Scripture
Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all.
~Psalm 36:1, NLT
Quote
When man loses his fear of God, he starts to lose everything else that is important to good conduct and character.
~Warren W. Wiersbe
The first four verses of Psalm 36 is an apt description of the democratic party. I watched the opening prayer of the DNC, if you can call it a prayer, the woman never bowed her head and the convention was cheering. She was not praying to God, she was making a speech. There are no limits to the depraved condition to which mankind may fall if left to the ways of their wicked hearts. But no matter how far man falls, God remains high and lifted up. Humanistic philosophies and fabricated religions play down this great divide between God and man. They do so by elevating man and lowering their view of God. You and I know that God is high and lifted up. He is holy and He cannot be tempted by sin. There is an infinite gap between sinful man and holy God, one that can only be bridged by Jesus and the cross. If you want to see the secular humanist blood boil, mention the fact that Jesus is the only way to heaven.
An attribute is a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something. God has two kinds of attributes: [1] Those we share in by grace such as holiness, faithfulness, goodness, mercy, etc. and [2] those we cannot share: omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence and of course His eternal nature. It is true that in the incarnation, God stooped to our level by becoming a man, but the man Christ Jesus was unique. He never sinned. Even in the incarnation, God did not compromise His purity or holiness. John used ‘Light’ as a metaphor for God. Light can touch impurity but impurity cannot touch light. A dead cow laying in a creek can contaminate the water but not the sun light. Light is incorruptible and God is LIGHT.
Another way to express this same truth is to say that God is transcendent: He is above and beyond our frailty and sinful behavior. His power infinitely transcends ours. Because God has all these lofty attributes, we worship Him because we fear HIM. Once there is no fear of God, man no longer drifts toward evil, he commits himself to evil and he loses the ability to see right from wrong. Matter of fact, he gets them confused.
Isaiah said, What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. Paul says is Romans 1, Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. This world is walking in darkness: they do not see the Light. This blindness is a result of not acknowledging God and not giving Him the proper respect. As Hosea said of Israel, “There is no fear of God in the land.”
Solomon said, That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. Everything begins with the FEAR of GOD.
Larry Garner is back in the ICU of Huntsville Hospital. Kathy had to take him in Saturday morning early. He has an infection that has affected his breathing. We should find out more today. Lord willing, I will be speaking to the Pastor’s Conference at Colbert/Lauderdale this morning and then checking on Larry this evening. I spoke at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church yesterday morning and I am scheduled to be at Sardis Springs February 11-14 for their annual winter bible study.
Mass Demonstrations in Iran
Iran, the world’s leader sponsor of terrorism is have economic and political problems that has motivated a massive protest by Iranian citizens. Prices on goods and services have soared and people have taken their protest to the streets.
Iran’s government is a strange beast. Parts of it, like the legislature and the presidency, are elected. But basic rights to free expression and protest are tightly controlled, and candidates who are seen as too subversive are barred from running for office. Fundamental authority rests with Supreme Leader Khamenei, an unelected cleric, who has authority to override the presidency’s policy decisions if he so chooses.
Experts say this is why the spread of protests and the change in their rhetoric is so important. Blaming Rouhani for Iran’s economic problems is entirely acceptable for Iran’s most senior leadership; presidents can and often are replaced. Blaming the system for the same problems, by contrast, is calling the whole idea of an Islamic Republic into question. It would be an answer to prayer to see the Islamic government fold. Iran is made up of Persians, not Arabs. How they were taken in by Islam is a mystery to me.