Foundation Baptist Church

Gold is selling for $1,788 per ounce today. Representing to many true monetary value, it has been sought after for many years. The Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848 when James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter’s Mill in California. It changed men’s lives completely. Many sold everything they had and started on long, arduous trips with hopes of becoming rich. A few actually succeeded, but most returned home with very little.

The California Gold Rush was not the only one. There were Gold Rushes in Georgia and Alaska as well.

Gold is a dense, soft, and shiny metal that resists corrosion in air or water. For that reason, alloys of gold are often used in dental work and in low-voltage electronics.

It is interesting that Peter wrote, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver, and gold…, but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). As incorruptible as it seems, gold is destructible. It dissolves in mercury and nitro-hydrochloric acid, but the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, shed to wash away our sins, is incorruptible. Nothing can dissolve it, nothing can pollute it. That’s good, for by it we are redeemed, bought back from the slave market of sin into fellowship with God Himself. The value of the blood of Christ never diminishes. Its eternality ensures our eternal life.

In the observable universe, there are at least 39 superclusters — groups of galaxies and smaller clusters so large that there is no gravitation influence between them, up to one billion light years across. That is 5,870,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles. Our local supercluster — the one we live in — contains the Virgo cluster which contains up to 2000 galaxies. Our own Milky Way Galaxy is one of them and contains 200-400 billion stars. (Andromeda, the largest galaxy in our area, contains one trillion stars.) Of course, the sun is one of those stars. The Milky Way spans 700,000,000,000,000,000 miles.

Think of that distance! Just one supercluster spans almost 6 septillion miles, and the distance between the superclusters is even greater. Then think of Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”  (Rom 8:38-39). No distance, even the distance across the entire universe, can separate us from the love of God. Now that is some love!!

Recently, I read this set of questions that provoked a lot of thought and analysis. Maybe they will do the same for you.

How many hours do you spend in prayer before boredom takes over? Or should I say minutes? Perhaps seconds?
Are you breathlessly yearning for the day you step beyond this life into that life prepared for you after death? Does the hope you have for heaven raise the hair on the back of your neck or make your belly float? Are you obsessed with eternity? Does it preoccupy you, so that all the gifts on this earth pale by comparison?
Are you, like the overeager bride about to be wed, so excited about your final union with God that nothing around you seems to matter anymore?
Do you regularly, as did the apostle Paul, honestly crave to die and be with Christ, because departing to be with him is better by far than living to serve him?
(Quoted fromThe Slumber of Christianity by Ted Dekker)

To be loved unconditionally is important. It is essential to our happiness to be loved.  Yet, we are naturally unlovable; our behavior renders it so, especially in God’s eyes. God is holy, we are sinners. God cannot tolerate sin, and we are saturated with it. If we viewed sin as God does, we would recoil in horror at such a hideous sight. Yet we still need God’s love.

Therefore, if we are to be loved, we must be loved unconditionally. Such is God’s love for us. He does not love us because we love Him. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (1 John 4:9). And He does not love us because we are lovable. “But God showed His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). We are indeed loved by God unconditionally.

What about acceptance, though? People often confuse the two — love and acceptance. To them, to love unconditionally is to accept unconditionally. God loves unconditionally, but does He accept unconditionally? Paul wrote to the Ephesian church, “…He hath made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:4), and Christians have rightly delighted in such a thought. However, this is not an unconditional acceptance. Before Paul states that we are accepted, He writes in verse four, “He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” We must be holy to be accepted by God.

Because of God’s unconditional love for us, He implemented a plan to make us holy. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to become human, live a perfectly holy life, and then die in our place for the punishment of our sins. Now He offers salvation from sin and its consequence to us if we will just repent and trust Him. His love impelled Him to pay the price to make us acceptable to Himself.

Even after we are saved, to be accepted into full, daily fellowship with Him, we must live Godly lives. Paul wrote in  His letter to the Romans that we are to present our bodies to God — holy and acceptable (Romans 12:1-2). To be accepted into God’s full fellowship, we must pursue holiness.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). It seems that everyone knows that God loves them so much that He gave His Son to provide eternal life. Everyone knows the word God, the word world, the word Son, the word perish, and the words everlasting life. Most even recognize the somewhat archaic word believeth and “translate” it to modern English, believes. But what about the word that? Have you ever meditated on that?

According to Merriam-Webster, that expresses purpose or desired result. The first that in the verse introduces the result of God loving the world. Because God loved the world, He gave His only Son. Standing alone, it does not make sense. However, with a little background….

First, you need to understand that God is holy — totally uncontaminated by sin (Leviticus 20:26). Not only does He not sin, but He does not even tolerate sin. All sin must be punished.

Second, you need to realize that all people have sinned, including you (Romans 3:23). When measure against God’s standard, all people fall short. In fact, every “good” think that you do is like a filthy rag in God’s eyes (Isaiah 64:6). Furthermore, the wages (what you get for what you do) of sin is death for eternity in the lake of fire (Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:14-15).

If that were the entire story, everybody would be doomed to spend eternity in hell. But God so loved the world (everyone) that He gave His Son. God the Father sent His Divine Son, Jesus Christ, to become man and live a truly perfect, sin-free life. Being totally righteous and proving it, He became the perfect sacrifice. In other words, He took all of your sins in His own body, and then died in your place. Yes, the result of God’s love for you is that His Son died for you.

The second that gives the result of God giving His only Son. Those who believe (trust) in the Lord Jesus Christ will not perish (spend eternity in hell), but instead they will have eternal life in heaven.

That is the key. Because God so loved the world, He gave his Son. Because God gave His Son, we can have eternal life.

Years ago I reached the conclusion that I could afford a new Cordovox accordion. After all, I could just charge it to my new credit card. Since I was to leave Sunday for automotive alignment school in St. Louis, I was anxious for it to arrive in time to take with me. After I harassed the music store owner relentlessly, he decided to meet the delivery truck in Atlanta and bring it back to Macon after store hours on Saturday. Finally, I strapped that new marvel, perhaps idol, on my shoulders and started to play. The reeds worked beautifully, but the electronics? Nothing but noise! It was defective. Being the determined (stubborn?) guy that I am, I simply decided that we would exchange it at the Cordovox warehouse on the way to St. Louis — in Chicago! My very patient father-in-law and traveling companion for that trip quietly agreed.

Traveling all day Sunday, we arrived at the Chicago warehouse early Monday morning. They were shocked, but managed to find another unit in stock. We connected it to an amplifier, and I played a quick tune in the key of C. It was beautiful! So we loaded it up and struck out for St. Louis.

After class was over, I headed for a nearby music store to buy an amplifier. With a little more time on my hand, I tried out several songs. With the basic chords in the key of C, it was beautiful. When I tried a different key, the bass notes were all wrong. Dejected, but still determined, I found a repair shop nearby. Explaining that I needed it by the end of the week to take home with me, I left it with them.

Friday after class, I quickly went to the shop to get it. It was still sitting right where I had put it. Frustration is not intense enough of a word. One phone call after another, trying to demand help, only resulted in, “We can’t help you. Please call this number instead.” After calling one number, then the other, the last contact advised me to call a number that sounded familiar. It was the number that I called first! Finally, I gave up. We left the accordion in St. Louis for repairs, to be shipped back home sometime.

All the way to St. Louis through Chicago, my father-in-law had asked me to play a song — A Name I Highly Treasure by Oscar Eliason and Alfred B. Smith. I lost count of how many times I played that song or how many times we quoted/sang the words, but I totally missed the point on that trip. I had been valuing a name, the wrong name — Cordovox. Instead, I should have treasured THE Name, Jesus.

Now I have learned. I can say with the song,

I’ve learned to know a Name I highly treasure,
Oh how it thrills my spirit thro’ and thro’;
Oh, Precious Name, beyond degree or measure,
O wondrous Name of Him so kind and true.

My heart is stirred whene’er I think of Jesus,
That blessed Name which sets the captive free;
The only Name thro’ which I find salvation,
No name on earth has meant so much to me.

Do you value anything more than the name of Jesus? I hope not! It is the name in which we find salvation, in which we are baptized, in which we are healed, in which we speak, teach, preach. It is the name at which everyone/everything will one day bow.

According to Rabbi Simlai, there are 613 commandments in the first five books of the Bible, 365 negative and 248 positive. Over the years, there have been many other commandments or derivatives taught for people to obey. When Jesus was on earth, a lawyer (also a Pharisee) asked Him the question, “Which is the great commandment in the Law?” Jesus answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Going beyond the question, He quickly identified the second greatest commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Then Jesus stated, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” In other words, these two were key commandments.

When analyzing the Ten Commandments, the student can see how each is related to the Two Key Commandments. The first four are related to the first Key Commandment and deal with man’s relationship with God.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.

The last six are related to the second Key Commandment and deal with man’s relationships with man.

Honor thy father and mother.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Thou shalt not covet.

According to John F. McArthur, Jr., in The Fulfilled Family, the fifth commandment (first of the last six) is a key commandment concerning our relationships with each other. “In fact, it is the key to all relationships, because a person who grows up with a sense of obedience, discipline, reverence, awe, and respect for his parents will be someone who can make any other kind of human relationship work.”

If you have a broken (or strained) relationship with your parents, work to restore that relationship. Then you will be equipped to develop or restore other relationships in your life.

“And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere…. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan…. And Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom” (Genesis 13:10-12).

Lot was a nephew of Abraham and traveled with Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees. I’m sure that he learned much about a walk of faith with God. Indeed, he traveled with Abraham many miles, trusting God (or at least Abraham) as they went. However, there is a progression in Lot’s life that parallels the direction of many Christians today.

Both Abraham and Lot were blessed greatly by God. In fact, they had so much that the land could not support them. When contention broke out between their herdsmen, Abraham suggested that they go different ways, and He gave Lot the choice of which way to go. Lot considered the choice in a way that would be considered wise by the world even today. He examined the land surrounding them, not from a faith viewpoint, but from a materialistic angle. Looking to the west, the land was mountainous and somewhat dry, but looking to the east he saw that the land was well watered. It would be much easier to maintain and even increase his wealth there. Surely, he would be better able to provide for his family there.

Lot then made the choice — a fateful choice, too. With apparently no, or little, consideration for spiritual matters, Lot chose the plains of Jordan. As time went on, Lot moved closer and closer to the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah — at first in the plain, then near Sodom, and finally sitting in the gate of Sodom (Genesis 19:1, to sit in the gate was probably to be in leadership). It was a gradual process, from walking with Abraham to “leading” the wicked, and it affected his family as well. His sons-in-law would not listen when warned to flee the coming judgment. His wife so longed for the “prosperity” of the wicked lifestyle that she looked back and was turned to a pillar of salt. His daughters’ thinking had been so degraded that they thought incest with their father was a good thing (Genesis 19:30-38).

It must be remembered that Lot was a “righteous” person (2 Peter 2:7), but he vexed his righteous soul daily. Why would he do it, and risk all that he held dear?

The world is a persistent, insidious pressure that would mold us over time into its own image. Paul warned us, “Be not conformed (pressed into the shape of) to this world” (Romans 12:2). This unrelenting wind of influence thrusts us toward the lifestyle of the world. If not consistently resisted, it will change us into its likeness.

John wrote, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world” (1 John 2:15). If you remove that love from your life, you let down the sails that so catch the wind of the world. The force of the world will have less effect on you. Be warned, too. You cannot handle two loves — one for God and one for the world. The rest of verse 15 makes it clear, “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

If you have been caught in the trap of Lot — loving the world, now is the time to repent and turn back to God. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:4).