Making Life Work

By: C. Roderick Martin



    “Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former things, what they were, so we may consider them, and know the latter end of them” (Isaiah 41:22 NKJV).

    There is little doubt if we are to know what will happen to this country, we must look to the past, specifically, to ancient Israel.

    One may question if we are indeed the direct descendants of the “Lost Ten Tribes,” but there is little debate that we are spiritual Israel. Biblical history gives us detailed accounts, confirmed many times by secular history, of Israel’s fate when the people disobeyed God.

    God is predictable, he does not change; he is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. In Deuteronomy...

By: John Klassek

    We all want to live in safe and peaceful times. But, do we today?

    The past 70 years since World War II should have taught us that the price of freedom has been paid in blood. And yet, since then we have seen more bloodshed with more lives lost—the statistics are simply overwhelming. We’ve watched the development of frightening nuclear armaments coupled with failed United Nations resolutions. Anyone who seriously considers where we are today cannot help but wonder where we’re headed!

   Do far-off economic uncertainties and radical Islamic threats to destroy other nations in a blazing fireball all seem a bit irrelevant? It’s all a matter of perspective. A million starving people in Sudan is less important than...

By: John Klassek

    We had almost finished dinner at the restaurant when a man in a black suit approached us and asked whether he could perform a few magic tricks for us. I politely declined his offer.

    He then quite happily made his way to the next table. I couldn’t help but to curiously watch him ply his tricks there, and what he did was quite amazing. He threw a red ball into the air and it simply disappeared! The look of surprise and fascination was evident on the faces of everyone seated at that table. “Is seeing believing?” I wondered.

    A friend of mine once lamented that he had never seen any miracles in his life. He implied that our belief in what really matters might be enhanced by being witness to some supernatural...

By: Lenny Cacchio

Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever. (Jeremiah 25:5 KJV)

    If you are inclined to blame political leadership for all the wrong in our country, you need to rethink it. Sometimes political leadership is nothing more than a reflection of the people it represents, and that is especially true in a representative republic such as ours.     In the last chapter of II Samuel, King David makes an appalling mistake. At the time he is a powerful figure in the Middle East. He has conquered lands as far away as present-day Iraq and beyond. He has friendly relations with the Lebanese to the...

By: Ronald L. Dart

    One night, I found myself wishing I had something inspirational to read. From time to time I come across a book or an article that has a piece in it that really lifts me, that helps me get my head up and look around, and gets me up out of the rut. One that makes me lift my eyes to the skies, makes me want to be my better self. One that gives me a lift and pushes me on. My problem was, I didn’t have a thing in the house that met my need that I hadn’t already read, or wasn’t already bored with, or something of that nature. And I’ve heard a lot of people express the same concern, the same desire, the same need, as it were, for something inspirational—a CD or a book or something— to give them a lift from time to time.

By: Ronald L. Dart

By: Ronald L. Dart

In the world you will have tribulation;
but be of good cheer,
I have overcome the world.

    I hope I don’t shock you too much when I say that the Bible is not a particularly comforting book. I know the hope it gives is comforting. I know the relationship with God it offers is comforting. But one night, I was paging through the Bible looking for some comfort and I wasn’t finding much. I wanted to read something to make me feel better, and I wasn’t finding it.

By: Ronald L. Dart

Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5 NKJV)

    It must have been a hard decision for God to make. I don't mean to suggest that anything is really hard for God, but the decision had consequences that even God could not have treated lightly. The decision to put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden had consequences for all of history. By putting that tree there, God effectively created a gate out of the Garden of Eden. He gave man a choice about the kind of a world that he would live in. If Paradise became boring for man, he had an alternative.

By: Ronald L. Dart

Is God everywhere? Is he in every leaf of every tree? Does he permeate the cosmos with his being? Is he in every blade of grass?

    Well, yes and no. God is in every blade of grass in the same way I am in a transceiver I built years ago and later sold. You might even find some of my DNA in that radio, because I got a little careless with my tools. But I am not there. I am here.

    God is in every blade of grass in the same way my wife is in the little painting she did years ago when we were playing with oils. But if you think you can put your foot on God when you walk across the grass, you are badly mistaken.

 

By: Ronald L. Dart

The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29). 

    There are things about God that we are never going to understand for the simplest of reasons. They have not been revealed, and theorizing isn’t going to help very much. It is revelation that we need if we are going to understand.

    One of the things that has been revealed, in part, is the work and character of the Spirit of God, and yet even that is not well understood. A troubling set of questions surround the Holy Spirit, and they suggest that we may have taken a wrong turn somewhere and we need to retrace our steps.

 

By: Ronald L. Dart

    Do you take your faith for granted? Or is it like a lot of married couples. We have been together so long, we can complete sentences for one another. We can take one another for granted, and at some level, that is good. I can take it for granted that my wife will be faithful to me. I can take it for granted that she won’t bust the budget. I do not even need to check on her credit card purchases. I only look at them to be sure there is no fraud. After 51 years of marriage, there aren’t a lot of surprises, nor should there be.

By: Ronald L. Dart

Was it Jesus’ intent to create a hierarchy of human government over the individual Christian? Does the Christian ministry sit in Moses’ seat for the church? This article explains what you always wanted to know about church government but were afraid to ask!

    Paul stood on the beach staring out to sea. This would be his last time in this place. It would have been good to have visited Ephesus once more, but it was not to be. It was just as well. He would not have been in Ephesus one hour before a coalition of Jews and silversmiths would have been plotting murder. There was no point in putting temptation in their way.

By: Ronald L. Dart

    They are people of the desert. To the western eye, they appear backward, undeveloped, fanatical, even bizarre. Yet they are the remnants of one of the greatest empires the world has ever known. And they are destined to effect your life more directly than you can ever imagine.

By: Ronald L. Dart

And God stepped out on space
And he looked around and said
"I’m lonely, I’ll make me a world." 1

    It is a simple, elegant statement of cosmology. The author, James Weldon Johnson, not only sees God as creator of everything, he imagines a motive for the act of creation. It may seem strange to think of God as lonely. But if we believe that God created all things, then we must believe that there was a time when God was alone and was not content to stay that way. This is true whether you believe God is a Trinity, a Unity, or a family composed of Father and Son. Whatever we call "God" was alone.

By: Ronald L. Dart

See "The Christian Woman" by Ronald Dart

    Relatively few Christian sects these days prohibit women from wearing makeup. Most of those that do seem to be holdovers from another era when "respectable" women in society did not wear makeup. Some of these groups still try to find biblical support for their position and quite forcefully forbid women to wear makeup in church; some forbid the wearing of it at any time.

    It is of singular importance to note that nowhere does the Bible specifically forbid women to wear makeup. It is not mentioned at all in the law of God or the teachings of Christ. All of the reasons advanced for not wearing makeup are inferences from prophetic writings. There are four principal scriptures that are advanced.

By: Ronald L. Dart

    The story of the Bible begins and ends with a tree. In the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Life held a central place. After the expulsion of man from the garden, we don’t hear of the tree again until the last book of the Bible.¹ There, man is in a very different environment called, "The paradise of God."² Once again the Tree of Life is central. But now there is not one tree of life, but twelve. They are on both sides of the river of life and they bear twelve kinds of fruit. Moreover, the leaves of the tree are for the healing of all people.³ It is those who do God’s commandments who have a right to the Tree of Life, and the permission to enter the City of God.⁴

By: Ronald L. Dart

The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter! Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they nurse their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness (Lamentations 4:1-3).

    The high school graduating class of ‘94 was decimated by a terrible plague and no one paid it much mind. If a bus load of them had been killed on the way to a game, it would have made headlines–at least locally. If a school had blown up and killed a few hundred of them it would have made national, even worldwide, news.

By: Ronald L. Dart

    He is twenty years old, but he looks more like sixteen. In blue jeans and sweater, his hair neatly cut, he looks like he should have books under his arm and be headed for class. The district attorney says he is a cold-blooded killer. It seems he held up a convenience store late one night. The clerk offered no resistance and gave him all the money in the cash register. But as he scooped up the money and stuffed it into his pockets, this “student” calmly raised his pistol and shot the clerk squarely between the eyes just to leave no witnesses. Now the district attorney wants you, the jury, to find him guilty and sentence him to death.

By: Ronald L. Dart

    Just what does it mean to "keep the Sabbath?" What should a person do on that day? Or, as some would prefer to ask, what should a person NOT do? Can you work at your normal job? What about emergencies? Can you buy groceries on the Sabbath? What if you have unexpected guests? The Sabbath is indeed a holy day, and to worship God properly requires a right view of His day.

By: Ronald L. Dart

 

 

"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" (Genesis 1:14-19).

    Nothing God gave to man has been used so consistently for the purpose He intended. Every civilization of man has used the sun, the moon, or both for the demarcation of time. They had no choice. Even a hunting society had to take notice of the passage of seasons. When would the animals migrate to the north and when would they return? How soon would the antlered animals make their move down from the high country? No people dependent upon the land could fail to notice that there was a time to plant and a time to harvest. Their problem was the prediction of that time, and that required the observation of the sun. It required a calendar, and some form of calendar has always been a mark of civilization.

By: Ronald L. Dart

Did Jesus adjust God’s ancient laws of clean and unclean meats? The answer shouldn’t be hard to find. It should be right there in the four gospels.

    Everyone is concerned about health these days. Hundreds of books have been written on the subject, and yet people often neglect to consider what the best selling book of all time has to say about healthful eating habits.

By: Ronald L. Dart

 

    The holy days are, to me, an endless source of fascination. Every year I approach them with renewed anticipation. Long ago someone pointed out to me a simple, elegant pattern in the meaning of these days. The Passover, for example, portrays the sacrifice of Christ. The days of Unleavened Bread remind us to put sin out of our lives. Pentecost pictures the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Trumpets looks forward to the return of Christ and the resurrection. Atonement represents the binding of Satan and the whole world being "at one" with God. The Feast of Tabernacles look forward to the millennium, and the eighth day pictures the "Great White Throne" judgment.

By: Ronald L. Dart

    It was the last night of the revival. The congregation was softly singing: "Just as I am," and the preacher was standing in front of the pulpit with both arms raised in invitation. He knew there were people present who needed to make a decision for Christ. "Jesus Christ could come tonight," he urged. "Will you be ready for Him?"

By: Ronald L. Dart

    At first, Philip wondered why he was here. It was not a place anyone in his right mind would choose to be. It was hot. It was dry. It was the road from Jerusalem to Gaza.

    He had finished his work in Samaria, and an angel of God had told him, "Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert." So, here he was, and there was nothing in sight but a chariot and its travel party. By its markings, the chariot was Ethiopian.

By: Ronald L. Dart

 

“There are two kinds of people in the world,” intoned the preacher, “the saved and the lost. There is no middle ground with God.”

    Now there is a sobering thought. If indeed there are only two kinds of people in the world, and if I am “people,” I must be either saved or lost. And if I’m not consciously aware of having been saved, then I must be lost. And if I’m lost...

By: Ronald L. Dart

    There are times when events in the modern world and the events written in the Bible converge, and when they do, they often shed light in both directions. The world and the society we live in is very different from the ancient world, But the hearts of men really are not very different. And, of course, God never changes at all. And in these simple truths, we can learn some very important things.

By: Ronald L. Dart 

    In the aftermath of the World Trade Center bombing, there was one question raised that no one really stopped to answer. Is it wrong for the United States to seek vengeance for the murder of the 5000 innocent people who died on September 11? Should we, as a country, turn the other cheek? There were those who thought the criminals who did this act should be brought to justice, but that it was wrong to merely seek revenge on Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda organization.

By: Lenny Cacchio  

No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you! (Job 12:22 NKJV)      Christians have a problem. We know. And we know that we know. And this knowing can get us into trouble. The Apostle Paul said that “knowledge puffs up” (I Cor. 8:1), and certainly those with lots of knowledge can become arrogant about it.     There was once a Pharisee who went into the temple to pray. Jesus tells us that this man gave a very special prayer of thanks. He said, “God, I thank you.” That’s a noble way to start a prayer. But notice what he thanked God for: “ … that I am not like other men.” (Luke 18:11).     Here was a man who on the outside appeared to be everything God expected him to be. He didn’t cheat people. He didn’t sleep...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36).  Of course it isn’t.  If it were, we wouldn’t have among other things a protracted and painful presidential election campaign that further exposes the fault lines in our national landscape.

    No candidate is the perfect combination of the patience of Job, the wisdom of Solomon, and the fighting spirit of David.  Nor should we expect such.  The best we can hope for is a government that provides us with security, some basic services, and fair adjudication of laws while not infringing upon our freedom to pursue our God-given purpose and talents.

    Sadly, not everyone sees it that way.  Some theories of government emphasize redistribution of wealth.  Some...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    Getting frustrated with things in general is a normal response to much of what we see in this old world.  I’m no exception, and as I told someone not long ago, "You and I should run for Congress, and we’ll solve everything once we get there."

    That, of course, is not true.  First, we could never be elected in today’s political environment, and secondly, we must not be naïve about the power of the establishment.  I’m reminded about a not-so-obscure prophecy in the Book of Revelation the interpretation of which has been horribly skewed.  Brace yourself, as I am about to give you a different understanding of this passage:

    "Then the angel carried me away by the Spirit to the desert.  There I saw a woman sitting...

By: Lenny Cacchio

The book Morning Coffee Companion, a compilation of Sabbath Morning Companion essays, is now available through our publisher and Amazon.com. You may also order a copy through your local bookstore.  Enjoy a daily devotional alongside your favorite cup of joe.

Link:  Morning Coffee Companion

    What is this thing called charisma? Why do people follow a charismatic leader? The word charisma is a Greek word often translated in the New Testament as "gift". More precisely, it can refer to a divine endowment or miraculous faculty. King David undoubtedly had some divine endowments relative to leadership. Strong men naturally followed him, even risking their lives...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    Ideas have consequences, and that’s why doctrine is central to Christianity.  It’s true that Christianity is about behavior and relationships, and those are important things, but doctrine has a special place because it’s the lens through which we define how we act and how we relate

    A great example might be how you view the path to salvation.  If you believe there are many paths to salvation, your approach to evangelizing the Christian message will be radically different than one who believes that Jesus is the only way.

    If you believe salvation comes from keeping a set of rules and rituals, you will make different choices in life than someone who believes that salvation comes from God’s mercy. 

   ...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    You’ll probably recognize the title of this essay as a quotation from the Liberty Bell.  Proclaim liberty throughout the land!  That quotes part of a verse from the book of Leviticus and can be found in chapter 25. "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof" is in part from verse 10 of that chapter, and it refers to the Jubilee year, which came around every 50 years.

    The Jubilee is based on the agrarian notion that wealth is in the land.  Families had inheritance in the land, but often because of poor management or bad fortune, the family would lose the land and hence its means of financial freedom.   In an agrarian society, to lose the land meant to lose your freedom, for you would...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    Several weeks ago in this column I wrote about a number of instances in our national history where duly elected officials called the nation to a day of fasting and prayer.  Upon further research I found a striking pattern that often followed.

    In 1746, the French fleet threatened New England settlements, and the people of New England called for a day of prayer and fasting.  It is true that a storm destroyed the fleet.  But it is also true that within a few years the colonies were engaged in the French and Indian War, which lasted nine years.

    On June 1, 1774, the Virginia House of Burgesses called for a day of prayer and fasting in support of the people of Boston, and again in 1775 the Continental Congress...

By: Lenny Cacchio

The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. (Ezekiel 22:29-30 NKJV)

Then said I, Here am I; send me. (Isaiah 6:8)

In a recent sermon a reference was made to Ezekiel 22:29-30, followed by the lamentation that in our land today there is no one standing in the gap, no one to repair the walls of morality. It’s a point well-taken, and it should have been a point of challenge for the thousand people who heard it. Would they be willing to stand in the gap, or were they...