Facing Our Giants

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Uncategorized

Just imagine that you had to face a giant on the field of battle in hand to hand combat until one of you was dead. Your opponent would be a man who had been taught to fight with his hands and weapons of war since his youth. Then add to this the pressure that the fate of your whole nation would depend upon your success or failure in this task. How confident would you be in facing a giant warrior?

In 1 Samuel 17 we come across the battle between the Philistines and the Israelites and just such a giant warrior named Goliath. In the narrative Goliath is described as a giant of a man standing over 9 feet tall! When the armies of Philistia and Israel lined up for battle, Goliath came out and challenged the Israelites to select a champion to face him one on one. The Bible tells us that this went on for 40 days, and no one was found among all the warriors of Israel including King Saul who was willing to face Goliath. Then the youngest son of Jesse, who was still a youth, approached the camp of the Israelites.

When he saw what was taking place, he was astonished and he exclaimed, “who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:26b). David, the son of Jesse, the most unlikely of candidates to face the mighty Goliath, was the only one with the faith to go out to battle with the mighty Goliath. Of course we all know the end of the story and how David triumphed against Goliath using a sling and 5 smooth stones. However, it was not the stones that defeated Goliath. It was David’s great faith in God that won the day. As David said before the battle, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37).

No wonder David is described as a man after God’s own heart. David’s great response and his great faith in God are also a great example for us today. How are we doing in facing our giants on the battlefield of life? Do we have faith that God will see us through and that we can overcome all odds by relying on Him? The example of the shepherd boy who killed a giant has been preserved in God’s word for our admonition and learning. Let us go forward into our battle this day confident in God’s ability to see us through.

Are We Focused?

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Dale Babinsky under Article

“And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased” (Matthew 14:25-32 ESV)

When we read the text above, we are usually reminded of the miraculous power of our Lord in walking on the water. However, there is another principle in this reading that we should be sure to not miss. Notice that Peter is allowed to walk on the water also. While Peter maintains his focus on Jesus, all is well and he is able to do something that no other mortal man has ever done. But when Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus, he sees the effect of the wind on the sea, and he becomes afraid. Peter then began to sink.

Now think about our own lives. When we keep our focus on Jesus, and make Him our top priority we can have that inner peace and confidence just as Peter did. But when we focus our attention instead on the storms of life, the cares and concerns of this life, we too begin to sink. We should make it our point to maintain our vigilance in keeping Jesus as our first priority. Only then can we have that confidence and assurance of our eventual eternal home with Him.

The Importance of Baptism

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Dale Babinsky under Uncategorized

How is it that a sinner can one day stand righteous before our eternal judge? When we look into the commands of God, and most especially what is necessary for our salvation, we see that the act of baptism is essential and imperative to that endeavor. To illustrate the awesome importance of baptism, let us take a quick look at two paramount events from the book of Acts.

First, let us look at the event that is recorded in Acts 2 with regards to the importance of baptism. Peter here is preaching on the Day of Pentecost to a crowd gathered in Jerusalem, many of whom were responsible for the death of Jesus on the cross. Peter convinces these men of their sin in his sermon. Imagine what they must have felt when they realized that it was the Son of God that they demanded be crucified by Pilate. And yet, as heinous as their transgression was, they still have hope if they would repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:38).

Secondly, let us look at the event of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who would become the apostle Paul. Saul had been persecuting the church and was even complicit in the stoning of Stephen (Acts 8). Later in Paul’s own words he will call himself the “chief” of sinners (1Timothy 1:15). Saul, however, was not eternally lost, because he was able to have his sins washed away by the power of baptism. After Paul saw Jesus on the way to Damascus, he was told by Ananias not to hesitate, but to “arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins” (Acts 22:16 KJV). Even Saul could be forgiven his sins through the obedient act of baptism.

What an important act of obedience that could allow those who had committed such sins to one day stand righteous before the throne of God. In baptism the sins of both those who had put Christ to such shame on the cross, and the one who had been persecuting the church with such fervor were remitted! If these men could be forgiven for their transgressions; what forgiveness awaits us at the bottom of that watery grave? There is no denying the power and the importance of baptism in obedience to God, so that our sins may be washed away.

Reaping As We Sow

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Both Jesus and the inspired words of the Bible use illustrations that people were sure to identify with in order to teach them an eternal truth. Oftentimes these illustrations came back to the idea of spreading seed or of cultivating and growing, since the populace was based on agriculture by and large. One such illustration is used with regards to our giving, and is found in Paul’s writings to the church at Corinth.

In the instructions for giving that were communicated by Paul, we find that we are to lay by and store as we have been prospered on the first day of the week (1 Cor. 16:1-2). Later Paul also states that as we sow we also shall reap, and the Lord loves one who gives cheerfully (2 Cor. 9:6-7). Paul tells us that if we will sow bountifully, then we will reap bountifully.

Let us consider for a moment this idea of sowing and reaping. Many take the first part of the command to give (give as you have prospered) to mean that they can sow sparingly. However, God’s word tells us that he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. If we truly want to prosper, we should be sowing much instead of little. Imagine that a farmer looks at his fields and thinks to himself that as soon as that bumper crop comes in, he will go out and sow some seed. Well, we all know that it doesn’t work that way.

If we truly wish to reap much, especially in the next life, then we need to get busy with sowing much while we have the opportunity. With regards to our giving we should give so that we can prosper, and not wait for that prosperity to come first.

A Quiet Life

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Dale Babinsky under Christian Living

quiet life In this day and age we see and hear much on the TV, the radio, and on the internet regarding our political leaders on both sides of the aisle. Most of the time, the information is a negative comment or complaint about one party or the other. While our politicians may leave much to be desired and give us many opportunities to complain, the question we should ask is are we praying for these people?

To understand why we should pray for them we should look into God’s word. Paul writes that we are to pray for all men, but then calls special attention to kings and all who are in positions of authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2). God’s divine directions are that we are to pray for our leaders. The admonition to pray for all men (1 Tim 2:1) and to pray for our enemies (Mat. 5:44) would mean that we are to pray for those politicians that we do not agree with as well. This may seem like a hard thing to do, but as with all of God’s commands there is a purpose to this instruction.

We are to pray that our leaders will follow God’s plan so that we may live a quiet and peaceable life (1 Tim. 2:2). We may think that we have extraordinarily bad rulers, and that there is no way that we can pray for immoral leaders. However, consider that Paul is writing to Timothy at the time of the Roman Empire, which reached new heights of decadence, idolatry, and immoral living.

If Paul, Timothy, and those first century Christians could pray for the Roman Emperors, certainly we can do the same for our leaders today. If we want our leadership to improve, if we truly want to live a quiet life at peace with those around us, then the solution needs to start with each of us doing our part to pray for all leaders.

Obedience Trumps Sacrifice

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Many times we may come up with our own ideas about what we think would be a good sacrifice to make for God. It may be that we want to build a great cathedral. Perhaps we think that giving up something that we like to eat for a certain time period would be a good sacrifice to make for God. Is this what God wants us to do? Does He want us to try to figure out what to do on our own?

In the Old Testament we have an account about King Saul that gives us some insight into this question (1 Samuel 15:1-31). In this narrative, Saul is returning from defeating the Amalekites, and he and the people have planned to make a sacrifice to the Lord. For this reason they have not destroyed the best of the sheep and oxen, but have instead brought them back with them (vv. 9, 15). As Saul encounters Samuel along the way, he is very happy with himself for coming up with this grand idea. However, God is not pleased with Saul. Samuel points out to him that he has not followed the commandment of God. Saul was commanded to destroy everything that the Amalekites had (v. 3). They were not supposed to bring anything back with them. Yet Saul has not carried out this command given to him by God, and God is not pleased. Samuel instructs Saul that God does not delight in sacrifices as He does in obedience, for it is better to obey than to make sacrifice (v. 22).

We should heed the words of the prophet as well and realize that what God wants from us more than anything is our obedience to His word. We can say that we believe in God and then go our own way and not obey His commands. However, if we do not obey, then we do not truly believe. No matter what sacrifice we may think is appropriate for God, this account clearly shows that obedience to God trumps what we think we can sacrifice for Him.

Who Do You Love?

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Suppose that someone were to ask the question, who do you love? What would our answer be? Who would be at the top of our list? Most likely those we would think of first would be the people who love us in return. Hopefully God would be at the top of that list as well. But would any of us have mentioned people who openly hate us? If we are being honest, probably not many of us would have answered that way.

Let us consider for a moment what is written for our learning in Romans 5:6-11. In this passage we are reminded that when we were without strength, when we were unrighteous, when we were yet sinners, and when we were enemies of God, He sent His only Son to die on the cross for us. Imagine sending your only child to die for the benefit of people that hate you. Could you do it? This passage says “but God” showed His love for us by sending Christ to die for our sins while we were less than unworthy (v. 8).

If we only love those who love us, we are no better than the heathen (Matthew 5:46-47). Instead Jesus encourages us to love our enemies and to strive to do good to all men. If we would be willing to share the good news of the gospel with anyone, no matter if they love us or hate us, what better way could there be to show our love and concern for them and their eternal soul?

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas?

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Dale Babinsky under Uncategorized

Perhaps you have heard the adage or seen the commercials on TV telling us that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Is it true that we can fulfill all the lustful desires of our hearts and no one will ever know? Can we cheat and not get caught simply by hopping in our car and driving to Las Vegas?

Consider what God’s word tells us in Psalm 33:13-15. God sees all the sons of men, all the inhabitants of the earth, and all of their works. There is nothing that is hidden from God. There is no place that we can go to hide from God where He will not see us, for even the darkness cannot hide from Him (Psalm 139:12).

You see, we know that the day will come when all that we have done in this body, whether good or bad will be brought into judgment (2 Cor. 5:10). Since God will judge all of our deeds, and since God sees everything, there is nothing that we can hide from him. We can run to Vegas or to the four corners of the earth, but we cannot hide from the all seeing, all knowing God of heaven.

Is It Now Acceptable To Lie?

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Over the past week we have had confirmation of two different athletes at two very different stages of their careers giving false information in a repeated fashion. Lance Armstrong, who is at the end of his cycling career, admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. This is something which he previously had adamantly denied. Manti Te’o, who stands at the beginning of his pro football career, admitted to lying about meeting a girlfriend who never existed. It leads us to ask the question, is lying now acceptable in our society?

An even more important question would be is it acceptable before God for us to lie in order to gain an advantage or to ‘cover our tracks?’ When we look into the pages of scripture we can quickly find the answer to this question. Consider Proverbs 6:16-19, which tells us that there are seven behaviors that are an abomination to the Lord. Twice in that list of seven we find that lying is mentioned (vv. 17, 19). To put it simply, God hates lying. We can also see in Revelation 21:8 these words recorded, “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (NKJV). Notice here that liars are listed with a very unsavory crowd of people who you will not meet in heaven.

The clear conclusion is that lying is not acceptable with God, no matter what our society, politicians, or athletes may say. God’s standards are higher than man’s. God calls us to be honest, to deal with others fairly, to be accountable to a higher authority, and to treat others as we would want to be treated. Thus those who would follow after God will not view lying as an acceptable practice, no matter the reason for it.

The Road To Salvation

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Dale Babinsky under Article

We live in a country where we have many options in our food choices, sporting events, entertainment avenues, etc. However, in looking at a portion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount it can be seen that there are only two ways of life and only two eternal destinations. These two ways could not be more different than what Jesus contrasts in Matthew 7:13-14.

The first way is wide, easy, and well traveled. If we consider human nature, perhaps it is not surprising that many people are traveling in this direction. After all, most of us would rather take a four lane highway to travel from Chicago to L.A. than to take a series of two lane roads through small towns with traffic lights and lower speed limits. However, there is a problem when we take the easy way out and only follow our own will. Jesus warns us that this route will lead to our ultimate destruction. Those who do what they want at the expense of God’s inspired instructions will be lost for eternity at the end of time (2 Corinthians 5:10). So although this way may look appealing on the surface, it is not the way that we should go.

The second way is narrow, difficult, and there are few that travel this way. This is the way of Christianity and following the precepts and commands of God. In many cases this way invites the ridicule of others. In many cases this way can lead to divisions in our family as loved ones cannot understand why we would travel the more difficult path. The truth of the matter is that everything depends on this choice that we must make. If we choose not to decide, we still have made a choice. To not follow this way, is to follow the other. The truth of the matter is that those who would chose to follow God can. If we will truly seek to find God, all of us can do so, since He is not far from us (Acts 17:27). Ultimately the decision is in our hands.

In Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken, he concludes by saying, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Christianity is that road less traveled by, and if we will venture that way in our lives, it will make all the difference.

salvation's path

Finding God's Message in the 21st Century

Author Archives: Dale Babinsky