Our Detestable Things

                 While reading Ezekiel 37:21b-23 quoted below, the phrase “nor with their detestable things” caught my eye.  My thoughts dwelled on “my former life” and how I as a sinner lived with those detestable things.  (My thoughts, lusts, and covetousness was a major part of my life.)  It could be said, I wallowed within those “detestable things.” 

               When I finally accepted Jesus (at age 51) most of those “detestable things” went away.  I purposed in my heart to be in Church under the Word of God, (being in Church at the appointed time) to learn about my new path in life, a path of righteousness.

Hebrews 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: …

               This phrase also makes me consider my current walk.  “Am I still lugging around “detestable things” that would dishonour God?   Is it something that will keep me from Glorifying God?  I can only resolve these answers in prayer, however, I can say I am not enveloped in an abiding sin.  Yet, what is keeping me from drawing nearer to God and His Son Jesus?” 

Hebrews 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

               In order for us to have “full assurance of faith” we must have a “true heart” (a sincere heart.) 

               You are the only one who knows the condition of your heart.  To ready your heart you must remove the evil thoughts in which your mind is laden.  You need to be reading God’s Word (KJB) and spending more time in prayer.  As you read and as you pray, you will find that repentance (changing your ways) will become easier.  You will eventually know you are cleansed and your Faith has grown more true and sincere.

               “So join with me and consider what your “detestable things” are, (what they might be.)  If you do what is necessary, you will make the transition from “the old life to the new life.”

Bro. John R. E Chastain

Ezekiel 37:21-23  And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22  And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23  Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 

Heaven and Earth

               While reading Isaiah 66:1-2 quoted below, the words “Heaven [and] earth” seem to stand out to me.  In my thoughts concerning “Heaven,” I know that Heaven is my home, and one day my traveling will cease, as God will call me Home. (Then I will be with God and His Son Jesus.)  My traveling days will be over.  “What a Day That Will Be When My Jesus I Shall See.”   I will no longer roam this earth being tempted by all kinds of evil.  I will never hear another person curse my Jesus, nor hear a cross word.  (It will be a home of splendor, and a home of tranquility.)  I will never hear anyone exclaim, “I’m bored.”  I will never know anymore hate, war, drugs, or evil of any kind. 

The Earth is now our temporary home, and it is under the rule of Satan himself.  (Until I subjected myself to God by accepting Jesus as my personal Saviour, my father was the devil.)

John 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

               One wonderful day I realized I needed more out of life than what I was getting.  I really wasn’t aware that I had been living in sin, “nor did I know I was a son of the devil.”  Even after I accepted Jesus and became a Christian, I was not completely aware of the change that had been made.  I had become a new creature, adopted by God the Father in Heaven.  I was no longer a son of Satan.  I had a new Father, a Holy Father, whose Son died for my sins, and through His blood I was made whole.  I had sought a new way, a new life.

Romans 10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

                             

               God tells us, through Paul, that if we will believe that God has raised His Son (Jesus) from the grave, and are willing to confess that Belief to others, He will save us eternally.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

               “I sought Him, and I accepted Him with a profound Belief.  In that belief was faith, and in that faith I found an everlasting eternity. Reader what have you confessed?  Are you a believer?  Is Jesus your everlasting, eternal Saviour?” 

               If not, do it now.

Bro. John R. E Chastain

Isaiah 66:1-2  Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?   2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. 

The Root Of All Evil

         Reading 1 Timothy 6:6-10 quoted below, the phrase in (v 10 ) “For the love of money is the root of all evil” is what came to my mind. This phrase states the definition of covetousness. In my mind, covetousness is our number one sin. It is the sin which leads to theft of others' property, others' wives (or husbands.) It leads to drunkenness, drug addiction, and pornography. This list could go on and on, and if we can define a sin not mentioned, it likely began by someone coveting something.

         We must know when God looks at sin, He does not categorize it, and vary the penalties. To Him, all sin is abhorrent sin.

          Today we no longer use the old words, (the words that define sin,) like whore, whore-monger, drunkard, and sodomite (just to name a few). We have given them new names. Our daughters and friends who find themselves allowing their bodies to be used by a variety of (whore-mongers) men are no longer whores. It has become a normal thing for them to get together and “try each other out.”

         We no longer call a drunk what he is. He is now “an alcoholic” and now it is “a disease.” (It isn’t sin, and they can not help themselves.)

       And, now we are teaching and accepting that sodomy is a “normal” occurrence. We no longer call them sodomites, as that would imply God hates them. Instead they are “gay,” a normal, whimsical part of our society.

All sins are a blasphemy to the Face of Almighty God. I have only mentioned a few. (Do understand that to God all sin is equal in its blasphemy. All sin is sin against God.) To actually live in sin and openly defy our Creator is to bring the wrath of God onto that person.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

          If we are stumbling with sin and have called on Jesus’ name, we have “erred from the faith,” and consequently have “pierced [ourselves] themselves through with many sorrows.”  Erring from the “faith” isn’t a situation whereby we are going to hell. It is a time of reward loss. Those who have accepted Jesus will stand before Him and be judged.

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

         Those who have not accepted Jesus the Christ as their Saviour will die in their sin, and consequently live eternally with the “wrath of God” on them.

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

           So, “reader where is your “love?” Is it with God and His Son Jesus, or are you still a son of the devil rooted in sin?”

Bro. John R. E Chastain

1Timothy 6:6-10 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Today’s Prophets

               Reading Jeremiah 14:13-15 quoted below, and looking at the context, we see the “Lord God” telling Jeremiah that the false prophets said, “I will give you assured peace in this place.” 

               When we listen to the news and the weather, we hear multiple prognostications [A foreknowing or foretelling of a future event by present signs.] on the condition of the state of our Nation.  All are based on one or more happenings.  These prognosticators call themselves “reporters of the news.”  However, for the most part, they never tell us what has happened without foretelling what [in their opinion] is going to happen tomorrow.

               We also have an over abundance of “religious” prognosticators foretelling the date of the rapture, claiming healing, and all sorts of other claims.  Our “Lord God” tells us they “prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not,” and He continues to say that He “neither spake unto them.”

               In our day and time, we find much falsehood sprinkled with the truth.  In our Churches today many claim God’s Truth, The King James Bible, yet they take phrases out of context and misuse them for their personal benefit and gain.  I find on the cover of our Sunday Church Bulletin the quote, “I will give you assured peace in this place.”  It is a good phrase, however, it was what the false prophets were stating, and God disavows what was said by them.

               “So where do we all stand on God’s Word?  Do we correctly read our Bible within the context (subject being discussed) or just read a verse here and there and make application anyway we want?”

               I expect the people in our congregation to read along with me, and to check me to make sure I am preaching within the context (subject of the text.)  If not, I have been allowed to twist the subject anyway I want.  Then I have become a false prophet (a preacher reading and preaching the prophecy from the Bible) who chooses the direction of the Gospel.  I would not then be led by The Holy Spirit, but by a heart that has no knowledge of Jesus, His Blood, nor The Holy Spirit.  This would be claiming God with no foundation, (just some unknown language,) a language of Baal worshippers, nothing more.  Without the knowledge of God, they preach their “personal prophecy.”

               So reader, “where do you stand within God’s Word?  Is The Bible something you rely on, or just a book written by men?”  We are taught within the Bible (each and every word) is God’s voice.  We are to read His Word, and hear what God has to say to us.  Romans 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

               If you are hearing God’s Word, both by physical hearing and heart hearing (reading privately) then you will learn the context and will know when a charlatan (prognosticator) attempts to lead you astray.                                           

Bro. John R. E Chastain

Jeremiah 14:13-15  Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.   14  Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. 15  Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. 

Put On The Lord

Reading Romans 13:14 quoted below, my thoughts centered on that portion which states: “…put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,..” and the remainder tells us to quell the lusts of the flesh.

When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, it was a personal event. It wasn’t something that happened to everyone at that same moment. (It was a time for “change.”)

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

This “change” happened within our body. We became a new creature, and we must now look to a new life, a life where we put away the “old things” and look to “all things are become new.”

The “old things” were the sins in our lives. I can hear some saying, “Hey, I live a good life and I am not a sinner.” Our Bible teaches us that statement is a lie, consequently sin.

Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

We will never be perfect in this life. That is why Jesus died on the Cross and shed His blood for our sins. His atonement was for all, not just a few. None of us, regardless of our station in life will ever be physically righteous. By accepting Jesus as our eternal Saviour, His atoning blood on our soul shows God we have accepted His Son. Therefore we have become “unblameable and unreproveable” in His sight.

Colossians 1:20-22 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. (21) And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled (22) In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

“Reader, if you have accepted Jesus as your “personal Saviour,” do you have a “walk and a talk” that reflects that “unblameable and unreproveable” new creature? If you cannot say Yes, then isn’t it time you did something about it? Do know, that regardless as you work to improve your “walk and talk,” you will fall short. This isn’t to say you should not try. Just don’t use this as an excuse for not trying.”

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

In our walk, we should Glorify God in all we do. When we find we have failed, we must go to God in prayer, and in that prayer, repent of that failure, and ask for forgiveness. Reader, what are you going to do?”

Bro. John R. E Chastain

Romans 13:14 “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”