Acts 2:38-41

38 – Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

39 – For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.

40 – And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

41 – Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Most everyone is familiar with Peter’s denial of Christ, but that wasn’t the end of the story for this mighty man of God. Understanding that Peter was just a mortal man who was subject to the same failings as all the rest of us, Jesus forgave him and told him to go and spread His gospel throughout the world.

After the crucifixion and resurrection, Peter became one of Jesus’ most effective worker’s, standing strong against those who wished to squash the newly-formed Christian religion before it had a chance to blossom and flourish.

Peter’s powerful sermon on the day of Pentecost resulted in 3,000 souls being saved on that one magnificent day, and he continued to preach the good news about Jesus and the salvation that He had made available to the world until he himself was captured and crucified. This weak man who had denied his Saviour not once, but three times, became transformed into a mighty man of God who was ready and willing to lay down his own life rather than abandon the mission which Jesus had given him.

This just goes to show that when we Christians fail as we inevitably will, we need to get back up, ask for God’s forgiveness and guidance, and then charge on ahead as we work towards completing our own little part of the Great Commission. Falling short of God’s expectations of us is regrettable, but He will indeed forgive us and use us to further His ministry if we will only get back up, ask for repentance, and forge ahead.

Mathew 7:1-2

1 – Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 – For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

It’s a fact: We humans love to judge others. It’s quite easy to see the faults in those around us, even when we often share those very same faults. Ever since man fell into a state of sin in the Garden of Eden, we have been afflicted with the sad desire to point out the failings of others.
 
But Jesus couldn’t have put it any clearer in this famous passage from Mathew 7. It is not for us to judge our peers. The right to pass judgment belongs to Him and Him alone, for only He has lived a perfect human life, free from the shame of sin which Adam passed down to each and every one of his descendants. 
 
Of course this admonishment doesn’t apply to the judges who have been tasked with the solemn duty to mete out justice in our judiciary system. The role of those judges is to decide cases based upon the rule of law, not on moral issues.

While many of our laws are indeed based upon Biblical and moral tenants, a good judge will base his/her decisions strictly upon the local, state and federal laws that have been enacted by our elected officials. “Judging” in this manner is essential for keeping our society running smoothly and out of a state of chaos. Judicial judging is not what Jesus was speaking of.
 
Of course when judges overstep the boundary of simply enforcing the law and venture out into the moral arena (as happens all too frequently), they are then guilty of “judging” in the sense that Jesus spoke of in Mathew 7.
 
There have been times in my life when I “judged” people for doing things they shouldn’t have done, only to realize later that I was guilty of the very same offenses. And I must say, in retrospect it always made me feel ashamed.

We tend to overlook our own failings, justifying them by telling ourselves and others that our situation is unique and deserves “special consideration”. Well, the fact is that sin is sin, regardless of our reasons for committing it. And as human beings, each and every one of us has sinned. Therefore, we have no right to judge the sins and transgressions of others.
 
So what is a Christian to do when he/she sees a brother or sister in Christ acting in an un-Christian manner? Pray about it! Ask God to intervene in that person’s life before things get out of hand. Then leave it up to Him to handle the situation since He is the only entity qualified to handle it.
 
If you still feel a need to try to help the person yourself, do so in love, not out of spite or with a feeling of superiority. Don’t judge the person, simply express your concern and Christian love for him/her and ask if there is anything you can do to help. Then, irregardless of the answer, let the person know that you’ll be praying for him/her.
 
I understand that it’s in our very nature to want to judge others for their shortcomings (whether real or imagined), but Jesus was very clear on the matter: Don’t do it. After all, each of us knows someone who once held others to a rather high standard but ended up falling in disgrace themselves. And when it happens it is never a very pretty sight.

1 John 4:8 – He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

In my virtual travels around the web I often encounter atheists who have made it their mission in life to try to make our wonderful God appear as unattractive as possible in their attempts to cause believers to lose their faith and non-believers to avoid finding it. One of their favorite tactics is explaining the “unfairness” of God’s many judgments as depicted in the Bible.

These severely misguided individuals typically point to events like the great flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and insist that “innocent” people must surely have suffered and died along with the “guilty”, and that any God who would allow that to happen wouldn’t be a God they would be interested in serving even if He existed. Well, like I said, they are severely misguided…

The mistake they are making is that except for the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (when He was living on earth in human form) there are no “innocent” human beings. Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”… And that does means everyone. But you’re probably asking “What about small children and babies?”

While it’s true that infants and small children do not consciously commit sins, the corrupted blood of Adam still courses through their veins, making them sinners. This state of sin is inherited, not a result of any decision(s) they made on their own. And since the wages of sin is death, babies and small children are subject to dying a human death just like adults are. Thankfully, most of them end up growing up and living into adulthood, but many don’t for one reason or another.

But that sad fact is not the fault of God. When a person of any age feels the sting of human death, he/she is simply receiving the punishment that was levied on all of mankind after the fall of Adam. It’s a fate we all must eventually endure.

Like most people, I am deeply saddened when I hear of a young child dying from a terrible disease or due to some other type of misfortune because they will never have the opportunity to experience many of the wonderful things that God blesses us with during a long earthly life. And of course I’m always heartbroken for the child’s family.

But we also have to remember that God is love, and He ALWAYS takes care of His children. Even though a young child is a sinner from birth, because of His endless mercy God forgives his/her sins in the event that he/she dies before reaching the age of accountability. Countless babies and children who “died” at a very young age are already enjoying magnificent lives up in heaven, and many more will follow after them. And the good thing is they were spared most of the hardships and troubles that go along with living a long human life.

You see, we humans simply cannot comprehend the greatness of our amazing, supremely loving, and all-powerful God. His plans are not our own, and His reasons for doing the things He does are not for us to question. To us, it seems that taking an “innocent” to heaven prematurely is a bad thing, and it’s absolutely right for us to feel that way out of our own love, compassion and limited human understanding.

But from God’s point of view, calling one of His children home early is actually a blessing, affording him or her the rare privilege of getting to “skip” most of the bad things about life down here while getting a “head start” on enjoying the magnificence of life in His holy presence up in heaven.

Of course it still breaks our hearts whenever we hear that a child has passed away at an early age, and so it should. But we also need to understand that God knows what’s best for His children, and we humans are simply incapable of comprehending His tremendous love and endless fountain of mercy and wisdom.

God is love. He always has been, and He always will be, and we should never question His reasons for allowing things to happen that we don’t understand.

John 4:14 – But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

When Jesus encountered the woman at the well in Samaria, he knew right away that she was in need of much more than just a pail of water. She had lived a life of grievous sin, and Jesus could tell that she was searching for a way out of what had become a miserable life.

As Jesus conversed with the woman, she came to the realization that this was no ordinary man. After all, Jews of the day simply didn’t associate with Samaritans, and when Jesus began talking to her she was quite taken aback. But what she didn’t realize was that Jesus wasn’t just any Jew, He was the very Son of God who would soon be willingly laying down His life so that all who believed in Him could be saved.

And His grace was certainly sufficient to save Samaritans as well as everyone else. This special man – God in the flesh – would soon be shedding His precious blood on the cross at Calvary for the remission of the sins of the entire world, not just the Jews.

When Jesus began telling her things about her personal life that he never should have been able to know, she had a true epiphany concerning His holy status. She quickly became convinced that this amazing man who offered her a drink from a very special well was indeed the Messiah, the Son of the Living God – the Saviour of the world.

Still today Jesus is offering everyone who will accept it a drink from the well of “Living Water”, a drink that will quench the most desperate thirst for forgiveness and redemption. Have you accepted a drink from that special well? Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour? If not, I urge you to click here to find out how you too can be saved and spend eternity in the glorious presence of our magnificent Lord!

Psalm 9:2 – I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

David loved the Lord, and he spoke many times throughout the Psalms about singing praises to Him. Our God is holy and righteous – the Creator of all things, and as such He certainly deserves and expects to be worshipped by those who love and serve Him. 
 
One of the things I love most about going to church is singing and hearing the wonderful “Baptist Hymns” that I grew up with, almost all of which are older than I am. Don’t get me wrong – I have nothing against the new gospel songs that are being written and recorded today, but there is just something special about “Amazing Grace”, “The Old Rugged Cross” and the dozens of other old Christian standards that I have grown to love over the decades. You can feel the power of God in our midst when those precious words and sweet notes are ringing out in the chapel. 
 
Cheria and a small group of our friends and family have been singing in church quite a bit lately, and everyone really enjoys hearing them. Their voices blend together well, and it’s very obvious that they love praising the Lord in song. And it’s a good thing because someone is always requesting that they gather around the piano and sing a hymn or two. And it’s always good… after all, it’s always “a joyful noise unto the Lord”!

1 Kings 3:16-28

16 – Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.

17 – And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.

18 – And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.

19 – And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

20 – And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

21 – And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.

22 – And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

23 – Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

24 – And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

25 – And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

26 – Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.

27 – Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.

28 – And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

King Solomon is famous for his great wisdom, and that wisdom became quite apparent as one of the most well-known events in the Bible played itself out.
 
When these two women came before him, each claiming to be the mother of the same little boy, Solomon could have listened to their stories, asked them a bunch of questions, brought in hordes of witnesses, and then tried to decide who was telling the truth. But he knew that the quickest and most accurate way to determine who the real mother was was to simply let the two women make that determination on their own.
 
Solomon knew that except for the love of God Himself, there is no stronger love than that of a mother for her child. There was no doubt in his mind that the true mother would rather lose custody of her precious little boy to another woman than see it come to harm, and he was right. He actually ended up not having to decide the “case” at all – the “litigants” made the decision for him.
 
We can all apply a bit of Solomon’s wisdom to our own lives. Sometimes we make the process of making a decision a lot harder than it really has to be. Quite often, the answer to a seemingly complex situation is really quite simple, and if we ask the Lord for guidance and use a little common sense we’ll be able to get a lot more done in much less time than if we sit and ponder and stress ourselves out.

Having grown up under the sound of the gospel, I have always heard folks refer to those who have been saved as “Believers”, but are all believers actually saved? The surprising answer is no. After all, satan himself is a huge believer in Jesus as the Son of the Living God because he dealt with Him on a one-to-one basis several times while the Saviour walked upon the earth. But his belief certainly doesn’t mean he has been saved.

There are also plenty of humans who believe in Jesus and His Godly status who will ultimately end up in hell nonetheless. For example, consider a person who has come under the conviction of the Holy Ghost. He has already come to the realization that he is a sinner and that only the acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour will keep him out of eternal hell.

But although this person now believes in Jesus and that He is the only way to eternal life, until he actually takes action to confess his sins and ask for forgiveness, his sins still have not been covered by the blood – he is still lost. And if this “believer” should die before he gets around to actually accepting Jesus as his Saviour he will die and go to hell.

This is why it is imperative that a person who is under conviction make that move right away without putting it off. It’s bad enough when someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus dies in their sins, but it’s even worse when a “believer” does so.

Ephesians 6:11-17

11 – Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 – For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 – Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 – Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 – And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 – Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 – And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Make no mistake about it, satan’s power far exceeds that of us humans, and he spends every second of every day trying his very best to keep the lost from accepting Christ as their personal Saviour and enticing those who are saved to sin and lose their testimonies.

The very essence of his being is supreme evil, and if we try to stand up to him on our own he will easily devour us and leave us in a state of untold misery and sorrow.
 
But the good news is we don’t have to face the devil all by ourselves. We have the Lord on our side, and even the great power of the prince of darkness is no match for us when we cloak ourselves in God’s invincible armor. If we will simply study God’s Word and ask Him to walk with us, guide us, and protect us, we can and will defeat the devil at each and every turn.
 
But satan knows we’re only human and that we’re likely to falter from time to time. That’s why we must be ever vigilant to stay within God’s will and constantly “suited up” for battle.

Mark 16:15 – And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

After the Resurrection, Jesus didn’t ascend directly to Heaven. Instead, He walked upon the earth in his scarred, resurrected body for 40 days, and during that time He was seen by hundreds of people – proving once and for all that He was indeed the Risen Lord.

As the time drew nigh for Him to take His heavenly flight, Jesus gave the remaining 11 disciples a very important duty – the very succinct and explicit order that we refer to today as The Great Commission. Jesus instructed His followers to spread the word of His endless love and mercy to every single person upon the face of the planet in order that they might have the opportunity to come to know Him and accept Him as their personal Saviour.

Of course we all can’t simply pull up stakes and start traveling the world, but there are many ways in which we Christians can do our part to help complete the important mission that Christ left us with:

1 – First of all, we can support the brave missionaries (financially and otherwise) who have answered God’s call to preach the Gospel in faraway and dangerous lands. Through them, all Christians can play an important role is fulfilling Jesus’ last earthly directive.

2 – We can use the Internet and other forms of mass communications to get the Good News into the hearts and minds of the people living in virtually every nook and cranny of the globe.

3 – Most of all, we can pray for God’s blessings and protection for the millions of Christians who are living and teaching His Word in places where doing so means risking their very lives.

As believers who have been saved by the grace and mercy of our blessed Saviour, we each have a solemn duty to do whatever we can to help spread the Gospel to all the world. I know that I certainly need to do more in this regard, and chances are you do too. But as long as we try to do our very best I think our Heavenly Father will be well pleased.

1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

In the Garden of Eden, Eve was easy prey for the devil. After all, she was completely naive because she had never encountered evil in any form before the serpent approached her. Sure, God had given her and Adam explicit instructions not to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree, but she was no match for the absolute master of deception and the seductive words which he spoke unto her.

Still today satan is waging a constant battle against every man, woman and child on the face of the planet, and even those who are saved and walking in the will of God must be ever vigilant in order to avoid his wiley trappings. You see, satan has many powerful tools in his arsenal, just a few of which are seduction, deception and the ability to tell an outright lie while looking at you with a straight face.

Unless we arm ourselves with the “Sword of the Lord” (God’s infallible word) and pray daily for his protection, direction and guidance, we also are doomed to fall prey to the devil. Many good testimonies have been completely ruined over just one temporary lapse in judgment or the failure to recognize evil when it reared its ugly head.

Satan is always scheming and devising plans to trap us when our guard is down, much like a world-class chess player thinks several moves ahead in order to try to gain the advantage over his opponent. And without God’s help, we Christians will lose every time.