The weather is finally turning cooler and my thoughts turn to lighting up the gas burning logs in the fireplace. There is something about logs in a fireplace with the flames licking upward and sparkling embers drifting downward after a sharp crackle. The smell of wood burning is intoxicating. It evokes visions of snowy days, hot chocolate, popcorn, and warm, sleepy hours sitting beside the fire.
When Nila and I went house shopping, the one thing we agreed upon was that we
wanted a fireplace. We got what we wanted. Getting a fireplace is no problem.
Our nostalgia for a fireplace made us forget something very important. It made
us forget that to have a fire you must have wood. To have wood, you must cut it
and stack it. To build a fire in a fireplace, you must bring the wood into the
house. We had forgotten how labor intensive it is to enjoy a
fireplace.
However, there is a solution to this dilemma; it is called gas burning
logs. You can find them in many models. They come sized to fit your particular
fireplace. The artificial logs glow with heat. Flames leap up, over, and around
them. There are tiny rocks you spread under the logs that look like ashes. In
short, there is an illusion that you are experiencing real logs burning in your
fireplace. You can even buy an aerosol can of scent that when sprayed gives the
smell of logs burning. Now, we sit in front of our fireplace, logs burning (or
so it appears), with that intoxicating smell of wood burning (spray a little
more of that will ya honey?), and watch the glowing logs (minus the sparkling
embers). We become so engrossed in the moment that we do not stop to think that
what we are experiencing is nothing but a replica, a counterfeit of the real
thing.
It is my considered opinion that we have become much too comfortable with
replicas and counterfeits in our lives. Nowhere is this more devastating than in
religion. The true religion of Christ has a definitive flavor. There is nothing
else like true Christianity. Nothing compares with its distinctive character.
But alas, it has been copied and re-copied (each time leaving out what one does
not like) until it no longer resembles its former self. The problem is that men
have drunk from this artificial well so long, they no longer can identify the
real thing. Men have eaten margarine until they have lost their taste for
butter.
The Devil is cunning. He knows just how to manipulate the
artificial to deceive the masses. He makes the counterfeit to appear as much
like the original as possible. We all know that the better the counterfeit the
greater the value. False religion is the most deadly counterfeit of all.
"And no wonder! For Satan transforms himself into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into
ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their
works"
(2 Corinthians 11:13-15). The religion that errs in one point,
though it has the appearance and wears the name of Christ, is a false
religion.
Too often, men judge religions on their outward appearance. They see a
religion that advocates neglecting of self and automatically assume it is of
God. Paul warned against such religions when he wrote, "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,' which all concern things
which perish with the using, according to the commandments and doctrines of men?
These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false
humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of
the flesh"
(Colossians 2:21-23). Piety does not prove that a religion is
correct.
Dedicating one's life to the service of others does not prove one's
religion is true. While it is true that such dedication proves the proponents of
the religion are zealously committed to what they believe, we know that zealous
people can and do follow the wrong path.
Jesus' prophesy of the destruction of
Paul also addressed this type of problem among Christians in Galatians
1:6-9. The Christians of Paul's day were being pulled away from the truth by
Judaizing teachers. Paul affirms that there is but one gospel. It is the gospel
that was preached by the apostles. It is not to be altered. The one who dares to
do so is cursed by God. Man may have the best of intentions when he adds
something to his religious belief. He may even think (as did the Judaizer) that
since God required this at an earlier time, then it is required for all times.
It is this kind of reasoning that gives rise to counterfeit
churches.
The appeal of counterfeit religion resides in the fact that
it requires little work to maintain it. Contrariwise, it takes much work to
practice true religion. The true religion of Christ is not passive. Paul
instructs the Philippians to work out their salvation (Philippians 2:12). Jesus
says we are to strive to enter through the narrow gate (Luke 13:24). To practice
the real thing, one must "be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord"
(1 Cor. 15:58).
I must admit that I truly enjoy my gas burning logs. The atmosphere and
mood is comforting. I appreciate the convenience afforded by their design.
However, enjoying conveniences in material things must never bleed over into
embracing the artificial in religion.
"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to
worship Him"
(John 4:23).
---Glen Young
The Ark Was The Only Salvation
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in
the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He
was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have
created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds
of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them
(Genesis 6:5-7). The early world did not fare well with
man in charge. Following the expulsion from the garden the world exploded with
humanity driven by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life
(1 John 2:16).
Not all would be condemned in this destruction as Noah found grace in the
eyes of the Lord. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen,
moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which
he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according
to faith
(Hebrews 11:7). Noah obeyed the instructions of
the Lord (Genesis 6:13-7:24) and found salvation in the
ark.
As the rains poured upon the earth and the
foundations of the great deep were broken up (Genesis 7:11-12) the earth was
cleansed of all flesh and all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that
was on the dry land, died
(Genesis 7:21-22). Only eight people and an ark
full of animals were all that survived from the earth. Noah would spend over a
year inside the ark before removing the cover and walking out on dry land. When
he brought his family out there were no other people in the world but his family
of eight. The ark had saved them from
destruction.
There was no flotilla of arks that saved many, many people. There was
only one ark and this was the only ark whereby man could be saved. It was an ark
designed by God to serve the purpose of saving man. Noah had to build it exactly
as the Lord prescribed in accordance with height, width, length and depth. It
was to be constructed of gopher wood and no other. The ark only had one window.
There would be three levels in the ark. Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so
he did (Genesis 6:22).
Man did not succeed in devising ways to stay alive outside the ark. He
could have climbed the highest tree or the tallest mountain. It could have been
possible to float on a log or build a boat seeking to survive but to no avail.
Whatever man devised to try and save himself was of no use when the flood came.
There was only one place to be saved from the wrath of God and it was in the
ark.
Noah was saved because he obeyed the pattern given to him by God. He did
not change it, call it by another name or have more than one ark built. He built
the one true ark! He was saved because he was in the ark by the grace and
mercy of God. Without Gods grace salvation was not possible. Noah was saved
because he rejected the ideas of men and walked by faith to the Lords command.
He was not saved because he was a good man alone nor that he was religious
(Matthew 7:21-23). Noah was saved because he obeyed the will of
God.
There is a spiritual ark today that saves men. There is only one. Jesus
said, I will build My church
(Matthew 16:18). On the day of Pentecost that is where
you found the saved (Acts 2:47). Where are you in the ark of safety or an ark
built by man?
---Kent
Heaton