If It Hadn't Been For Love

Psalm 23:1
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

Death by a thousand little cuts. That's what the liberals, progressives, communists, socialists, pagans, atheists, agnostics and children of Belial are doing to our great Nation. It's no longer "One Nation Under God", but "Many gods Under One Nation". The little cuts are not mortal wounds, but they are serious in that the intended purpose of these injuries is to bring down a mighty Christian power, one cut at a time.

Name one major contribution of communism, progressivism, etc. (aside from moral decay & genocide) and you'll see that these "philosophies" are nothing but cancerous, leprous, & repugnant, void of humanity and decency.

The primary tactic used by these groups is compromise—to force us to slowly compromise away our values, our heritage, our life, and our God until they cease to exist. They are patient, make every cut they can get away with, and absolutely demonize those who refuse to compromise, accusing them of intolerance and extremism. Like I said, death by a thousand little cuts.

So, I got to thinking about what life would be like without Christ. Since the Shepherd's Psalm (#23) tells us believers how we won't lack with Him as our Shepherd, I thought I'd invert the logic and show what we would have in place without Him as our Shepherd.

1. DANGEROUS TOIL

"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:" (v. 2a)

Rather than repose or resting safely in green pastures, we'd be in harm's way as we toiled in thorns and thistles. Look at Genesis 3:16-19 -

"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

2. STRIFE
"...[H]e leadeth me beside the still waters." (v. 2b)

Instead of being led to the still waters of peace, we would be mired in the stagnant & stormy waters of life. Think of how refreshing brackish waters are to quenching your thirst. Habakkuk 1:3 states, "Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention."

3. EXHAUSTION & BROKENNESS
"He restoreth my soul:" (v. 3a)

A tormented soul is what compels a person to therapy, drug use, promiscuity, risky behavior and suicide. Only God can restore the broken soul. There is no other Healer, but Jesus Christ. Thus, a soul without the Great Physician can only grope towards self-destruction. Even God wearies of man's rejection: "Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting."  (Jer. 15:6)

4. CONDEMNATION
"...[H]e leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." (v. 3b)

Here's another reason why people self-mutilate, self-injure and self-destruct: people need forgiveness. Condemnation is what leads souls to the grave. I Corinthians 6:9 describes clearly the fate of those who reject Jesus - "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

5. FEAR
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:" (v. 4a)

What a picture! Walking through Death Valley alone. In times like these, you feel forsaken and forgotten. It's a terrible time to be alone and lonely. Yes, the heathen will be laughed at by God. Listen up, you scoffers! "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure."  Ps. 2:4-5

6. VULNERABILITY & DISCONSOLATION
"...[F]or thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."  (v. 4b)

In the darkest of dark hours and deepest valleys, there is no one to provide solace & comfort. You feel open to attack from every side and you sense nothing but hopelessness. Isaiah 48:22 states, "There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked."

7. FAMINE & POVERTY
"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:" (v. 5a)

In the midst of turmoil & crises, you are assailed and have no resources to address these mounting problems. You go through life discouraged and angry.

Going against God means you face serious consequences, according to Job 27:13-23,

¹³This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.
¹⁴ If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

¹⁵ Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.

¹⁶ Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;

¹⁷ He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.

¹⁸ He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.

¹⁹ The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.

²⁰ Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.

²¹ The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.

²² For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.

²³ Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

8. SCARCITY
"...[T]hou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." (v. 5b)

You lead life running on empty and are joyless, bitter and sarcastic. If you can't be happy then you make  everyone around you unhappy as well. Proverbs 24:34 indicates, "So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man."

9. PUNISHMENT & ABOMINATION
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:" (v. 6a)

The wrath of God abides on us because of our wicked waywardness. Every step of the way there's nothing but the foreboding sense that God's justice is just around the corner. In Job 18:12, it says, "His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side."

10. ETERNAL DAMNATION
"...[A]nd I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." (v.6b)

Friend, you are destined, because of your choice to reject Christ, to spend eternity in the lake of fire. There is no entrance for a sin-stained soul to enter into the holy and glorious presence of God. You'll be left out in the dark where there will be gnashing of teeth (Mt. 13:41-42).

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Thus, as the image in the left hand corner indicates, if you're not a sheep then that makes you a goat, my friend. In very telling detail, the Lord states the fate of the goat in Matt. 25:31-34, 41, 46 -

³¹ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

³² And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

³³ And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

³⁴ Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
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⁴¹ Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
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⁴⁶ And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Reader, the lake of fire is prepared for Satan and his demons. Not you or me. But, you must accept that you're a sinner in need of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as your Saviour (Rom. 10:9-10). There is no other way to heaven. Good works will not do it (Eph. 2:8-9). Only the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

You see, if it hadn't been for love, we'd be hell bound, too (Rom. 5:8). If it hadn't been for God's great love and mercy, we'd be in the mire of life without any hope of escape. Thank God that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for you and me (Jn. 3:16). What a mighty love!

Settle this matter today! Settle it with Jesus. And you shall surely see that He is the Good Shepherd!

Jesus, Please Be My Shepherd!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o’er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o’er them from the throne!

A Cosmic Accident Waiting to Happen

Acts 17:24-25
"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;"

Today our young people in public school and in colleges are taught that they are but the product of blind chance & luck without God having planned them.

Psalm 139:14-15 indicates, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth."

They are taught that they are but an accident of nature, the result of undirected natural forces coming together, that they are alive for but a while and then, upon death, will break down into basic elements and will no longer be.

According to the ungodly, there is no God. But, we know what they are; they are fools (Ps. 14:1). In this mental schema, nobody cares for them or loves them; there is no future existence and no meaning or purpose to life. Life is bleak, short and chaotic.

With this outlook on life is it any wonder that today there is an epidemic of depression and emotional issues among young people? Or again, is it any wonder that crime and anti-social behavior is so prevalent? After all, if I am here but for a few years, why shouldn’t I get what I want, when I want it? The attitude - which is found also in antiquites (I Cor. 15:32-33) - is of the world and not of God. What they have been told to believe, directly affects how they think and behave and, of course, because they assume it to be true they don’t check out what science really reveals.

I wish I had the time to delineate how science reveals, and not rejects, God's hand in nature and creation. I wish you had the time, Reader, to read about it, too. But, we're always on the go and short on time. Alas, comfort yourselves in knowing & believing that we are not on this earth by luck. This is no cosmic casino we're living in. We are here by design, God's design.

The bleak message of atheism allows a society to slide into further corrupted thinking; it is a gateway to socialism, communism, Nazi-ism, genocide, euthanasia, abortion, gay marriage, and on and on and on. All sorts of deviant lifestyles are promoted under the banner of godlessness.

Listen up, many atheists express a strong hatred of God. If you're an atheist reading this post, can I ask you something? How can you strongly hate Someone you don’t believe in? How can you stamp your feet and shout down those who believe in the true & living God? Mr. Atheist, you might ask, "Since when do I stamp my feet and shout?" Well, sir, in a manner of speaking, this happens every time when nativity scenes are displayed during Christmas or when a cross is erected as a monument or when a person opens up a meeting, sporting event or other gathering in the name of Jesus. Oh, my Mr. Atheist! By then, you are hissing at the Christians with threats of lawsuits and removal of sign or semblance of our faith unless we sit down and shut up!

The reality is that many atheists have their own personal agenda and bias for not believing in God and it has nothing to do with scientific research at all. They are angry at God or at their parents or both for some let down. However, God doesn't want the atheists to perish (John 3:16; II Pet. 3:9). Whether or not atheists believe it, God loves them, too!

Don't be fooled by scientific claims that the world came to be through a long series of accidents, coincidences and sheer luck. Christian, it takes more faith to believe in man's belief system than to trust in God Almighty's promises. This is what Isaiah 1:18 invites you to consider -

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

As the influence of Christians wanes - not because the Gospel is impotent - it wanes because the world has blinded those who refuse to believe in God (II Cor. 4:3-6). Think about this way: God doesn't believe in atheists, either. One day, there'll be a pay day for the unbelieving (Rom. 6:23; Rev. 20:11-15).

Don't be one of them. Don't take a chance with eternity, and settle your account now and see that God good and merciful! I Want Mercy, Jesus! 

Years I spent in vanity and pride,
Caring not my Lord was crucified,
Knowing not it was for me He died
On Calvary.

Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty,
At Calvary.

By God's Word at last my sin I learned;
Then I trembled at the law I'd spurned,
Till my guilty soul imploring turned
To Calvary.

Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty,
At Calvary.

The Year of the Bible

John 8:47
"He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God."

Pennsylvannia atheists and PA lawmakers have been battling after the state’s House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution calling 2012 the “Year of the Bible.” At the time, a staff lawyer from the Freedom From Religion Foundation called the act “shocking.”

Now, two other groups, American Atheists and Pa. Nonbelievers, are being accused of invoking racial themes after posting a Bible-inspired billboard against the designation. Their sign, which tackles the issue of slavery, was erected in an area of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with a large African American population.

State Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland (D-Delaware), a black legislator, was one of the many voices objecting to the now-removed billboard, which featured a shackled slave. The image of the individual in shackles appeared below the words, “Slaves, obey your masters.” Kirkland supported the Bible resolution and has claimed that the billboard took the Bible out of context and that it portrayed both racism and hatred.

“I’m a Christian,” Kirkland said. “My master is Jesus Christ, so I obey Him.”

When it comes to the billboard, Ernest Perce V, of the American Atheists says that he and his group would like the House to repeal the Bible resolution. “We want Christians to accept all of the Bible and to accept the wicked parts as well,” he said. “The bible was used as an excuse for many very bad things, including American slavery.”

source, www.WGAL.com

Godless men are at their worst when attempting to usurp the will of the believers. Like Satan, they will twist, abuse and misquote God's word in an effort to confuse and condemn Christians. The above-noted story is a good case study of how these godless people work. It's also a prime warning to believers to read, study and believe God's word on a daily basis, so that when the enemy or the world distorts God's word, we are ready with the Gospel of peace and the shield of faith (Eph. 6:15-16).

Notice that Colossians 3:22 is taken out of context (plus the quote is from a non-KJV Bible):

"Slaves, obey your masters."

The King James Version of Colossians 3:22-24 gives a better - and correct - perspective:

²²Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God;

²³And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

²⁴Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Servants of Christ are called to serve their masters (ie, bosses) as to the Lord Jesus. In other words, everything we do, we are doing for the Lord. Whether it is washing dishes, mowing the lawn, filing paperwork, cooking a meal, performing heart surgery, driving a delivery truck or standing in the grocery line (which I really hate, especially when the coupon lady is in the front line pulling out each single piece of coupon from her baggy purse). AND, we are to do it "heartily", meaning merrily, joyfully.

Also, notice that the atheists stated , “We want Christians to accept all of the Bible and to accept the wicked parts as well,”

Of course, Christians accept ALL of the Bible! The wicked parts are Adam's disobedience; Cain's hatred of Abel; Abraham's unbelief in Egypt; Jacob's trickery; David's adultery; Solomon's polygamy & worldliness; Saul's bloodthirsty zeal for killing Christians; and on and on. Of course we accept the wicked parts because the Bible mirrors our hearts because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).

Another statement the atheist made: “The bible was used as an excuse for many very bad things, including American slavery.”

Yes, the Bible was used to excuse and condone very evil actions in the world. This doesn't mean that the Bible promoted slavery. Just a quick reading of the Book of Exodus will tell you how God emancipated the Hebrew slaves from bondage. By the way, His dear Son Jesus Christ can do the same for you and me (Luke 19:10; Rom. 10:9-10).

Finally, every year is the Year of the Bible as far as I'm concerned. In 2011, it marked the 400th anniversay of King James I commissioning the translation of the Bible into the English language. No matter what king, principality, political group, nation or era has done to destroy the KJV Bible, it has withstood the attacks and the test of time.

God's word truly endures forever!

For those not acquainted with the wonderfully poetic and beautifully translated King James Bible, I am attaching a link (right here: The King James Bible 400th Celebration) for your perusal. Enjoy and may the Lord richly bless you today.

To find out more about having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, see here: The Plan of Salvation