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“These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught”
God spoke these words through the prophet Isaiah about the people of Israel. It states a premise that is still true today. The premise that Christians would rather follow the teachings of human beings than the teachings of God.
Here’s the problem. The Preachers teaching human-things think they are teaching God-things. And the listeners think the human-things are God-things.
Let me suggest a few clues…
If the message isn’t consistent with the over riding message in God’s word of “love”, i.e. love God with your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself then there might be a problem.
If a congregation is diminishing and dying under a certain brand of teaching and leadership then there might be a problem.
Everyone thinks they are following God’s teaching but many and maybe most are not. So be very circumspect and careful about the teachings you are about to swallow… they may not digest very well.
King Hezekiah of Judah was a great King. It was said of him that no King of Judah was like him either before or after because he trusted in the Lord.
Hezekiah tried to unify Judah and Israel by inviting everyone to celebrate the Passover together. But there were a few problems… they couldn’t celebrate during the prescribed (God ordained) time because the people had not gathered and the Priests were not purified.
So Hezekiah sent out couriers to gather the people. Some of the people ridiculed the message and ridiculed the messengers but others gathered and there was a huge crowd of worshippers.
However there was another problem… not only were the Priests to purify themselves but the people were also supposed to come “purified” and were not.
There was so much that was wrong… the wrong month, Unclean Priests and Unclean Participants. In fact the only thing that was right was the hearts of the people.
Hezekiah could have been angry and condemned the Priests and the People but instead he prayed for them because his bigger mission was “unifying the people” and God heard his prayer.
"There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place”
I’ve got a feeling that under King Hezekiah’s rule that a year later at the next Passover everything was right… the right time, purified Priests and Purified people. Sometimes people need time and some things may have to be temporarily sacrificed to fulfill the greater mission but it all starts with pure hearts and great leaders.
One of the more significant things that occurs in the story of Jesus is his baptism, reception of the Holy Spirit and the announcement of his sonship.
Let me suggest that it is significant because it is a forecast of exactly what happens with Christians.
Believers are told to repent, be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Jesus had no need to repent but was baptized and the Holy Spirit came upon him and he started his Spirit driven ministry. We too have a ministry in association with the Holy Spirit.
If this is true, that Jesus’ example is a pattern for all of us, then the question is begged why do so many baptize babies?
- Jesus was not baptized as a baby
- babies have no sins that need to be washed away
- babies don’t begin a ministry being led by the Holy Spirit to do battle with Satan
It also begs the question about why so many diminish baptism (to elevate the importance of belief) by putting baptism off for a more convenient time.
- the Holy Spirit doesn’t come at the point of belief. It comes at the point of baptism when the believer has had all his sins washed away and is a cleansed Temple in which the Holy Spirit can dwell in.
- Why would some choose to delay baptism and delay the reception of the Holy Spirit?
If baptism announces to the spirit world our sonship and the beginning of our ministry why would we be satisfied with belief and the “sinners prayer” as is advocated by some.
- If we are true sons and daughters (and he testifies to that by giving his Holy Spirit) why live in fear?
Rejoice in the relationship and don’t worry that God is just looking for you to make some mistake that if not confessed will send you to eternal damnation.
We are true sons and daughters of the most Holy One. Live like Him and be Him and be a light to the world.
Belief, repentance and baptism are essential elements to become children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.
Numbers 12 records that Miriam and Aaron “spoke” against Moses saying that they were equal to him in being Prophet’s.
That’s what it looked like on the surface but the divine record reveals something about their hearts. Moses had married a Cushite woman and they didn’t like her. The ancient land of Cush is today’s Ethiopia. Now if the people of Cush resembled the people of Ethiopia today then they were black people and the rest of the story confirms that.
Miriam and Aaron didn’t like Zipporah, their sister-in-law, because she was black.
Before we get to their punishment the divine record states that Moses was the most humble man in the land. Obviously, Miriam and Aaron were not humble because they tried to equate or elevate themselves above Moses.
Now on to the punishment. God punishes Miriam (the apparent ringleader) by striking her with Leprosy and her skin became “as white as snow”
That God… Miriam disliked black people and thought she was better because she was white so God made her really white… as white as snow. How do you like being white now Miriam?
What can be learned from this?
- Sometimes when people make an accusation they may have an ulterior motive.
- If you dislike someone because of their race you are not being humble (like Moses was humble)
- God rocks with punishment and makes the punishment fit the crime.
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Allen Land's obituary. He and Ulli were close friends of our family.
Allen was born in Houston, the 4th child of Emmett Land Sr and Murlene VanHowten.
He grew up along the Texas Gulf Coast and joined the Army after High School. He signed up for the Army Rangers because they paid more, and experienced political and military conflict around the world. He served in multiple combat operations and survived two helicopter crashes. He was once told by a commanding officer, “Mr. Land, you are a hard man to kill.”
He met Ulli while stationed in Germany in 1977. They were married in 1979, and settled in Houston, in a furnished apartment on Wirt Road, and rode bicycles to work because they couldn’t afford a car. They even rode their bikes to the Galleria as newlyweds to do their Christmas shopping there. As finances got better, they first got a motorcycle, and later a small car.
They had no TV and started reading and discussing the Bible together. With their first child on the way, they looked for a church that reflected the teachings of the New Testament.
Allen loved to read and was interested in Philosophy, Religion, History, Politics, Sci-Fi, Romance, and Fiction. He remembered everything he read and heard, including names, places, phrases and dates. He loved music, art and movies.
God’s word was Allen’s passion. He never ceased to study to learn more about the character of God.
Very early in his Christian life, he came across the teachings of Francis A. Schaeffer. They became defining in his understanding of Christianity and the world around us.
Just last year, he found several Bible commentaries he had always wanted at a fraction of their original price. He was so thrilled and bought them and read them. But the two small commentary books by E. M. Zerr remained his favorite.
Allen said, “The Bible is not complicated, and God is not like us. We must take him at His word and do what he tells us to do. He is merciful and wants us to be saved, and he has done it all for us. We only need to “get in the water” (Acts 2:38), and for some reason, people dance around that and try to explain it away.”
“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? …” (Job 40:2)
I said, it is like the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-19, and he asked me to read it.
We had this conversation Friday morning before he just started sleeping all the time, and as the end was drawing near.
I told him, we are standing at the river Jordan, and God will part the waters for you, and you will go on into the Promised Land (Joshua 3). We will not need a boat or a boatsman, God has done it all for us when he sent his son to die for our sins and offered us forgiveness and salvation. We have accepted his gift and put our faith in God and His word.
“The duty of man is to fear God and keep his commandments.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
Allens favorite book in the Bible was Ephesians.
Allen leaves behind his wife Ulli; children Stephanie, Cedric, Katina and husband Mario with grandchildren Ebba, Leo, and Emmy; sister Georgia Kay and brother Emmett Land Jr; nieces Mary, Melissa, Jessica, and Kate; nephews Kenneth and Rodney.
He was preceded in death by his parents, oldest sister Lillie; youngest brother Ricky; and nephews John and Jack.
