What Is Evil?

Dr. Mike Murphy
October 22,2019

A couple had two little boys, ages 8 and 10, who were excessively mischievous. The two were always getting into trouble and their parents could be assured that if any mischief occurred in their town their two young sons were in some way involved.  The parents were at their wits end as to what to do about their sons' behavior.  The mother had heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children in the past, so she asked her husband if he thought they should send the boys to speak with the clergyman.  The husband said, 'We might as well.  We need to do something before I really lose my temper!'   The clergyman agreed to speak with the boys, but asked to see them individually.  The 8 year old went to meet with him first.  The clergyman sat the boy down and asked him sternly, 'Where is God?'   The boy made no response, so the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, 'Where is God?'  Again the boy made no attempt to answer.  So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face, 'WHERE IS GOD?'   At that the boy bolted from the room and ran directly home, slamming himself in the closet.  His older brother followed him into the closet and asked what had happened.  The younger brother replied, ‘We are in BIG trouble this time.  God is missing and they think we did it.’

Each time evil raises its' head, we hear the questions start to come. Asking if God is really missing. “If there is a God, why did He not stop this?”  “If God was so loving, then how could He allow such evil?”  And, “Where was God when this people needed Him to protect them?”  Recently, as I heard these questions asked, I heard a pastor respond to the questions. Replying with an answer that troubled me even more than the questions ever could.  He told the audience, “God has not given us the ability to understand evil. We are incapable of knowing what evil is, explaining where it came from or how it was created.”

With each tragedy we see today, we watch the world ask these same questions.  And with each question, we often watch as Christians today do not have the answers.  We make vain attempts to answer, leaving the world with even more questions than they had before. We then are left to watch as the world pushes God farther away.

So why can the Church not seem to answer these question when it is asked?  Why are we unable to leave the world with answers of a loving God, rather than leaving them with more questions of why God would allow this? Although sad, the answer to this question is quite simple.  We, the Church, no longer understand what evil truly is and what place it has and carries in this world today.  We can no longer answer the ‘why” and the “how”, because we no longer follow and understand the words of the “Who”.  To truly understand this, we need to take a hard look at two often asked questions.  “What is evil?”  And, “Who created evil?”

So what is evil?  The dictionary defines evil as “morally reprehensible, sinful, wicked”. Evil has become a very broad term to define the malicious and destructive acts we often see around us.  In order to truly define evil, we need to look at what it does.  Evil can only be defined if we not only look at its’ cause, but also at its’ effect.  In order to do this, let us look at a simple comparison.

Walk outside in Green Bay, Wisconsin in the heart of winter, and you will soon hear one phrase over and over.  “Wow it is cold!”  But ask any scientist and they will tell you that there is no such thing as “cold”.  Cold is nothing more than a word we have created to describe the absence of heat.   The less heat we feel, the “colder” we say it has become. The same can be said of evil.  Evil is the word we have created to describe the absence of God, and the goodness that only He can bring this world(1 Chronicles 16:34).  Therefore, the farther we find ourselves separated from God, the greater the chance of evil a situation may hold.

When we see a tragedy on the news, we need to understand that the event we are watching is not evil.  Evil is the result or the outcome of the event we see. Evil is not the action, evil is the outcome, or the effect of that action.  The action that caused the evil is sin. We often confuse sin, the act, with evil, the effect. When we watch a terrorist strap a bomb to their body, walk into a building and kill all those who were innocently there, we are witnessing sin.  The act they commit is sin, evil is the result or the effect of that act. 

Sin is the act of behaving against the law and teachings of God, and His plan for our life(Deuteronomy 9:7, 1 John 3:4)  Sin is what separates us from God, and prevents us from allowing His love and wisdom to guide our lives.  Sin is a choice, one we make each day. Do we follow the ways of God or do we follow the ways of man, allowing sin to rule our lives?  Evil is often the outcome of that sin, and the effect of our choice not to allow God’s plan to lead our lives.  We must understand, where you see evil you are witnessing a choice that has been made.  A choice by someone that has chosen sin over God.  We must also understand, evil and God can never be found together in the same sentence.  Where God is present evil cannot exist.

Often today, we hear a familiar question every time evil raises its’ head. “How could a loving God allow this to happen?”   We can find the answer within the question itself.  It is because of the love God has for us that we have the choice we just discussed!  Free will allows each of us to choose or reject God, to choose His wisdom or to follow the logic of man.  Tragedy, destruction and evil are the outcome of this choice, a choice each of us has the ability to make daily. Although God could easily stop each catastrophic event we see, in doing so He would also take away this incredible gift He has given us, the gift of free will.  We would become nothing more than robots, following a path that was chosen or predestined for us.

Way too often, we confuse what God allows with what God desires.  God wants nothing but the best for each of us, and no one hurts more when He sees heartbreak come to our lives(Jeremiah 29:11).  God has given us the wisdom of His Word, and example after example of what can come from our choices.  He has done everything short of stopping free will in order to keep evil from our lives.  God knows our future, and has over and over tried to warn us of where our choices may lead, and the devastation that could await us because of those choices.  But in the end, God knows that man will often choose sin, and evil will again show its’ face(Romans 3:23).  We must never forget, evil has and never will be the result of God’s judgment, but is the outcome of man’s choices.

Now that we have an understanding of evil, we can look at the second question, “Who created evil?”.  For years this question has been at the heart of attempts by many to disprove God.  They often say that if God is truly good, then evil could not exist.  They even go as far as to try and link God with evil.  They will often make the following argument, attempting to make God as the cause of evil. If God is the creator of all things, and evil exist, then God must be the creator of evil.

This is a logic that may be sound to the minds of man, but does not hold up when we look at it with the wisdom of God.  To accept this argument, we must accept the assertion that evil is something, that evil is a “thing”.  Evil is not a “thing”, but the lack of a “thing”.  As I stated earlier, evil is the outcome of sin, the absence of God.  Evil is not a created thing.  I have never met a person who has seen, touched, felt, smelled, or heard a physical evil.  It does not meet the definitions and principles of physics, you will not find energy, matter, or dimension associated with it.  I have never yet seen a person who went to the store and purchased a bag of evil!

Evil is without question a reality, but evil does not and cannot exist in or unto itself. Evil has no existence of its’ own, and cannot be found outside the action of sin.  Unless we first see the choice of sin, we cannot find the presence of evil.  We can look to God’s Word to prove this.  All of us know the Creation story, of how God created this world and this universe.  The Bible tells us that as He finished this creation, everything He made was good(Genesis 1:31).  In other words, the universe was without sin.  We know that sin entered this world because of rebellion against God, not because God created it.  So therefore, evil came into this world because of the action of sin, not by the hand of God.

God did not create evil, but because of free will, He allows for the possibility of evil.  And praise the Lord that He does!  Had He not allowed for the potential of evil, we would be serving and worshiping God out of requirement and necessity, not out of choice.   What a blessing and a gift that we can each choose God!

When we look at these two questions, we begin to see how our nation today defines and labels God.  We have continued to push God farther and farther away from our everyday decisions.   We define God by our own logic, confining God to our own desires.  We paint a picture of God with the broad strokes of a logical brush, not with the precision and beauty that can be found in the brush of wisdom.  Looking at this painting, we should not be surprised when we see the face of evil, because in this painting you will not find the true image of God.

The Church needs to understand what evil actually is, and the role it plays in our society and in each of our lives.  We need to be ready the next time we hear those familiar questions,  “If there is a God, why did He not stop this?”  “If God was so loving, then how could He allow such evil?”   “Where is God when evil comes?”  We have to let the world know that God is right here!  Here waiting for us to do with this gift of free will what He has always longed for us to do. Choose Him!

Praying each of you choose wisely!

Like Ripples In The Water

Dr. Mike Murphy
September 30, 2019

It was famously said, “ Only politics can lead a silent monk to sound like a seasoned sailor.”  We watch the actions of many politicians on our television screen, and we are left wondering just how cutthroat this world can be, And we see this as we hear so many in the capital of our country speak, speaking without first giving a moment to thought. But this past week, I watched as the viciousness of the political world paid a visit to my own backdoor.

Our neighborhood homeowners association is now facing elections for those who would serve in the coming years on the governing board.  A neighbor of ours, and a close friend, decided she would run for the board, seeing the difference she hoped to bring to the board. A difference that would hold the board more accountable, and would look for ways to open up the process, so information would pass more freely between the board and homeowners.  A difference that was gaining momentum in many of the homes in our neighborhood. But a difference some on the board who were running for reelection, and whose ego often feeds off the small amount of power that a neighborhood board can hold, simply could never allow to take place.

Without warning, and without going through the standard process, some on these board members looked to place their interpretation on the governing bylaws. so they could create a grievance that would not allow her to serve.  And did so at a time when she would not only have to deal with this sudden shock. But at a time when she, and her family, were also dealing with a medical crisis.

Several of us that are friends and neighbors, were outraged at the actions of some of those on the board, and we were willing to let our disgust for what had happened, begin to be heard.  We spoke out, as we watched the political rocks being hurled at her, and echoing out with each throw like ripples in the water. But as we spoke out, we saw her speak Up. Making it obvious to all of us, that not a single ripple would blur the image of Him we saw in her.  We did not see her grow angry, nor did we see her go and cower in the corner. We saw her remain consistent. Still reaching out to all, and still offer hope for the future of our neighborhood. Promising all, that even if she was not on the board, she would still try to do all she could to see the needed differences come to our community.

The Word of God tells us, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.”(Proverbs 18:10).  At a time when the attacks were quickly coming her way, she did not have to build a wall of defense. Because right beside her stood the greatest defense.  A defense that was already surrendering her. A defense that would not let a single one of their rocks come close to squarely hitting her. A defense that stood so close in guarding her, that it did not allow the ripples to grow so large that it clouded the image of the One who was standing right in front of her.

As Paul was imprisoned in Rome, He wrote to the church at Philippi.  He sent words of encouragement to them, looking to remind them, Christ will always be our life.  Christ is to always be our goal. Christ will always be found as our joy. And Christ will always serve as our strength.  And as he reminded them, he wrote these words to them, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.:(Philippians 2:3).  No matter how many rocks those in this world might throw at us, not a single one of those rocks can knock us off the path the Lord has placed before us. The right He was calling us to before those rocks were thrown, is the same right He is still calling us to after those rocks have left their hands.  A right, that no matter the distractions this world might try to cause us, is still the same right this world needs to see from us. A right, that will lead many to a growing respect for us, as they see the drive toward doing what is right that He has placed in us.

This week, my friend, and her family, reminded me of exactly what that respect looks like as I looked through the ripples to see His reflection.  We so often hear, respect is earned, or that respect is given. But this week, they showed me that respect is not just earned or given, respect is seen.  Respect is heard. Respect is witnessed. Respect serves as an example. Respect is viewed in the reflection of Him others see in us. Respect is not clouded by the ripples, but made clear as each rock is thrown.  A respect for my friend, and her family, that has grown even larger this week. A respect that not only I have for each, but one that I have witnessed grow as our neighborhood has watched each of them graciously, confidently, and purposefully, handle the events of this past week.  A respect that as each rock was thrown, has now left my neighbor and friend with a stronger voice in our neighborhood to move forward with the changes she sees needed, than the voice she would have had from a simple neighborhood election.

With someone that I have often been blessed to be able to minister to, the Lord has used this week to minister to me in the most powerful of ways.  Showing this old dog, how the Lord can still teach him the newest of tricks. A trick that shows me just how my bark should always sound. A bark that does not need the show of teeth to make its point.  And a bark that does not grow quiet in the face of trouble, running with its tail between its legs away from what it faces. But a bark that is always consistent, respected by all as it is heard. A bark, that leaves all around us unclouded by the ripples, because He is seen so clearly in us, that only His words can be heard.

Praying with each ripple that comes your way, His reflection is still clearly seen!

Getting What He Paid For!

Dr. Mike Murphy
August 19, 2019

It should never shock us to hear the wisest of words spoken at a Bible study.  So many times, even in teaching a study, I have heard the Holy Spirit speak the greatest words of wisdom.  Not through me, but coming from the lips of those in the class. Hearing the Spirit speak through them in the most amazing of ways, as their words taught far more than I could ever bring to the class that day.

In a Bible study the other day, the Holy Spirit gave me another one of these moments.  As from a man who had only attended the class a handful of times, I heard the most insightful of words I have heard spoken in the longest of time.  As we discussed what Christ had brought to mankind, he first spoke familiar words we have all so often heard. Reminding us that Christ paid for our sins in full.  He then went on to ask the question, “Is Christ getting from each of us all He paid for?”

Each day since, I have not been able to get that question out of my mind.  As so many times since, the Holy Spirit has repeated that question to me. Bringing me to ask out loud the question, “Is the Lord getting from me all He has paid for?”

The Lord hung on that Cross so He could give me all.  But does each day now find me giving Him my all? Does it even find me each day looking to give Him my best?  Did today find me doing the things He is calling me to do? Making the most of each opportunity He gave me to bring glory to His name?  Or has today found me doing just enough to put on a face, so others will see me giving Him something back? 

On the day I accepted Him as my Savior, I willfully and happily became His servant.  My title in this world is simple, because just like Paul, I am proudly and humbly a servant of Christ(Roman 1:1, 1 Timothy 4:6).  And my call each day is just as simple. I am to do exactly as my Master tells me. I am His bondservant, as I freely, purposefully, and willingly sit aside all my rights in order to serve Him.  He paid for me the highest possible price(1 Corinthians 6:20), and each day as I serve Him, my respect and love grows for Him. I do not just serve Him each day because He created me to(Ephesians 2:10, Titus 2:14), I do so because there is nothing I want to do more.  And each day shows me, I am at my happiest when I about His work, not just looking to do things to selfishly please myself.

Each day as I serve my Master, I realize just how much I love to obey my Master.  How much peace is found in my life as I look to help accomplish His will, not found devoting all my attention to my own will.  Not seeking to bring about my own glory, but happy in realizing that He is the only one worthy of glory. And the greatest way I can place at His feet that glory, is found in me living my life knowing, I no longer live, because it is He who lives in me(Galatians 2:20).  My life is His. to direct as He knows is best. To do with as He needs best. As this bondservant’s true happiness is found, in me freely laying my life at His feet, to do with as He sees best. In knowing that my best can only come in me doing what He knows is best. 

My call as His servant, is to not to go about the work He is calling me to selfishly, but to go about my work humbly.  Work each day that not only finds me sharing my faith, but finds me respectfully at work defending my faith(1 Peter 3:15).  Work that not only finds me obedient to Christ, but finds me as a living example to others for Christ(2 Corinthians 10:15, 1 Peter 1:14-16).  At work lovingly looking to help my brothers and sisters in Christ, as I go about my work each day faithfully awaiting my Master's return(1 John 3, 2 Timothy 4:8).

The work my Master has called me to, is not just heard in the words I might speak, but found in me as He brings life and action to those words.  In Him not just hearing me, but seeing me, “go”, “make”, “teach”, “baptize”, each day(Matthew 28:19-20). Seeing me not only sharing with others the Word of God, but revealing to them the very heart of God.  In helping all to see, I serve a Master whose greatest desire is for, “all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”(1 Timothy 2:4). A truth, that drives me each day to not only lead as many as I can to His Kingdom, but to help bring them to “citizenship” in that Kingdom.

I will never be able to repay the debt He paid for me.  A debt that I cannot imagine how it did not sear His hand as He reached into the deepest pits of Hell to pull out someone as unworthy as me.  But each day that finds me with a servant’s heart, finds me doing what I can to repay that priceless debt. And to truly thank Him, with all I have, for paying that debt for me.  A debt that on certain days may only find me repaying it with nickels. And on other days, only finds me repaying it pennies. But as those nickels and pennies mount, I pray the Master will on a future day say to me, “My faithful servant, I am so proud of you!  You have given Me all I paid for!”

Praying each of you are found “repaying” a little of that debt each day!

Code Blue!

Dr. Mike Murphy
May 28, 2019

As I made my way to the hospital the other day, I heard two words that no one coming to see a loved one in the Intensive Care Unit ever wishes to hear. Screaming over the intercom came the words, “Code Blue”! As I turned the corner to enter ICU, my first thought was with my loved one. Immediately finding myself asking the questions, “Was it them the intercom was blasting for?”  As I immediately looked in the ICU, I could see a couple being led out of a room, and the woman was in great distress. As relief came to my mind for the loved one I had in ICU, my concerns immediately turned to the couple who was now facing that call of “Code Blue”.  One of the nurses in ICU, who knew my time in the ministry, motioned me over and asked if I would comfort the family, while they worked on their loved one.

As I talked to the couple, I soon learned the woman was the daughter of the one in distress, and the man with her was her husband.  Her father had been in the hospital for surgery, and was struggling with low oxygen levels. Levels that had sunk so low, his heart had all but stopped.  As the nurses and the doctors worked on her father, I got a chance to pray with the couple. Between prayers, I asked her a little about her dad. His name. His age.  His illness. And his faith. As she answered each of my questions, she paused as she came to my last question, reluctant to answer my question about his faith. She told me she did not know her father’s faith.  That her father never wanted to talk about faith with her. That her husband and herself both believed in Christ, but what her father believed, she was just not sure. She said she had often wanted to talk to her father about Christ, but had so many times avoided it, fearing she might upset him.

As I started to pray with the couple, I could hear the sounds of concern escalating from her father’s room.  Sounds that soon led to a slow, constant electrical sound, as her father’s heart beat for the last time. A sound that left my next prayer to turn to one of comfort and peace for the family, instead of one of healing for her father.

As the day passed, my mind could not escape what had happened with that couple. And throughout the day, I found myself returning to prayer for the couple. Prayers, asking the Lord to keep His arms tightly around them.  Prayers of comfort, as more of their family heard the news of her father. And yes, prayers of sorrow for an opportunity lost. An opportunity to share Christ with her father that would never come her way again.

I also said a special thank you to the Lord in that prayer.  Thanking Him for the fact, if it had been my loved one the "Code Blue" had been heard for, I could take comfort in knowing it would have been immediately followed by a "Code White".  I know, with certainty, that she has such a close relationship with Christ, as she could tell you every freckle and wrinkle on His face. That at the moment she passes from this world, she will forever stand in His presence, clothed in a garment of white, that He will one day place on her(Revelation 3:5).

As I finished my prayer, I was left thinking of other relatives and friends I have. Other loved ones that left me wondering if their "Code Blue" would ever turn to a "Code White".  Leaving me to question if I had made the most of the opportunities the Lord had given me to reach them.  Had the chances He had given me to show them the love of Christ today, simply turned into procrastinated promises I would share the Good News with them tomorrow?

As a follower of Christ, I must not be afraid to open my mouth and share the Good News.  Not finding myself filled with excuses today as to why I cannot share that Good News. or worried I might “offend” them by sharing His truth with them.  Remembering my call is simple. I must only be heard as silent as I stand in awe of Christ, not left silent each time I have the chance to share Christ with others.

Christ spoke the words to us, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."(Matthew 9:37).  With each opportunity to share Christ with another, I must ask myself, "Am I a worker?". Can Christ count on me to share His Word with another?  Or do I just share His Word when the work is fitting to me?

God's Word tells me, "“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”(Romans 10:15).  There is no greater beauty I show the eyes of those around me, than the Good News of Christ as it fills me.  Nothing more beautiful I can bring to their life than the hope and assurance that can only be found in my Lord.  And no more beautiful gift I can give them than to introduce them to the love He has waiting for them. That hope and love serves to constantly remind me, the opportunity I deny to share Christ with another today, is the blessing I may never share with that friend or loved one tomorrow.

As I write this today, my thoughts and prayers are still with that family I prayed with in Intensive Care.  And as I pray for this family, my thoughts also turn to the next family that hear the words, “Code Blue”. I pray those two words will not leave them with sorrow as they face the loss of one they love.  I pray they will not be filled with remorse for an opportunity lost to spend an eternity in His presence with their loved one. I pray, that as their heart aches for the loss of the one they love, their soul will not also ache for the eternal opportunity they have also lost.  And I pray that those two words will drive me today, to make the most of the opportunity to share the hope I find in Him with those around me. Opportunities for Him, that does not find me in fear that each "Code Blue" will leave me filled with the greatest of regret.

Praying you make the most of each opportunity to share Him with another today!

A Prophetic Purpose

Dr. Mike Murphy

May 21, 2019

Recently, I asked several pastors if prophecy was taught in their church. The response from many surprised me.  “I am not familiar enough with the subject to preach it." “I fear the subject, many will be bored.”  “In this church we just do not teach prophecy, we know our people will get too confused by it.”  “I ignore it, besides it will all work out in the end.”    

The Bible is God’s gift to all of us.  He gave it to us so we could have a better understanding of Him, and so we could recognize and follow the plan He has for us.  In His Word we find history, law, promises, doctrine, and yes, prophecy. There are 31,124 verses that make up the Bible.  Of those verses, 8,352 contain prophecy.  Better than one in every four words that the Lord has given man incorporate and involve prophecy.

Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness”. When we ignore prophecy. we are taking a black marker and blocking out a large portion of the message God has given us.  Without prophecy we cannot teach Christ.  Christ was prophecy!  There are 1,093 prophecies we find in the Bible that refer to Christ and His Church, every one of these prophecies have or will be fulfilled.  The Old Testament alone contains 48 prophecies that detail the Crucifixion.  With each being fulfilled only by Christ!  Christ fulfilled the words that the prophets gave, and it was through these prophecies that the Lord showed us an exact picture of just who Christ would be!

So why do God give us prophecy?  God gives us prophecy so that His glory, His plan, and His will might be revealed.  God tells us that He alone knows the beginning from the end(Isaiah 46:10).  God often uses prophecy to show us that only He holds all the answers, that man cannot tell you what is happening today, much less what will happen tomorrow.  When we see God’s Word fulfilled, we have one natural reaction, we uplift Him. It is through this uplifting that the Lord uses prophecy in so many ways, in each of our lives. Let us take a look at a few of these ways.

Proof of God’s Existence.  Prophecy is used to show us proof of the inerrancy, authority, and inspiration we can only find in God’s Word.  When we see prophecy fulfilled, we see the Word of God being authenticated.  And we can look to Christ as the perfect example of this.  Christ staked His entire claim as the Chosen One, The Promised Messiah, based on His ability to fulfill the prophecies that has been promised.  He staked the authenticity of His entire ministries on one of this prophecies alone, the Resurrection(Matthew 12:38-45).  We see in all four of the Gospels and in the Book of Acts, that the message of Christ is proclaimed based on His fulfillment of these prophecies(Acts 2:14-36; 3:18-26). His death, burial, and resurrection fulfilled the very words of the prophets, and it was on this authority that the early Church proclaimed Him as Messiah. God used these prophecies as a journalist or detective would investigating a case.  If the Bible is right on the where, how, when, and why, then we can, without a doubt, trust it on the who.  Prophecy shows us that Jesus is our Savior, and is the only way to the Father!

Throughout the history of this world, God’s Word has consistently predicted the rise and fall of empires, and events that would change the world. Because the Bible has done so with one hundred percent accuracy, we can have complete trust in the events that the Bible tells us are still to come.  We must never forget,  the Bible, with all of it’s fulfilled prophecies, proves to each of us the very existence of God.

Prophecy Offers Us Comfort and Hope.  We often look at the world around us, shaking our heads, and wondering just where everything is leading. Prophecy gives us the answers to those questions.  This is, without a doubt, one of the predominant themes of the Bible.  If God’s Word is proven true, and we know His promises can be believed, then we can take comfort in knowing that God is in control.  And we can have hope in the future because we know what the future holds.

When man looks to the future, he will do so in one of three ways.  He will do so with either apathy, he will do so with fear, or he will do so with hope.  On the first two of these, Satan takes great joy in seeing man take that reaction.  He can carry out his plan with ease when he finds man apathetic.  And through fear, he can manipulate man to follow his will. But when we have hope, Satan loses all control!  Because of the Grace that Christ brought to this world, we can all posses hope in the future.  We can take comfort and hope when we study the prophetic plan that God has put into place for all of us. Paul said in Romans 15:4, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”  

Prophecy shows us that God is in control, and we can take comfort and have hope in knowing the plan He has for our lives.  While fear eats at the heart of man, those who follow Christ, and understand His prophetic plan, can face the future with confidence.  We can have hope in the future, and take comfort in knowing that He will be returning for us soon!  

Sense of Urgency.  When we study prophecy, we see how God’s promises relate to the world around us.  We understand God’s timetable from the prophecies He gave us of events that are to come.  When we see these events that the Bible describes being fulfilled around us, prophecy gives us a sense of urgency.  As we see the end of the age approaching, we know that our time is short.  We have to make the most of the time we have left to reach as many as possible with the Good News of Christ.  

Peter tells us that unbelievers will scoff, rejecting the Lord’s warning of a coming judgment(2 Peter 3:3-4).  Prophecy gives us a way to reach many of these people.  We can show them how God’s Word has always been accurate in the past, and what the Bible says awaits us in the days ahead.  Prophecy opens a door to allow us to show them the urgency in accepting God’s plan for our life, and the importance in making that decision to follow Christ today, while there is still time. Prophecy shines an urgent light into an otherwise dark world(2 Peter 1:19).

I also believe that the Lord gives.us prophecy for one other very important reason.  Prophecy helps us to know the mind of God.   God created us in His image, and knows our intriguing and curious nature.  The first question we always seem to ask is, “Why?”.  God answers the why!  He uses our curiosity and nature to draw us into His Word,  establishing a stronger relationship with Him.  Like any conversation, as we hear His Word more, we understand Him better.  It is because of this, that Christ promises those of us who read and seek to understand God’s prophetic word will receive a blessing in their lives(Revelation 1:3).

Prophecy plays such an important part in our daily walk with the Lord. Through prophecy we can know God better, Christ was brought into the world and forever changed our lives, we can know and understand God’s plan for this world, and we can look to the future with a comforting hope.  In the Bible, God gave man an incredible gift.  In prophecy, God gave man His incredible vision. For those who follow and study that vision, prophecy leaves us with a hope that always has us ‘looking up’!  

Praying God’s prophetic word is always a blessing in your life!(Revelation 1:3)

Rule Number One!

Dr. Mike Murphy

April 2, 2019

 

As the man entered the kingdom he saw a sign, “There are only three laws in this kingdom, but they are strictly enforced.”  As he travelled a little farther, he saw the sign again.  By the time he had reached the city, he had seen the sign hundreds of times.  As he made his way through the city, he saw the sheriff and approached him about the signs.

He introduced himself and began to ask the sheriff about the meaning of the signs.  The sheriff answered, “Ah yes, the signs!  Our laws are quite simple, we just expect you to obey them and to know the laws well.”  So the man asked the sheriff, “What is law one?”  The sheriff replied, “All laws and judgments are by order of the king, and his decisions are final.”

“Easy enough.”, the man said.  “So what is law two?”  “You must always follow without question the first law”. the sheriff quickly answered.  “So law two tells me to only read law one”, the man said with a smile.  Then with a smirk on his face, the man asked, “Then what does law three say?”  “You are under arrest!”, the sheriff immediately yelled.  “Law three tells us that anyone who needs more laws than one and two are to be arrested immediately!”

Man has often created laws and rules for the strangest of reasons.  In the United States alone, we have created laws that the lawmakers cannot even explain!   In Alabama, it is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.  In Delaware, it is against the law to whisper in church(If I had grown up in Delaware I would by now be serving a life sentence!).  In Colorado, it is unlawful to lend a vacuum cleaner to your next door neighbor.  Owners of flamingos are not allowed to have their pets in barber shops in Alaska.  In my state of Tennessee, it is illegal to use a lasso to catch a fish.  No one can sing the alphabet on the streets at night in Kansas.  And in North Carolina it is against the law to sing off key(Remind me to never sing in North Carolina)!

We often create laws without even knowing what purpose we are creating them for.  Without logic, or without even thinking, we create rules that  our society must scratch its’ head at in order to follow.  Like the kingdom above, we create rules two and three because we had no clue what we were doing when we created rule one!

But there is a place where only one rule is needed.  Where we can read the first rule and have full understanding.  Where rules two through ten only make sense if we fully understand and follow ‘Rule Number One’!

“You shall have no other gods before Me.”. Exodus 20:3.  Rule Number One!  Everything starts and ends with this law, the first of the Ten Commandments.  When we do not honor and obey this law, then none of the other laws hold purpose and meaning.  Without ‘Rule Number One’ the rest of the Ten Commandments become meaningless, nothing more than suggestions for our world and our society to live by.

Jewish history and tradition is built around the Ten Commandments, and these laws were built around and based upon the first of these commandments, “You shall have no other gods before Me”.  When we acknowledge and confess the there is no other god but the Lord God, we place all power in His hands.  By doing this we accept that He alone created all things.  That He gives all things purpose, and that everyone and everything is sustained by and through Him.  It then goes. without saying, that if He creates and sustains all, then He knows best what laws and rules we should be governed by.  

The Founding Fathers believed and took these very words to heart.  Many stated the Ten Commandments as the bases for our civil and municipal laws. Twelve of the original thirteen colonies incorporated the entire Ten Commandments into their state's criminal and civil codes.  This was why the Ten Commandments are found on the very structure that governs our laws, the Supreme Court.  And it is by no mistake, that in order to view the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in the National Archives, you must first pass by the Ten Commandments.

We know these standards that we use to rule our society and our lives, because we know the One who gave them to us.  The reason we know that murder, theft, adultery, and lying are sinful, is only because the One who created and sustains us all, tells us they are sin.  Paul tells us in Romans 7:7, “What shall we say then?  Is the Law sin?  May it never be!  On the contrary,  I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, You shall not covet.”  Paul tells us that were it not for the Law, the Ten Commandments, we would never have known what sin is.

So if only through us knowing and recognizing the Lord as God can we know sin, then how would we know sin if we did not acknowledge the Lord God? The simple answer is, we would not!  Sin would be nothing more than what we wished for it to be.  Unfortunately, this is where we find our society heading today. When we take God out of the equation, sin becomes subjective.  Sin is then decided in the mind of man, not instructed in the Word of God.  So today,our society finds itself trying to define sin without the instruction of the One who defined it.

So what happens when man, not God defines sin?  Right and wrong becomes a matter of personal opinion.  Sin becomes abstract, a matter of perspective.  Man quickly comes to the conclusion, that if right and wrong is a matter of personal opinion, then whatever he deems as right in his situation, cannot be denied him.  This is the slippery slope we find ourselves on today, and we when we look closely at our society, we can quickly see where this will lead us.

We only need to look at a few of the Ten Commandments to begin to understand the impact of not following ‘Rule Number One’.

“You Shall not make for yourself an idol."  Our spirit is born with a natural inclination to worship, to lift up and honor the Lord.  But when we remove God from this equation, we will replace Him by putting greater value on those things around us.  By removing God, we seek answers to our most difficult questions from the strangest of places.  And we place man on a higher level, often placing those we see in society on a pedestal.  

Nowhere can this be seen in our society more than in Hollywood.  We watch as popular actors and actresses are all but worshiped.  We wait in lines mindless hours so that we can get their signature on a page, or their picture can be taken.  We pay endless dollars so we can have a piece of clothing they have worn, or a prop from a movie they have made.  Our government calls them to testify as experts, based only on a character they have played on screen. Society holds them up as idols, worshipping at their feet and hanging on their every word.  And when they fail us, society quickly replaces them on the pedestal with the next star to emerge.

And where has this gotten us?  Our society lies in decay, as Hollywood tells us that God is not needed, that man holds in himself all the answers.  We watch as Hollywood’s defiance and ego rises like the tower of Babel.  But when we look closely at the direction they would lead us, we find the same answers those did at Babel that day, complete confusion.

“You shall not murder.”  “You shall not steal.”  “You shall not commit adultery.”   These commandments not only define sin, but protect society itself. When God’s Word is removed, chaos will always follow.  Looking at our society today, we see chaos raising its’ ugly head.  Crime is on a rise in many of our major cities.  Events we once watched on the news in shock and horror, now get little more than a passing glance.  Marriage and the family have been all but gutted, left in pieces by society on its’ operating table.  Divorce is at an all-time high, and the very definition of marriage itself is being defiled by our society daily.  And where has this lead us?  Pornography and abortion have become multi-billion dollar industries.

This last year, in New York City alone, more black babies were aborted than born,  Think about that statement for a minute.  If this continues, we will watch whole sections of our society disappear.  Chaos will not only rule, it will be all that is left.  This is why it is often said, no civilization can survive without God.

“You shall not covet.”  Covet is actually not what most think.  Covet is actually much stronger of a word in its’ meaning than greed and envy.  Covet implies a sense of entitlement, and we will do anything necessary to get it.  Covet is not a desire, it is a demand.  In order to get what we want, covet says we will lie, cheat, steal, or even murder to have what we feel we are entitled to.  While murder, lying, adultery, and theft are sins of action, covet is a sin from within. James 1:15 tells us that sin originates from within, from our desire.  Covet is at the very heart of that desire.  A society without God, is a society that is emerged in covetousness.  Satan’s favorite slogan, ‘to thine own self be true’, is the rallying call of a coveting society.  Selfishness becomes the standard of any society that makes covetousness it’s god.

This is where we see our society is moving today.  We watch as so many around this nation are only concerned with themselves.  We watch daily as our society justifies its’ actions in the name of covetousness.  ‘Love thy neighbor’ is quickly being replaced with ‘love thyself’.

So how far does our nation now find itself from “Rule Number One’?  To find this answer, I did a little experiment after church this past Sunday.  I stopped to eat at a popular restaurant chain with family and friends, and in doing so, observed all those around me.  I watched as families, couples, and friends all gathered.  I watched as they ordered, chatted, laughed, and ate their meals.  I watched as they did all but one thing, pray!  I did not see one table take even the slightest of moments to thank the Lord for their meal and for all He was doing in each of their lives.  As I watched many that day gather to eat after the services of churches in the area, I soon began to realize one thing.  They had left God on the pews as they walked out of the church doors.  I could not help but wonder, has this nation forgotten ‘Rule Number One’?  Sadly, I walked away with more questions than answers.

To my earlier question, “how far does our nation now find itself from ‘Rule Number One’?”  I truly wish I had an answer.  Whatever that answer may be, I do know it is way too far.  I pray the words of Christ will echo through the walls of our churches and in the homes of this nation.  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and foremost commandment.”(Matthew 22:37-38).  History is full of the examples that show us, no society can survive that does not follow these words.  I just pray our nation will once again come to its’ senses and begin to realize again, all that matters is ‘Rule Number One’!

Praying this nation once again remembers to spell God with a capital ‘G’!