember that there is no time or place for retirement from God’s work. Moses was 80 when he started this humongous task of leading God’s people out of bondage. The Faith Builders Class will probably average seventy-five or more and every one with health that permits, in constantly contributing to some work of the church. Work for the night is coming when man’s work is done. If a great work is completed, you will feel better if you did your part.

Tested Devotion

Very few Christian people realize the importance of testing throughout our lives. In fact the term “testing” usually issues a connotation of fear or at least discomfort. History students usually enjoy the stories that complete our knowledge of how our nation grew and prospered. The discussions open avenues of learning by giving us the opportunity to tell others about our experiences that have created special knowledge and understanding. Even more important, the discussions provide us opportunities to listen to others who are more knowledgeable and learn from their experiences that we have never had. The history class moves forward through the entire semester; from about August 25 until about December, 20 as a wonderful learning experience with no glitches and then the teacher announces that FINAL TEST will be tomorrow. For some reason the announcement of a test that will determine our semester grade sets off an emotional fear that we may have not learned well. A condition exist that will determine my success or failure. For some reason, I am not to blame; someone else placed this burden on me. Why should I have to take a final exam?

Many of us have experienced having skin cancer. We have gone through a period that included diagnosis, treatment or even surgical removal of a tumor that was either positive or negative. This experience can end with a happy announcement that the cancer is no longer present. The final disclosure depends on the results of a scientific test that proves that we are free from any continuing cancerous conditions. I did not want to take the test because it may prove that I have a serious problem.

Abiding faith in God and our devotion to Him starts when we accept Jesus as our Savior. It also will finally be proven by the final test we use to prove that we depend upon God. Some of us will trust in God’s providence and humbly look to the Lord for help and strength in our time of need. It is sad, but some of us grow bitter in our circumstances and even give up when we are asked to take the final test. The proven response is for us to grow in our devotion to the Lord even when life grows more difficult.


The successful completion of a semester study of history depends on the results of an important test. Whether we still have cancer or not depends on the results of a final lab test that proves the treatment was successful. Finally, I have shown you that your devotion to Almighty God will be shown or proven through the final test that indicates your true devotion to The One and Only God.

Our lesson today is taken from the story of how God worked through Moses and his people as the escaped from the horrors of the Red Sea incident. Chapter 15 contains the song of Moses and Miriam as thy sing their praises of God’s deliverance from the Egyptians. Their test came to an end at the time when they looked back and saw their enemies swallowed up in the rushing waters of the Red Sea. The salvation of God’s people momentarily succeeded in their deliverance from the charging army of the Egyptians.

We are examining the TESTED DEVOTION of God’s people, and find to our sorrow that the minds and hearts of Christian people have always been fickle and wavering even though God has never wavered from his promise to stand firm in support of all who will continue to trust and believe.

In verse 21, Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.” They were free. And Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. Look at this picture. Only three days passed, they were out of water and that is all the time required, for a perfect test score to turn into a failing score. Their tested devotion turned to distrust…God led them to Elem where there were twelve springs of pure water and green palm trees to rest under.

The 16th chapter reveals that there was a lack of food on the fifteenth day of the second month of freedom. The Jews grumbled that Moses had led them out of the land of plenty [Egypt] and now they are starving. God furnished food in the form of Manna and Quail. It has never taken God many days to test the devotion of his people and he has always found marvelous ways to prove his power and willingness to feed his people. I am not sure of the taste of the Manna…but I doubt seriously that he could have found a more marvelous and lush dish than that of the Quail. Most of us have eaten Quail and would highly recommend it as a Sunday Special.

The life of Moses as he spent it attempting to lead a rebellious people has always intrigued me as one of the most devoted of all men. I wonder how he managed to keep a right mind. Think of this quote from Abe Lincoln and remember him as an American that must have trusted God far beyond what politicians today want to give him credit. He said: “Trusting in Him who can go with me and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will be well.” I have far more faith in our forefathers and their leadership than any of the recent presidents.

Leading the people of Israel was no easy matter. They had water problems, meat and bread problems all of which are fond in these three chapters of Exodus. But Moses remained faithful to God, and to the people he led. Even though the people blamed him for their problems, Moses became an intercessor for the people who must fight wars all the way to the land of promise. They should remember that their deliverance was never promised as a children’s hay ride.

When times are rough, we must remember that God has never promised that the way was easy. He tells us that we do not live by bread alone—and we must remember that God even provides the bread. We surely learn from this lesson that grumbling and complaining will get you no where with God. He is much more concerned that we have prayed and sought His wisdom and will for the trials and troubles we are facing. These people were successful when they obeyed and should have soon learned that God’s demand that his laws be obeyed was a necessity. We are to trust and obey for there is no other way!

Let me challenge you to answer a couple of questions. The first question is—have you ever stood with a Moses on the banks of a Red Sea? I do not even know who is reading this, but the answer to this question is YES. Just think of the times when you owed a debt and your local bank had sent their last warning. You or your wife or child was ill, and the insurance plan had expired. You were working at a job that barely paid the bills, and you got a notice that the plant was closing.

The second question is: did you blame the bank? Whose fault was it that you were in debt? Was the government to blame for your hospital bill not being paid when you needed health care? Why was your employer paying you a low wage? Di you actually think he waned to close his plant?

Will we ever reach the time and place in life that where I am is my choosing and in most cases my fault. Will I eve admit that I must be responsible for my predicament and trust totally in God to lead me to freedom?

Resurrection Hope

It is absolutely amazing to me how as I grow older and slow way down—the calendar and the clock seem to speed ahead so fast that it places unreasonable necessity on our decision making process. When I was twenty-five, it seemed that there was an entire life-time available to use in making important decisions about life, work and my family. Now I have only a few hours to prepare for the end of life, find someone that will do a little work for me, and allow me a little time to enjoy two aging daughters, five grand children and two great-grand sons.

The winter came and went so soon; the wild madness of basketball and track blew by during the windy month of March and now baseball is in season and already the preparation for another foot-ball season is under way. It seems we are watching the final four in the play-offs about every three months. It is the same for those who use the Easter season to remember and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord; it is so, especially for those of us who attempt to teach others about this blessed event. It has happened over fifty times since I started teaching the bible. Try to imagine how difficult it is to find fifty different ways to present the one and only truth about the resurrection. It is impossible since it happened only one time in all history; and it happened only in one way and the greatest story on earth is simply that our Lord and Savior is not dead in a grave somewhere here on earth, BUT HE IS ALIVE AND ABIDES IN HEAVEN WAITING THERE TO WELCOME US TO OUR ETERNAL HOME.

The history of the birth of Christ is only recorded in the gospels and then it is repeated or explained in a few other places in the New Testament. It does not take long to read all that has been inspirationally written about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Dr. Luke was the best qualified to record this history and his account is probably used more than any other writer by those that enjoy renewing their mind and heart about this most important event in the lives of Christian people. Why do I say it was the most important event in the Christian story? Please allow me to explain my thinking regarding this matter.

I believe that Christ is the Son of God; was, is and will always be. He was there when the world and all other things were created—including you and me. That is most important. I believe that man sinned and needed a savior and that Christ gave up his place in Glory and came to earth as deity, and became man through the virgin birth to “seek and save lost people.” That was most important.

For the most of my Christian life I never dreamed that the time would ever come when it would be absolutely necessary for me to emphasize the fact that Christ was born to Mary, his mother, WHO HAD NEVER KNOWN A MAN—that is she was a virgin and had never had intercourse. She conceived our Lord with the help of the Holy Spirit who is man’s helper here on earth. He became man through his mother [a person; a human being] and he remained deity through the work of the Holy Spirit who is the third person in the God Head. And the bible plainly teaches, without any doubt, that the God Head is THREE PERSONS IN ONE…GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT. Any teaching that denies this fact is a lie from the devil himself, delivered to readers by a man demon-possessed. The bible warns us not to believe any one that will “add to or take away one jot or tidal from God’s word

He lived for about thirty-three years, was rejected by his own people and murdered on the cross, on Golgotha’s Hill. He suffered as no other man ever has, and died to pay for the sins of all who will believe in Him. That is most important. He was buried in a borrowed grave, and arose on the third day, and later ascended back into heaven to establish a way, a road, a way for man to follow, marking or establishing the way for us to be united with the God-head in heaven after our death on earth.

Prior to his resurrection, there was no way, there was no road for us to travel to our final destination—HEAVEN. That is most important. Without the resurrection morning, and the empty grave, his birth, life and death would have been meaningless to man kind. He arose! He is our risen Lord. He is alive in Heaven now and intercedes for each one of us each moment of the day and night. NO OTHER PERSON WHO CLAIMED TO BE A GOD, OR WHO IS WORSHIPPED AS A GOD CAN MAKE THIS CLAIM. NONE!

The doubter may say it is impossible—maybe it is impossible for man—but CHRIST AROSE. How, and why? BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE AND ONIY TRUE GOD OF THIS UNIVESE. “It was very early in the morning and it was on the first day of the week that the women went to his tomb” to complete the customary preparation of His body for entombment. [The press for time at the end of his death had denied a proper procedure to be completed—and they were there to complete the preparation.] Maybe it could be compared to our placing flowers on a grave today—or marking the grave with a head stone.

Three women were named and possibly there were others who arrived and went into the tomb, a small room of solid rock with only the one outside door and they attested to the world that Christ was not there. He had arisen. The women were astounded and worried; and were shedding tears when at least two men approached them and assured them that he had risen. John’s gospel tells us that they were angles, but we know that angles often appear to us as people. My wife was recently in critical care for eighteen days, she knew nothing then, and now remembers nothing that happened while dozens of God’s angles looked in on her and ministered to her. Without the hand of God she would never have walked away from the hospital. Those angles [men] and the women attest that Christ was no longer in that tomb.

Abe Lincoln was president. He was shot to death. He was no longer present in government functions because he was placed in a tomb. Do you believe that? You were not there. You did not see it happen. You read about it either in old reports or in a history book both of which were written and attested to by men only, and their word was not inspired by god; that is, God did not tell them what to write. And you believe them—so why will anyone disbelieve the report of these women, these angles, and several thousand who saw him, touched him, and even ate with him afterwards. Luke and the other apostles were among the witnesses.

It may seem redundant to you but I must reemphasize the fact that as a young man growing up in Raft Creek Bottoms in Arkansas, I never [never] had the thought that any true blooded American would doubt God’s word—because His word is Truth. It literally breaks my heart when I find that some people who have grown up in this “God blessed America” will refuse to believe God’s word to his people—The Holy Bible is God’s truth revealed to man.

Jesus Christ rose from the dead in fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures, He mad personal appearances to his followers after his resurrection, and promised to send his Holy Spirit back to them as their counselor and then ascended to the Father in Heaven. My dear friends, the gospel stands or falls on the reality that Christ arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. This statement simply means that if Christ is still in the tomb—we cannot believe anything else recorded in the bible. The truth is that a great number of qualified witnesses told the resurrection story with mixed initial reactions.

One specific example is recorded. In the interpreting of Scripture and the breaking of bread, Jesus revealed himself as the resurrected one to two disciples who were walking to Emmaus. One other example is recorded saying that the resurrected Jesus revealed himself as on with the physical ability to eat and as the one whose life, death, and resurrection fulfilled scripture. Finally, Jesus revealed himself as he ascended to heaven and the members of the early church worshipped and obeyed him.

· Jesus Christ is the risen Lord of the church.
· Resurrection faith differentiates followers of Jesus from all others.
· The life, death, resurrection and mission of Jesus Christ come directly from the expectations and teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures.
· Resurrection faith developed only after doubting disciples experienced the risen Lord, heard witnesses of the risen Christ, and were led by God to personally recognize the risen Christ.
· The church [all saved people compose the church] worship the risen Lord with joy and praise.
· It is difficult for me to understand how rabbits and died eggs have anything to do with the resurrection of Jesus.
· I can visualize a vase of blooming flowers [a dozen red roses] as symbols of the resurrection, because in the winter they are dead, and in the spring they are resurrected to new life and bloom beautifully.