DR HORACE E ALLEN FAMILY MINISTRY
What was once immoral is now accepted as normal. Christians who determine to maintain a biblical standard are put on the defensive and labeled intolerant. With social and political correctness replacing God's standards of righteousness, the distinction between the church and the world is in matters of morality, entertainment and political choices is rapidly eroding.
To combat this erosion, Horace Allen, a professional marriage and family therapist and author has written The World to Love and Not to Love (Redemption Press). In this new release, Allen has contrasts the
When Worlds Collide: "The World to Love and Not to Love" Outlines Distinctions Between the Secular World System and God's Creation.
Allen writes for older believers who may have lost the clarity of the dividing line between the secular and spiritual worlds, young or new believers who have grown up in a world that replaces righteousness with political and social correctness, and for unbelievers who do not see any difference between the standards of many Christians and the world.
Order from: https://redemption-press.com/shop/product/102814
the world (cosmos) God created in perfect order and structure with the secular world system under satanic influence. He says, "If Judeo-Christian values would not disappear with time, it is necessary for Christians to be aware of how they are being affected by the oral decline."
.THE IRRATIONALITY OF GOD’S MIRACLES
(The Glory of God is His Only Reason for Miracles)
The acts we consider miracles of God are usually beyond our reasoning. There is no rational explanation for why and how they happen. Believers accept these irrational acts by faith, but skeptics and or unbelievers see them as folly. However, believers might not be aware that by expecting God to repeat a miracle, in a similar situation, they are giving human reasoning to divine intervention. The only reason we can give to a true miracle is that God will always glorify Himself. His response to any situation is based on His divine reason, “His glory,” not the circumstance. His glory will always determine the outcome.
The irrationality of miracles and the glory of God are made clear in the parting of the Red Sea so the Israelites could cross on dry land, while Pharaoh’s army, which followed them, all drown. The miracle itself is irrational; you do not divide deep and raging waters by pointing a stick across it. However, in the mind of believers, it did happen and is used as a prove of what God can do for us when we face difficulty circumstances. However, when we fail to understand God’s reasoning behind the act, we give it our own meaning. When human reasoning is added, the idea of God’s glory becomes secondary or completely dismissed. The main reason behind the Red Sea crossing was the glory of God.
When the Israelites left Egypt, God led them around by the desert road toward the Red Sea and they camped at Etham, on the edge of the desert. Then the Lord told Moses to have the people turned back and camp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. The reason God gave Moses was so that Pharaoh would think that the Israelites are wondering around in confusion, hemmed in by the desert and blocked by the sea. “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and he will pursue them, and I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” (Ex. 14:1-4;17-18). When people refuse to acknowledge the sovereignty of the True God, He will take what belongs to Him; His glory – by, from or through them. God was determined to manifest His awesome power for all concerned to see. All Egypt learn of Jehovah’s, the God of the Israelites, glory when they saw and were told how the sea was divided preparing a path for the Israelites to cross safely and a grave for the Army of Pharaoh. In the movie, The Ten Commandments”, when Pharaoh returned from seeing the destruction of his army in the Red Sea and the Israelites safely on the other side, he remarked, “Moses God is God”. In the irrational act of the parting of the Red Sea, God got the glory for Himself.
The lesson from the Red Sea miracle is not that God would part physical waters for us to cross, the next time we are in similar situation. For that is trying to give logic or make sense out of a miracle, which has no real earthly explanation. The lesson from all miracles, if they are genuine, is that God will glorify Himself in the outcome of His actions. Hence, we never know what the actual outcome will look like.
When a famous Hindu priest, in India, was murdered in 2008, the local people turned their anger and frustration against the Christians. A mob, of about two hundred, seized Pastor Dibya, a local pastor, blind folded and dragged him into a courtyard (VOM, August 2020). Is there a logical explanation from the Red Sea crossing that could be applied to Pastor Dibya’s situation that would determine the outcome? Would there be a miracle that would free him from the mob to carry on his work? The only constant is,” how would God glorify Himself in this situation”? A member of the mob ordered Pastor Dibya, “You have to reject Christ; you have to reject Jesus in front of us!” His response, “I cannot do that.” He was struck in the mouth with a piece of pipe, another hit him in the head with a sone killing him. The outcome speaks of one thing; God was glorified in Pastor Dibya’s death by the strength given him to stand firmly in his faith in Christ Jesus. Pastor Dibya’s deliverance was that he went to receive the crown of life promised to those who are faithful even to the point of death (Rev. 2:10b). Eternity will reveal how God was further glorified in the minds of those who watched the man of God died.
There have been many prayers made for the healing of our country from a Summer of riot and confusion and from months of restriction due to Covid-19. But the question is “What glory does God seek to get out of this for Himself?” I do not believe, for one moment, that God directed the Pandemic, but I believe that He allowed it. The cause is either human failure or purposefully release for sinister reason. But whatever the reason, “the Lord works out everything for His own ends” (Pr. 16:4). If God would bring about a miracle – a national removal of the virus- would the nation acknowledge this to be from Him? And would it cause the nation to turn away from its own ideas and ways and turn to Him?
Now, the skeptic reading this might become angry and conclude that I am talking about a God that is petty and egotistic. I can understand that reaction from a person who does not understand that the glory of God is the ultimate good of the individual, the community and society at large. All things have their being in God who is Creator and Sustainer of all things (Rev. 4:11). Hence, the glory of God is the good of all, which is our wellbeing.
Society and individuals disintegrate, destabilize, and end up in confusion, anxiety, and misery when we fail to seek God’s glory. There is no common formula for how God will work things out in each person’s life, other than He seeks to be glorified in, through and by us. His glory is what is best for each person. So, knowing that God desires to be glorified in us, let us take to heart what Moses said to the Israelites. “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Ex. 14:4b). I know, easier said than done. But it is the place of comfort and rest, the glory of God is our ultimate good.
