DECORATION DAY

                                                            DECORATION DAY 

Monday, May 30, will be observed as Memorial Day, which is confusing to an old timer like me. Back in the Old Days, before the end of World War Two, this date was known as Decoration Day. It was a day primarily set aside for families to remember departed loved ones. There were some military veterans included, but the majority of those departed were family members. Family ties were much stronger then, as wanderlust, jobs, education and travel were more restricted. Family history was very important. The changes in the past 80 years have been radical, and they are reflected in all our society, but especially among Christians. I write this to compare Christian history with Jewish history, and warn the many complacent Christians that uncomfortable history may be on the verge of repetition.

The Jewish religion was based on family. Societies that moved away from this concept have collapsed. Even Israel, the very heart of God's Chosen, has collapsed--not once, but many times. Israel is God's choice, and it will always rise up after correction. Christianity, too, will rise up after it crumbles. If you don't believe it will crumble, read the Book of Revelation. This is not a doomsday message, because Christianity will be the new face of humanity when Christ returns. Until then, Christians will continue to divide themselves into those who leave earth in the rapture, and those who are DELUDING themselves into believing they are actually committed to Jesus Christ. I repeat this direction in almost every message: read the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These are the words of Jesus and instruct you exactly as God intended when He gave Moses the Law. There are only Ten Commandments, but many Christians, including pastors and teachers, don't fully understand some of them. Worse yet, it seems a majority of Christians fail to follow the one addition by Christ: Love thy neighbor.

I keep repeating God's reasoning for the Ten Commandments and the difference between law and grace, but there is a continuous drumming that other Jewish social laws and Proverbs must also be followed. Proverbs were not written or spoken by Jesus. There are several different writers of Proverbs, and none of them were disciples. Solomon wrote some, and His rule began with murders and continued with hundreds of concubines and direct defiance of God's order not to have large stables of horses. He was a great leader, but disobeyed God big time. Proverbs includes some good advice, but it has nothing to do with the original Law. Have you broken any of those laws? Have you ever seriously studied them? Christ said the Ten Commandments and His additional one to love thy neighbor were The Way.

There are reams of Jewish social and criminal laws, but they are no part of Christ's teaching. He gave us the simple, but difficult rules to follow. There are countless denominations and cults today who take steps to separate their group from all others. They believe by doing so they are more righteous. Their different rules or interpretations do separate Christians, and, in so doing accomplish exactly the opposite of His teaching that we are all part of one body---the church. This move to separation began as each church was planted by apostles and the leader that served as pastor. These new leaders had no New Testament to guide them, and many went far astray from His teaching. The Gentiles
did not have any Jewish background and the Jews had trouble equating their Law with Christ. The question for every Christian should be, "Did Christ violate the original Ten Commandments?" There are some groups or denominations that are so confused they are unknowingly teaching this falsehood.

Christ taught in the synagogue on the Jewish Sabbath, which was observed on Saturday. He also taught in the synagogue and in many other places on Sunday and other days of the week. That was wrong according to the Jewish interpretation of the Ten Commandments. So was Christ a sinner for having days of worship other than calendar Sabbaths? When the apostles planted churches, they taught on Sundays when they were converting local Jews to Christianity. These Jews had to be taught on Sunday because they had to be at synagogue on their Sabbath, Saturday. So were the disciples sinning? Let's think about this discrepancy. God knew if He didn't designate a particular day of the week for rest and worship, people would eventually ignore the direction. Look at today's Christians. He was correct. What He gave as instructions was accepted as word for word law. That was the accepted way in the Old Testament. Look at the Book of Esther, where a king's word to slay Jews couldn't be simply amended. He had to issue a second decree to permit the killers to be slain if they attacked the Jews, which was a back door cancellation. Life or death depended on the king's decree. Mistakes were not altered.

Christ straightened the Jews out on the Sabbath ruling with a very short, concise explanation in Mark 2:23-28. You only have to read the final verse in this passage to KNOW the TRUTH. Read all the verses so you really understand Him, and it's not just picking out a verse to support anyone's opinion. "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." It matters not that your day of rest and worship is a Sunday, Saturday or Wednesday. It's the purpose of the day and how you use it. How much scripture do you study---not just read---on your Sabbath? Too many Christians today misunderstand Romans 10:17, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." There were no books to study at that time, so listening to teaching was the only way to learn the directions of Christ. Today we have scripture to check the teaching we receive. It's much easier to listen to someone on the radio or watch television. Few people bother to check these preachers for accuracy. That's not their fault; it's YOUR FAULT.

This is the time of apostate teaching, and the world is full of apostate teachers. Many are church leaders. Most politicians campaign using emotional apostate issues to inflame Christians who have not studied scripture. When Christians quote issues Christ didn't teach, they have been snared by Satan. Most of these issues are not new, and none have ever changed the direction of the world. Fear is a key issue, as is another often used excuse for high taxes: it's for the children. The continuing failure of professing Christians to study scripture will fulfill the result we are warned about in the Epistles: TRIBULATION. This is nothing for committed Christians to fear, because we won't be on earth to cuddle up to the Anti-Christ.

The signs of apostate abound today, aided by the breakthroughs in communication. Going to church, listening to a radio program, watching a television preacher or participating in fun family activities with an organization won't cut it. There is no substitute for studying scripture. Candidates for church and government leadership continually use the Christianity card. Scripture clearly tells us a Christian commits to Christ and accepts the free gift of salvation, but the proof of a heartfelt commitment is in the good works that follow. Christian leadership today devotes much time to pandering for money. Fund raisers abound. Yet,
many of these organizations separate Christians according to money. It costs money to succeed in man's carnal world, and we must make budget goals and keep expanding. If we use common sense and have faith, we don't have to worry about budget and expansion. One of God's names means to provide. Any group or organization that follows Christ's teaching will be successful. Special events to draw people through entertainment and raise funds exclude people who are poor and large families. Christ and the apostles did not rely on such tactics. Paul had an occupation. Originally, Jewish priests worked at assigned jobs in the temple. Eventually greed, power and money coaxed them away and into
the mire of carnal man. Money is necessary in the carnal world. We live here, but if we are truly Christian, we are not of this world.

We belong in the spiritual world of God. We do need to work, make a living and survive the vices of our carnal surroundings. This is a dilemma, and Satan is well aware of it. He sweetens the pot by giving us the opportunity to short change God's directions and introduce controversial issues or misleading information. When spiritual directions seem too good to be true, they probably aren't true. When you're too busy to worship, or it's too boring, you are lacking in your contract agreement. This happens to all of us. A real Christian's conscience will tell you when you're guilty. Then, it's up to you to keep your name clear in that Little Book. Having your name clearly written there is an unmatched privilege. Keeping it clear in this carnal world is difficult, but that's our job.

Why do I write this gloomy message when the subject is about decorations and memorials? The name change is fitting, considering the changes in America. Eighty years ago this special day was somber, but a joyous somber, because we remembered the accomplishments of our ancestors and the positive things they brought about. The flowers and decorations were joyous. Today it is difficult to get families together because people live virtually all over the globe. Families don't stay together long enough to learn much of their history. There is not much to celebrate, and the break up of family units frequently means children don't even know one of the parents. The younger relatives are concerned with their carnal lives, and elders are rarely respected for their wisdom. The strict branch of the church is turning off Gentiles and much of the moderate and liberal church. Instead of studying scripture to reason who is correct, ultra conservative church people and ultra liberals continue to mindlessly argue. Conservatives refuse to discuss the issue because they have the truth, or so they think.

Nobody knows it all, including me. There should always be room to discuss any issue. The important thing is to establish facts. No one who believes he/she knows scripture because he/she read a verse about a subject should also believe that one verse is all the explanation there is. After 80 years, I still have two teachers who have spent their lives studying the word. Sometimes I learn from them; sometimes they learn from me. We always go to scripture to determine the appropriate answer. They also know history, culture and many languages. Accepting Christ's offer should only be the beginning of kindergarten for studying the word of God. Are you indicating to God you are an eager student? Heaven is not a retirement home.

Rev. Walbear