God & Creation

Bible Reading:  Genesis 1

Key Verse: Verse 1 – “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Key Words: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth   

Since the atheist believes that God doesn’t exist, he has to justify through some means how man came to be.  His remarkable answer is evolution.  Man evolved into being.  But if evolution is a process of progression, then why is everything digressing?

It is said that Sir Isaac Newton had a perfectly scaled down replica of the then known solar system built for his studies.  A large golden ball represented the sun at the center, and the then known planets revolved around it through a series of cogs, belts, and rods.  It was said to have been an incredible machine.  One day while Newton was studying his model, an atheist friend stopped by for a visit. 

The man marveled at the machine and asked, “Who made this exquisite thing?” 

Without looking up and without hesitation, Newton replied, “Nobody.”

  “Nobody?” his friend asked. 

“That’s right,” said Newton.  “All of these balls, cogs, belts, and gears just happened to come together, and wonder of wonders, by chance they began revolving in their orbits with perfect timing.” 

His friend replied, “That’s not possible.” 

Newton said, “I know.” 

Then his friend, with a look of embarrassment, said, “I got it, Isaac.”

Oh, that others would get it as well!

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞Pray for those who fail to see.

✞Pray for our educational system which is blinding the minds of our youth.

✞Pray for our country to turn back to God

✞Pray for the righteous to stand and do right.

Proving God

Bible Reading:  Jeremiah 23:1-14

Key Verse: Verse 13 - “And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.”

Key Words: And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err 

The Bible teaches us that the existence of God can be proven in three ways.

First, God can be proven through His creation: we read in Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”

Secondly, God can be proven through our conscience.  Romans 2:14-15, “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another.”

Thirdly, God can be proven through revelation.  Hebrews 10:7, “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” 

But I have found that God does an excellent job of proving Himself when someone is willing to search for Him with all their heart.

I remember when I was in college, we had a pastor from India who came to chapel and gave the testimony of his salvation experience.  He said, “I desired to know the true and living God – so I prayed and asked the God Who created the heavens above, and the birds that fly through the air, the God Who made the trees and plants, the God Who made the dirt and grass – I want to know that God.”  Later a missionary came by and said, “The God Who created the heavens above and the birds that fly through the air, the God Who created the trees and plants, even the dirt and ground we walk on – He has sent me by to tell you how you can know Him.”

The pastor from India said, “That was no mistake.  I found the true and living God because I searched for Him with all my heart.”   And so can you!

                                                                                                  Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

      ✞Search for God with all your heart if you are unsaved and unsure He exists.

      ✞As a believer, challenge those who do not believe in God to sincerely pray the prayer of the pastor from India.

Recipe for a Happy New Year

Bible Reading:  Ephesians 5:1-16

Key Verse: Verse 16 - “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

Key Words: Redeeming the time 

Happy New Year!  If you really want a happy new year, then I heartily recommend the following recipe.

Take twelve fine, full-grown months and see that they are thoroughly free from old memories of bitterness, rancor, hate and jealousy.  Cleanse them completely from every clinging spite.  Pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness.  In short, see that these months are freed from all the past – have them as fresh and clean as when they came from the storehouse of TIME.

Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts.  This batch will keep for just one year.  Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many people spoil the entire lot in this way); but prepare one day at a time as follows.

Into each day put twelve parts of faith, eleven of patience, ten of courage, nine of work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest), eight of hope, seven of fidelity, six of liberality, five of kindness, four of rest (leaving out this is like leaving the oil out of the salad dressing – don’t do it), three of prayer, two of good will and one well-selected resolution.  Put in a dash of fun, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor.

Pour into the whole love and grace, and mix with vim.  Cook thoroughly in a fervent heat; garnish with sweet smiles and a few sprigs of joy; then serve with quietness, unselfishness, and cheerfulness – and a happy new year is a certainty.

                                                                                    Dr. Mke Rouse

What to do:

            ✞ Apply the above principles, and I do hope you will have a Happy New Year.

Walking Honestly

Bible Reading:  I Thessalonians 4:1-12

Key Verse: Verse 12 - “That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.”

Key Words: That ye may walk honestly 

I Thessalonians, chapter four, deals with a sanctified life.  You read in verse three, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification...”  Then Paul lists for us several prerequisites for being sanctified.  One of those is found in verse twelve that we walk honestly toward them outside the church.

I read a humorous story that illustrates the need for honesty.

A wealthy but eccentric man called his pastor, his doctor, and a political friend to his deathbed.  He told them he disagreed with the conventional belief that you can’t take your money with you when you die.  He said, “I’m taking mine!”  He pulled out three envelopes and handed one to each of the gathered trio.  He explained how the envelopes contained $30,000 in cash, and he wanted each man to throw an envelope in when they lowered his casket.  At the funeral all three men did as their dead friend had requested. 

Upon returning from the cemetery, the pastor’s conscience got the best of him, and he confessed to the doctor and politician, saying, “I needed the money for our church so I took out $10,000 and threw $20,000 into the grave.”  The doctor then came clean and admitted to taking $20,000 for costs he had incurred at his clinic.  The politician was appalled at their dishonesty.  He pridefully said, “I’m ashamed of you gentlemen.  I threw in a check for the full amount.”

And that is the way it usually is.  The reason we are so often appalled at the dishonesty of others is because we fail to judge our own actions and motives.

So let me encourage you to live honestly before God in the upcoming year.

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

            ✞ Evaluate your own thoughts and deeds.

            ✞ Deal honestly with all men.

      ✞The truth only hurts for awhile, a lie hurts for eternity.

  

Jesus, The Coming King

Bible Reading:  Revelation 19:11-16

Key Verse: Verse 16 - “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Key Words: KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS   

In Revelation, we see Jesus as the coming King, and in our text we see the scene that will prevail at the Battle of Armageddon.  The anti-Christ will be gnawing his tongue and blaspheming God because his pride will be wounded and challenged.  The demonic spirits will organize a confederacy of nations that will move against Jerusalem once and for all to solve the “Jewish problem.”  In the great valley of Jezreel, in the midst of these three mountains, this confederacy will get ready to move against Jerusalem with their tanks, guns, napalm, lasers, and jets, and whatever else is in the mind of the insane one, the anti-Christ.  It is going to look dark. 

Then suddenly, Jesus arrives – the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!  He will speak and His Word will be a sword, and the battle is over, the victory is won!  To God be the glory!

On the eve of D-Day, General Dwight Eisenhower, closed his address to the troops by saying, “We will accept nothing less than full Victory!…And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”

In essence, he was saying there is no room for defeat; we must win; we will win!!

Well, I’ve read the last chapter of the book and I am here to tell you, we win!!  To God be the glory for the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!!

                                                                                 Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞If you are not saved, accept Christ and get on the winning side.

      ✞Praise God for His goodness.

      ✞Look up, your redemption draweth nigh.

Jesus, Our Security

Bible Reading:  Jude 1-25

Key Verse: Verse 24 - “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,”

 Key Words: keep you from falling 

The book of Jude describes for us false teachers who crept in unawares (verse four).  It is because of these false teachers that Jude encourages us to…

• Build up ourselves on our most holy faith (verse twenty), and
• Keep ourselves in the love of God (verse twenty-one).

When we come to verse twenty-four, Jude reminds us, though, that in spite of all of our efforts, Jesus is ultimately the One who will keep us from falling.  Jesus is our security.  We need not fear falling, or losing our salvation.

When the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco was being built, workers developed a great fear of falling.  Bridge builders have a superstition that one man will die for every million dollars spent on a project.  The bridge was budgeted for thirty-five million dollars, so the fear was pervasive.  The chief engineer, Joseph Strauss, also believed that three dozen men could fall and lose their lives.  The impact of falling from the bridge to the water below was equivalent to hitting a brick wall at eighty miles per hour.  Strauss made an unprecedented move and ordered a large trapeze net to be placed under the workers.  Bridge builders had never enjoyed such a luxury.  The added security made them feel as though they could, as one worker said, “dance on steel.”

Christians as well can be immobilized by fear of falling and losing their salvation, so God provided believers with a security net through Jesus Christ.  We are eternally secure, not because of our goodness, but because of God’s grace.

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Do your best for God; but if you do fall, and we all will on occasion, we can rest assured- Jesus will catch us and keep us secure.  Rest in that promise!!

Jesus, Our Truth

Bible Reading:  III John

Key Verse: Verse 3 - “For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee,   even as thou walkest in the truth.”

Key Words: walkest in the truth 

In III John, we see Jesus as our Truth.  Six times in the fourteen verses John shares with us the truth of Jesus.

v  In verse one, he loves in the truth.

v  In verse three, he walks in the truth

v  In verse three, he testifies of the truth.

v  In verse four, he again walks in truth.

v  We are to be fellow helpers of the truth.

v  We see a good report of the truth.

 

If we are to be truthful, we must live in Christ.  I read the following in regard to truth, or rather the absence of truth.

“The book, The Day America Told the Truth, came out in 1991.  In this work, research showed ninety-one percent of Americans lie routinely, while thirty-six percent confess to dark, important lies.  Eighty-six percent lie regularly to parents, seventy-five percent lie to friends, seventy-three percent to siblings, sixty-nine percent to spouses, eighty-one percent lie about feelings, forty-three percent concerning income, and forty percent about sex. 

“Psychologist Michael Lewis of Rutgers University says there are three types of lies: (1) Lies to protect feelings, such as saying a gift is nice when you actually hate it; (2) Lies to avoid punishment; and (3) Lies of self-deception.  Our behavior repulses others, but we lie to ourselves and blame the rejection on something or someone else.  A woman gives herself a breast exam and notices an unusual lump but tells herself everything is fine.  Lewis feels these lies of self-deception may be the most frequent lies. 

“That could explain why so many people reject the gospel.  They’ve lied to themselves about their need for forgiveness and God’s requirement of commitment to Christ.  In this age of obsessive lying, remember who is the ‘father of lies’ (John 8:44), and who promised to give the ‘truth that shall make you free’ (John 8:32).  C. S. Lewis noted, ‘We often err either by ascribing too much or too little power to the father of lies.’”

The only way to keep from lying is by living in truth.

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Be truthful with God.

      ✞Be truthful with others.

      ✞Be truthful with yourself…but base your    truth on Jesus Christ.