"Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?
And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered."

                            -Malachi 3:14-15 

In this passage of Scripture, the Lord rebuked His people for their distorted outlook on the benefits of righteous living versus the benefits of wicked living. We see that they have a problem right away when they say, "...what profit is it that we have...walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?" (V. 14) The problem here is that, instead of being filled with the joy of the Lord, they focused on the sorrows they had faced along the way. Instead of remembering the countless miracles the Lord had worked in their midst, as well as the multitudes of victories He had given them over their enemies, they concentrated on the sorrows and heartaches they had experienced - all the while failing to remember the pain and suffering they had endured before they knew God.

Not only did they believe that serving God was futile; they also considered the wicked to be better off than they were. They didn't realize that they wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). They believed sinful living brought happiness as well as deliverance (V. 15), thus leading them away from the Lord.

I once heard a minister say that, given enough time and opportunities, our feet will eventually catch up with our heart. If our heart desires the things of the world, then it won't be long before we start pursuing the things of the world.

We've got to place our heart in God's hands; that way, following it will always lead us back to the cross!

"...for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

                            -Deuteronomy 13:3

"When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. 

Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole."

                            -John 5:6-8, 14-15 

We read here the story of a man who had evidently been seeking a healing for a long time. Without anybody to help him into the waters that the angel troubled, he sat helplessly on the sidelines, watching person after person receive their healing, wondering if the day would ever come in which he would receive his.

Then Jesus stepped in.

No, He didn't perform some advanced medical procedure. He didn't tell him to do physical therapy, or to see a doctor. He simply spoke 7 words, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." and he was healed on the spot.  Unable to give an answer to those that asked Who had healed him, when the man found out it was Jesus, John says he "...departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole." (v. 15)

Isn't that what we're supposed to do? The Lord has healed us of an incurable disease (sin), set us up on our feet, brought us back into fellowship with Him, and saved us from eternal hell-fire. If we are truly thankful for what God has done in our lives, then we will follow the example of the man in this story and tell people that it was Jesus who has made us whole!

"Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;"

                            -Psalm 107:2

Yesterday at church, after service was over, we were rehearsing a skit that we are going to be performing on Easter Sunday. Like most Easter Sunday programs, it is about the crucifixion/resurrection. Anyway, as we were going over our lines, my cousin read Matthew 27:28 where it says, "And they...put on him a scarlet robe." It's a verse that I'd never really payed close attention to, but then somebody asked, "Wait. I thought it was a purple robe?"

Something that I had never even given a second thought to began to eat at my mind throughout the rest of the day. I looked up the parallel accounts in the other Gospels, and sure enough, Mark says that it was purple (Mark 15:16-17), as does John in 19:1-2. I understand that the Bible is without contradiction, but surely there was an explanation for this seeming discrepancy, I thought to myself. While it didn't seem like a big deal to me, I knew that there are some people out there who would reject the whole Bible over something as frivolous as the color of Jesus' robe. So I did some research, and I came to the following conclusion:

I'm sure we could all agree that each person sees colors a little differently. There have been many instances in which I have considered somebody to have red hair, while someone else might call it strawberry-blonde. In fact, there's been a handful of times that I have made mention of pulling up to an intersection and slowing down because the light turned orange (to which I am always reminded that it is yellow). Surely nobody would call me a liar simply because I have a different opinion as to the color of a person's hair! Likewise, what Matthew considered to be scarlet, Mark and John considered purple. Nobody was lying; they just each saw Jesus' life from different angles (something we need to remember when comparing the Gospel accounts).

Also, it is rather difficult to imagine Pontius Pilate putting a new robe on Christ's bloodied body. It was likely worn and faded, making it even more difficult to distinguish its color. According to A.T. Robertson, there were even various shades of purple and scarlet in the first century and it was not easy to distinguish the colors or tints.

It is obvious that no discrepancy exists in the Gospel accounts concerning the color of Christ's robe. The Gospel writers simply used the terms scarlet and purple interchangeably.

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ..."

                            -II Corinthians 5:20 

Being an ambassador is pretty serious business. It means acting as a representative of another group, person, or country. Thus, if an ambassador messes up, he makes those that he or she is representing look bad as well. Being placed in such a position of responsibility requires always being on your best behavior, knowing that every move you make and every word you say will reflect on the one you are representing - either negatively or positively.

With that said, we should all realize what an honor and what a responsibility it is to be ambassadors for Christ. When we tell people we are a Christian, they immediately place a higher standard on us. If we claim to be children of God, how does it reflect on our Father when we lose our temper and slam things around the house, or treat those around us with partiality and prejudice? On earth, our opinion of an adult is greatly influenced by the way their children behave. As God's children, the same is true for us. People form their opinion of God on how we, as Christians, act.

We serve a God who is merciful, gracious, longsuffering, just, holy, and righteous. If we, as His ambassadors, are suppossed to convey this message to the world, what would be the most logical way to do that? Think about it, and leave your comments!

"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,"

                            -II Timothy 3:2 

Personally, selfishness is something that I struggle with more than just about anything else. It's something that, because of our sinful nature, we don't have to try to do; it just comes naturally to us.  

Despite the fact that this verse doesn't necessarily use the word selfish, I believe Paul really hits the nail on the head, so to speak, at defining what selfishness really is: being a lover of our own self. Instead of doing as God calls us to do and putting other people first, selfishness causes us to put them last, believing our needs and desires are more important than theirs.

"But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.
For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.
For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's."

                            -Philippians 2:19-21 

We see here that, in the book of Philippians, Paul rebukes those who "seek their own." Seeking our own makes it nearly impossible for the Lord to use us in His service, for in order to lead other souls to Christ, we must be completely emptied of ourselves, willing to make any sacrifice necessary to win the lost. We must be selfless, not selfish.

What are your thoughts? Do you struggle with selfishness? And, if so, what are some ways that you have found helpful in combating it in your walk with the Lord?

"He must increase, but I must decrease."

Turn to the book of Genesis and read the story of man's fall, and you will find that the very first sin introduced in the Bible is lying (Gen. 3:4). Turn to the very last page of Revelation, and you will see that the very last sin condemned by our Lord is - you guessed it - lying (Rev. 22:15). What does this tell us about our God? It tells us that He hates lying, and that if there is any one sin that will keep you out of heaven, it is lying.

The dictionary defines a lie as, "Something meant to deceive or give a wrong impression." You can call it exaggeration, a white lie, or anything you want, but when we begin to stray from the truth, we begin to stray from God Himself. Did not our Lord say, "I am...the Truth." (John 14:6)? There is nothing more disgusting to our God than when those who claim to walk in the truth practice lying and deception.

I was recently given a book about a Chinese man who was persecuted by the government for believing in Jesus Christ. At first, the book seemed rather interesting; but then after a few chapters, he started sharing about lie after lie after lie he had told even after he was "saved", showing no sign of remorse or regret. I put the book away, and haven't opened it since.

I John 2:6 says, "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." Our Lord never lied, stretched the truth, or tried to conceal the truth. If we claim to be His children, we should do no different.

"These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:"

                            -Zechariah 8:16

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

                            -Isaiah 55:8-9

I can't count the number of times that the Lord has reminded me of this verse when I go through difficult situations in my life. Whether I am dealing with the heartache of losing a loved one, the disappointment of being betrayed by a close friend, or the frustrations that life so often throws our way, God is constantly reminding me that His plans are much greater than my own.


The title of this blog is, "A Look at Life from a Deerstand". As I pointed out in a previous post, when you hunt from a deerstand you can see much more as opposed to sitting on the ground. It's the same with God. He is in the deerstand, and we're on the ground (if you'll excuse the hunter lingo). He can see much more than we can, and thus He knows what He's doing when He sends us through difficult situations.


Though it is hard sometimes, because we tend to think that God owes us an explanation for everything He does, we've got to learn to trust in Him. He sees the end before we even see the beginning, and we have to trust that His way is the right way.

"Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."

                            -Psalm 37:5