(WISDOM)CAFE SOZO

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” (Genesis 6:11)

COMMENT: Now our Lead Scripture is talking about the putrid condition of society before God wiped away everything, excluding Noah and Company, with The Flood. I suspect He views our current situation on earth as Casey Stengel once said,  ”deja vu all over again.” Here on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC there is a term that is being bantered around more and more. The term is “Culture of Corruption”. Well, all I can say about that is “IN POLITICS, WHAT ELSE IS NEW?” However, I perceive that the “workplace” in the United States is beginning to take on that same persona. .Potential employees are “cheating” on their resumes at such an alarming rate  that there has  been created a corporation that will check out every item claimed by the potential employee. Employers find that hiring the wrong person and then having to fire them is a horrendous cost to them. Now let’s turn to the bosses. Last month Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, the chiefs  of Enron Corporation, were convicted of conspiracy and fraud. The collapse of Enron wiped out more that $60 billion in market value, almost $2.1 billion in pension plans and 5,600 jobs.  ”The conspiracy conviction was a major victory for the government, serving almost as a bookend to an era that has seen prosecutors win convictions against executives from World-Com Inc,. to Adelphia Communications Corp. and homemaking diva Martha Stewart.” (The Washington Times, Friday, May 26, 2006)  The main point of this discourse is to reemphasize the fact that we are living in a society that is growing more corrupt every day. We must continue to remind ourselves that we are in the world but not of the world.(John 15:19 & 17:16) Let’s not “go with the flow”, but strive to swim upstream!

SCRIPTURE STUDY: Ephesians 4:17-24, Philippians:2:14,15

WISE SAYING: MAN’S WAY LEADS TO A HOPELESS END — GOD’S WAY LEADS TO AN ENDLESS HOPE.

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil.”  (Proverbs 3:7)  

COMMENT: Some days ago I sent out a message on salvation. In it I mentioned that I agreed with the statement “Once saved, always saved.” A precious sister in the Lord wrote me to say that she respectfully disagreed with that statement. She went on to say that some time ago she had fallen away from the Lord and she truly believes that if she had died during that time she would have gone to hell. I asked her to give me Scripture to back up that belief and she had none. I then sent her a couple of Scriptures that had convinced me that my theology was correct. When someone sincerely confesses that Jesus is their Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9) he or she is saved, no ifs, ands or buts about it!  ”And I [Jesus] give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. (John 10:28) In 1 John 2:28 the Word of God warns Christians about the consequences of dying in a “fallen state”: “And now, little children, abide in Him that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at His coming.” Lastly, I quoted 1 Cor. 3:14,15 which reflects the situation of some wayward brethren on Judgement Day: “If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” (If you have any comments on this subject, I would be more that pleased to hear from you.) 

SCRIPTURE STUDY: 1 Cor. :13 -16

WISE SAYING: WE MUST KNOW THE DOCTRINE BEFORE IT CAN BE TRANSFERRED INTO THE PRACTICAL. 

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

COMMENT:  Becoming a Christian is not just something we do to miss hell; it is meant to be a lifestyle. Our purpose is to please God. When we expose ourselves to God’s Word, it becomes internalized; this give God an opportunity to change us from the inside out. We must be faithful to renew our minds with God’s Word. (Romans 12:2) To do otherwise is to remain a babe in Christ, a carnal Christian. (1 Cor. 3:3) Some erroneously think that they can change their behavior by sheer will power.  For years I tried to give up smoking that way and it never worked. Finally, after becoming a Christian, I prayed that God would take away the desire for those “cancer sticks”. I didn’t get relief until the following promise was revealed to me. “. . .whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you shall have them.” (Mark 11:24) I started agreeing with God’s Word that He had, indeed, taken away my desire to smoke. Every time that longing would creep up on me, I’d simply say: “According to God’s Word, He has taken away my desire to smoke.” I haven’t smoked, or have had the desire to do so, for over 20 years. But to those advocates of will power bringing about lasting change, I suggest they restate their belief this way: When we supply the will, the Holy Spirit will provide the power.”

SCRIPTURE STUDY: Proverbs 14:12, Romans 10:17

WISE SAYING: YOU CAN’T PRODUCE IN YOUR BEHAVIOR WHAT YOU DON’T BELIEVE ABOUT YOURSELF.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17)

COMMENT: Most of you probably are not aware of the fact that my home church has a new setting. Capital Church made the move in October of 2005. There was already a place of worship on the site, so instead of tearing it down we decided to gut the interior and give the place an “extreme makeover”. This saved a lot time and money and at the same time we changed “blight to delight”! That is exactly what happened to us when we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When a person is regenerated, it’s like the “old man” is gutted out and we become a brand new person on the inside. That spirit man that is formed never existed before, that is why the term ”born-again”  is employed. At first I thought my analogy was a little out of kilter because the exterior of our new edifice has been made very elegant while our bodies remain the same after redemption. Then I realized that I was still on the right track because Christians who have cultivated the love, peace and joy of the Lord in their lives have much improved countenances..

SCRIPTURE STUDY: Colossians 3:8 -10 and Ephesians 2:10

WISE SAYING: GOD FORMED US. SATAN DEFORMED US.  JESUS REFORMED US.

POST SCRIPT: Find out more about my church at www.capitalchurch.net