Jerry Reid: "When You're Hot, You're Hot"

This hit from 1970 became one of those crossover songs from the country charts which also aired on rock stations. It's about a gambler and his friends who were arrested for their illegal dice game. Check out the song here:

 People sure hate it when their wickedness is exposed. As Jesus said in John 3:19 (Bible in Basic English), "And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil."

We also find in Holy Scripture that even saints sin. Genesis 20:9 (BBE) tells of how Abraham lied about his wife being his sister. "Then Abimelech sent for Abraham, and said, 'What have you done to us? what wrong have I done you that you have put on me and on my kingdom so great a sin? You have done to me things which are not to be done.'" How sad that the king of Gerar almost took Sarah for his wife. God had to warn him to leave her be.

By God's grace, some sinners realize their wickedness deserves punishment. As a certain thief on the cross said to his blaspheming fellow criminal in Luke 23:40 and 41 (BBE), "But the other, protesting, said, 'Have you no fear of God? for you have a part in the same punishment, And with reason; for we have the right reward of our acts, but this man has done nothing wrong.'"

Though we slip, our Lord is gracious to forgive us. That's why Paul wrote in Colossians 3:9-11 (BBE), "Do not make false statements to one another; because you have put away the old man with all his doings, And have put on the new man, which has become new in knowledge after the image of his maker; Where there is no Greek or Jew, no one with circumcision or without circumcision, no division between nations, no servant or free man: but Christ is all and in all."

Wicked folks tend to stay wicked but we'll find protection from our Lord when they're punished. As we read about Lot in 2 Peter 2:8 (BBE), "Because the soul of that upright man living among them was pained from day to day by seeing and hearing their crimes):"

If Christ hasn't come for us by Monday, I hope to post about leaving our teachers who have given us so much.

Spiritual Disinfectant

Most folks know that sunlight is a good disinfectant because the ultraviolet rays kill bacteria and viruses. A hospital in New Zealand found this out during the Spanish flu of 1918. The nurses put some patients outside to enjoy fresh air and sunlight. Those who were placed outside recovered faster and fewer died.

Truth is a spiritual disinfectant. As Christ told Nicodemus in John 3:19 (Bible in Basic English). "And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil."

The Bible equates righteousness with light, as we read in Psalms 37:5 and 6 (BBE). "Put your life in the hands of the Lord; have faith in him and he will do it. And he will make your righteousness be seen like the light, and your cause like the shining of the sun."

And as light exposes the scene, so God's scrutiny illuminates all our secret sins. Psalms 90:8 (BBE) reminds us, "You have put our evil doings before you, our secret sins in the light of your face."

Likewise Psalms 139:12 (BBE) affirms, "Even the dark is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day: for dark and light are the same to you."

And as God is light, so is Christ. Isaiah 9:2 (BBE) heralded the coming of the Messiah. "The people who went in the dark have seen a great light, and for those who were living in the land of the deepest night, the light is shining."

And as we belong to our Lord, we must be his illuminators in this darkened world. Matthew 5:14 and 15 (BBE) says, "You are the light of the world. A town put on a hill may be seen by all. And a burning light is not put under a vessel, but on its table; so that its rays may be shining on all who are in the house."

A day will come when we'll be physically like our Lord as well. Matthew 17:1 and 2 (BBE) tells of how he revealed his glory to three of his disciples. "And after six days Jesus takes with him Peter, and James, and John, his brother, and makes them go up with him into a high mountain by themselves. And he was changed in form before them; and his face was shining like the sun, and his clothing became white as light."

What a wonderful day that will be when we are given new bodies fit for heaven's kingdom. No more will we feel the nagging pull of sin. That alone makes Christ's coming worth waiting for.

If that doesn't happen by Thursday, I hope to post about how the Bible is one long story.

The 'God Used Evolution' Error

Did God use evolution to create the universe and everything in it? Believe it or not, some professing Christians claim he did. They do so to harmonize science with the Bible. But such a ham-fisted process to create anything is an impossibility.

Scripture is clear, right from the start, that God made everything. Genesis 1:1 leaves no room for doubt. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

When anything is created, it doesn't happen of its own accord. Every effect, like the universe, must have a cause which caused it.

Another error those people make, albeit inadvertently, is that they minimize human value through their errant supposition. Genesis 5:1 (KJV) explains why human life is valued over the animals and plants. "This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;"

Since this is so, the killing of a human isn't mere termination of a creature's life but murder. Genesis 9:6 (KJV) clearly states this truth. "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man."

And contrary to some, gender isn't fluid but set at conception. Sex is binary, as Mark 10:6 (KJV) shows. "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female."

Furthermore, God thought it proper to work through the lineage of Israel to send the Messiah to save us from our sinful rebellion against him. Jesus could have beamed down and made himself a body before being crucified. Yet, as Paul wrote in Philippians 2:7 (KJV), "But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:"

The Father also knew that the law he gave Moses was impossible for flawed beings to obey. Romans 8:3 (KJV) states, "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:"

But knowing all this, how can liberal Christians deny God's creative power? Jesus himself explained this mystery in John 3:19 (KJV). "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

Jesus also showed Martha, and all who think that the resurrection is a mere event in the distant future, who he actually was. John 11:25 (KJV) reads, "Jesus said unto her, 'I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:'"

It's abundantly evident that we humans were meant to have relationships and fellowship with our creator. Chance can't do that with us. Neither is happenstance able to plan the future functionality of any creature. In fact, those who obey the Lord will be part of his government. Revelation 20:6 (KJV) foretells, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

We can also see in 2 Peter 3:11 (KJV) that we will remain after the old universe disintegrates in fervent heat. "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,"

This truth will be part of my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? If we are mere beasts, morality is relative and no horrific act can be judged as evil. But since we are made in the likeness of God, he has the right to correct us or condemn us if we won't obey him. He made everything, from blue giant stars right down to neutrinos.

You might enjoy my Saturday Song post. It's based on a song from the sixties about a girl who said one thing but continuously did something else.

Why is it More Blessed to Believe Without Seeing?

I mentioned Thomas in a previous post and how Jesus didn't chastise him for his doubts. Our Lord knows our hearts and how we have gaps in our understanding of his providential care of us.

One gap certain believers have is the meaning of faith. They believe it's some sort of spiritual power and we can generate enough of it to trip the solenoid of God's blessing. What errant nonsense!

Faith has two meanings in Scripture. One definition is the truth given to us by God. Jude 1:3 (KJV) explains, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."

The other meaning of faith is our trust in God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 1:21 (KJV) teaches us, "Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God."

Furthermore, John 20:29 (KJV) contains the answer to this question of being more blessed though we haven't seen our Lord face to face. "Jesus saith unto him, 'Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.'"

Our trust in the invisible Trinity is what sets us apart from adherents to other belief systems. And those who doubt God's existence do so because they don't want to acknowledge his claim on their lives. As Jesus explained in John 3:19 (KJV), "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

Implicit trust is what our Lord requires of all who follow him. I'll be writing in detail about it in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Unbelief is what will send many millions to hell, even if those folks call it doubt or rationalism.