Mercy and Forgiveness

The mercy we seek should only be outweighed by the mercy we give. How could we ask for more than we are willing to give? We are to ask God for mercy and forgiveness, yes. But are we willing, better question, are we capable of giving that mercy and forgiveness to someone as unworthy as our self?

Self-centered sinner; you can’t receive what you won’t give. In fact, if you won’t give mercy and forgiveness, you won’t have it and won’t be given it.

Mercy and forgiveness aren’t ours. They’re Gods, so we can never run out, will always be true, and will accomplish what they are intended to accomplish.

Everything of God’s is meant to be given. Mercy, forgiveness, love, peace, understanding, patience, edification, etc. The very thing we need, is the very thing we are to give to the same unworthy folks like our self. Our needs and deficiencies are met and fulfilled and replenished plus some when we give them away. It is a hole that is filled by God, emptied by us, then overfilled back by God. The more we give the more God gives.

Pride punishes, especially those who infringe upon their pride. Pride will justify its actions. And legally, ethically, morally and righteously speaking, the prideful person may be correct. But mercy and forgiveness are not due to those who meant no harm or no ill will. In fact, there is no qualifier for mercy and forgiveness. If there was, then it wouldn’t be mercy and forgiveness.

Bill Hitchcock

Hear My Voice

“Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness: O Lord, quicken me according to thy judgment.” (Psalm 119:149)

“Hear my voice”. A plea for God’s attention.

“According unto thy lovingkindness”. Lovingkindness comes from the Hebrew “Checed”. It is usually transliterated as “Mercy”. It means the exact same thing as mercy, it’s just the name lovingkindness, or love and kindness gives a better representation as to what it is.

God said I, “will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” (Exodus 33:19)

The Apostle Paul said, “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” (Romans 9:15)

The Psalmist first asks for God’s attention. He then asks for His mercy, love, and kindness. Then, he asks the Lord to quicken him, or revive him, bring him back to life according to God’s judgment. Really? Most folks equivocate judgment with penalty, guilt, pain, retribution and sometimes even death. But the call for judgement is a call to be revived according to God’s will and way. It’s a conditional call that is asking for God’s conditions not man’s in his restoration process. This means righteousness and truth, which aren’t always band-aids to our wounds, but something better.

How many of us want to be saved from our troubles but on our terms? How many of us want to be restored back to how we were and not necessarily to how God wants us to be?

We must stop and consider why we have troubles, why we are broken. Even though we might not be aware of it, our situation is probably self-induced.

It happens to the holiest and the most righteous. If it doesn’t, then we have a problem.

“My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” (Proverbs 3:11-12)

“For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”

“If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”

“Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” (Hebrews 12:3-11)

Man is pain aversive. He very much desires pleasure, or at least to be pain free. A call for quickening according to the judgments of God is not going to be easy. This is why so many of us settle back into our routines and set ways; these are adverse conditions, bad situations that God is quickening us away from.

Everything resists change. It’s a basic law of physics and of spirit. Even when the change is from bad to good, resistance can be found. This why we shouldn’t take lightly what the Evangelist says, “no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous”.

But to those who are quickened according to God’s judgment, to those who endure the process in faith is the, “peaceable fruit of righteousness”.

Bill Hitchcock

Black Hole Of The Soul

No one is perfect. No one is always right. Most will agree to that, until an imperfection or correction rears its head. Then we get defensive and sometimes self-righteous, but rarely do we admit fault. Why? Because we can’t see it.

Here’s something to grab a hold of. No man sees clearly. All have blindness to one degree or another. This blindness can be an overall dimness to truth and reality, or it can be spot specific, with perfect vision elsewhere.

Our being, our essence and existence has unseen flaws due to original sin. This is why God gave us Christ as an example, as a target to shoot for. Sin is literally defined as falling out of the way, as missing the mark, the way and the mark being the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Not all sins are premeditated acts of commission or omission. Everyone has dark corners and as such are unaware of them. We usually find the darkness by tripping over them.

I freely admit that I have black holes of the spirit. These are areas of the spirit that I haven’t seen although I look for and pray for their discovery daily. The black holes of the spirit consume right and wrong and spits out either a deviation of truth or no truth at all.

We all have black holes of the spirit. Jesus doesn’t. His word doesn’t. Therefore, our dependence to both must be absolute.

“Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.” (Psalm 25:4-8,11)

In the song, “Amazing Grace”, we sing that I was once blind but now I see. This sight is the awakening to the sin nature that is inherent to all man. This does not mean that we see all sins. To be frank, man couldn’t handle that ability of sight for that would require absolute righteous. The man of now can’t handle pure and absolute righteousness. It’s why no man has seen God and why Moses had to put a vail over his face after visiting God atop Mount Sinai.

“And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him…..And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.” (Exodus 34:30,33)

All of mankind suffers from the effects of these black holes of the spirit and soul. This is not something we see or feel nor are we aware of its influences. What we see and how we interpret what we see is altered, re-calibrated, different than if not under its influences.

Now if we were without God, we all would be without hope, for the power of darkness would run roughshod over us.

But thank the Dear Lord for Divine Providence! “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Man suffers the effects of original sin. As a child of God, we are to spend our life on earth in the continuous process of repentance, which is a process of search and discovery, revelation and repentance. The devil is a liar and a deceiver. He doesn’t fight us toe to toe. He is subversive, undermining, and undercutting. He wins when we believe a lie and he’s good at that. These are our blind spots, our black holes.

“Nay, the bodily sense may furnish a still stronger illustration of the extent to which we are deluded in estimating the powers of the mind. If, at mid-day, we either look down to the ground, or on the surrounding objects which lie open to our view, we think ourselves endued with a very strong and piercing eyesight; but when we look up to the sun, and gaze at it unveiled, the sight which did excellently well for the earth is instantly so dazzled and confounded by the refulgence, as to oblige us to confess that our acuteness in discerning terrestrial objects is mere dimness when applied to the sun." 

"Thus too, it happens in estimating our spiritual qualities. So long as we do not look beyond the earth, we are quite pleased with our own righteousness, wisdom, and virtue; we address ourselves in the most flattering terms, and seem only less than demigods."

"But should we once begin to raise our thoughts to God, and reflect what kind of Being he is, and how absolute the perfection of that righteousness, and wisdom, and virtue, to which, as a standard, we are bound to be conformed, what formerly delighted us by its false show of righteousness will become polluted with the greatest iniquity; what strangely imposed upon us under the name of wisdom will disgust by its extreme folly; and what presented the appearance of virtuous energy will be condemned as the most miserable impotence. So far are those qualities in us, which seem most perfect, from corresponding to the divine purity.” (John Calvin/Institutes 1:1:2)

God is here, always here. The more we understand that and the more we depend upon Him, the more we are able to advance forward towards God in truth and righteousness.

Bill Hitchcock

Mercy

“All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.” (Psalms 25:10)

It isn’t some, or half, or even 99.9% of them, but rather it is “ALL” of the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth. Everything of the Lord is done in truth because it is impossible for God to lie (Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18). In Him there is, “no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). God is truth. Truth is a constant or it wouldn’t be the truth.

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

The constancy of God is so absolute that everything God says either is or becomes. In other words, there is no difference between what God says, in what God does, and in what is. Because of which, God is always true to all of His promises.

“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent (change): hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)

It is interesting that mercy and truth are put in context of a path in this Psalm. Because the New Testament definition of sin is to, “wander from the path of uprightness and honor” (Thayer’s). The Old Testament definition is, “to stumble in the path of rectitude” (Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon).

In both cases, righteousness and salvation are expressed as a path. Since the Psalmist says all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, then to sin could also be defined as wandering away from the mercy and truth of the Lord.

Aren’t we glad that mercy and truth are God? How else could we be saved if we happen to wander? Mercy and truth “are” God in that God doesn’t possess mercy and truth as an attribute or as some part of a whole. God is mercy and is truth in the same way that God is love (1 John 4:8,16) and God is light (1 John 1:5).

I know it sounds like circular logic, but when we sin, we fall out of the path of God. Since all the paths of God are mercy and truth, then we fall away from mercy and truth. The only way we can return to the path of God is through the mercy and truth that is God! Mercy and truth are the attractant that keeps drawing us to the way (path), the truth, and the light.

Let’s expand our thinking and see where mercy and truth resides. Mercy and truth are in love. Mercy and truth are in faith. They are in joy, forgiveness, judgement, righteousness, forbearance, patience and temperance. In short, if it is of God, then you will find His mercy and truth in it.

Conversely, look at where mercy and truth cannot be found. Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and more. All these things are works of the flesh and not of the spirit. Mercy and truth can’t be found in them because you can’t find God in them. But, through the mercy and truth that is God, we can return to God’s holy way.

Mercy is a love, a kindness and leniency afforded to those who don’t deserve it. It is the love expressed as favor of God when wrath is due. Sometimes mercy is transliterated from the Bible into English more appropriately as the word, “lovingkindness”, as for example in Psalm 51.

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.” (Psalm 51:1). In this verse the Psalmist is asking for God’s mercy according to His mercy.

Grab ahold of just how important the loving kindness that is mercy, is to us all.

“Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name” (Psalm 63:3-4).

Wow! The Psalmist says that God’s mercy is better than life. In fact, there would be no life without the loving kindness mercy of God because, “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

No one deserves mercy, and that’s exactly the point. The very nature and essence of God’s mercy is that the receiver of mercy doesn’t deserve it. This is why mercy from man can only come from a man of God, for mercy requires man to rise above his carnal self.

Mercy is strength expressed as love and kindness for the edification of another and the betterment of circumstance. Punishment, no matter how just, simply terminates. It ends the story where it is at with no potential benefit to the convicted or possible improvement to the situation. For a man to be all punishment and no mercy can only come from the ungodly, for there is no mercy and truth in him. And because there is no God, no mercy, and no truth in this type of punishment, then the punishment itself is nothing but sin.

Mercy allows the repentant spirit and soul to live and flourish past the condemnation and to influence others in mercy and truth as well! Punishment hinders, hurts, and sometimes kills that very loving kind spirit.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (Psalm 103:2-4)

Bill Hitchcock

We Will Not Fear

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.” (Psalm 46:1-3)

This message is ended with the word, “Selah”, a bit of instruction to the musicians to stop playing so that everyone can contemplate the gravity and depth of what was just said.

God is our safe and secure shelter. He strengthens, empowers and emboldens us. We get that. But it’s the next thing that usually gives us some difficulty. God is a very present help. Notice how the Psalmist is stressing how present God is by adding “very”. How can you be very present? What is more present than being present? Maybe if we stop thinking of God as a separate entity and start thinking in terms of one and not two, maybe then we can understand how God can be “very present”.

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)

God said, “I am married unto you” (Jeremiah 3:14). Marriage is defined as when two become one. Yes, God is a very present help. So present that he lives in you and you in Him.

By the way, the word, “trouble” means more than distress and tribulation. It implies an adversary.

But just look at what the Psalmist tells us not to fear; We should not fear the earth altering, that mountains move into the sea, even though the seas roar and foam, and even if the mountains shake, rattle, and roll. Because God is with us, in us, we should not fear. Think about that.

As an added note, look at the fear the sea level rise and climate change advocates (terrorist) push. They claim mass destruction in a handful of years. They cry “It’s happening NOW!” all in an effort to panic people into action. This is a classic trick of the trade from the devil, the adversary himself. Fabricate a problem which creates panic in an attempt to get people to react in fear and act irrationally. Sales people create panic, it's called creating a sense of urgency. It is a control technique to motivate people to buy right now.

Jesus can sleep during a storm at sea. God will make you to "lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul" (Psalm 23:2-3) But the devil, "your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8)

Panic is of the adversary the devil. Peace is of God. Who among us brings panic and who is it that brings peace?

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear.

Get it? We will not fear!

Bill Hitchcock

A Matter Of Spirit

(Consider this a stream of consciousness, a continuous flow of thought uninterrupted.)

Understanding and comprehension are a matter of spirit. Intellect and reasoning, our IQ or Intelligence Quotient aren’t just affected by spirit, they are dependent upon the spirit within.

Human intelligence is anchored in the spirit.

For example, two people with the same IQ, the same degree of education, and in all aspects of intellect and training they are the same. Both hear the good news of Jesus Christ. For one person it makes perfect sense while the other sees it as total nonsense. What else other than spirit formed their conclusions?

Human intelligence and reasoning are used to justify and support what is spiritually discerned. This is how we make sense out of what the spirit determines to be.

There is but one spirit, but there are many aspects to that spirit. Just like there is one ocean, but there are countless waves of various heights and untold depths to that ocean, as well as billions of things living within it. All off these things compose this one ocean.

The present, what we know to be true and how we perceive truth is dependent upon our spirit.

The past, or our memory, and our future, both perceived and yet manifested, are spirit dependent.

The spirit powers and directs the will.

The spirit is life. Without it, all shall perish.

What you align your spirit with will determine how you think, how you act, how you interact with other people, places, and things, and what you will and determine.

We do not have perfect spiritual vision and clarity while in this body. The great battle that confused and plagued the Apostle Paul as described in Romans Chapter 7 that he had between righteousness and unrighteousness, his will to do or not to do, and the conflict between body and spirit are examples of our inability to see the truth of the spirit clearly and totally.

Another example is with Moses in Exodus 34:29-35. The Spirit of the Lord shone so brightly from Moses face that he had to cover it with a veil when in the presence of people. Pure spirit is too much for people to comprehend. This is why no one has ever seen God. He is beyond the capabilities of the mortal coil.

Paul in the last four verses of Chapter 11 in the Book of Romans describes it as, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33).

God sent His son Jesus Christ to be the go between, the mediator between man and God because the spirit of man cannot handle direct contact with pure spirit and righteousness which is God. Jesus is 100% God and 100% man, this is how and why Jesus is essential for the salvation of man. Man has access to God through the humanity of Jesus.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

Man is spirit driven. Intellect and reasoning are determined and influenced by the spirit. The intellect justifies the spirit and as a result, things make sense to the man. For the most part man is not cognizant of this process/fact.

Because of the nature of original sin, pure truth in spirit is too much for carnal man to handle. He can’t comprehend it. But to be in touch with God and to have access to all things divine, man must reach God. So, God created the opportunity for man to do so through Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Even with this access to God through Christ, all things of the spirit and truth do not make sense to man. This is why everything is based on faith. Faith is the spirit made manifest. Faith is born of the spirit within.

Everyone is spirit filled. Again, the spirit is life. Without it, all shall perish. Even the atheist is spirit filled. He may not know it or admit it, but he is. Faith is the manifestation of the spirit. What we have faith in is revealing the spirit within. Everyone has faith in something, more than people recognize. For example, you have faith that your care will start, that your heart will beat, that the sun will come up, that you will breathe, and that you will die.

If spirit is made manifest in faith, and faith is manifested in act, then spirit becomes act. What we have faith in, is where our spirit can be found. Your will is jump started by your faith. You do what you will to do.

Now of course, we can be made to do something against our will. Let’s say for example you were forced to give the combination of a safe to a robber while held at gunpoint. But that wouldn’t be your will. Your actions would be the will of the robber exercising power and dominance over your will.

This can happen in a much more subtle manner. Our wills can be subjugated by an outside physical will, (like the robber with the gun) and it can also fall victim to another will on a spiritual level.

What we think and how we think is determined by our spirit. By the way, a lot of folks look at the will as the agency of being not realizing that the will is a product of the spirit, which is the true agency of being. Free will is nothing more than the exercising of the spirit. But here’s what needs to be understood. Just like we have a triune God, one God but with three distinct features in the Spirit, the Son, and the Godhead, likewise our spirit is one, but with many separate and distinct aspects. Remember the ocean analogy above? Our spirit is facilitated by many spirits that make up the one spirit. There are also separate, distinct, and outside spirits that have sway and influence over our spirit in addition to the influence of the Holy Spirit.

We do not always see, feel, recognize, or are even aware of the influences of a spirit, on our spirit. But the effects of that influence can be seen, thought, and felt. This brings us back to Paul in Romans Chapter 7 and the internal war he fought in confusion between righteousness and unrighteousness.

We know what spirit is within or what spirit has had influence upon our spirit through the thoughts and acts it produces from us. It usually requires the act of a spirit to discover the existence of that spirit within. This realization can be a good thing when that act caused by the spirit is love, giving, forbearance, edification of others, etc.

But sometimes the manifestation of the spirit within produces pride, hate, envy, lust & covetousness, etc.

There is another aspect of the spirit we must realize. When the effects of a spirit surfaces, be it good or bad, in thought or deed, we don’t always recognize the thought or deed for what it is, a product of spirit. We blame situations and external circumstances for what we do.

Spiritual discernment is a fruit of the spirit.  The quickening or awakening of our Spirit which affords discernment of the spirit is a gift of God’s grace. Some people God blinds, others He never allows to see. It is His elect that He quickens at a time of His pleasure.

The revelation of God, the Son and the Holy Ghost is the start of a relationship between His spirit and our spirit. It must be understood in terms of relationship and not ceremony or agreement. The relationship is a marriage, a permanent bond. The bond is not of chains and fetters nor of legal agreement and obligation.

The bond is between spirits and is of word and of love. The love is not man’s fickle love that can quickly burn hot with emotion or cool to ice just as fast. The flames of love are like any fire. They can be easily enflamed or extinguished. Although this type of love can be a by-product of the relationship.

This love, the love of God, true love transcends emotions. It is best described as two becoming one, in essence and in being. There is no separation between two. There can’t be because we are one, so you don’t think in separate terms. There is not His and mine, only ours. Just like God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one, so are you and God one.

Many people try to love others and try to find love in others because they don’t find love in themselves. Any relationship like this will fail. You are trying to get two by adding one and zero. It can’t happen.

But being one with God causes us to be like God and desire to be like God. Our spirit is active and mingles with His spirit. In Him we live, breathe, move and have our being. As a result, we want to do the same with like kind. Loving our neighbor becomes a need and desire. Our spirit, in concert with His spirit interacts with the world. Anything inconsistent with God’s spirit becomes known to us, be it externally or internally.

The progression of God’s love. First it is between us and God. Think of this as the perpendicular post of the cross. From our love of God grows our love for others. Think of this as the horizontal beam on the cross. If we attempt the cross beam of love to our neighbors first, it will fall straight to the ground. We must first firmly establish the beam towards God before we can attempt the cross beam of neighborly love.

God has devised a wonderful plan for dealing with our divine inconsistencies that we discover within, or more to the point, how to deal with our sin. First off, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the price for sin. We are forgiven of our sins when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Once spiritually awakened and in tune with the Spirit of Christ, we are now blessed with revelation knowledge of sin.

“I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people” (Hebrews 8:10).

God has devised a method called repentance enabling us to root out sin. By the revelation of the indwelling spirit we are able to see the sin and iniquities that are within our self. Sin will grieve the spirit, which in turn grieves us. As a result, we will want the sin done away with. When we discover sin within, are able to recognize it as sin and are grieved by it, then we are to give it to God through confession; we are then forgiven of that sin through the purchased price of redemption by Christ at the cross. Our sin is forgiven.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

As we grow in our relationship with Christ, we also grow in the spirit of Christ. Sin and temptation to sin become more and more obvious and known to us through the revelation of our growing spirit. It’s not always that there is more sin or that we are being attacked by the devil more. Sometimes it is revelation knowledge through the spirit which allows us to see and understand sin and temptation better.

But as we grow, we will encounter sins that we are blind to, and we fall. It is important to understand that everyone is affected and influenced by sin. Everyone. This affect is not always obvious or known to us. The noetic effects of sin is way of describing how sin can distort our thinking, alter how we perceive things, and, “hampers our ability to properly understand our world and the things of God” (H/T CARM.org). This is why it is paramount to stay in and work on your relationship with Christ. This is why the “Once saved, always saved” idea is nonsense and very dangerous. We can not rest on our laurels. We must be active and engaged in our relationship all of the time. We must persevere in that relationship. The only way to do that is on a day by day basis.

Jesus let us know, “he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:13).

Our relationship with Christ is an ongoing, day by day effort until we either die or Jesus returns.

“And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:7-8)

Arguably, the most famous prayer of all times is the Lord’s Prayer. Read it carefully and see that if anything, the Lord’s Prayer is a prayer from man for perseverance unto the end.

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)

Sin originates in the spirit and is made manifest via thought and finally by deed. This was made clear by Jesus during His Sermon on the Mound (See Matthew Chapter 5)

Because of the noetic effects of sin, sometimes we don’t realize our sin until it has gone from spirit to deed. The pain of this sin for the spirit, self and others can be overwhelming. But never forget Jesus and the price He paid for His children at the cross.

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

(Here God speaks up)

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” (Psalm 32)

We have one security, one safety net, one form of protection, one hope and one recovery; Jesus Christ. Our salvation is in our relationship, acceptance, reliance, and faith in Jesus Christ.

Bill Hitchcock

Spurgeon On Psalms

The spirit is in the word. The spirit gives life to the word. God grace’s some people with the ability to infuse His spirit into what they write. Charles Spurgeon, the 19^th century pastor and theologian was such a man. I’ve given a snippet of his beautiful and powerful writings below.

Spurgeon was known as the, “Prince of Preachers”. He was the Billy Graham of his time and then some. Although he could draw up to 25,000 people at a time for one of his sermons (remember this was before microphones and speakers), Charles Spurgeon is best known for his prolific and heaven-sent writings. One such example is his publication, “The Treasury of David”, which is a line by line commentary of all 150 Psalms. Not only is it an example of his work, but he surveyed the great expositors of all times for their comments on the Psalms as well.

I have made it a habit to read several Psalms each day. One of the Psalms I read this morning was Psalm 32. I must confess, often Spurgeon’s comments are more moving and insightful than the Psalm itself, but that’s just how the spirit works sometimes. Below is a small sample of some of Spurgeon’s comments and as he calls it, “Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings”.

“When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.” (Psalm 32:3)

“Horror at his great guilt, drove David to incessant laments, until his voice was no longer like the articulate speech of man, but so full of sighing and groaning, that it resembled to hoarse roaring of a wounded beast. None knows the pangs of conviction but those who have endured them. The rack, the wheel, the flaming fagot are ease compared with the Tophet which a guilty conscience kindles within the breast: better suffer all the diseases which flesh is heir to, than lie under the crushing sense of the wrath of almighty God. The Spanish inquisition with all its tortures was nothing to the inquest which conscience holds within the heart.”

“I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” (Psalm 32:5)

“We must confess the guilt as well as the fact of sin. It is useless to conceal it, for it is well known to God; it is beneficial to us to own it, for a full confession softens and humbles the heart. We must as far as possible unveil the secrets of the soul, dig up the hidden treasure of Achan, and by weight and measure bring out our sins….When the soul determines to lay low and plead guilty, absolution is near at hand; hence we read, And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Not only was the sin itself pardoned, but the iniquity of it; the virus of its guilt was put away, and that at once, so soon as the acknowledgment was made. God's pardons are deep and thorough: the knife of mercy cuts at the roots of the ill weed of sin.”

“For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.” (Psalm 32:6)

“There is, however, a set time for prayer, beyond which it will be unavailing; between the time of sin and the day of punishment mercy rules the hour, and God may be found, but when once the sentence has gone forth pleading will be useless, for the Lord will not be found by the condemned soul. O dear reader, slight not the accepted time, waste not the day of salvation. The godly pray while the Lord has promised to answer, the ungodly postpone their petitions till the Master of the house has risen up and shut to the door, and then their knocking is too late. What a blessing to be led to seek the Lord before the great devouring floods leap forth from their lairs, for then when they do appear we shall be safe. Surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. The floods shall come, and the waves shall rage, and toss themselves like Atlantic billows; whirlpools and waterspouts shall be on every hand, but the praying man shall be at a safe distance, most surely secured from every ill.”

“Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” (Psalm 32:11)

“Happiness is not only our privilege, but our duty. Truly we serve a generous God, since he makes it a part of our obedience to be joyful. How sinful are our rebellious murmurings! How natural does it seem that a man blest with forgiveness should be glad.”

This has been a very small sample taken from Charles Spurgeon’s commentary on the Book of Psalms titled, “The Treasury of David”. This is truly a work blessed by God. You can access the Treasury free online at, “The Spurgeon Archive”.  The web address is listed below.

http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/treasury.php

Bill Hitchcock

How Many Are Willing?

How many of us are willing to pray this prayer of David?

“Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” (Psalm 26:1-2)

Who wants to walk up to God and say, “Judge me!”? And on top of that proclaim to God, “I have walked in mine integrity!”

That’s a pretty bold thing to do, don’t you think? And yes, David does give God the credit by saying he has trusted in the Lord so therefore he won’t slide. But even still, who is secure enough in themselves to ask God to judge them. Aren’t we the same ones who like to boldly state, “Judge not!” from Matthew 7 as our defense, protection and shield from being tried and proved?

By the way, the word “reins” from the above phrase, “try my reins”, means kidneys. It was believed that while the heart was the seat and center for love, the kidneys were the seat of inclinations, desires, delights and devotions of the soul. So, the expression, “try my reins and my heart” meant to test our inner most love and affections.

David isn’t issuing God a challenge nor is David being cocky or overconfident in some sort of self-righteous self-assessment. Oh no, quite the opposite. David is humbling himself and asking God to judge and examine him so as to live!

“For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” (1 Corinthians 11:31-32)

Who better to go to with our self and our sins than God? Is not that what God wants?

The process of repentance, of true repentance isn’t pleasant. It is the most humbling experience we can have. We must discover our sins, know that they are in fact, sins. We must understand that sin, and be remorseful over it. We better be remorseful over our sins, because if we aren’t, then we don’t fully understand it nor can we repent of it. We must give God our sins and be done with it. The Holy Spirit will mingle with our spirit and reveal anything that is unrighteous. Even still, we must be honest and truthful throughout the process of repentance and realize that this is an ongoing process and not a singular event. Too many Christians believe that their baptism was their one and only time of repentance. This leads to the wrong notion of once saved always saved.

“Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.” (Lamentations 3:40-41)

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Turn again to God, which is the definition of repent. Turn to Him. The consequence of repentance is salvation. The process or repentance may be painful, but that’s just the effects of sin trying to hold on.
 

Redemption can only come through Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Redemption has two aspects to it. By definition, to be redeemed means to be separated from sin and washed clean. You can only be washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ and you can only do that by accepting Christ into your heart as your Lord and Savior.

You cannot repent and be redeemed on your own, by yourself.

Remember the parable of the unclean spirit that leaves a man. That man’s house was “empty, swept, and garnished” (Matthew 12:44). But the man does not bring Jesus into his house, and while he cleaned his home, he didn’t bring in Christ. What happened was that one unclean spirit came back with “seven other spirits more wicked than himself” and “the last state of that man is worse than the first.” (Matthew 12:45).

Spiritually speaking, there is no such a thing as a vacuum. There is no such a thing as a clean (righteous) and empty house. If The holy Ghost doesn’t reside there, an evil spirit will.

We all should be like David and ask God to judge, examine and prove us; to test the inner man and see what’s in our heart and soul. The act alone shows our faith, trust, and love for God

Bill Hitchcock

Revelation Knowledge

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints" (Ephesians 1:17-18)

Revelation knowledge is not learned, it is revealed in whom God chooses. The spirit of wisdom and revelation of God are given to whom God chooses, when He chooses to give it. Once our eyes have been opened to God by God, then are we able to hear and receive His calling and understand the glory of His inheritance.

Before God works on us we are deaf, dumb, and blind to His Spirit.

Bill Hitchcock

Faith Is The Effect

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." (Ephesians 1:3-5)

How can someone argue against election and predestination after reading that? Believing in such doesn't make you a Calvinist, it makes you a Christian!

How can someone argue for "free" will when it was God's will that was the motivating factor for our salvation?

Faith is the effect of election not the cause (See Geneva Bible note Ephesians 1:4)

“so that there is no reason here of our election to be sought, but in the free mercy of God, neither is faith which God foresaw, the cause of predestination, but the effect.” (See Geneva Bible note Ephesians 1:5)

It is all according to the good pleasure of God’s will. Our will is made manifest from us as a result of God’s influence over us. To fight against this is to fight against the will and workings of God.  As Paul said, “ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20a)

Bill Hitchcock

God Is In Control

“Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.” (Jeremiah 31:35-36)

Both the sun and light are creations of God and need to be thought of separately. Why? Notice in the telling of creation that light was created immediately after the Spirit of God moved across the waters?

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1-3)

But it wasn’t until later, after the creation of light, that God created the sun and the moon.

“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:14-18)

God’s light came first. The sun and the moon afterwards.

Jeremiah goes on to point out that God gave the “ordinances” or the function and movement for the moon and the stars. God not only creates materially giving form and substance. God is also the cause and originator of motion and movement, which enables the materially created its function and purpose.

“The Lord of hosts is His name”. In the original Hebrew Lord isn’t used but rather His name, Jehovah.  The word “hosts” comes from the Hebrew, “tsaba”. It means “that which goes forth, army, war, warfare” (Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon)

Jehovah is nothing but a forward motion. He has His angels above, and His elect below.

What message is Jeremiah giving us?

Nothing is random or by chance. We tend to think of creation strictly in a physical sense. We think that motion, “happens” and purpose, “happens”, and that we are all left to our own devices. The belief is that God may intercede at times, but other than that we are on our own. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The creation is of God and the ordinances are of God. God is in control of the sun, the moon, the stars, and the earth. God is the first cause of everything, and everything is in accordance to God. If this were not so, if God’s hand was removed from all of His creations physically, metaphysically, and spiritually, then His hand would also be removed from His chosen. Everything would collapse and perish.

Bill Hitchcock

Anathema

“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-9)

How quickly we can be distracted, redirected away from the truth unto another false teaching, false doctrine, and false God!

This is very powerful stuff by Paul! Even if it was an angel from heaven, if they preach something other than the gospel, they are to be accursed! Paul means business here, so he repeats the warning. Accursed comes from the Greek, “Anathema”. It means devoted to God for destruction. It is the “direst of woes” (Strong’s). That’s the punishment for any deviation from God’s word. Think about the severity and scope of this warning.

In real terms what does this mean? If anyone be it Pastor, Preacher, Rabbi, Monk, Imam, friend, neighbor, angel-It doesn’t matter who! If anyone, “preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, then let them be devoted to God for destruction.

This doesn’t just apply to the who, but the what as well. There is no other gospel, no other God, and no other religion.

“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)

Anything other than Christ and Him crucified is anathema. This is serious business.

Bill Hitchcock

Spoken Word

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63)

In the Old Testament Hebrew, it is called, “Ruwach”. In the New Testament Greek, it is called, “Pneuma”. Both are defined as wind, breath, or spirit.

The words that Jesus speaks are spirit. The breath and wind of the spoken word are the very spirit of that word spoken.

Ruwach and Pneuma aren’t restricted to only Jesus.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." (Proverbs 18:21)

Our words are flowing from our spirit. They are our spirit.

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” (1 John 5:14-15)

When our spirit is His spirit, then our will becomes His will, then our words are His words. God hears and abides by His own words.

Bill Hitchcock

Points To Ponder About Halloween

Is it OK for a Christian to go trick or treating? I offer a few things to think about.

A thought for those churches that are offering alternative events to trick or treating tonight. Are you not still celebrating Halloween? Just because you celebrate Halloween differently by changing the “ritual” doesn’t necessarily remove you from the intent and purpose of Halloween, the “why” you are doing it.

If you are not celebrating, “All Hallows' Eve” (Halloween) because of its pagan origins, shouldn’t you also stop celebrating Christmas as well? It is clear that Jesus was not born on December 25. Evidence points towards a March birth. The time of Christmas coincided with another pagan ritual. It is understood that the early church incorporated that celebration of the pagans so as to attract and draw pagans to the church.

Many, many things have their origins in paganism, including the days of the week.

“The Greeks named the days week after the sun, the moon and the five known planets, which were in turn named after the gods Ares, Hermes, Zeus, Aphrodite, and Cronus. The Greeks called the days of the week the Theon hemerai "days of the Gods".” H/T The Crowl Family.

Are we to stop the days of the week? Rename them?

During the Sermon on the Mound, Jesus made it a point to highlight the fact that the sin doesn’t necessarily lay in the act, but rather in the spirit that motivated the act.

“Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22)

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)

Jesus makes it clear; it is the spirit within the man that causes the sin without. John in his epistles speaks of the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Whichever spirit that resides in you will be made manifest without; not necessarily consciously or by effort, but rather the nature and essence of that spirit within you will naturally flow without.

So, why are you going trick or treating? What spirit is inspiring you to go? Jesus sat and ate with the sinners with unwashed hands and tableware. Was Jesus sinning? The priests thought so.

Christians ate meat that was sacrificed to pagan gods. Were they sinning?

Paul said, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” (1 Corinthians 10:23)

The key is our relationship and attitude towards others. This is why Paul said, “Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.” (1 Corinthians 10:24)

For the child of God, all things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial to all or leads to edification of our neighbor. The focus of what we do is not self, it is for others.

Paul goes on to explain in more detail. The problem he is addressing is that the meat from animals that had been used in pagan sacrifices was being sold at the meat markets (shambles). The problem for some Christians is that when they went to the meat market to buy meat, they wouldn’t know if what they were buying had been used during a ritual sacrifice. They were afraid of unintentionally sinning by eating sacrificed meats unawares.

“Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake: For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. But if any man say unto you, this is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof: Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience? For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks? Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:25-31)

The message of Jesus and Paul is the same. It is the spirit within the person which will determine motivation and intent, which in turn determines whether or not the act is a sin or not.

But Paul takes it a step further by going beyond self. He makes it clear that everything is of God therefore eating sacrificed meats is not a sin in of itself, unless you are aware that it has been ritually sacrificed, then you would be participating in the ceremony by eating it. But we must keep an eye out for our brothers and sisters who may not totally understand the situation or circumstance. The objective here is not focused around our self, it’s focused on another. We do not want to cause another to stumble. Self-interest must take a back seat to the interests and well-being of others. This is by definition what loving your neighbor means.

So how does this all relate to Halloween? 1. Why are you doing it? Do you think you participating in a pagan ritual? 2. Do you understand that altering the ritual doesn’t necessarily stop the sacrifice? 3. How do your actions effect others?

Points to ponder and pray on.

Bill Hitchcock

The Spirit Of God And Love

"We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." (1 John 4:6)

We are always under the influence of a spirit. There is no such thing as a spiritless person. “For as the body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26a). We may not realize it or be aware of it, but all of us are spirit filled. But which spirit are we filled with?

Spiritually speaking, there is no such a thing as a vacuum. Even the repentant, clean, and the “good person”, if they don’t bring the Holy Spirit into their heart, they will be filled by the spirit of error. There is no middle ground. A no choice is a choice.

“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:24-26)

The spirit within makes manifest without. The spirit of truth manifests truth in thought, desire, and deed. The spirit of error does likewise, making manifest its nature and essence.

The fruit of the spirit of God manifests love, joy, and peace and is demonstrated by a person’s manner and way of life.

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:7-9)

Love is the cornerstone of our religion. You can’t help but love when filled with the spirit of Christ.

Bill Hitchcock

Labels

Labels. They are dangerous. They stop the thinking process. They solidify a preconceived notion of someone or something in which a person bases their opinion or judgment on.

The labels I’m speaking of are those we place on our self and other people to identify who and what they are. In politics we have Republican and Democrat, conservative and liberal. In religion we have evangelical, conservative, liberal, orthodox, and fundamental. Of course, we have the range of religions such as Baptist, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, etc.

Other labels we use on people include Yankee, southerner, redneck, country, urban, queer, straight, black, white, and the list of labels goes on and on.

We put labels on people so we can quickly identify who they are, what they represent, and how they think and act. Once we have labeled someone, we now think we know them, and we treat them according to the labels we have placed on them.

One of the big problems with labeling people is our idea of what that label means. Someone’s preconceived notion of let’s say, what a liberal is or what a Roman Catholic is, could be way off base. So now we must deal with someone who is prejudiced with false and erroneous notions of a person all the while that person who has been labeled has no idea of the error.

Jesus dealt with labels and what they meant. “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-17)

I was having coffee with a Pastor recently. During our conversation I was mentioning some books that I have read and theologians I have studied. When I mentioned John Calvin it automatically evoked a reaction from the Pastor, and I was pegged a Calvinist. I quickly pointed out that I have read the Quran as well but that doesn’t make me a Muslim. I then asked him what does being a Calvinist mean. I knew, I just wanted to see how he defined the label. A little later in our conversation he asked me what I thought of Reformed Theology. Again, I asked him to tell me what it was. I knew, I just wanted to know what his idea of it was.

I read an article today about the problem of (not with) Fundamental Christians. The author, a PhD, never defined fundamentalism, but judging from the article, a Fundamental Christian to him is a cross between an idiot, a baboon, and a heretic. Now imagine the problem we would have if I identified as a Fundamental Christian upon meeting this gentleman. He has me labeled, he has his preconceived notions, he thinks he has me pegged theologically, and I haven’t even opened my mouth yet.

There has been a lot press over the past several years about the rise of the religious, “Nones”. These are folks claiming no affiliation to any particular religion. A lot of people assume that the label of “None” means that you are an atheist or an agnostic. Nothing could be further from the truth in many cases. There are millions of God fearing, Jesus loving, church attending Christians that do not belong to any denomination. They are by definition, a none.

Think of the nightmare I would create for many if I had to label myself. I would be an evangelical, fundamental, none. Peoples brains would melt trying to figure that one out.

Another problem with labels is that sometimes it becomes a mold that some try to squeeze them self into. Or worse, the person doesn’t know all of what a particular label entails. For example, someone identifies as a conservative Republican not realizing that this group is pro-life all the while he is pro-abortion.

I don’t like labels. Thinking stops and biases and prejudices begin when they are used. Folks are multi-faceted and rarely can be all the different points that a label represents. Often times you will find yourself defending a point of a label not because you agree with it, but because it is part and parcel of the label you identify with.

I have learned to ask people to define any label they mention. It helps to avoid a lot of misconceptions and opens up a clearer and more substantial dialogue.

Bill Hitchcock

It Started With A Post Then A Question

Yesterday morning’s message that I posted on Facebook was titled, “Morning Thoughts On Politics and Religion”. You can figure out the subject matter from the name. Musician and recording artist John Jones followed my post with a rather interesting question.

John asked, “So, if we wanted to take this thought a step farther, maybe we could discuss how "freedom" relates to politics, religion, and truth then?”

This at first threw me for a loop. Freedom as it relates to politics, religion, and truth? Well now, that certainly isn’t a light undertaking! I asked John to clarify and give some kind of context to his question.

John replied, “I began considering the meaning of freedom sometime back. As you know, each political party has their own ideas of freedom, so to discern why I stand on the principles I stand on, I needed to search out what true freedom is, and let that determine my political views. I began wondering how many of us simply pick a side or denomination without the goal being the experience of freedom or the truth that sets us free. Hoping you would take it from here...?”

Below was my response to John’s rather intriguing question. He seems to come out of the woods every so often and ask an excellent, thought provoking question like this one. Iron sharpens iron! Thank you!  

Freedom and Truth

Freedom is a thing. It has form and substance. Many labor under the misconception that freedom is devoid of boundaries, that to be free means no restrictions.

Let’s use a football game as an example.

A football field is 120 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide. There are two 10-yard endzones on both ends of the field. There are hash marks every yard and lines that cross the entire field every 5 yards.

The goal posts are 30 feet high, 18 ½ feet apart with the cross bar at 10 feet.

Football is a timed sport consisting of four 15-minute quarters.

To be able to play the game of football we need the above restrictions.

Now imagine we are playing in the Freedom Bowl where there are no restrictions, we are totally free! We would have to remove the hash marks and the sidelines because they are restricting the field of play. We would have to remove the end zones and goal posts too. The clock would have to go because we are no longer confined by time. So now we have two teams playing each other on an infinite playing field with an infinite amount of time. The game would never end, no one would ever score or step out of bounds. And while we are at it, we wouldn’t have to limit it to 11 players on the field at one time, nor would we have to limit it to just 2 teams playing. By removing restrictions we’ve removed time and space, heaven forbid if we try to remove matter too!

Freedom requires direction and purpose, which means it needs some type of boundaries or guideposts. All things have a certain form, substance, and purpose to it. To be free means there is nothing inhibiting or prohibiting that form, substance, and purpose from being and doing. Now anything that would hinder the game of football would be working against the freedom of the game.

We live in a free society. Guideposts were put in place so as to allow folks to live freely all the while ensuring that no one intruded upon another person’s swing at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Our political system is based on the right of every citizen to vote. We have rules and regulations in place that allows that to happen.

Christianity first had the Ten Commandments as our guidepost for righteousness which freed us from sin and then the understanding that love fulfilled all of those commandments.

Think of boundaries as the mold that forms the substance into its purpose. Think of freedom as purpose fulfilled. In this sense, purpose fulfilled is true. The act of fulfillment is truth. This can get confusing because by this standard both sin and righteousness are true when they fulfil their individual purpose and untrue when they don’t. Righteousness isn’t righteousness when it sins. Sin isn’t sin when it is righteous.

Pontius Pilate looked Jesus Christ in the face and asked, “What is truth?” He didn’t know truth, although looking at it straight in the face because he didn’t know Jesus.

All form, substance, purpose, and existence are of God. They fulfill their purpose, so they are true. Any deviation from form God’s purpose would be an untrue. For example, we are being untrue when we depart from righteousness because we were made to be righteous and holy.

Anything not of God is unrighteousness therefore untrue.

God made everything. He gave all its form, substance, and purpose. Anything within the realm of God and His creation is righteous and it is true. Conversely, if Satan had been the creator instead of God, then everything of Satan would be true and God a lie.

True and truth are being consistent with form, substance and purpose.

God made us righteous and holy. Unrighteousness (sin) is not truth although it can be true.

Hope this helps! Any feedback will be most helpful! 

God Bless!

Bill Hitchcock

Freedom and Truth

Freedom is a thing. It has form and substance. Many labor under the misconception that freedom is devoid of boundaries, that to be free means no restrictions.

Let’s use a football game as an example.

A football field is 120 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide. There are two 10-yard endzones on both ends of the field. There are hash marks every yard and lines that cross the entire field every 5 yards.

The goal posts are 30 feet high, 18 ½ feet apart with the cross bar at 10 feet.

Football is a timed sport consisting of four 15-minute quarters.

To be able to play the game of football we need the above restrictions.

Now imagine we are playing in the Freedom Bowl where there are no restrictions, we are totally free! We would have to remove the hash marks and the sidelines because they are restricting the field of play. We would have to remove the end zones and goal posts too. The clock would have to go because we are no longer confined by time. So now we have two teams playing each other on an infinite playing field with an infinite amount of time. The game would never end, no one would ever score or step out of bounds. And while we are at it, we wouldn’t have to limit it to 11 players on the field at one time, nor would we have to limit it to just 2 teams playing. By removing restrictions we’ve removed time and space, heaven forbid if we try to remove matter too!

Freedom requires direction and purpose, which means it needs some type of boundaries or guideposts. All things have a certain form, substance, and purpose to it. To be free means there is nothing inhibiting or prohibiting that form, substance, and purpose from being and doing. Now anything that would hinder the game of football would be working against the freedom of the game.

We live in a free society. Guideposts were put in place so as to allow folks to live freely all the while ensuring that no one intruded upon another person’s swing at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Our political system is based on the right of every citizen to vote. We have rules and regulations in place that allows that to happen.

Christianity first had the Ten Commandments as our guidepost for righteousness which freed us from sin and then the understanding that love fulfilled all of those commandments.

Think of boundaries as the mold that forms the substance into its purpose. Think of freedom as purpose fulfilled. In this sense, purpose fulfilled is true. The act of fulfillment is truth. This can get confusing because by this standard both sin and righteousness are true when they fulfil their individual purpose and untrue when they don’t. Righteousness isn’t righteousness when it sins. Sin isn’t sin when it is righteous.

Pontius Pilate looked Jesus Christ in the face and asked, “What is truth?” He didn’t know truth, although looking at it straight in the face because he didn’t know Jesus.

All form, substance, purpose, and existence are of God. They fulfill their purpose, so they are true. Any deviation from form God’s purpose would be an untrue. For example, we are being untrue when we depart from righteousness because we were made to be righteous and holy.

Anything not of God is unrighteousness therefore untrue.

God made everything. He gave all its form, substance, and purpose. Anything within the realm of God and His creation is righteous and it is true. Conversely, if Satan had been the creator instead of God, then everything of Satan would be true and God a lie.

True and truth are being consistent with form, substance and purpose.

God made us righteous and holy. Unrighteousness (sin) is not truth although it can be true.

Hope this helps! Any feedback will be most helpful! I want to make this one of my morning messages and possibly a magazine article.

God Bless!

Bill Hitchcock

Idols Of Silver And Gold

"Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." (Psalm 115:4-8)

How about that! We are like our idols, our gods, and demi-gods that give the appearance of something but in reality, are nothing.

We idolize and worship what we value. We give credence to it and justify it because of its value. We idolize a great boxer and give credence to his religious views, never mind the fact that boxing has no bearing or association to religion.

We idolize an entertainer and adhere to their politics even though singing and dancing doesn’t qualify as political credentials.

We idolize the Pastor who draws millions of people to their alter even though Christ and Him crucified are never preached.

Talent and ability do not have universal applications.  Albert Einstein was a renown theoretical physicist, but that doesn’t mean he could sink a 30-foot putt or prepare a delicious beef wellington.

Lebron James is idolized by millions. He is a once in a generation basketball superstar. But that basketball super stardom doesn’t qualify him to be a Pastor of a Christian Church. But countless people would get baptized and join the church if he did.

We make idols out of what we value, so we can value our idols because there is no intrinsic value in the idol itself to start with. And as the Psalmist points out that our manmade idols have a mouth, eyes, ears, nose, hands, and feet, but can’t use them. Here’s the clincher, “They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." The idol worshippers are as deaf, dumb, blind, and halt as the idol they fabricated and idolize.

We take on the attributes of who we worship. The idols are dead, but Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is alive and active.

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:3-4).

All things are of Him and by Him and for Him. There is nothing that is, that didn’t come about by His hand. There is nothing that exists that isn’t sustained by Him.

We are made in the image of God and glorify Him the more we are like Him. The idols of man are deaf, dumb, blind, and halt because there is no spirit within to quicken them. God’s Spirit, “is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63) and the “body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26)

Being spirit filled we, “put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)

We become who we worship. Jesus Christ is life eternal. The idol is dumb and dead.

We are, “followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us” 

(Ephesians 5:1-2)

Bill Hitchcock

The Driving Force Behind Oppression

At first glance, one would think that the Politically Correct agenda and movement was driven by one thing; the desire to stop oppression. Social Justice Warriors are the boots on the ground army of the PC that attack oppressors. This is, in any case, the impression they want to convey.

The Politically Correct and the Social Justice Warriors are not driven to end oppression. They are driven to obtain it. They think that their beliefs are correct which makes them superior to all others. Those who do not agree with their belief system are thought to be less than human, incapable of proper thought and emotions. The Politically Correct, in their own eyes, are the standard for humanity. Anything less is not human and can be and should be dealt with accordingly, as less than human.

A good example of this type of philosophy would be Adolph Hitler and his idea of the German master race. Anything less than true German was brutalized and exterminated. Earlier propaganda films put out by Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany, used rats as a metaphor for non-Germans, particularly Jews. These “rats” were nasty, diseased, and inhuman, that ran around in gutters and sewers. The only humane thing to do to these horrid, miserable creatures was to kill them and put them out of their misery.

This is the same mindset of the today’s Politically Correct, the Social Justice Warriors and Antifa. Anyone who doesn’t think and act like them is nothing but a rat fit for extermination. The Politically Correct feel justified in any action taken be it legal, moral, or physical against their opponent, because the Politically Correct are human, all others are not.  

It is pride that drives them, plain and simple. It is pride, the feeling of superiority, that drives the Politically Correct to try to squelch and oppress its opponent. This type of pride has an over-appreciation of self that is unwarranted. This self-inflation of being and worth causes the prideful person to believe that not only are they superior to others, but that others are inferior and are lesser beings. Because of this they feel justified in their acts. This idea causes the proud to treat others poorly, to abuse and advantage them.

Truth and justice are relative to their ideals. Whatever runs consistent with them are accepted as true.

But take a look at what God thinks of the prideful.

“Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.” (Proverbs 16:5)

The solution to pride is humility. James tells us that, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” (James 4:6). The proud are fighting against God.

“The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low. (Isaiah 2:11-12)

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)

The battle against pride and the oppression it creates is very much an Old Testament issue. The Old Testament is replete with examples of it and God’s reaction to it.

Do not oppress the stranger

“Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 22:21)

Do not oppress your neighbor

“And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another.” (Leviticus 25:14)

Do not oppress your employees or workers

“Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates” (Deuteronomy 24:14)

Do not oppress the sick and afflicted

“Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate” (Proverbs 22:22)

Do not oppress anyone!

“Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 25:17)

Pride is the root of all oppression

“I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors. Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me.” (Psalm 119:121-122)

With pride comes oppression creating contention and strife.

“Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.” (Proverbs 13:10)

The humble have a responsibility to the oppressed.

“Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.” (Psalm 10:17-18)

“Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.” (Psalm 10:17-18)

God is the refuge for the oppressed.

“O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them. But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” (Psalm 9:6-10)

Oppression is defined as “prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control”.

The Cambridge Dictionary has a more modern, PC definition, “a situation in which people are governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented from having opportunities and freedom”

The Collins Dictionary covers about all conceivable forms of oppression. “the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. an act or instance of oppressing or subjecting to cruel or unjust impositions or restraints. the state of being oppressed. the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, anxiety, etc.

The root word for oppress found in the Old Testament is “lachats”. It means to squeeze or press. The New Testament word for oppress is “katadynasteuo”. It is a composite word combining “great authority or power” with “against or in” to define the act.

No matter how oppression is defined, the source and cause will always be pride. Pride produces other sins as well. As mentioned earlier, contention is caused by pride. Contention which includes ill-will, quarreling, strife, controversy, and disputes, these things are the result of pride.

The root of bigotry and racism isn’t hate, its pride that causes the hate.

The proud don’t think rules apply to them, after all, they are above the realm of mere mortals therefore they are above any rule, regulation or law. This includes God.

“The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.” (Psalm 10:4)

“O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. They break in pieces thy people, O Lord, and afflict thine heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. Yet they say, The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.” (Psalm 94;1-2, 5-7)

The proud do not think that God and His ways apply to them. After all, they are superior to other people and God made rules that apply to the common man, not to them. Besides, the proud have proof that God’s laws don’t apply. They have done what is considered to be sin and have suffered no consequence for it!

But God is in the generation of the righteous (Psalm 14:5). The humble know that, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way” and they also know that with God, “the froward mouth, do I hate.” (Proverbs 8:13)

The humble rest in the promise of God and know that God has, “heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.” (Psalm 10:17-18).

The humble have the, “Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.” And that when it comes to the proud who believe they are above the consequences of sin and the law that God will, “bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off.” (Psalm 94:22-23)

Bill Hitchcock