Ironworks

          How do I know if I am right with God? The question is simple, but it requires us to put some effort into figuring out an answer.  Since this takes effort, many people will ask the question and never look for the answer. This is an extremely dangerous way to live as you may be blissfully ignorant, but being blissfully ignorant of God’s word can lead to terrible eternal consequences. So, let’s answer the question in short. How do we know if we are right with God? To answer this we should ask ourselves some simple questions. Have You Heard?              The first step in the process is hearing the word of God. I know this seems like taking a step back from answering our serious question, but we have to address the fact that we need to hear God’s word. Logically speaking it all starts here, but as we move forward we need to continue to hear God’s word.           Romans 10:17 (K...

Folklore is not true, though it may have a passing resemblance to true things. This does not make it accurate. Recently, I wrote about the idea of putting away myths in the new year. The only way to put away myths is to know the truth. Truth must be exhibited when we pray to the Father in Jesus' name. Truth must be proved when we give on the first day of the week. Truth must be observed as we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes again. Truth must be boldly proclaimed from the pulpit. Yes, truth must be observed in every song that we sing in praise of Jehovah. Certainly, this preacher would not remain in his position if he were to preach premillennial doctrine, Calvinism, or any other heresy. Each Christian must be sure that the words we sing are first true and suitable for the worship of God.            Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and tr...

          “And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests and the Levites.”  This command, in Deuteronomy 17:18, was the law for the days when the children of God would want a king.  Although, God wanted his children to have faith in Him, He knew that they would want to physically see someone.  This being the case, God gave certain instructions for this new king.  The FIRST thing he was supposed to do was write a copy of God’s law.Why would he need to do this? God in His infinite wisdom knew that this king should know the Law of the Lord before he could be a righteous king.  After he had written the law with his own hand; he would have had a descent grasp of the law.  And every day when he would apply his statutes he would probably be more equipped to remember that law which he had copied. If a king copied the law ...

  Honesty is the best policy. This is the old adage that many people have valued for many years. In our employment we are expected to be honest. To be dishonest would be an offense that could lead to punishment including dismissal from that work. How many of us want to deal with dishonest people in commerce? None of us do. We recognize that honesty plays a large role in dependability, faithfulness, and love.  Lying in every instance is a sin, and, because of that, we must avoid lying at any time.  Occasionally, there are members of the Lord’s church that lie to one another. This takes varying forms. Some brethren will overtly lie. This can be premeditated or compulsive. The intent is what makes it such. This would be the case if a brother or sister seeks to defraud another. This, in most cases, would be very infrequent. Lying is condemned in such a clear fashion it seems almost elementary regardless of one's maturity in Christ. However, the events of Acts 5:1-11, in p...

“Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?” John 18:37-38      The world says that truth is subjective, never absolute, and subject to one’s perception. In fact, you will often hear people speak of “my truth.” I suppose that is fine if you identify with the same truth found in the Word of Truth. Sadly, this is most often not the case. Sadly, we the church are not doing all that we could to plant the seed of truth in the hearts and minds of those we encounter on a daily basis.       Truth is an extremely valuable commodity. Truth is always the opposite of falsity. I cannot say something that is false and make it true. Water is not dry. Green is not orange. Wrong is not right. It is written, “Woe un...

And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up to the house of Jehovah, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Jehovah. And the king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and all his soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book: and all the people stood to the covenant. 2 Kings 23:1-3      King Josiah of Judah was an encouragement to all who serve the Lord. His heart and actions are those which push us to love the Lord our God, both in word and deed. 2 Kings 22:8-13 details the circumstances that led to the restoration of Old Testament Judaism in ...

  And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away unto Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 2 Kings 17:4-6                   When it all comes to an end, who will be holding the reins? Is the failure of a nation, a kingdom, an institution all 100% the responsibility of the one who sits in charge at the time of failure? Simply put, the answer is no. Hoshea, the king of Israel, is just a symptom of the greater illness that infected the Northern kingdo...

        And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease. But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?  2 Kings 1:2-3                    Imagine you know you have a good old drill at home, say a DeWalt or a Makita, and it works just as it is supposed to and the batteries are charged. Yet because you do not have it in your hand, you go out and buy an inferior brand with less power. Sure it is new, but it is truly not even capable of getting the job that your superior drill can do.     ...

        And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria. But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him . 1Ki 16:24-25              Shakespeare wrote, What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would were he not Romeo called . We refer to men as having a good name when it is deserved. We remember the most famous of names in our history such as Washington and Lincoln; we also remember the most infamous names. Omri, king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel was infamous in the same regard.              People with infamous names can have success in their lives in some areas. For instance, Omri built the cit...

For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.  1 Cor. 9:19-22 What are you willing to give? That will be the question that is posed repeatedly in the new sermon series. It has been laid out last month that God is the great provider, Jehovah Jireh, who has lavished us with a grace that can cover all of our sins. Considering that, how can we give and be better givers? The first thing we can do is give up. I know that is not the most common of encouraging phrases, but it is truly per...