YOU and GOD

It would be impossible for anyone to realistically imagine what it must have been like to have been the son of Solomon, King of Israel. Solomon’s wealth was beyond the ability to compute; his wisdom excelled the wisdom of anyone living before or after him; his dominion was world-wide and his influence incalculable. So, to have been reared in Solomon’s palace would have afforded one a “privileged place,” never duplicated before or after.

Rehoboam was in line to become king after the death of his father, Solomon. But because Solomon “loved” many strange women; and because Solomon took to himself many of the idols of his foreign wives, God said to Solomon before he died, “Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou has not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.” (I Kings 11:11) In fact, through the prophet Ahijah, God revealed that Jeroboam, “…a mighty man of valor,”–and young and industrious–(I Kings 11:28) would rule over ten tribes and Rehoboam would be king over Judah and Benjamin, for the sake of David so that a light would always be in Jerusalem. (I Kings 11:36)

I Kings 12 relates how the division of the kingdom came about after Solomon’s death. Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, went to Shechem where all Israel had gone to make him king. Enter Jeroboam, who, having been in exile, came to Shechem, and with “all the congregation,” approached Rehoboam to enquire of him whether he would continue the grievous reign of his father, which had become a heavy yoke, or whether he would lighten up their burdens a bit. Rehoboam said he would have an answer in three days, and during that span of time he sought counsel from a group of older men who advised Rehoboam to “be a servant unto this people…and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will serve thee well.” (I Kings 12:7) Rehoboam also sought counsel from a group of younger men that were his age and they counselled, “…Thus shalt thou speak unto this people…My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” (I Kings 12:10,11)

Upon hearing Rehoboam’s answer, most of the people followed Jeroboam in his split away from Rehoboam, leaving only Judah and Benjamin for Rehoboam to reign over from Jerusalem. Jeroboam eventually made Samaria the capital of the northern ten-tribe confederacy, setting up golden calves for the people to worship, calling them their gods.

Thus, Rehoboam, King Solomon’s son, had a kingdom in shambles shortly after the death and burial of his father who reigned over the most glorious kingdom known to mankind!

Rehoboam’s potential was unimaginable, with a royal family, incalculable finances; as well as educational and environmental opportunities few people would ever dream of.

But arrogancy and spiritual adultery brought him and the kingdom he inherited from his father to just a shadow of the glory of Solomon’s kingdom at its zenith. Rehoboam had 18 wives and 60 concubines: “And he loved many wives.” (2 Chr.11:23) And the sinful example of his singularly blessed father was likewise the ruin of Rehoboam.

To his credit, Rehoboam did listen to God’s warning to him through the prophet Shemaiah, and he led a three-year long revival, strengthening the priests and Levites in Jerusalem, and strengthening the kingdom, walking for a time in the ways of the Lord. (2 Chr.11:1-17)

Sadly though, before he died, he “forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him,” (2 Chr.12:1) and God raised up Shishak, king of Egypt, to come against Jerusalem, at which time Rehoboam and Israel repented again, humbling themselves and declaring, “The Lord is righteous,” (2 Chr.12:6-8) resulting in God saying that because they had humbled themselves He would not destroy them, but they would be under the heel of Shishak all the days of Rehoboam.

So, tragically, Rehoboam, son of the wise and wealthy Solomon, embraced the worst of his father’s sins, adultery and idolatry, adding the sins of pride and arrogancy, and lost every advantage that the heir of the greatest wealth amassed in one place at one time the world has ever known.

The epitaph of Rehoboam’s life was written into scripture for all the world to read for all of time: “And he did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.” (2 Chr.12:14)

Sin shortens lives and limits opportunities. Solomon reigned 40 years; Rehoboam reigned 17 years, and Solomon’s grandson, son of Rehoboam, reigned just three years.

Reminds me of what the humanist Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) once said, “I have lost my life in doing nothing—with great labor.”

“Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” (Solomon to his son, Provs.4:23)

Summarizing one of the most theologically profound books in the New Testament, the writer simply says in Hebrews 13:1: “Let brotherly love continue.” He is writing primarily to Hebrew believers, some no doubt having been saved from the earliest days of the church, on Pentecost. These saints had been scattered abroad because of persecution. Many had lost everything: jobs, families, homes, and a place to worship freely. Some were contemplating what it was like before their profession of faith in Christ, and they were actually considering returning to Judaism. Thus, the stringent warnings and admonitions throughout the book: “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebs. 2:3); “Let us go on to perfection” (6:1,2); “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together” (10:25); and, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (10:31)

Coupled with these warnings, the writer demonstrated, with great understanding of both Jewish Law and Christian faith, the advantages of possessing this great salvation and Savior. He argued against anyone even thinking about exchanging the freedom in Christ for the bondage of the never-once-for-all system of ordinances, sacrifices, and earthly priesthood of the Law that was but a shadow of the perfect sacrifice of the believer’s High Priest in Jesus Christ.

Having masterfully completed his apologetic, the writer wraps up his treatise in chapter 13 on another plane entirely: “Let brotherly love continue.”

The Greeks used the term “brotherly love” at first to simply mean that we ought to love our brothers and our sisters—in a filial sense. Then, in time, the term took on the meaning that our love ought to be for “blood relatives.” Next, that was expanded in the family of faith to mean “brothers and sisters” through a spiritual relationship, brothers and sisters in Christ. This latter usage is no doubt what the writer of Hebrews has in mind, while not altogether departing from the family-first concept of love.

In the first eight verses of the chapter, three groups of people are delineated as being those whom we should continue to love: (1) Other believers, including strangers and those who have been imprisoned; (2) our spouses; and (3) those who have been chosen of God to rule over us in our local church.

First, he specifies that we should let brotherly love continue for those who are strangers. This is an especially important reminder, considering that so many early Christians had become strangers after they had trusted Christ. Many were “scattered abroad throughout all the regions of Judea and Samaria” because of persecution. (Acts 8:1) Thus the book of Hebrews spoke in a special way to (and of) these scattered saints, as did James (“to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad…”); and I and II Peter (“to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia…). (James 1:1 & I Peter 1:1) It was imperative, therefore, that other believers remain sensitive to those “strangers” who were still suffering the loss of all earthly ties and treasures. No doubt, those who heard and read this exhortation thought of Abraham who, with his wife Sarah, was visited by three “strangers,” as recorded in Genesis 18, one of which Abraham recognized as being God himself, who had taken on flesh. We still, today, may just be entertaining “angels” (messengers from God) unawares when we entertain strangers, the writer said. He adds that we must not forget those who are in bonds “as bound with them,” just as Paul pleaded to the Colosse church that they “remember my bonds.” (Colossians 4:18)

Second, he turns his attention to the home, exalting the marriage relationship between husband and wife. In the cities where Paul had started churches, there were pagan temples of so-called worship, in which “priestesses” were practicing prostitution as part of a “religious” ceremony. As many as a thousand of these prostitutes practiced in some temples. It was as common and as accepted as sports betting is in today’s culture. It was not uncommon for a married man, especially an unbeliever married to a Christian wife, to look at the old way of life—getting gratification in the pagan temple with a prostitute—to want to return to that practice. The writer warns that wheras it is wholesome to have one’s needs fulfilled through the sexual relationship that God has ordained through marriage; it is adultery to have that need met through sexual activity outside of the bonds of marriage. Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge, the writer warns. To the Christian partner in a relationship with a husband or wife who is unfaithful, he also admonishes that wishing you were free of this person to whom you are united, even to the point of coveting another person’s place or home—or husband or wife—is not the answer: “Let your conversation (lifestyle, way of living) be without covetousness”; and “be content with such things as you have”; (13:5) and don’t forget that, though your spouse may choose to be unfaithful, even to leave you, “He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” (13:6)

Finally, “remember them which have the rule over you. For two reasons: (1) they have spoken to you the Word of God; and (2) they have lived an example before you— “whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.” (13:7) Later in the chapter, readers are exhorted to “obey them that have the rule over you.” (13:17) Both of these directives speak of our response to those who are “elders” (bishops, pastors) to whom God has given the charge to “feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof.” (I Peter 5:2) Our relationship toward, and response to, our spiritual leaders is a fundamental way in which we can “let brotherly love continue.”

Sensitive to “strangers” and those in bonds; submissive in love to one’s spouse; and subject to the guidance of our spiritual leaders—all ways, practical to be sure, that we can and must “let brotherly love continue,” even in our world today!

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (Jesus: John 13:35)

Revelation 5:10 reads: “And hath made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” That was a revelatory peek into heaven recorded by the apostle John as he saw and heard a great throng of redeemed of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation singing a new song of victory, in which they praised God for their redemption through His being slain, but also for their reclamation for His kingdom in which they are going to serve as kings and priests on earth. (Rev. 5:8-10) If you are reading this and are one of His redeemed, blood-bought believers, this fore-glimpse of the heavenly throng before the Lamb includes you and speaks to your eternal future.

There are noteworthy contrasts between the Old Testament kingdoms of Judah and Israel, with their combined total of 39 kings, plus their myriad priests, and the kings and priests mentioned in Rev. 5:10:

In the kingdom of old, kings reigned; believers of this dispensation look forward to a kingdom in which “we shall reign on earth.” (Rev. 5:10b; Rev. 20:6)

Yet, we have already been made kings: “He hath made us unto our God kings and priests.”

Saul was anointed king before he actually wore the crown and reigned; David was made king long before he actually wore the crown and reigned as king.

Old Testament kings reigned under God and for God; we shall reign under God and with Christ: “…and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” (Rev. 20:4b) Jesus is said to have “on His vesture and on His thigh a name written— “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:16)

Old Testament kings reigned on earth and had literal thrones; we shall reign with Christ, and our domain will be literal, physical, and spiritual: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them…and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” (Rev. 20:4). “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.” (Rev. 3:21)

What an unspeakable privilege to be called, even now, kings and priests. But, with unspeakable privileges come great responsibilities. We ought to act like kings and priests; to think like kings and priests: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (I Pet. 2:9) Note: it is not that we shall be a holy nation and a royal priesthood; Peter says we “are” that now!

With these thoughts as a basis, I want to look at some of the Old Testament kings, keeping in mind what Paul said: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope;” and “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” (Rom. 15:4; I Cor. 10:11) So, we can and should benefit from a study of these monarchs of old—all allowed to fill their place in history through the providential working of a sovereign God—so that, by His grace, we might avoid some of their weaknesses and embrace some of their strengths, as we even now prepare for our future reign as kings on earth in the millennium, with and for the King of kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.

By way of review, the first King of Israel was Saul, followed by David and then Solomon. Following Solomon’s death, the kingdom was divided into a northern confederacy of 10 tribes; and two tribes in the southern sector, Judah and Benjamin, most often referred to as Judah, the dominant of the two. The capital of the southern kingdom was Jerusalem, and the capital of the northern kingdom, usually referred to as Israel, was Samaria. The division of the kingdom occurred about 975 B.C. with Rehoboam, son of Solomon, acceding to the throne of Judah, and Jeroboam becoming the 1^st king of the northern confederacy of Israel.

There were a total of 20 kings of the northern confederacy, beginning with Jeroboam and continuing until 722 B.C. when, because of rank apostasy and total idolatry, God allowed the kingdom of Assyria to carry Israel away captive: “For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them.” (2 Kings 17:22) “And they rejected his statutes and his covenant that he made with them…and they followed vanity and went after the heathen that were round about them…and they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images.” (2 Kings 17:15,16) Every one of the 20 kings who ruled over Israel from Jeroboam to Hoshea were said to have done “evil in the sight of the Lord.”

Rehoboam led the list of kings of the southern sector of the divided kingdom, ruling from Jerusalem, after the northern ten tribes split off under Jeroboam. 18 kings would follow in procession after him until 605-586 B.C., when Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian armies sacked the city and carried off many of the Jews into a 70-year captivity. Of the 19 kings who ruled from Jerusalem, beginning with Rehoboam and continuing until Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:19), all but 8 were said to have “done evil in the sight of the Lord.” The “good” kings of Judah were Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Hezekiah, and Josiah. (Most of the deeds of all of these kings are recorded in I & II Kings and II Chronicles.)

Stay tuned for future installments in this series of “Kings and Priests, Then and Now.”

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them…and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Rev.20:4) “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” (Rev. 20:6)

My sister and I had been staying with our grandmother in a small town in southeastern Iowa for a couple of days, having been left there by our parents, who assured us they would be back to pick us up on a certain day. That day had come, and our eyes were glued on the top of a hill that marked the edge of that little town, looking for the familiar family car to come over that hill and down the main street of the town, stopping at grandmother’s house to pick us up. Two days in this little place with our dear grandmother, who surely tried every way imaginable to make us feel at home, including a trip to the general store to get a stick or two of candy, was about all it took to make us homesick! So we longed to see our mother and father come over that yonder hill as they had promised they would.

Centuries before, Jesus, meeting with His disciples in an Upper Room somewhere in Jerusalem, promised them that though He would be separated from them for a time, He would come back to receive them unto Himself, so that they could be “Home” with Him in the Father’s house, where there were many mansions. That promise became the watchword of the early church and has remained so to this present day: “Jesus is coming again!” 

A Scottish preacher spoke of the promise of His return: “The doctrine of the Lord’s second coming, as it appears in the New Testament, is like a lofty mountain that dominates the entire landscape.” Author and Baptist preacher A.J. Gordon commented on that statement: “No matter what road you take, no matter what pass you tread, you will find the mountain bursting on your vision at every turn of the way, and at every parting of the hills. What first struck me in reading the New Testament was this: Whatever doctrine I was pursuing, whatever precept I was enforcing, I found it fronting toward and terminating in the hope of the Lord’s second coming. All paths of obedience and service lead to that mountain.”

Pastor and Bible teacher John MacArthur contrasted the first and second comings of our Lord and Savior: “The first time, He came veiled in the form of a child. The next time He comes, and soon we believe it will be, He comes unveiled and it will be abundantly clear and immediately clear to all the world just who He is. The first time He came, a star marked His arrival. The next time He comes, the whole heaven will roll up like a scroll and all the stars will fall out of the sky, and He Himself will light it. The first time He came, wise men and shepherds brought Him gifts; the next time He comes, He will bring gifts, rewards for His own. The first time He came, there was no room for Him. The next time He comes, the whole world will not be able to contain His glory. The first time He came, a few attended His arrival—some shepherds and wise men. The next time He comes, every eye shall see Him. The first time He came as a baby. Soon He will come as Sovereign King and Lord.” (Sermon, “The Alpha and the Omega”)

Jesus will come for His Church—and, later, with His Church. These two are often simply referred to His second coming: phase one, the rapture or catching up of the church to be with Christ; phase two, the coming back to the earth with His church to establish His millennial reign on earth. Between the first and second phases of His coming, there will be a seven-year period of tribulation on earth (outlined in Revelation 6-18). These seven years will consist of three series of judgements levied by God upon the earth: seven seal judgements, seven trumpet judgements and, just before His return to earth in power and great glory, seven bowl judgements. It will be an unspeakably awful time to be alive on the earth. For instance, the seven bowl judgements are (1) a noisome and grievous sore inflicted upon all who have the mark of the beast and worship his image; (2) the seas turn to blood and all sea-life dies; (3) the rivers and waters turn to blood; (4) men will be scorched with great heat; (5) there will be darkness that causes people to gnaw their tongues for pain; (6) the Euphrates river will be dried up, so that the kings of the east can march through to the Middle East for war; (7) a great earthquake, unlike none other of all time, will occur, along with 100-pound hailstones falling upon men out of the heavens, resulting in men blaspheming God. (Rev. 16:1-12; 17-21)

The only way to make certain that YOU will not be alive on earth to witness any of the aforementioned universal calamities is to put your trust in Jesus Christ as Savior today. After He told the disciples in the Upper Room that He was coming back to receive them unto Himself, He said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6)

Are you ready for His return? Are you looking for His return? Today is the day of salvation. Trust Christ. Take Him at His word. Believe. Receive the gift of God, which is eternal life. The Bible says that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. (Rom. 10:13) You can be one of the “whosoevers!”

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13)

In a recent post, I spoke to the Biblical admonition found in Psalms 9:17: “The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all the nations that forget God.”

America has forgotten God. It didn’t happen overnight. Our 16^th President faithfully raised the warning when he said that a nation (1) Cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift; (2) Cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong; (3) Cannot help the small man by tearing down the big man; (4) Cannot help the poor by destroying the rich; (5) Cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer; (6) Cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than our income; (7) Cannot further brotherhood by inciting class hatred; (8) Cannot establish sound security on borrowed money; (9) Cannot build character and courage by taking away a person’s initiative; and (10) Cannot really help people by having the government tax them to do for them what they can and should do for themselves.

Those wise words from a highly esteemed leader of a nation that was at war with itself should be heard and heeded yet today.

But centuries before Lincoln penned the aforementioned principles, another wise sage wrote something that will be universally true as long as time lasts. Job, in a discourse that overflows with emotion, having lost every earthly possession by a Satanic blast; and having been ill-advised by his wife to “curse God and die”; and having been falsely accused by the three men in the world that he thought were his friends, burst out with 10 profound, timeless truths that God governs His creation by, world without end:

1.  “He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations and straighteneth them again.” (Job 12:23) God is sovereign over all and rules with an unseen hand in all the affairs of men, nationally and personally. Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Rome, Italy, Germany, England—a long line of once world powers have “bitten the dust” of history. (That unseen hand spared former president Trump from certain and sudden death at a political rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, PA.)
2. God works powerfully and irresistibly to arrange and rearrange the stage of history. Job 12:14: “Behold, He breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: He shutteth up a man and there can be no opening.” (Example: Richard Nixon’s rise to and fall from power; elected by a landslide to a second term in 1972, he left office in disgrace in August of 1974. God tightened up the screws on a powerfully corrupt administration, and many of Nixon’s cohorts ended up in prison.)
3. God uses draughts, floods, and natural calamities to shake the nations. Job 12:15: “Behold, He withholdeth the waters and they dry up: also He sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.”
4. God uses truth or even error to accomplish His divine purposes. Job 12:16: “With Him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are His.” (For instance, the wicked shenanigans of Joseph’s brothers…”But as for you, ye thought to do evil against me, but God meant it unto good.” Gen.50:20.) 
5. Lawyers and judges are His pawns. Job 12:17: “He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.” Who would not agree that many fools today sit on judicial benches, calling good evil and evil good?
6. Kings and princes are not beyond His reach. Job 12:19: “He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.”
7. Men of great renown will not be able turn around the nation against whom the Lord in judgement is set. Job 12:20: “He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.”
8. Powerful politicians and rulers are no match for His might. Job 12:21: “He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.”
9. God ultimately exposes all evil plots of darkness. Job 12:22: “He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.”
10. Men of great power will be brought low under His mighty hand. Job 12:24,25: “He taketh away the heart of the chief people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light, and He maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.” 

Job’s message in response to His “miserable” friends is as pertinent today as it was when he first spoke it thousands of years ago. America is bleeding, and the wound could be a mortal one. But there IS HOPE!

Not, however, in social or political or economic reform, but in soul-scraping repentance! God can and will once again bless America, but only when “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 forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (II Chr. 7:14)

“Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.” (Psalm 9:20)

One excuse, it has been said, is as good as another. The Duke of Wellington is credited with saying that “a person good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else.” And George Washington Carver said, “99% of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”

An inmate at the Butte County Jail in California explained his brief absence from jail to skeptical sheriff’s deputies thusly: “I was practicing pole-vaulting and got too close to the wall and fell over the wall; when I regained my senses, I ran around trying to find my way back; but being unfamiliar with the area, I got lost and the next thing I knew I was in Chico.”

That makes about as much sense as this explanation for why fire trucks are red: “Fire trucks have four wheels and eight men. Four and eight are 12 and there are 12 inches in a foot. A foot is a ruler. Queen Elizabeth is a ruler, and her ships sail the seven seas. Seas have fish and fish have fins and Finns fought the Russians, who are always red. Since fire trucks are always ‘rushin’…therefore, fire trucks are red!”

A pastor, evidently exasperated by hearing one excuse after another, wrote to an aspirin company: “Dear Sir: You manufacture aspirins that relieve sufferings, colds, and fevers. The mixture used in your tablets makes it possible for people to get out of bed and fight off headaches, bad nerves, and muscle-spasms. I have noticed these tablets work wonders on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and especially on Saturday, BUT, people who take them on Sunday seem to get no relief. They cannot get rid of their aches and pains and are not able to attend Sunday School and Church. Is it possible to put in an ingredient that will work on Sunday?”

Jesus dealt with worn-out excuses when He walked amongst His own here on earth. One of the most absurd was resorted to by Pharisees, who had excused the neglect of their aged parents by saying that the money it would cost to support them was money that they had dedicated to God; or, as they would put it, “It is corban—a gift to God.” Therefore, they had no money with which to care for their parents. Jesus cut the props out of this super-pious excuse by saying that when they said this they were “making the Word of God of none effect.” (Mark 7:13)

Does such silliness resonate with anyone in today’s world, where people, often those who consider themselves church members in good standing, never bother to support their local church financially, offering up all sorts of excuses for why they just cannot afford to part with their money to support God’s visible work on earth?

Solomon spoke of the slothful person, who—too lazy to get out of bed or out of the house to go to work—would say, “There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.” (Provs. 26:13) Again, one excuse is as good as another.

Someone compiled a list of the “10 most used excuses”: 1) I forgot; 2) No one told me to go ahead; 3) I didn’t think it was that important; 4) Wait until the boss comes back so we can ask him; 5) I didn’t know you were in a hurry for it; 6) That’s the way we’ve always done it; 7) That’s not in my department; 8) How was I to know that this was different?; 9) I’m waiting for an OK; 10) That’s his job, not mine.”

I once read: “Once upon a time there was a church staff looking for teachers for their young people, children, and preschoolers for the new Sunday School year.

And some adults said, ‘I don’t want to leave the sweet fellowship and study of my adult class,’ but the drug pusher on the street said, ‘Not even the threat of jail will keep me from working with your children.’

And some adults said, ‘We have to be out of town too often on weekends,’ but the porn dealer said, ‘We’re willing to stay in town weekends, too, to accommodate your children.’

And some adults said, ‘I’m unsuited, unable to work with children or preschoolers,’ but the movie producer said, ‘We’ll study, survey, spend millions to produce whatever turns kids on.’

And some adults said, ‘I could never give the time required to plan and to go to teachers’ meetings.’ But the pusher, the porn dealer, and movie producer said, ‘We’ll stay open whatever hours are necessary every day to win the minds of your kids.’

So the adults stayed in their classes and enjoyed the sweet fellowship and absorbed the good Bible study, and could go out of town often on the weekends, and were available to do whatever was good to do in place of teachers’ meetings.

And when Sunday came, the children came to their classes and no one was there except the church staff going from one room to the next, trying to assure the children that someone would surely come to teach them. But no one ever came, and the young children and the preschoolers soon quit coming because they had gone to listen to others who did care about the things they did and what went through their minds.” (Vero Christian Church Newsletter)

One excuse is as good as another! Selah.

“And he (Jesus) said unto them, ‘Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.’” (Mark 10:9)

Maybe you remember the fairy tale by Danish Author Hans Christian Andersen, published in 1837, about a vain emperor who lived only for wearing new clothes, spending every moment and much of his kingdom’s capital on a new suit of clothes for every occasion, every day. His pride and obsession were to the detriment of his subjects and soldiers—those who were taxed to pay for their emperor’s foolish, faddish fanaticism.

One day a couple of rogue “weavers” visited the emperor and convinced him that they had discovered a new method of weaving cloth into the most beautiful garments ever admired by human eyes. They also convinced the ruler that only simpletons, or those not qualified to hold any position in his administration, would not be able to visually see these clothes. The deceived emperor at once hired the “weavers” to make a new outfit for him that he would wear at an upcoming national procession.

Over the next weeks the con men, in their assigned room, with two new looms in place, began to “weave” feverishly. Occasionally, the emperor would send his trusted minister, or a court officer, into the work room to see how the new outfit was coming along. All of these “scouts,” however, not wanting to be considered unfit for the emperor’s administration or, even worse, simpletons, came back with a glowing report that the new outfit was looking very good, even though none of them saw a single woven thread. They all agreed with the weavers’ tale that the threads were the most beautiful they had ever beheld. And, they responded to the weavers’ request for more gold ribbons, which, at night, they stashed away in their knapsacks.

Finally, the day of the procession came. The weavers had the emperor take his garments off while they pretended to take his new outfit out of the bag, then “putting it piece by piece” on the stark naked emperor. All the while, the deceived despot looked at himself in the mirror, and, not wanting to be considered a simpleton or unfit for the position of emperor, he too spoke with enthusiasm about his beautiful new suit of clothes, the finest he had ever worn.

Leaving the castle, now before the crowds, people gawked with amazement and wonder (none wanting to be considered a simpleton or unfit for a position) as the bare emperor with apparent pride strode before his subjects, who ooed and awed in utter disbelief.

Finally, though, one child in the crowd hollered out, “He hasn’t got anything on!” The words were whispered, then the words swept through the throngs until, at last, all were laughing and exclaiming their emperor was naked! Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings!

Pretty much, as a nation, we have been conned into saying that what we have seen we really haven’t seen!

It was just a slow start. Or, it was a bad night. It was 90 minutes that we will not let define our “emperor.”

But, most of us saw it. With our own eyes it was undeniable. With our ears, it was at times unbelievable. But there it was. For all to see. The whole world was watching our unveiled “emperor!”  National and international audiences tuned in to behold the debacle.

But, did we really see it! Did we hear what we thought we heard? No, it was just a slow start, the emperor’s handlers would proclaim in chorus the next morning. You really didn’t see an emperor totally exposed! “It was just a bad night. Trust us! We are those who are closest to him. He is sharp as a tack!”

Step down? Not on your life! He is a good emperor, one of the finest . No matter that he appeared undressed that dreaded night. He had more than a dozen “weavers” spending an entire week getting him dressed up for this big night.

What you thought you heard, you did not hear. What you thought you saw, you did not see! He was all dressed up and outfitted specially for the occasion.

“Long live our emperor!” Wait, who said, ‘He hasn’t got anything on!’ Where is that trouble maker? Don’t believe those whisperers! What! The chorus is gaining momentum? Those are just more lies. Trust us, it was a great night for the emperor!”

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion; that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thess.2:10-12)

“I am a nation of unparalleled prestige and prosperity. A vast network of highways tie together every major city that is stretched under my flag. Magnificent public buildings and edifices stand as monuments to my greatness. The citizens of my domain are much like the citizens of every country. Humanism has influenced society in every way. Homes are collapsing; women are demanding more rights. The government is taking control in areas once reserved for cities and states. People are complaining about housing shortages, soaring rents, congested traffic, polluted air, crime in the streets and the high cost of living. Unemployment is a perennial problem. To solve it, government has created a mass of civil service jobs, including building inspectors, health inspectors and tax collectors.”

What is my name? America? No, that description was written of the great Roman Empire of the 1^st century A.D.!

Rome ruled the world but could never conquer herself—and was finally brought to ruin. It was destroyed not from without but from corruption within; devastated not militarily but spiritually.

She was a “great nation” but a godless nation; and a nation that is godless is never truly great.

Before Rome dominated the world, Greece did. Alexander the Great conquered the known world of his day—just 300 years before Christ. Greece, like Rome, was destined to self-destruction, for the Greeks were equally godless. They tried to build an ideal society on the premise that “man is the measure of all things.” The human body was the object of Greek worship. Deformed or weak children were thrown over the cliffs. Seven-year-old boys were sent off to train for war. Like the Roman government, bureaucracy reigned supreme in Greece. Medicare for all citizens was tax-financed. Red tape and taxation were a way of life. Before the end came, there was even a tax levied on the tax!*

Greece ignored God, worshipped the creature rather than the creator, and fell to God’s judgment.

America, our beloved America, has ascended to heights of power, prestige, and prosperity excelling any nation, past or present. But on this 248th anniversary of our independence day, we stand at a crossroads!

In 1620, Pilgrims came to the shores of this continent under a charter, signed by King James I of England, for the purpose of “advancing the enlargement of the Christian religion to the glory of God Almighty.”

In 1638, the 13 colonies in the Rhode Island Charter affirmed the goal of government thusly: “We submit our persons, lives and estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and to all those perfect and most absolute laws of His given to us in His Holy Word.”

We were indeed “One Nation Under God!” Our first president, at the age of 20, prayed, “Almighty God, most merciful Heavenly Father, since Thou art a God of pure eyes and wilt be sanctified in all who draw near unto Thee; Who dost not regard the sacrifice of fools, nor hear sinners who tread in Thy courts…Be our God and Guide this day and forever for His sake who lay in the grave and rose again for us—Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

That’s why America has been singularly blessed; God has blessed her because we have been One Nation Under God. We’ve invoked His blessings; we’ve acknowledged His sovereignty! We’ve stamped His name on our currency and acknowledged His sovereignty in our Constitution.

We are not great because of what we have; we have what we have because we are great! And we have been great because we have paid allegiance to the living God and His Son, Jesus Christ. As Alexis de Tocqueville said, when he visited our country to find out why we were so blessed: “America is great because America is good; and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

America is not a nation like Rome and Greece that never knew God; we have known Him, but we have forgotten Him!

• We’ve known a day in America when every preacher of the gospel believed the Bible was the Word of God;
• We’ve known a day in America when every seminary professor believed in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ;
• We’ve known a day in America when in every public school you could find a copy of the Word of God, and when it was more common to hear it read from than not;
• We’ve known a day in America when murderers were executed for their crime, and when mothers were not afraid to stroll through public parks with their babies; and when pornography and homosexuality were words most of could not spell much less speak;
• We’ve known a day when men elected to public office were basically honest men whose number one interest was America—and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all;
• We’ve known a day in America when, because Bible morality ruled, a man’s word was his honor;
• We’ve known a day in America when mothers felt that rearing children and ruling as Queen in the home was the highest calling under heaven known to women;
• We’ve known a day in America when children were expected to obey parents, respect elders, and render honor to their teachers;
• We’ve known a day in America when to hear a band playing the Star Spangled Banner, carrying Old Glory, would bring goosebumps to the back of our necks;
• We’ve known a day in America when Sunday was considered a HOLY day; when stores did not traffic in all sorts of merchandise and when people thought it more important to attend church worship services than to attend everything else under the sun;
• We’ve known a day when government was considered to be the protector not the persecutor of the people—a day when an American could walk anywhere in the world safely and proudly without fear of being spat upon, kidnapped, shot, or arrested on phony charges;
• We’ve known a day when a dollar would buy more than a loaf of bread;

Yes, we’ve known these days in America! But we cannot say that all is well today in our beloved Motherland! Freedom’s torch is not burning so brightly as once it was. Somehow, we forgot along the way that what we sow, we reap; that “the wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Ps. 9:17); and that “righteousness exalts nation” (Provs. 14:34).

May God help us. May God bless America.

*Note: The above text is, in part, a message I delivered in 1982 at Thompson Road Baptist Church—more than 40 years ago! Some of the material is not original with me, but I am not sure which is and which is not. If it was true then, how much more so today. Let us repent as a people and beg God for His mercies yet again.

May your 4^th of July be filled with good memories, solemn reflections, and heartfelt prayers. 

Pastor Anthony Slutz

She was born well before the turn of the 20^th century, lived through the terrible Great Depression, rearing four children without her husband who died in 1922, and witnessed two World Wars, and the Vietnam war. She was a grandmother that, due to unavoidable circumstances on her part, I knew mostly from a distance. But her character, faith and quiet spirit of determination still influences my life though she has been “resting” in her eternal habitation now for 47 years.

She was always a bit unknown to me, and still is, so when I was called upon to conduct her memorial service in 1977 while pastoring in Newton, Kansas, at a graveside service in a little cemetery in southeastern Iowa, I quoted a poem that I could not have fully appreciated the truth of: “God has not promised skies always blue, flower strewn pathways all our lives through…But God has promised strength for the day, rest for the labor, light for the way; grace for the trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying love.” (Annie Johnson Flint)

And Grandma Moore had a bundle of trials. She was pregnant with her fourth child when her husband died of what was believed to have been complications from the flu that he had suffered with during the 1918 flu pandemic that claimed 675,000 lives in the U.S. He was a farmer, so after his death, Grandma sold the farm and moved to the small town of Stockport, IA. She somehow managed to eke out a living by housekeeping for people, earning a dollar a day. Her only son, Robert, enlisted in the Army and served with distinction. Her daughters, including my mother, survived until they graduated from high school and married, my mother at the age of 17; she and my father enjoyed 72 years of marriage together; and though married at a very young age, God gave Mom a husband who loved her dearly and, as best he could, provided for her every need.

Back to Grandma Moore. When the children were gone from the home, she took jobs caring for aged people, often living in with them as a caregiver. This made visits with her few and far between–until she finally retired and moved to Ottumwa into a house close to ours. I was a teenager by then, and after basketball and baseball, (no time then for girls) getting to make up for lost time in knowing Grandma Moore was not high on my list. I remember she read the newspaper word for word, and would verbalize, in soft but distinguishable sounds each word, reading out loud to herself. It pretty much drove a kid into another room! But, she read the Bible, too, and always faithfully attended church services with us. She never drove a car in her life.

I do not know when she became a Christ-one. It was thought to have been during a revival meeting. In those early decades of the 20^th century, churches in small towns would often band together to invite an evangelist in for a revival meeting. There were Methodist and Baptist churches, and some Presbyterians, and regardless of the denominational title, churches of that era generally believed the fundamentals of the faith, even though differing on modes of baptism and eschatological matters, as well as church polity. So an evangelist that preached faith and repentance, usually an evangelist with fire in his bones, could preach to the whole town and often there were many conversions. We think our grandmother was saved in such a meeting, but she never had the opportunity of attending a Bible-preaching church where she could hear good Bible doctrine taught until later in life, though no one doubted that she loved God, His Word and His Son. No one else in her birth family was ever known to have trusted Christ.

As I have indicated, her early struggles in life as a single parent, left with four children to provide for, made her a woman of strength and independence. To her dying day, she adamantly refused governmental programs designed to assist the elderly. Thankfully, she was always in pretty good health until, at the ripe old age of 87, she dropped dead in her kitchen, probably of heart failure or a stroke. Once, she visited us (Ellen and me) when we lived in Minnesota. I was going to seminary and working full-time, so when I heard her call my name in the middle of the night saying, “Tony, bring me a spoon-full of baking soda in a glass of water,” I dutifully, half asleep, got up and went to the medicine cabinet and put my hands on a box of powder that was on the top shelf, stirring up a spoon-full of its powdery contents– still half asleep—in a glass of water, taking it to Grandma.  Back to bed, and then more awake, it dawned on me that baking powder was probably not in the medicine cabinet. I woke Ellen up long enough to ask her what it was that was in the box on the top shelf of the medicine cabinet, and found out that it was indeed not baking soda, but rather 20 Mule-Team Borax powder! I was gripped with fear. Would grandma live through the night? Should I tell her what she had just drunk? I chose to wait until morning and was so very glad to see her up and getting ready for breakfast. Her first words to me were, “Tony, you saved my life last night. Thanks for bringing me that baking soda.” I am sure I mumbled “You’re welcome,” and you can be sure that Grandma never ever knew that she drank a glass of 20 Mule-Team Borax powder!

When I pastored in Kansas in the early 70’s Grandma got to visit with us a couple of weeks. Ellen will never forget that during that visit Grandma taught her the art of making the best homemade yeast rolls ever! Nor will she forget walking by the bedroom seeing Grandma Moore on her knees in prayer. We were thankful that the Grandmother that was known to most of us only from a distance become better known and dearly loved during those brief but blessed visits.

Interestingly, when Evangelist Bill Hall held a revival meeting in our home church in Ottumwa, Iowa, Grandma Moore kept him and Shirley (motels were usually not an option in those years). I know they must have enjoyed some of those homemade rolls and some of the jelly that she would can each summer.

Well, I have spent a bit extra time and space on this personal post. I hope you have endured to the end and, maybe, have enjoyed the reflections. Thanks for taking the time to read.

“She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed….”(Provs.31:27,28a)