The Road To…
The Road To Hell Part 2

   In the first part of this series we noted that the first step on the road to hell was not glorifying God as God. As a result we begin to diminish His greatness, His power, and His authority. We are then free to create our own form of worship and be perfectly content doing it.

The Second Step

   Once again let us read Rom 1:21, “because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”  Notice those who did not glorify God as God were also not thankful. Thankfulness is a quality every person should have and it is a quality we desire from others.

   Remember the last time you did something nice for someone.  Whether you let them into your lane while driving, or you motioned them to cross the street while you slowed down, or you filled yet another glass of milk for your kids at dinner time---you expect to be thanked.  In fact we teach our kids to say “thank you” when someone has done something for them.     

   When the person we let cut in waves and says thank you, when the person we allow to cross the street ahead of us says thank you, when our child says thank you for the glass of milk it makes us feel good.  We generally respond by saying, “you’re welcome.”  But when none of the above even says a word to us and ignores us, we react completely differently.  Our mood is altered by the acceptance or rejection of the kind act.

   In reality it is one of the most startling and disappointing things about mankind; his lack of appreciation for what he has been given. In Luke 17:12 ff we have an example of how ungrateful some people can be.  As Jesus entered into a certain village, ten lepers met Him, and as they stood “afar off,” they asked for His mercy. Up to this point Jesus had performed many miracles, healed many people, news spread quickly.  For example, last Sunday evening I mentioned the great faith of the centurion in which we learned that he had “heard” about Jesus, which caused him to seek His help to heal his servant.  On this occasion, these lepers see Jesus entering this village.  They request mercy because they want to be healed from this dreaded disease. Jesus tells them to show themselves to the priests, and as they went, they were healed. Luke 17:15-16 says, “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.” Our Lord’s response was this, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?”.  We, could not say that the other nine were not glad to be cleansed, but they did not even come back to say, “Thank you, Lord.” Their failure to return and thank the Lord for His merciful deed may be hard to understand especially when we realize the dreadfulness of leprosy.

It seems as though saying “thank you” is extremely difficult.  Why is this?  Does it make one feel inferior to say these things?  How often do people fail to thank God for their health, their friends, their jobs, and their conveniences!  Well, it may be difficult but it needs to be done. Think about how you feel when the expected “thank you” does not come. How do you think God feels?  We need to be a thankful people because God has done so much for us. Psa 100:4-5 says, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” This section of scripture makes reference to the public worship of God.  God, as the creator and ruler of the world should be worshipped.  As our Father, Guardian, and Savior He should be thanked.  He is good, He is merciful, He is everlasting, His truth does endure to all generations.  We, in turn, should be thankful for the privilege of worship, for God’s goodness, His mercy, and His truth!

Let Us Follow Paul’s Road Of Thankfulness

1 Cor 15:9-10 says, “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Paul was thankful that God’s grace had included him and rescued him from sin. Paul digresses from his main theme of the resurrection to make this point.  He is not least of the apostles because (1) he wasn’t with Jesus throughout His earthly ministry,  (2) not because he hadn’t witnessed Him perform many miracles, (3) and not because he had not been a part of the initial proclamation of the gospel.  He felt he was “the least of the apostles” because he persecuted the church.  While the other apostles were out doing the will of God, Paul was doing everything possible to destroy Christianity.  He had cast his vote against Stephen, he had held the garments of those who stoned Stephen, and he had cast many saints in prison, even pursuing them to many foreign cities.  Because of this background, Paul did not feel himself worthy to be called an apostle.  Instead he viewed himself as the chief of sinners 1 Tim 1:15. But God took this dead, vile thing, the most rabid persecutor of His church, and by His wondrous grace made not only a Christian out of him, but also an apostle, and not only one who was fit and worthy to be placed at the side of the other apostles but one who outranks the rest in his work one who labors more abundantly than they all.  Paul later argues that he was proof that God’s grace was sufficient to save any man 1Tim 1:12-16. Paul was thankful for grace. We, too, should be thankful that God sent His son to die for our sins. We can now have victory over sin because Christ tasted death for us. That was a loving act deserving of our gratitude.  Are we just glad about it or are we going to do something about it. God tells us if we want to show our gratitude, our love, then obey His will.  This is love, that we walk according to His commandments 2 Jn 6.

Carlos Aguilar

Last year I purchased a dog for our family. A small Labrador Retriever. Well at least it was small at first. We named him Scooter after the Yankee short stop, Phil Rizzuto. Phil's nickname was "Scooter." As soon as Scooter got home he began to exert his will on the family. When I got him in the truck I put a choke chain on him to try to control him. This war continued from the truck to the house, until I decided that it was time to discipline Scooter for my good. When he barked, I yelled at him saying, "NO." Then I'd grab his mouth and force it shut. Scooter would playfully bite anything that moved. He thought it was a fun thing to do. I would discipline him again by screaming out loud, "NO. STOP IT!" After which I would hold his mouth closed for a moment.

When the kids got home, things picked up a bit. Scooter would growl at Michelle while his tail slapped everything it touched to the floor. I would grab him by his mouth, hold it tight, take him down to the floor, and stare at him dog eye to my eye. When it came time for nature calls the war escalated to new heights.

By now you may have guessed that I never owned a dog before nor was I very proficient in training one. I read many books but they really didn't help me. I realized my mistake when I tried to get him to come to me in our back yard. He looked at me and bolted for the woods. My dog hated me! The dog that would lower my risk of heart attack ignored me. Our family pet that would usher me into my old age was rejecting me. How cold. How nasty. How utterly human. How perfectly natural! What did I expect from him?

It was decided that we both would enroll in a dog obedience school. I found out later that it was more like master obedience school. I learned that isolating good behavior, no matter how small, and immediately rewarding it, got me the desired responses from Scooter. Rewarding good behavior and building on that to the desired goals was the way to go. Scooter sat, walked, heeled, and best of all when I called him, he came to me with his tail wagging. Of course a lot of frankfurters have come and gone but we both are better for it. I'm happy, Scooter is happy, and my family is happy.

Moral of the story: If you want your dog to come to you start loving him and start rewarding his good behavior while at the same time getting his attention away from negative behavior. I don't yell at him anymore. I don't grab him anymore, except to pet him for good behavior. You know, this might even work on my son!!!!! I learned more than training our dog. I learned a little common sense and practical love made simple. 

~ By Frank Coletta

One day a little lamb was taking a walk with its mother, and as they walked, they went by a pigpen. A pig was stretched out, grunting contentedly as he wallowed in the mud and muck of the pen. He looked so perfectly contended and comfortable that the little lamb was greatly impressed. Indeed, the lamb was led to believe that he had been missing something. He turned to his mother a little breathlessly because of the wonderful idea that had just come to him.

   "Mother," he said, "may I wallow?"

The question rocked mother sheep back on her heels. She was both shocked and surprised to think that a child of hers would ask such a question. When she regained her composure, she answered quite firmly:

"Of course not! Sheep don't wallow." But, little lamb was not convinced, and the minute his mother's back was turned, he darted over to the pigpen, slipped between the bars, and felt his feet sink into the cool mud. It was deeper than he had thought, and it smelled terrible. He tried to back out, but found the mud clinging to his feet. He began to be frightened, and he jerked frantically, but only got in deeper. By now he was terrified. He wished fervently that he hadn't come; that he had obeyed his mother. He threshed about in desperation, lost his balance, and sprawled on his side in the evil-smelling muck. The pig looked over his way and grunted companionably, but little lamb was frantic. He could not move. He could only roll his eyes, and he thought every breath would be his last. Finally, just as he had bleated weakly for the last time and given up, the farmer came along and tenderly lifted the little lamb from his death trap, thoroughly cleaned him, and restored him to his mother.

His mother was terribly hurt because he had disobeyed her, yet even more concerned because her own child, a tiny white sheep, had tried to wallow. "I feel that you have learned your lesson," she said. "Only pigs wallow. As a sheep, you are the one animal that sets the pattern of behavior above all other animals. Hogs are born to wallow, but sheep are different creatures from hogs, and sheep don't wallow"

~by C. E. Henry

A Chicken Sandwich and Salvation

Consider the simple logic one would use to redeem a coupon  for a KFC chicken sandwich. It is not much different from the simple logic needed to make use of Jesus' instructions regarding salvation found in Mark 16:16. Look at the following coupon and read the thoughts which follow:  

 What can we conclude from this coupon?

1. We must go TO KFC - Not McDonald's or Wendy's

2. We must purchase a fry AND a drink.

3. It doesn't matter WHAT SIZE of fry and drink, as long as we buy both (Good example of Generic Authority - some freedom here to choose).

4. It doesn't matter WHICH TYPE of drink we buy (Coke, Sprite, etc.) - As long as we buy a drink. (Another very good example of Generic Authority.)

5. We will get a BIG CHICKEN SANDWICH for 69 cents, NOT a hamburger.

6. You can only use ONE COUPON PER VISIT. If I'm very hungry and want two Big Chicken Sandwiches, I'll have to pay full price for one!

7. After June 11, 2000, this Coupon is NO LONGER VALID.

8. I cannot use several coupons and discounts and add them together. This coupon is valid SOLELY BY ITSELF.

9. Some KFC's do not offer this. I will have to check BEFORE ordering!

 Phrase it this way:

He that buyeth any size fry and drink, can purchase a $.69 Big Chicken Sandwich.

He that buyeth not a fry shall pay full price for the Big Chicken Sandwich.

(You automatically assume that if you don't buy a fry or drink, you can't receive the deal.)

 Compare to Mark 16:16:

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.

He that believeth not shall be condemned.

(You should also assume that if you don't believe or are not baptized, you cannot be saved.)

Simple Logic !  Isn’t it amazing the lengths some go to, to avoid using it ?

~author unknown, adapted RDT,sr