The Gates of Hell

 

Jesus took his disciples to Caesarea Philippi on a field trip.  Near the base of Mt. Hermon is an old pagan grotto that used to have a spring of water gushing out.  The ancients believed that the cave was the entrance to the underworld (hades), hence the name: “the Gates of Hell”.  Occult rituals held there involved orgies and infant sacrifices.  A terrible place, to say the least.  It was at this site that Jesus asked his disciples in Matthew 16:13, “… Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?”  After much discussion, Peter responded in verse 16, “… Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Peter had it right!  Jesus was the Christ of God!  Then Jesus went on to say that upon that statement, He would “build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  Hey, gates are not an offensive weapon; gates are only defensive.  And the gates of hell will not prevail against God’s church; quite the contrary, God’s church will prevail against Satan and all other opposition!  Read Revelation 20 and discover Satan’s end.  Then decide for yourself: do you want to be on the losing side or on the winning side?  Satan, the loser or Jesus Christ, the coming King of kings?

Conscience

 

This morning, I woke up late.  I had set my alarm, but I had failed to turn the volume back up on my cellphone settings from church Sunday.  My alarm had gone off right on time, but the sound was muted.  Reminded me of a conscience problem.  Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”  if I ignore the blessed Holy Spirit over and over, my God-given warning system: my conscience, becomes disabled and I fail to hear God’s speaking.  Like my silenced cellphone, God’s still, small voice has been silenced by my own sin.  Hey, my post may be a wake-up call from the dear Lord to you!  Are you as close to the Lord as you want to be?  Actually, you ARE as close to the Lord as you want to be.  Think about it.

A Mother's Love

 

A mother’s love is just about the most perfect love that there is.  She will do, and give, and make excuses, for her children to a fault.  She will put up with things that no human being should put up with.  And she will think nothing of it.  My family was visiting my mother in Maryland years ago.  I ran out to the car, jumped in, and took off.  When I returned, my wife met me at the front door with a look of panic.  She said, “When you left, you drove over your mother’s cat.  Flo Flo’s dead.”  I was shocked and embarrassed.  I went inside, apologizing to my mother.  But she said (matter-of-factly), “Oh, it’s not your fault.  Flo Flo shouldn’t have been sitting in front of the tire.”  I killed my mother’s cat, and she was making excuses for me!  Solomon got it right in Proverbs 4:3, “For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.”  Solomon knew that King David, his father, loved him.  But Solomon knew that Bathsheba, his mother, loved him even more.  Hey, do you know that there is a love that surpasses the love of your mother!  God loves you even more than your mother loves you!  Fiercely, tenderly, and unwaveringly.  Hey, do you love God right back?  Don’t forget Jesus Christ during the upcoming Christmas season.  He hasn’t forgotten you.