Wednesday after Jubilate, 4/28/99

1 Peter 2: 7--9
And if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of
unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while
living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day with
their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from
temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of
judgment.
        NASB

In the name of the One Who keeps us in the true faith, amen.

I confess that I often listen to Dr. Laura while I eat lunch.  The reason
for this is complex.  It is partly because she often blatantly says what
should be said.  It is also partly because I am somewhat shocked and
amused by her Phariseeism and lack of compassion together with her
inability to show people what to do with guilt.  After all, she is a
Jewess, and rejects Christ as Savior.  Because of this she can only point
people to their own works for forgiveness, and sometimes even councils
people not to be forgiving toward others.  Finally, I listen to her to
see what is going on in the minds of others.  There is, of course, some
danger in listening to her.  One slowly could become like her without
realizing it.

In any case, today a young lady called in to ask her advice on whether
she, being a Lutheran (whatever that means) should change her religion to
Jehovah's Witness for her boyfriend because she thinks she really loves
him.  Hello, wake up!  What could she possibly be thinking.  Would you
really give up the true faith, or at least membership in a church that
claims to be Trinitarian (she didn't say what brand of Lutheran), to live
among the damned?  Jehovah's Witnesses, as you well know, deny that Jesus
is God, do not really seek salvation in Him, and are totally absorbed
with their own works and morality.

It's baffling that some people could even consider this and yet, that is
almost exactly what Lot did.  As Lot and Abraham's flocks grew, they
became too big to keep tabs on.  So Abraham suggested that they separate.
 He gave Lot the option of where he wanted to live.  Lot chose the area
around Sodom and Gamorah because it was very fertile land.  It was a
stupid thing for Lot to do.  Sodom and Gamorah were very immoral cities. 
It ultimately resulted in Lot's wife being lost.  The point of this is
that we should not foolishly put ourselves in danger thinking, "God will
protect me."  We are warned, "Let him who thinks he stands be careful
lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10: 12).

We need to choose carefully where we live, go to school, and work.  We
need to exercise care in choosing friends and spouses.  Yes, we should
even be concerned about who we listen to on the radio be it Dr. Laura, or
the Baptist preacher; both are dangerous to our faith.

On the other hand, when we find ourselves bearing the cross of swimming
in the cesspool of immorality that is our world, we have the promise
expressed in the passage above that God knows how to rescue you from
temptation.  He knows how to, and he will rescue you.  As St. Paul said,
"I am convinced that neither death nor life, etc. is able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8: 38,39)  He also
reminds us that God is faithful and provides a way out of every
temptation (1 Corinthians 10: 13).  Glory be to God our protector!  Amen.

Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, forgive us for putting ourselves in danger by the
choices we make.  By your Holy Spirit rescue us from temptation and keep
us in the true faith.  We ask this in your Son our Savior Jesus' name,
amen.