Forsake the Way of Wickedness

I love Isaiah chapter 55. It is quite possibly one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible. It starts off with these immortal words:

Ho, every one that  thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. 

The prophet goes on to ask, Why would you spend your hard earned money for that which does not satisfy? The meaning is clear. There is a source of hunger that no bread, milk, or wine can satisfy. It can only be satisfied with the Spirit of God. It is the empty spot in man that only God can fill. A God-shaped void, if you will, exists in the heart of every human being alive. We will never be completely satisfied or at peace until that spot is filled with God's spirit.

This is, of course, the heart of the gospel message. Jesus referred to this verse in John 7:37 when he said, "If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink." The gospel message is simply this: if you will come to Jesus he will wash away your sins, change your course in life, and quench your spiritual hunger and thirst. However there is a part of this message that we often overlook.

Verse number 7 says, "Let the wicked forsake his way." That is right, the wicked. In the culture in which we live it is no longer acceptable to call anyone or anything wicked. It is considered as passing judgment to call anything wicked. Yet what many fail to realize is that the Bible calls a great many things wicked. We love the next verse in Isaiah chapter 53. In verse 8 we are told that God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and his ways are higher than our ways. We like to take this verse as  meaning that God has something better in store for us than we can imagine for ourselves. While this may be somewhat true, it is not the intended meaning of this verse. The meaning of this verse is clear from verse 7: Let the wicked forsake his way.

The clarion call of the gospel has always been for the wicked to forsake his sin and turn to God. There was a time when almost any denomination in Christianity preached basically the same message. REPENT! Repentance was a clear call to turn from unrighteousness and beg God for his mercy. It was to ask God to cover us with the blood of Jesus and withhold his judgment from us. That is what true repentance is. That message has been replaced by and large with a message that says believe and confess.

While confession of and  belief in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation, we must not let belief and confession replace the message of repentance. God's message of salvation has always been and still is , "Let the wicked forsake his way." It was this message that spared Nineveh when Jonah preached and it is this message that will spare America or any other country today from God's judgment.

Anyone that knows the word of God can look around and tell that America is on a collision course with the judgment of God. We call that which is unrighteous, righteous. We persecute those who boldly proclaim the truth. The only standard of truth we have in America today is "Thou shalt not judge." Can I tell you that there is a judgment coming. It is not a judgment of any man but the judgment of God himself. Yes, God is a merciful God. The end of verse 7 tells us to return to the Lord and he will "abundantly pardon." But the only way for the pardon to come is for the wicked to forsake his way.

We as Christians must intercede for our country. Instead of being angry at politicians and other we must realize that the problems this country has is the fault of the whole. For all of us have sinned and deserve God's judgment. Let us seek after him today as the people of Nineveh did at the preaching of Jonah. Let us beg him to spare our families, our cities, and our nation. He is a merciful God and it may be that he will hear our cries and spare us. But the only way that will happen is if

                                                           THE WICKED WILL FORSAKE HIS WAY! 

Conversation

Recorded Conversations

One of my communication assignments for this week was to observe conversations for two days and compare them with the things my class had learned about principles of conversation. The main principles of conversation, according to our text, are turn-taking, dialogue, immediacy (closeness) and flexibility. What I learned in looking for these things was pretty enlightening. First, I saw that there were two types of conversations going on around me. The first one was to convey information about work. These were pretty impersonal. The second conversations were obviously a need for comradeship. I saw dozens of times when we (almost everyone in the building) made up reasons to go to another person’s office and share something that was not purely work related. Below are some things I noted.

Work Conversations

• Sharing information about work or just gossiping.
• A lot of complaining accompanied any talk about work or management.
• There was a definite lack of communication at times. People assuming others knew something they hadn’t been told.
• The conversation was much more playful when a department manager wasn’t around.

• The more informal the conversation, the less the rules of etiquette were observed.
• There was more interrupting, over - talking, etc. in playful, argumentative conversations than in serious conversations.
• One could tell how long two people had known each other and the closeness of their relationship by their conversations.

In conclusion I would say that it is obvious that communication is a part of our need for companionship. Most of the conversation I saw happening was more about being together than just sharing information. It is obvious that we humans need each other. We were not meant to be alone.

Thoughtfully,

Sullivan Jones

Communicating Ethically

I recently had to write a paper for a communications course on " A Scriptural Foundation for Communication Ethics." I thought I would share it with my readers. I had to repent a few times as I wrote the paper.

God Bless,

Sullivan

Perhaps no area is more important to the cause of ethics than how we use our words. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 15.4 (KJV) that the wholesome tongue is a tree of life. It also tells us in James 3.8 that the tongue is a restless evil and full of deadly poison (NIV). Our words have the ability to give life and bring death. With such a power given to us, it is no wonder that Jesus said we would give account to God for every idle word spoken (Matthew 12.36, KJV). Psalm 45.1 says that my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Whether written or spoken, my words should be used ethically.

Most everyone is familiar with the scriptural admonition against lying (Exodus 20.16, Mark 10.19, KJV). However, there is more to being ethical with our words than refraining from lies. Many people who would not tell an outright lie think nothing of sharing some “harmless” gossip. Proverbs 26:22 (KJV) tell us that he words of a talebearer are like deep wounds that go down into the spirit. I am convinced that we would be far more ethical with the things we share if we fully understood the ramifications of breaking a confidence. In fact, gossip is listed among the seven things that God hates most in Proverbs chapter six (KJV).

We should also be careful to use ethics when giving information especially in public speaking. For the minister of the gospel, this is especially important. I have seen pastors use examples that were quickly discredited with something as simple as snopes.com. When it was discovered that the “fact” was false, the entire sermon was discredited, leaving his listeners to doubt everything he said. The Pastor (or Sunday School teachers) is dealing with the eternity of the soul and should do his best to make sure that what he says from the pulpit holds up under scrutiny.

Recently, I saw a televangelist holding up a bottle that supposedly contained water from the Jordan River. For a hundred dollars he promised his listeners a bottle of this “miracle” water that would cure any disease. Micah 3.11 pronounces a curse on those who prophesy for money (KJV). Surely, this was not God’s intention when he said to pray for the sick (James 5:15, KJV).

With our words we will be justified and with our words we will be condemned, according to Matthew 12.32 (KJV). Our words have been given to us so that we may build relationships, praise God, and, most of all, proclaim the gospel. Surely, there is no area where ethics is more needed than in communication. Let’s be Christ like with our words. The world is watching us!