Jesus Taught That Love Really Can Change the World

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Matthew 22:37-39

Did you know that there are two commandments that, if you obey those two, you will automatically be obeying every other commandment written in the Bible? To help you better understand this concept, let’s take a look at the Ten Commandments:

1. “You shall have no other gods before me.”

2. “You shall not make for yourself any idol.”

3. “You shall not take the name of God in vain.”

4. “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.”

There is a reason why Jesus answered the question, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” the way that He did. You see the Ten Commandments are broken up into two parts. The first four are regarding our relationship with God, and the last six are regarding our relationship with our fellow man.

5. “Honor your father and your mother.”

6. “You shall not murder.”

7. “You shall not commit adultery.”

8. “You shall not steal.”

9. “You shall not lie.”

10. “You shall not covet.”

Jesus’ answer is really self-explanatory. If I love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, I will not worship any other god, I will not commit idolatry, I will not use blasphemy, and I will use the Lord’s Day as a day of rest and worship. Likewise, if I love my neighbor as myself, I will honor my parents, I will not commit murder, I will not commit adultery, I will not steal, I will not lie, and I will not covet my neighbors possessions. It really is as simple as that.

Having said all that, the moral crisis that we are in as a nation today is a direct result of the breaking of what Jesus said are the greatest commandments ever written. Now, I know what some of you are thinking: “Why can’t we just obey the last six and forget about the first four”? The reason is simple—the last six and the first four go hand in hand. Take the first commandment for example—“You shall have no other gods before me.” To obey this commandment is to obey the last six commandments. If I serve the god of self, what is keeping me from dishonoring my parents? What is keeping me from committing murder? What is keeping me from committing adultery? What is keeping me from stealing? Lying? Coveting? In order to obey the last six commandments, I must love God and realizes that breaking any of the last six commandments is wrong only because God said so. Simple as that.

Now, let’s apply this to the days in which we are now living. Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.” If we as a nation would put God first in everything we do, I really do believe we would receive blessings like you wouldn’t believe. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” When we neglect God, we deprive ourselves of His greatest blessings.

Today, we are killing our unborn at a rate that you would not believe. My friend, your unborn child is your neighbor. If every mother’s child loved his neighbor as himself, every abortion clinic in this world would go bankrupt. Listen carefully to what I’m about to say. If everyone truly loved his neighbor as he does himself, the murder rate would go down, the divorce rate would go down, and the overall crime rate would go down. There would be no lying. There would be no stealing. Every home would be a happy home.

As you go about your day today, let me challenge you to ask yourself this question before you say or do anything: By doing this, am I honoring God and am I treating my neighbor the way I would want my neighbor to treat me? I truly believe that asking yourself that question will make a great change in you and a great change in our nation.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, I beg you to do so today. You cannot truly love God with all your heart soul, mind, and strength until you come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Likewise, you cannot love your neighbor as yourself until you realize how much God loves you. If you will repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you, He will save you today and keep you saved forever.

On The Box: Yes, Jesus Claimed to be God

On The Box: Yes, Jesus Claimed to be God: One of the many "cut & paste" objections unbelievers levy against God and His Word is this: "Jesus never claimed to be God." Truth: The Bi...

It Starts With You

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.

Psalm 33:12

This nation is in a moral crisis. Notice I didn’t say that I believe that this nation is in a moral crisis. This nation is in a moral crisis, whether we believe it or not. Last week I wrote about the role of the president of this great nation; however, today, I am writing about the role of the people of this great nation.

In America, it is all about “we the people,” isn’t it? Then what must we the people do in order to take back this nation for Almighty God? The answer is in the above passage of Scripture. Every individual must acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord of his life. If every red-blooded American would do that, this nation would be unstoppable. However, like I have always said, whether this nation rises or continues to fall is left up to God’s people. If Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life already, my friend, you must start living like it.

Let me ask you a very important, very personal question: What dictates the decisions that you make? Or should I say who dictates the decisions that you make? Is it you? Is it your family? Is it your friends? Is it the general public? Or is it God and His Word? This nation is in a moral crisis. You want to know how I know? I know because I have read God’s Word and it tells me that murder is wrong (Exodus 20:13), yet we as Americans have legalized the murder of our own unborn children. In many states, it is legal for two men or two women to come together in an immoral relationship and call it marriage, even though God said in the beginning that marriage is to be between one man and one woman, for life. America is in a moral crisis, and it is all because people have allowed someone other than God to dictate the decisions that they make every day.

Billy Graham once prayed this prayer, and it describes the condition of America today perfectly:

“Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.”

So what must we do to fix the problem that we ourselves have created by becoming silent? If you are a born-again child of God, I suggest you start listening to your Heavenly Father and stop listen to your fellow man. As Adrian Rogers used to say, “Get a bulldog grip on the truth of the Word of God.” Speak up for His truth and speak out against all evil. If it means you have to stand alone, stand alone. But never compromise the Word of God.

Fellow Christians, we are going to have to change this nation one person at a time, and it starts with you. We must be changed as individuals before we can be changed as a nation. Have you acknowledged Jesus Christ as Lord of your life? If you have, obey what He says and tell everyone you can about Him. If every born-again child of God would do what God intended him to do, I have no doubt that we could set this world on fire for Jesus Christ in a record breaking amount of time.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, I beg you to come to do so today. Simply repent completely of all sin and trust Christ alone to save you. If you will do that, He will save you today and keep you saved forever.

A Bit of Wisdom from the Past

"A man can't rest on the reputation he's made. He has to keep on making it every day of his life." -Roy Rogers

"A reputation is just like wallpaper. It can be pasted on, but it has to have something solid underneath to make it stick." -Dale Evans

A Moral Crisis Calls for Godly Leadership

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.

Psalm 32:12

It seems that all we hear about on the news nowadays is the 2012 presidential election. So what exactly is it that you are looking for in a presidential candidate? Most people are mainly focused on the economy. They want a president that can reduce unemployment and help stabilize our economy. There are also a lot of people, however, who would just be satisfied with anybody other than Obama. But what is it that you are looking for in a presidential candidate? I’ll tell you what I am looking for and what every born-again child of God ought to be looking for. As followers of Christ, we ought to be looking for a man who fears God, loves God’s people, and obeys God’s Word.

Just this week I have made a commitment to God that I will not vote for the lesser of two evils. Even the lesser of two evils is still evil. I will only vote for a presidential candidate who fears, loves, and respects God. I believe that this nation is in a moral crisis, and the only way to get out of that crisis is to elect a godly leader. Someone who does not believe that the issues we face today are directly  related to the fact that we as a nation have fallen morally does not have what it takes to lead this nation. And we need someone with a backbone, someone who is not afraid to look at an issue and say, “That is morally wrong!”

This nation needs a president who can see the difference between discrimination and moral judgment. Racism is discrimination. Treating someone differently because of the amount of his income is discrimination. Treating someone differently because of his age is discrimination. Saying that it is wrong to kill a baby in the womb is a moral judgment. Saying that it is wrong to redefine what God defined in the beginning is a moral judgment. If someone broke into my house and stole all of my possessions, you would not tell me that it would be discriminatory for me to press charges against him. If I saw someone brutally beat and murder my elderly grandmother, no one would say that it would be discriminatory for me to press charges against that person. God has given us a moral standard to live by. It is the God-given responsibility of the leaders of this nation to hold the people of this nation accountable to that standard.

As a nation, we need a president who is not afraid to stand up and say, “Homosexuality is wrong because God said so!” We need a president who is not afraid to stand up and say, “Abortion is wrong because God said so!” Not only do we need a president who really believes those things, but we need a president who will do something about it. We need a president who will say that it ought not to be up to the states to decide whether or not homosexual marriage should be legal or whether or not abortion should be legal in their particular state. We need a president who will say that this is the United States of America; therefore, what is legal in one state should be legal in all fifty states, and what is illegal in one state should be illegal in all fifty states. Both abortion and homosexual marriage are morally wrong; therefore, both of them should be made illegal in all fifty states.

I know what you are thinking. “But there is not a presidential candidate out there…” Oh ye of little faith. God can do whatever He wants to do. Second Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” As Adrian Rogers used to say, "We cannot do it without Him, but He will not do it without us." If every born-again child of God will rise to the challenge, turn from his prideful ways, and earnestly seek the face of God, I am telling you today that God will send us that man. I believe that there are enough Christians in this nation to take this nation back for Jesus Christ. The question is, are we willing to do what God says in order to make it happen?

What We Are Teaching Our Children Through Television

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.

Proverbs 3:5-8

Yesterday, someone posted a quote on facebook, so I looked it up to see where it came from. Lo and behold, it was from Pocahontas—the Disney version, of course. That caused me to stumble upon another YouTube video of Pocahontas which caused me to think seriously about something. What are we as a nation teaching our children through television?

Before I go any further, please take the time to watch the video so you will be able to better understand what I am talking about.

 

 I stopped supporting Disney a few years ago. However, what I discovered in this short YouTube video gives me a whole new reason for doing so. Disney knows how to influence children, and they knew how to do it in a way that is so subtle that very few people will ever question it. I believe that this particular scene in Pocahontas was designed to teach children two very specific things. It teaches children to worship the creation rather than the Creator and it teaches them to trust in their own human intuition rather than trusting in God.

Grandmother Willow in and of herself is a symbol. Grandmother Willow was the wisest “person” around. In reality, however, she was not a person at all; she was a tree. Whenever Pocahontas was in trouble or did not understand something, she ran to Mother Earth instead of Father God. Grandmother Willow is nothing less than an attempt to convince children to deify nature and forget about God.

Just look at the holidays that people celebrate nowadays. Instead of Easter, they celebrate Earth Day. Instead of Christmas, they celebrate the winter solstice. This is exactly why Grandmother Willow existed in the Disney movie Pocahontas. She was designed to promote the idea of worshiping the creation rather than the Creator.

This entire scene is about trusting one’s own heart. However, this is far from biblical. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (emphasis added). And if we look further into Scripture, we will find even more reasons not to listen to our own hearts. Matthew 15:19 says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies…” Mark 7:21 says basically the same thing, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders…” This is exactly why Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.”

As a nation, we need to be teaching our children that they are not equal with nature. Our children need to know that they were made in the image of God. Our children need to know that they do not know everything, but God does. Our children need to know of the One who is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Our children need to know that Heaven is real, Hell is real. Most importantly, our children need to know that it is only by the blood of Jesus that they can be saved.

I believe that a nation is no greater than its future generation. Right now, I see children who are being taught to shake their fists in the face of God. As of now, I have no children of my own. However, I am begging those of you who are parents to “train up [your] child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates” (Deuteronomy 6:5-9).