The Living Dead

Horror films have been made about the living dead for sheer entertainment and excitement. Dead bodies coming out their graves to scare and kill people - zombies we call them. They have animation, but are technically dead. They do not have feeling or any vitality. The flesh is rotting and they lose limbs easily. They do not communicate - they only moan. 

The Bible describes people devoid of God's Spirit as dead. Both Ephesians 2:1 and Colossians 2:13 describes us as being dead in trespasses and sins before God made us alive. What type of death is this? It is spiritual death. Jesus when rebuking the Pharisees described them as beautiful whitewashed tombs on the outside, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones (Matthew 23:27). So, the word of God reveals to us that there are spiritual zombies - those that are alive physically but dead spiritually.

How did man become the living dead? We were born this way unfortunately. We have to travel all the way to the beginning of time; when Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord in the Garden of Eden. Their sin plunged the entire human race into this living-dead state. When God pronounced death upon them, it included all of their descendants since we were all in the loins of Adam when the sin was committed (Gen 2:17;Rom 5:12).

How can one remain dead while they are still living? Definitely appears to be an oxymoron right? It all has to do with what a person is doing and their relationship to Christ. If you are reading this and you are not in Christ, you are a dead person walking. Every work you do is dead works and is rejected by God. How do I know this? Romans 6:20-21 says, "For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death." 

The twenty third verse of the same chapter tells us the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Proverbs 21:27 tells us, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. How much more when he brings with wicked intent or ulterior motives. Proverbs 15:8 says, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.

God hates the pretentious "good deeds" of wicked people. Why? Because although the deeds may appear benevolent to the naked eye, God knows every heart, and the wicked's deeds are evil because that is what they love (John 3:19). No one can fool the Lord (Galatians 6:7).

These aforementioned passages amplify my point of what the living dead do versus what the spiritually alive do. Your deeds on the outside prove your inner spiritual condition.

What is the solution to the living dead curse? One MUST be born again or be born from above. All of us have physical birth, but in order to be truly in God's family one has to be reborn or have rebirth. Who causes this to happen, man or God? Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3 that he had to be born again to see the kingdom of God. In other words Nicodemus and all of us have to be regenerated by the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit has to raise us from spiritual death just like Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead by His power (John 11:43-44).

God is the one that causes rebirth. Just like you and I could not cause our physical birth which is of the flesh, neither can we bring about our rebirth which is of the Spirit (John 3:6). And just like the wind that we cannot see but we feel it's power, the Spirit of the Lord is the same. We cannot see Him, but we see the effects He has on our lives which clearly indicates He dwells on the inside.

In summation here is the reality of all people who will ever live: The living dead live once and die twice. those in Christ live twice and may die once. Let me explain. The living dead will die physically and spiritually. Spiritual death is also called the second death in the book of Revelation 2:11; 20:14; 21:8. Those of us who are in Christ will never taste the second death and many will never taste physical death if they are alive when the rapture comes. They will simply be caught up to meet the Lord in air to be with Him forever (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

Special 23rd Wedding Anniversary Edition Podcast - Part 2

Please click on link to listen


https://drive.google.com/open?id=1s8S7pk_cGevHOB346lGDCFTnEvvIgLQx

Special 23rd Wedding Anniversary Edition Podcast - Part 1

Please click on link to listen



https://drive.google.com/open?id=1d_GNBnktEoeV0zhF_4GKwX8YgQzSF2x7

Proverbs Chapter Two Commentary

                             Chapter Two

The value of Godly wisdom is priceless. One should be willing to sell everything to they own to obtain it. Yet that would never be enough. So, God grants it to all. Wisdom also has to be a diligent lifelong pursuit. Only fools reject knowledge and wisdom. That is what Solomon is stressing to his son. In order for one to have success in every area of life, one has to fear the Lord which is the root cause of wisdom.

Verses 1-11

Solomon is teaching his son(s) again the value of listening to his words and obeying his commands. Insight has to be a willing expedition. Just as a miner searches for silver and gold, we must seek after wisdom as hidden treasure – be willing to attack whatever obstacle is in our way to capture our goal and win the prize. One that does that in regard to wisdom is on their way to greatness and success in life. Then and only then will one understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God (vs 5).  Embracing God’s ways provides a lifetime of benefits: Protection. Everyone wants to be safe and free from harm. Preservation which is akin to protection. Preservation is the reality of keeping someone or something safe and secure all the time. God does that for those that fear and obey Him.

Guarding the paths of justice. What does that mean? It means God preserves the way of His saints.

Verse is 10 – Wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will delight you

Once wisdom enters your soul, it will cause a person to take pleasure in knowledge. This relationship has to become a love affair. You will know how to handle every situation prudently for knowledge and understanding will be like sentries protecting your mind.

Verse 12-22

All of the above prevents the young man from a life of crime, violence, immorality, stupidity and death. There is I believe a very slim chance that a man that listens to the wisdom of his Father and Mother will live a life of sin. I did not say he would not sin, but sin for a wise young man would not be a pathology. A person that lives a life of sin is already a dead person walking for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The only difference from the dead man walking vs. a dead man not walking is that the living dead is still breathing.

Our young men are not taught to avoid immoral women. Why? Because the more women a man can conquer sexually, the more he is supposed to be respected by other men who brag about their fornication. Actually, a man who abuses his body with strange women is a whore. I do believe in a double standard. If a woman who sells her flesh or gives her body away for free is a prostitute, then so is the man. Young men! Avoid the adultress! She is unfaithful to her husband which makes her unfaithful to the Lord. Her paths are unrighteous and will lead one to death and to hell.

Those that are righteous will inherit all things good. Whereas the wicked are hastening to a quick death. Sadly, they do not even know or care that this is their fate.

Commentary on Proverbs Chapter One

Verses 1-6

It makes sense that Solomon the wisest man who ever lived would record words of wisdom for everything in life that we experience. The primary purpose of this book was for Solomon to give Godly instruction to his son(s).  Solomon realized the absolute value in guiding his children and all who read to listen to the voice of the Lord and, apply His knowledge and wisdom to our lives so that our steps are ordered. Not to do so is foolish. Ignoring God’s word is an absolute recipe for disaster for anyone. 

Verse is 7 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction or discipline. If one is to discover true knowledge, they must fear, revere and honor the Lord first. You cannot even reach first base in your understanding of anything if you do not know the Lord is the one guiding your thoughts and deeds. In essence one who refuses to acknowledge God is a fool, literally an airhead. 

Verse 8-19

Solomon continues to instruct children to listen to their Father and Mother. Doing so is wise for the child. Receiving Godly wisdom and instruction is most precious – like garland on the head and jewelry around the neck. What is the result of Godly parental counseling? It will dissuade a young man from joining ruthless people who only want to rob and kill others without cause. Those that run to evil will become victims of their own wicked schemes. The wicked are the ones who do not have the Lord in their lives. For if they did, they would despise wickedness and love righteousness.

Verses 20-33

Wisdom is personified calling out in the streets to those who need her which is all people. Wisdom is warning the ignorant and the mocker to end their destructive ways and heed her voice. If they do, they will receive Wisdom’s Spirit and be taught by her. Paul in Ephesians prayed for the Ephesian Church that they would receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of the Lord (Ephesians 1:17). Wisdom will ignore those that despise her, especially when their fear and calamity come upon them. As a matter of fact, she will laugh at them for rejecting her. This response from Wisdom’s rejection of the wicked should serve as loving and fearful warning to all of us. God’s love will only be available for a little while. If rejected continuously, only His wrath remains which no human in their right mind wants (but deserves). 

Want to live securely and honestly in this hard life? Fear the Lord and obey His commandments. 

That is the heartbeat of the entire book of Proverbs.

Why Jesus had to die and why He had to rise from the Dead

As parents we are responsible for cleaning up our kid’s messes when they are small. Why? Because they are unable to do it on their own. We love our children more than our own lives. We will do whatever it takes to ensure their safety.

In like manner, Jesus did whatever it took to secure the salvation of His children by dying in their place; becoming a substitutionary sacrifice for their sins. We can never cleanse our own sins. We must remember sin always requires death (Romans 6:23). In the Old Testament, countless animals were sacrificed on behalf of the people of Israel. The animal’s blood had to be shed because the life of the flesh is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). The death of the innocent animal was substituted for the sinner. The daily sacrifices were a constant reminder of the nation’s sinfulness. These sacrifices were foreshadowing the once and for all sacrifice of Christ on the cross (Heb 9:28;1 Pet 3:18).

Only Jesus can eradicate the world’s sin dis-ease. Sin is a mess man can never clean up. Why? We are the ones that created the mess so we cannot be the solution, too can we? No. Someone else has to pay the price for our rebellion against a holy God. The Father decided in eternity past to send the Son to save us from His (the Father’s) just wrath and punish His only begotten sinless Son. Jesus’ death actually defies all human logic. Why? Because the innocent died for the guilty and the sinless died for the sinful. On a human level there is no way this is fair.

But wait a minute! We are not dealing with human fairness or our secular justice system. The events surrounding Jesus’ death are literally out of this world. We are dealing with heavenly things, celestial matters. We are witnessing a love so transcendent that it boggles the mind. God the Father had the “nerve” to allow His only Begotten Son to be humiliated, beaten, spit upon, flogged so severely that his back was split open and his flesh was ripped from His body. As a matter of fact, David a thousand years before Christ prophesied of this event in the twenty second Psalm. David said regarding Christ, “I can count all my bones” (Psalm 22:17).  Lastly, He was stripped naked, nailed to cross with His “crime” written above Him, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” (John 19:19).  Jesus obviously did not do this for His own benefit for He had no sin (2 Cor 5:21).  He was forsaken by God for the sins we committed (Psa 22:1; Matt 27:46).

We put Jesus Christ on the cross. What an indescribable love! It would be blasphemous not to declare it always.

The crucifixion of Christ serves as a reflection of the punishment that every human being that will ever live deserves but is unable to pay. Jesus’ death was repugnant, inhumane and profane. It is naturally the most offensive event in human history because the God-Man switched places with us and gave up His life. But God the Father would only accept a sin sacrifice from a perfect and sinless human being so Christ’s death was absolutely necessary. That is why the second person of the trinity had to come, become a man, and shed his sinless blood to satisfy the wrath of God’s anger against sin. Jesus accomplished that task which provided forgiveness of sins to all who repent and believe in what Jesus did for them.

Why did Jesus have to raise from the dead?

Death cannot hold unto an innocent man. Jesus committed no sin so death could not ultimately prevail against Him. Secondly, His resurrection proves that the Father’s wrath against the Son because of our sins was satisfied. Had Christ remained in the grave, there would be no reason to believe that He was the sinless Son of God.  His mission would have been a failure. His death would be no different than that of any other criminal.

Listen to what Hebrews 9:13-14 says, “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

This is what the writer of Hebrews is telling us, in the Old Covenant they had religious ceremony that would symbolically purify the flesh and declare one clean. Jesus’ sacrifice which was a once-for-all transaction entered into the heavenly Holy of Holies and offered His blood on the eternal mercy seat which cleansed the soul forever and made the recipient accepted by God and brought into His kingdom (Hebrews 9:23-26). The Old Covenant ritual was never designed to cleanse the soul. Only the life blood of Christ can do that.

In the final analysis, both the death and resurrection of Jesus had to occur.  Our sins made both events imperative. He died because of our sins, and He was raised for our justification (Romans 4:25).

Proverbs 28 Commentary (non exhaustive)

Verse 1 – The unrighteous because they are so accustomed to doing dirt are always watching their back as if someone is after them. Even if someone isn’t.  That is the definition of paranoia.

Verse 2: Land in Rebellion – I liken the U.S. like this with the current impeachment proceedings of Donald Trump.  It shows with all the partisan politics, no one can agree on anything. It also shows the rest of the world how divided our government is. I see this as very dangerous because it breeds distrust between our executive and legislative branches of government in particular. It also reveals to the rest of the nations of the world how unstable our “leaders” are.

Verse 4: Haters of the law - Our laws were providentially given by God through men to protect the righteous and punish the wicked.  Those who break the law show their hatred for civil order and ultimately are enemies of God who instituted human law.

Verse 5 - Wicked people do not understand or respect what is right. However, godly people understanding everything. Why? They look at life through the lens of scripture – divine truth. Biblical insight puts life in perspective. It allows a person to understanding WHY things are the way they are in this world. God’s word shines the light on darkness and reveals the wicked intentions of men’s hearts.

Verse 18: There is help for those who are honest - Today, honesty is rarely the best policy. A lie is more appealing. A person obviously lies to conceal the truth they are ashamed to reveal.  People tell lies to others because they believe the truth may hurt them so bad that it will damage or terminate the relationship. Let’s be honest, do you feel better living with a lie, or telling the truth? A lie keeps one in bondage, whereas the truth no matter how painful, liberates the soul of the deliverer and recipient of the message.

Verse 23: Rebuking one another – The writer believes proper rebuke is an art form. It should be done both privately and publicly. Rebuking someone is not publicly putting someone on blast to humiliate them. But rather pulling them to the side, and lovingly reasoning with them regarding what you see as currently wrong in their lives. You want to help them. Rebuking someone has to be direct so it most likely will hurt the recipient but is necessary if they are to repent and be restored by God. Public rebuke is mentioned in 1 Timothy 5:20 in the case of elders who are in sin. Paul instructs Timothy to rebuke publicly elders-pastors who are in sin so that all may fear.  No one is exempt from correction, not even leaders in the church. The key was that it had to be at least two or three witnesses that were aware of the sin in order to confront the offender publicly. Open rebuke is better than flattery which is usually disingenuous to a person – making them feel a false sense of confidence about themselves.