Sweden Church - The Layman's Pen

Abomination

1/11/2021

Those both for and against the changes in our society agree that, as a people, we have become more tolerant.  And the tolerance has permeated our lives just over the last several decades.  But, is that a good thing?  It all depends on which way one wants to fall on this question.

Luke 16:15 says, “You are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”  Abomination is a thing that causes disgust or hatred.  A search of the Bible will tell the reader there are a number of things that God hates.  Seven of them are listed in Proverbs 6:16-19.
What really matters is this—does one really want to be tolerant of the things that God hates?  Believers would most certainly say, “No.”  Those who hold no real connection to God could say, “No” based on moral values or the way they’ve been raised.  And, yet, in our present world, we are witnessing laws being enacted forcing tolerance of those very things God finds an abomination.

“Last night at open session of the school board it came across the desk of the school board right over here.” Pastor Josh said, pointing his finger. “The way we voted on it was that the boys should go in the boys’ bathroom and the girls in the girls’ bathroom.”

“Can I tell you that is not the way that it is everywhere.  That’s not even the way they really wanted us to vote.  I don’t need a man in the bathroom with my 8th grade daughter.  Only if something is bad wrong and she’s in need of help.  God has made us who we are, let’s be who we are.  God has done it.  Both man and woman are made by God and are equally special to God.  Be what God made you.  And don’t back up on that.  It would be like saying God done the wrong thing.  God doesn’t make mistakes.”

Abomination is a strong word and elicits a powerful response.  If God calls something an abomination, does one really want to quarrel with Him?  Two passages to ponder.  Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is quick, and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and  spirit and of the joints and marrow, and it a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  Philippians 2:14-15: Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

Blessed is the Nation...

1/6/2021

The twelve tribes of Israel split around 930 BC.  After that, things went mostly downhill for both Israel and Judah.  It wasn’t until the reign of Josiah that the book of the law was found, and things were righted once again.  This was around 622 BC. For over 300 years both Israel and Judah found themselves on a slippery slope to nowhere.

For those who study the early beginnings of this country, they will tell you that religious principles were its’ foundations.  John Jay, the first Supreme Court justice had pointed out that it was the duty of our Christian nation to prefer Christians for their rulers.  Up until 1961 a religious oath requiring a belief in God was still in several states.  The Supreme Court overturned it in that year.  And up until 1963 many classrooms across the country still had Bibles in them.  The Supreme Court overturned that, too.  This country has changed a lot in the past two hundred plus years.

Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”  For a nation to be blessed their Lord needs to be God.  Their God needs to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the supreme judge of the Universe.  “The United States has been blessed because it has been one nation under God.  We still have on the currency In God We Trust.  I hope that it can stay that way.” said Pastor Josh.

“I’m not a terribly political person from the pulpit but I see things that don’t make much sense to me.  I see things I don’t like.  I see things that are of a personal nature, a family nature, and I get kind of concerned for my kids and I get concerned for myself.  I’ll be honest with you.  I’ve seen things I never thought would happen.”  said Pastor Josh.

“Preachers years ago got up and said this would happen and I said, ‘Those guys are crazy.’ Look what’s happened in the last 30 years.  What might happen in the next 30?  Man would say, ‘Look how much we’ve progressed.’  But I tell you, you will never progress past ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.’  Why say that in a small country church?  Because somebody needs to say it.  Because if we don’t, pretty soon they’ll be coming in here to tell me what I can say and what I can’t say.” concluded our pastor.

The loss of religious freedom is awfully hard to get back.  Blessed is the nation…not as the President says, or the Supreme Court says, or as the King says, or as some tyrant says, or as some dictator would say not at all…but blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.  There isn’t anybody more for us than Jesus Christ.

Get Your Own Dirt

12/28/2020

  There’s an old story about some scientists who got together and decided to tell God that they didn’t need him any longer.  They could now save and transplant organs and tissue.  They could even clone people.  Needless to say, God was impressed so He proposed a test.  “Why don’t you create a person the same way that I did with Adam and Eve?”  The scientists responded with, “Yes, we’ll do that.”  So they set to work and dug up some dirt.  God said, “Stop!  Get your own dirt.”
          That’s the way a lot of people hold their belief in God.  They’re really smarter and can come up with a better idea. Or, maybe, that God has outlived his usefulness and man can take it from there.  That is, until God tells us to come up with our own dirt.
          Believing should be more than just temporary or something that people outgrow.  It’s far more than that.  It’s realizing that God really does hold this universe and all that is in it in His hands.  It really is His dirt and He’s the one that created it, too.  Just thinking about it is profound.
          Proverbs 19:3 says, “The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord.”  God, in his great wisdom, looks down into the hearts of man and knows only too well what is there.  Thankfully, “God so loved the world…” or all would be lost and their would be no salvation for anyone.  Like Pastor Josh said, “Regardless of what man does God has a plan and He will do what is right and good.  God is wise to know the difference between right and wrong.”
          Proverbs 14:9-14 speaks to fools and clearly points out people who are slack in their faith in the Lord.  Proverbs 3:5-10 is the flip side of that.  They are well-known verses to all who believe that God is who He says He is.  It begins with “Trust in the Lord…”.  Jesus adds strength to these verses with his answer to the scribes question “Which is the first commandment of all?”  It’s in Mark 12:30-31.  Jesus says the first commandment of all is to love the Lord with all you heart, soul, mind, and strength.
          Proverbs 3 enlarges on this idea.  Verse 5 opens with trusting in the Lord with all your heart and not to rely on yourself.  Verse 6 says to accept the truth of God and He will lead you.  Verse 7 is to not think more highly of yourself than you do of God and to give Him the reverence He deserves.  If you do, verse 8 explains that as health is to our body so, too, fear of the Lord serves as our spiritual strength.
          The last two verses, 9 and 10, merit more attention.  These have to do with wealth and how it is used.  Story one is about a wealthy family who owned a very expensive vase.  One day their two-year old son got his hand stuck in the vase.  Try as they might, they couldn’t get his hand free.  Finally, the father took a hammer and broke the vase.  What was so important that the two-year old stuck his hand in the vase?  There was a penny in the bottom of the vase.  Something far greater was lost over a penny.
          Story number two is about a sailor marooned on an island.  The natives brought him to their village and made him king.  Why?  Because they had never seen anyone like him.  He found out that he would be king for a year and they would banish him to a deserted island to die.  The king decided to have the natives build boats, plan fruit trees, and build a palace on the deserted island.  When the year was up, he would live in a paradise.  He laid us his treasure in paradise.
          What is done with what one has makes a difference.

Home for Christmas

12/20/2020

Erna Marie was her name. She was a playmate from childhood.  Somewhere in the early years, she began to get sick. A lot of times she could only sit. There was no energy in her for anything else. But, she was always pleasant, and it was just nice to sit with her and do nothing.
          The years grew and the illness grew with it. It turned out to be diabetes, the kind that required a lot of care.  In those days little was known about the illness and you were at the mercy of it. By the eighth grade it was common to wait for her after school and she wouldn't show up. Running into the office to find out what happened, the message was usually the same. She passed out in class, the ambulance was called, and Erna was in the hospital once again.
          She didn't go on to college. She didn't have the strength. Instead, she relied on God for all her needs. And He cared for her. Her life was a living testimony of grace under pressure. Who knows how many lives she touched.
          Every year about this time I think about Erna. The last time I saw her she was in her 30s.  I spotted the white cane and put my hand on her shoulder.  "Erna, this is Linda. How are you doing?" My old friend was just like always. She touched me back. "Linda, I have good news. I'm going home for Christmas.  I won't last out the year."
          A few months later I read in our hometown paper that she had passed.  I think of her every year about this time and how glad she was to go home for Christmas. Someday, I'll get to go home, too, Erna.  Merry Christmas.

Without a Doubt

12/13/2020

“Doubt is a terrible enemy.” stated Pastor Josh during the course of the sermon.  Romans 14:23 says that “he that doubts is damned if he eats because he eats not of faith: for whatever is not of faith is sin.”  Genesis 3:1 yields an appreciation for doubt when we see its use in seducing Eve in the Garden of Eden.  The serpent says, “Hath God said…?”  Adam and Eve gave up a perfect life with God.  Then Pastor Josh said, “The devil will tempt you to do wrong. God will test you to do right.”  And so it has been ever since Adam and Eve’s sin.

Doubt plays a part in sinners’ lives as well as those who are saved.  The message for the sermon was taken from Mark 4:35-41.  Jesus retreats to the sea of Galilee to teach.  There are so many there that he stands in a ship just offshore.  Later that same day Jesus, who is in the ship, says that they should go to the other side.  Some other ships joined them.  Jesus has had a full day and retreats to the rear of the ship to sleep.

While he’s asleep a great wind comes up and beats the waves against the boat hard enough that water creeps into it.  The disciples who have witnessed the miracles that Jesus has performed are afraid.  Somehow, doubt has entered in.  They awaken Jesus and ask him if he cares that they could perish.  He gets up and rebukes the wind and says to the sea, “Peace be still.”  Then there was great calm.

“As long as you keep the world on the outside, it doesn’t matter about what’s going on out there.  The boat will float.  It’s when it gets on the inside.  That’s when the boat will sink.  That’s where the problem is.  And so it is in life.  When the problem gets in the boat with you, then you can sink.” continued Pastor Josh.

“How is it you have no faith?” (Mark 4:40) The conundrum is this: Jesus says how is it you have no faith, the disciples marvel that he can calm the sea.  Jesus, the doer of miracles, the Son of God, the king who has come to save his people, Israel; how did this get lost on the disciples?  Doubt.  When the cares of the world came spilling into the boat, the disciples lost it.

First John 4:15 states that those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, that God dwells in them and them in Him.  “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fulness of God.” (Ephesians 3:19) Christ made a promise.  It’s in John 14:27. Read it whenever fear and doubt creep in.

A Way That Seems Right...

12/9/2020

   “The devil decided that he would ascend up and be like the Most High.  God said that ain’t gonna work and He kicked him out of heaven.  Listen, he isn’t going back.  Sin never has worked in heaven and it never will.  This notion that ‘I’ll live any old way I want to and go to heaven’, that’s dangerous theology.  If you can sin and get by with it, you’re lost.  You’re just lost.  That’s a dangerous notion to think you can just live any old way you want to and not care for the things of God.  Listen, you’re making a mockery of sin.” warned Pastor Josh.
          Words that will make you sit up and pay attention.  The account of Satan’s fall from heaven is found in Isaiah 14:12-15.  The world of today is rife with ideas and notions that have nothing to do with God, morals, or doing the right thing.  In fact, given a little thought on the condition of this world quickly brings one to the realization that God has been kicked out of everywhere except the church already.  As Pastor Josh says, though, that is coming next.  Then, the only place God will be welcome is in the home.  And the world will come for that, too.  Don’t shake your head that it couldn’t possibly happen—it’s already happening.  And it’s already happened in countries around the world.
          So, where’s the red line that won’t be crossed?  Where do you stand?  Measure yourself by the words in Proverbs 14:9-14.  Fools mock sin, they excuse it or, better yet, make excuses for sin.  Not only for themselves but for others, too.  Like it or not, God favors the righteous.  Excuses won’t work with Him.  God keeps a record.  Revelation 20:12 tells us, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books…”.  It would be an awful thing to discover at this stage that sin was not taken lightly.  God even goes so far to say that every idle word will be brought into account on the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36-37)  Every idle word.  Think about that.
          There is a way that seems right to a man. (Proverbs 14:12)  “I’ll do what I want, there is no God.  I’ve got all that I can get and it’s laid up for me.  I’ll just eat, drink and be merry.  I’ll make a mockery of those old religious fanatics.  I don’t have time for the things of God.  I don’t have time to listen to the preacher.  I don’t have time to pray.  I don’t have time to read my Bible.  I don’t have time to witness.  I don’t have time to go to church.” said Pastor Josh.  It seems right to a man.
          And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (John 3:19-20)

Compare and Contrast

11/29/2020

God writes the final chapter.  At the end, it will be God who brings it to a close.  The indication that this is true is found in Romans 11:25, “For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.”  Paul gave us what he knew.  Jesus, when he was speaking of heaven and earth passing away said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (Matthew 24:34-36)
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 is an example of how a person has died and gone to hell and begs Abraham to send Lazarus the beggar to warn his brothers about hell.  Abraham had to tell him that even though he, the rich man, wanted to warn his brothers it would do no good.  The rich man’s final chapter had been written.  The book was closed.
This brings us to Psalm 1.  It was the subject of Pastor Josh’s sermon.  There are only six verses but each one is a lesson in what to be and what not to be.  The language is simple.  If you want to be blessed (by God) you will not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand around with sinners, or sit around with the scornful.  Scornful, there are 39 synonyms for it in the thesaurus but malicious is a good one.
“Today the world can take things and make them sound real good.  If we’re not careful we can fall for their counsel.  Be very careful.  Why?  Because the devil is good at his job.  ‘…except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved…’ (Matthew 24:22).  First John 2:15-17 tells us the sins of the world are the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life.” expounded Pastor Josh.
Psalm 1 is a lesson in compare and contrast.  A man is blessed who doesn’t consort with the seamier side of life, verse one; because, his heart takes delight in learning about the Lord and studying and thinking about it.  That’s verse two.  Verse three describes this blessed man as one who grows in the ways of God and becomes fruitful when the time is right.  He prospers in the knowledge of God.  He becomes more like Jesus.
The contrast begins in verse four.  The ungodly do not have blessings.  They are blown about from one thing to another.  They have no roots like the tree in the previous verse.  Like the rich man in the parable they will not be counted among the righteous.  Instead, they will perish.
Pastor Josh’s final words, “Every funeral I preach, I say something like this: if you could talk to the deceased person now, if we could have a conversation with them, they would tell us ‘Prepare to meet God’ whether you are saved or lost.  Why?  Because God knows the ways of the righteous and the unrighteous.  When the folks in paradise and the ones in the flames of hell are telling you the same thing, you ought to slow down and pay attention to that.”

Sheep That Went Astray

11/22/2020

   Once upon a time there was a man, a rich man.  He was a good man, too.  In fact, he was a Godly man.  Or so everyone thought.  He reasoned that because he was a good man that his goodness far outweighed his, let’s say, shortcomings.  He had done so much good and served God that it just wasn’t possible that he should come to no good end.
          Then the day came.  He died and passed from this earth.  Upon arriving in heaven, which was where he expected to be, he was shown into the great accounting room.  It was an immense room with files that reached up as far as the eye could see.  And they were standing in rows and columns all around the room.
          In the center of the room was a great table and someone sitting in a chair with such a tall back that he couldn’t see who it was.  “Welcome.” said the voice from the other side of the chair.  “Everyone comes here before their admittance.  You see, I must check my files and see if you have any unforgiven sins on your records before you are admitted.”  Just then beads of perspiration formed on the man’s forehead.  His heart began to race…Suddenly, he jerked awake.  “Thank God,” he said.  “I’m not dead.”
          This could have been David.  King David of ancient times.  Up until Nathan paid him a visit, David was certain that his “secret sins” were secret.  The story is in 2 Samuel Chapter 12.  The prophet Nathan went to King David and told him a story about a rich man taking a prized ewe lamb from a poor man.  Reading the text is pretty dramatic.  Enough so that it infuriated David.  He wanted to go out and hang this rich arrogant man from the nearest tree.  The shocker was that Nathan pointed at David and told him that he was that man.  That’s when it dawned on David that the Lord sent Nathan to set before him his sin.
          “For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.” (Luke 12:2)  There is a day of reckoning that is coming for each and everyone on the face of the earth.  David, once his sin was set before him, was contrite.  The Lord had chosen him to lead Israel.  He had blessed him many times over,  David had much to be thankful for.  And, yet, he had backslidden.  Is there repentance for the lamb who has strayed from the fold and, now, wants to return?  Isaiah 1:18 says to that  “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow”.  David was like the prodigal son in Luke 15.  He had strayed but when he came to his senses, he returned to his God.  The proof of it is in Psalm 51.  It is a passionate plea for God’s mercy and grace.  Everyone should read it.

Victory Over Moab

11/15/2020

   It’s a short story in Second Kings 3:21-27 about the rebellion of Moab.  For some time they had been paying tribute to Israel.  And, after the death of Ahab, the king of Israel, this was a chance for Moab to rebel.  Things in Israel had been turned on their ear again with the death of King Ahab which was followed by the death of his son, Ahaziah, the new ruler of Israel.  Jehoram, the son of Ahab is the next king of Israel.  And he’s the one who decides he’s going to flex his military might and put down the Moabites.
          What’s the first thing he does?  He gets in touch with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and tells him that the king of Moab has rebelled against him (II Kings 3:7) and wants to know if Jehoshaphat will go into battle with him.  A godly man, Jehoshaphat, has made peace with Israel (I Kings 22:44) and its’ wicked and evil rulers.  It’s safe to say that he had a blind spot when it came to the character of these despicable rulers.
          Nevertheless, King Ahaziah, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom set off to wage a battle against Moab.  Seven days it takes to cross the wilderness of Edom to the battlefield.  No water for those seven days.  Jehoshaphat inquires after a prophet for guidance.  Elisha tells these three to dig ditches, lots of them in the valley.  They do so, the ditches fill up with water, and the problem is solved.
          In the meantime Moab hears that the kings have come to fight.  They gather their forces and assemble for battle.  When the sun rose, the Moabites saw the sun reflecting off the valley floor.  Reflections from the valley floor that appear to be red.  It must be blood,  The kings must have gotten angry with each other and fought among themselves.  Moab mistakenly believes they’re dead already and they rush down to take all that has been left behind.
          Moab is crushed, their lands, cities, trees and wells.  “The people of Moab saw the water but they saw it as blood.  They imagined the kings had turned on each other.  How easily they were drawn into their own delusion.” spoke Pastor Josh.  “Water was actually the victory against Moab.  They imagined it the victory for them.”
          “When sin is working on one side, God is working on the other.  James 1:14 says that every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.  The one who believes the lie will be damned.  The ones who lose are the ones who don’t take the blood of Christ.  Those who are destroyed are the ones who have been deceived.  Galatians 6:7 and 8 go like this:  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” quoted Pastor Josh.  His final words to give thought to: “None are more deceived than those who lie to themselves.”

Blessed are the Peacemakers

11/1/2020

  Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace.  In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) The keywords here are in me.  Take a quick look at Colossians 1:20 which says “…having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself…”.  Something happened that had to be reconciled, what was it?
          It was sin.  Sin separated us from God.  Actually, separated all things from God.  The world and everything in it has suffered because of sin.  Jesus came to reconcile all things including mankind unto God and to restore peace.  That’s why Matthew 5:9 is so important.  It’s one of eight blessings from the Sermon on the Mount and says, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”  If you are a peacemaker, then you are a child of God as is Jesus Christ.
          “Peace that works, works by love.  We ought to live peaceably with folks.  Both sides have forgotten that when the election is over, we need to live together.  Right?  Don’t be burning each other’s houses down, breaking each other’s stores up and terrorizing folks.  When the election’s over, we need to live together as Americans.” said Pastor Josh.
          “Notice he (Jesus) didn’t say ‘Blessed are the instigators or the agitators or the pot-stirrers.’ In a broad sense God isn’t interested in me instigating something and starting something.  Why would God want that?  Or, better question, Why would I want that?” as Pastor Josh continued. “If what I do is out of hate, or strife, desperation or out of devising something—what a mess!”
          How hard is it to be a peacemaker?
1. Love somebody in Christ.
2. Pray for them if you can’t love them.  You cannot despise someone that you are genuinely praying for.
3.  Yield your right.  You don’t have to be right every time.  Only God is right every time.

          Whose approval do you want? God’s or the world?  Choose to get God’s approval.  We enter this world divorced from God.  Opportunities abound for us to be born again in Christ.  Jesus is the greatest peacemaker.  He has overcome the world.  Ephesians 2:13,14 tells us he is our peace.  Live peaceably, be a child of God.

Linda Johnson

Linda Johnson moved to Douglas County with her husband Tom 12 years ago after retiring from teaching. Following Tom's death in 2016, Linda began facilitating a grief support group called GriefShare through Sweden Church. She serves as the Sunday School teacher for our High School class. Her "Layman's Pen" articles are also published in the local paper, The Douglas County Herald.

Andrea Strong

Andrea is Pastor Joshua Strong's wife. She also serves Sweden Church as Church Secretary, website administrator, and Sunday School teacher to the Intermediate Class.

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