This time of year, the Income Tax returns are
fresh on our minds. Were you ever challenged by the IRS doing
a personal examination? When my house in Grafton burned down,
I was! It was so cold that night the hydrants and even the river
were frozen, so it burned completely. When daylight came, I took
pictures of the scene. Of course, I put the loss on my income
tax return. It was no surprise that it was audited. An IRS agent
came, and I had to deal with him person-to-person. After I showed
the pictures to him, he decided he needed to ask no more questions.
Each of us faces an interview much more important
than an IRS audit: "So then every one of us shall give account
of himself to God." (Rom. 14:12). There will be no questions
asked, for Jesus has all the facts. Now He asks us to think about
our own profit and loss, "For what profit is it to a man
if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will
a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mt. 16:26)
How much did Adam and Eve lose by believing a
lie? Everything God had given them was very good. (Gen 1:31) Why
did they want to know evil? They gained nothing, but lost life
in Paradise with God Himself! Satan made deviation from God's
commands look so enticing that Eve got the idea that God was depriving
them of something worth having. From what I see in mail sent to
the church here in Union, I have to conclude that that same old
lie is trapping many congregations. From outright encouragement
of sexual perversions to claims of new revelations, the Bible
is not considered the authority.
Satan tempts us through our ego: "For all
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world." (1 Jn 2:16). "For when they speak great swelling
words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through
much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live
in error." (2 Peter 2:18).
It is said that 99% of our illnesses come from
stress. Jesus spoke about that in Mt 6:31-33: "Therefore
take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we
drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these
things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom
of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added
unto you."
God has given us all we need: "Howbeit when
he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all
truth ..." Paul reassures us in 1 Cor 2:11ff (ESV):
"Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the
Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely
given us by God." Peter assures us, "Knowing this first,
that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but
holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
(2 Pet 1:20-21). The profit is when we exchange lies for the
truth! The old saw, "If it has less than the Bible it
doesn't have enough, and if it has more, it has too much, and
if it's just the same we don't need it" sums it up well.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ:"(Eph 1:3). What do
we have to lose? Everything good! Shall we trade every spiritual
blessing for anything the world offers? "For all that is
in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that
doeth the will of God abideth for ever." (1 Jn 2:16-17).
Let us treasure the blessings we have.
Our profit begins when we squelch our egos in
order to become Christ's disciples: "Then said Jesus unto
his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me." (Mt 16:24). That fulfills
the prayer of Jesus in Jn 17:17, "Sanctify them through thy
truth: thy word is truth." Consider what God has given us:
"For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable
unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of
that which is to come." (1 Tim 4:8). "Howbeit when he,
the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:
for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall
hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."
(Jn 16:13). "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh
profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit,
and they are life." (Jn 6:6).
All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness. (2 Tim 3:16). PO Box 661, Union,
WV 24983. williamepler@verizon.net