Well, I put Ken’s roast with carrots from the garden into the oven for the birthday dinners.  We will have mashed potatoes from the garden as a side dish.  Cake – NOT from scratch – has been baked and two kinds of frosting – NOT from scratch – is ready for the birthday girls, even though it will be a bit before they mark the anniversary. 

But, I wanted to celebrate with them and this was the best time, next few weeks are going to be challenging.  We will have an early dinner this evening.

Not much else going on in our neck of the woods, trust all is fine with you.  

Mathew 15:7-9 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

⁸ This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

⁹ But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

Jesus was quoting Isaiah to the scribes, and Pharisees – they were challenging how His disciples were acting when they themselves were creating or honoring traditions that had nothing to do with God.  It is a long time problem, as it was the through the ages, it is today.

Man thinks he can improve on God’s message.  He cannot.  People want to know how they can be holy, so there will be those that will provide a formula, not from the heart of God, but from their own hearts.  They will twist the Bible message to mean what they want it to mean – and then provide rules to follow so that a person can be ‘holy.’  -- But they must follow those rules or they cannot be saved.  It was the same thing the Jewish leaders did for thousands of years.

There are many ways to present the message and as long as it is true to His Word, it will be used by the Holy Spirit to reach a person’s heart.  I am not all that excited about some of those methods – I don’t care for Rap and many of the more ‘modern’ music.  But it reaches those that God wants reached and as long as the message in the music and the behavior of the musician follows God’s Word it can be used for His glory.

The same is true of using the different social media outlets, I have not joined any of them but many people are on it.  They can be reached by using the outlets for His glory. 

Just as television was a taboo thing in years past, Christians have learned that it is a good way to get their message across to people.  We know the dangers of that instrument and how it has gone from a media that used to pride itself on watching what went out over the airways, to an anything goes and even the most innocuous programs can contain things we neither condone, nor believe in or want our children to watch.  Still it is the message that goes out that is evil, not the method itself.

We need to discern what the message is, how it impacts us and how it lines up with God’s Word.  We must be diligent at all times.

Deception by satan and slipping away from God is like a child taking his first cookie knowing he is not supposed to have it, or lying knowing what he has done is wrong and he is trying to not be held accountable – it is a gradual process.  The child’s conscience hammers him, he is scared, but he also is excited, with some his conscience makes the cookie taste bad, others his guilt is assuaged by the excitement and it tastes all the more sweeter.

Once they have done one thing wrong – and got away with it, it is easier to do it again.  Eventually the actions can become more aggressive and costly in both what is taken, and to the person’s conscience. 

If we think something is harmful to our spiritual well-being it probably is, it ‘sounds’ wrong for a reason.  But sometimes it seems too sweet to be wrong, a ‘new’ way of looking at things can disguise an attack on both God’s Word and our sensibilities.

With so much out there that is promulgated by those that have yielded to satan’s message, and a lot of it sounds ‘okay,’ how does a Christian know what is right and what is wrong?

We can ask God; and I don’t mean just a lip service, but an actual meeting with God in prayer and with a heart open to Him.  We need to know His Word, the Holy Spirit will prompt us with that and if we are unsure, we need to search His Word.  God will give us the insights to discern right from wrong.

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

He wants us to be Holy as He is Holy, to do that we must ask Him how, we must search His Word and we must listen to the Holy Spirit as He guides us through our days, through the maze that satan tries to lay before us.

Some sin is black and white, we are not to murder, commit adultery, take God’s name in vain just to name a few – the Ten Commandments pretty well lay those out for us.  But sometimes it is not.

If the Holy Spirit is telling us to take action – and we know that it is He that is directing us, and we refuse to do as He tells us, it is sin.

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

As an example, many churches forbid the use of alcoholic beverages, calling it a sin.  Is it?

John 2:8-10 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

⁹ When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

¹⁰ And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

That was the first public miracle that is recorded of Jesus’s ministry. 

Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess;

Paul did not forbid the drinking of wine, but said do not drink to access.  We all know what happens when that is done, the person does things that they would never do when sober – and much of that is wrong.

The other danger, of course, is addiction.  Alcohol is one of the most addict substances around.  Once addicted they have great difficulty remaining sober and even the smell of an alcoholic beverage will entice them to over indulge.

Like any drug, it can be addictive to some people with one use of it.  Others become addicted over a period of time, they need it to calm their nerves before speaking, they need it to relax, they need it to wash down their meal.  After a while they need it to make it through the day, and then through the hour.

The same is true of many substances – marijuana being one of them that is becoming ‘legal’ in so many states.  It should never have been done.  People who, before now, have not partaken of the drug will feel it is okay to do that now.  The abuse and wrong use of it is going to create a multitude of problems for all of us.

Drinking wine, in of itself is not a sin, but it can be if we are drinking around people for whom alcohol is a problem.  And it is a problem for tens of millions of people in the USA alone.  Sometimes we are not even aware a person has a problem with it until they hit bottom.

While it is true that not everyone will become addicted or misuse alcohol or some other drug, why take the chance, and even more important why tempt those that have problems with it.

I don’t drink.  I have only done so one time.  I was one of several community leaders that drank measured amounts for a local program that was produced to show the results of alcohol on a person.  I was asked to participate because everyone knew I didn’t drink and it helped show how even a few drinks can influence a person.  Just a couple of drinks can impair a person’s decision making ability and reaction times.

That was thirty years ago, and I haven’t drank since.  A lot of my fellow Christians were very upset with me for participating, but I felt the message was worth it.  Was I wrong?  I didn’t and don’t think it harmed my testimony – but we have to be careful about that. 

The message was don’t drink and drive, but some of the participants demonstrated why a person shouldn’t drink at all – their behavior was affected and they did some stupid things.  One of them wanted the production pulled from the television because he looked like such a fool.  I was asked what I thought.

I made it clear that I had participated to demonstrate the bad effects of alcohol and I had gone out on a limb to do so, against my religious beliefs of not drinking and those of many of my friends – I wanted it to be shown for the very reason the other person didn’t want it shown, drinking is a dangerous activity.  They left it on for the entire scheduled time.

I have never been a drinker.  But I do remember talking to my first Pastor about the church’s ban on alcohol and smoking.  This was a major issue in the 1960’s one that a person could find themselves forced out of the church if it was taken to far.

However, I also want to make something clear here, one of the things that Christians, who have their heart toward God, can do is forgive, pray for and help others.  Knowing they, themselves, are not perfect, listening to and obeying Jesus’s command to forgive others, they are willing to work with sinners and help them overcome their sins. 

So if drinking itself is not a sin – why shouldn’t a Christian drink?

I truly believe that we must live our lives as pure and holy as possible – despite being a sinner who just can’t seem to avoid temptation, there are certain lines I know should not be crossed and imbibing in alcohol is one of them, for me.

I believe, as Christians, we must remember this verse and if we forget then we are indeed disobeying it: Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Because we need to be mindful that partaking can cause a brethren to falter, and can justify – in the mind of a person looking at struggling with an addiction and thinking that it isn’t something they should worry about having anything to do with their salvation since ‘that Christian’ is doing it:

1 Corinthians 8:9-11 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.

¹⁰ For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;

¹¹ And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?

There are always people who struggle with sin in their lives, if we know that something is a stumblingblock to someone – and especially when we know many people suffer from the sin, we should refrain from exposing them to that problem. 

That was the major message the Pastor gave me, one that I have strived to live up to since.

Paul, in my opinion, said it well:  1 Corinthians 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.

Let us look to God for our guidance.  Measure all our traditions and what man says is holy living against the Word of God so that we will not be led astray.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again