Yesterday we did part 1 on gambling. Today we continue with the third principle why gambling is wrong. It is also unloving and evil because gambling breaks the law of equivalents, which amounts to stealing and the bible says, "thou shall not steal". The law of equivalents requires that both parties benefit equally, at least in principle, in a buiness transaction. However, this is not so with gambling, for in it few gain and many suffer lost. Everytime one wins in gambling, many lose. According to Hastings Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, in gambling, " The happiness of the winner implies the misery of the loser." It further states that "It is a habbit intrinsically savage." Since gambling violates the law of love it is based on the law of hatred, covetousness, exploitation and injustice, despite the fact that one gamblies by choice. Therefore, It is anti-man and anti-God.

Keep away from gambling it is an evil practice because it breaks the two greatest commandments, to love God with everything you have and to love your neighbor as yourself. Gambling show that one love himself more than his neighbor. 

(4) Gambling is also wrong from the propsective of reason in the light of its historical pragmatic results.

To be continued.

SCRIPTURE:

"Love does no harm to its neighbor ..." Romans 13:10

Gambling is a multi-trillion dollar buisness worldwide. There are mixed views, both in the church and in the secular society, as to whether or not it is wrong.

What is gambling? The Lexicon Universal Enyclopedia defines gambling as, "The wagering of money or other values on the outcome of a game or event." A more philosophical definition is given by Jewish Rabbis, which is, "Mutual Robbery". I combine both definitions, which is wagering whatever it may be on the principle of mutual robbery. The process of wagering something maybe based on trickery, luck or skill which ever one is used the out come is the same. Some lose  and others win what was wagered. 

So What is wrong if people choose to gamble and some lose and other win? The answer is, the practice violates biblical principles. And whatever violates biblical principles is rebellion against God. Whatever is in rebellion again God is evil and carries evil consequences. What principles of the bible does gambling violate, since the bible does not deal directly with gambling? The question is answered by deducing the answer from clear biblical teachings. I will now proceed to deduce the answer from the following principles. (1) It violates the golden rule of Jesus in Luke 6:31, which says, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  No gambler wants to lose their possession when gambling. This clearly violates the golden rule, because they are seeking to do to others what they don't want for themselves. (2) Gambling violates the law of love, which "does no evil to its neighbor,"  Romans 13:10. To win what belongs to your neighbor through gambling is coveteous, unloving and selfish according to 1 Corinthians 13. (3) It is also unloving and evil because gambling breaks the law of equivalents. I will explain this and more in part 2.

All that have been said so far, show clearly that gambling is evil because it hurts one's fellowman and by implication violates the law of love which is against the very nature of God. KEEP AWAY FROM GAMBLING OR ELSE YOU WILL BE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF GOD!!

What God does absolutely, man can do finitely through the enablement of the Spirit of God. This is one reason why God created man in His own image; that he may think, be and act like God. When man thinks, be and act contrary to God's purpose, he betrays God's purpose for his existence and therefore, deserves to be destroyed by God. Because no one and nothing that does not serve God's purpose deserves to live.

Therefore, look at your own life, based on the bible, and see if you are serving God's purpose. If you are not, then begin to serve His purpose today. If you are, continue to do so more and more.

SCRIPTURE:

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Colossians 3:17 (NIV)

"... Hear the conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13 - 14 (NIV)

REMEMBER!! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE FROM GOD. YOU WILL HAVE TO FACE HIM, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.

A spiritual person is a unique individual in a world that is saturated by sin. This person lives by the laws and requirements of God as they are written in the Bible, but he/she lives a life that goes beyond rules and laws that are written in the Bible. Because the Holy Spirit guides one to accomplish specific things in one's life and ministry that are not specifically written in the Bible, but are in agreement with the Bible. This is so because the Holy Spirit speaks personally through revelation to such a person so he/she is not confined to the general teachings of the Bible. For it is evident that it is not practical for God to specify in the Bible every single thing that He wants every specific person to do in every specific sitution.

The mind of a spiritual person goes beyond natural reason, but is not illogical, because his/her mind is governed by the logic of God. So even though such a person may do things that do not seem to make sense, yet they do make sense because they are in agreement with the mind of God. The spiritual person is a person that does the will of God in his/her daily life. This is the kind of person God is looking for today to carry out His will in every area of life in a sinful world and a worldly church. 

To be a spiritual person one must be filled by the Holy Spirit according to Ephesian 5:18 and 1 Corinthians 2. To be filled with the Spirit one must hunger and thirst after God. To satisfy this hunger one must pray, study and meditate on Bible continuously. One must also do more than these; one must obey both what God says in the Bible and what God tells one to do persnally through the Holy Spirit. 

ARE YOU A SPIRITUAL PERSON?

The three greatest qualities that a person can possess are: Love, Wisdom and Faith.

Love possesses all the Godly qualities of character. When one reads 1 Corinthians 13 he sees a wide variety of character qualities that proceed from love; such as patience, kindness, endurance, humility and more. When one has love all the other elements of the fruit of the Spirit are present in the person's life who has divine love. 

Wisdom possesses all the Godly qualities of the mind. Proverbs 4:7 says, wisdom is the principal thing, so get it. James 3:17 shows that wisdom is similar in nature to love although it operates from the human mind. It is heavenly, pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, merciful, full of good fruit, impartital and sincere. That is what all human beings need.

Faith possesses all the Godly qualities of the human will. Faith is the hand that receives everything that comes from God. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is a choice of the human will. Even love and wisdom must operate in the life of people through faith. Hebrews 11 gives us a long list of men and women who fulfill the purposes of God through faith.

True love, wisdom and faith operate in harmony. Love controls the human spirit; wisdom controls the human mind and faith controls the human will. The person who operates in these three qualities manifests the ideal Chirst-like life. 

DO YOU HAVE AND OPERATE IN THEM?

A person who is born again cannot practice sin, because God's nature is in him. To practice sin, is to live a life of sin because of love for it. The one who practices sin is not born again and is still dead in sin. That person possesses a character like the devil. Whatever the devil does such a person will do, for every being live according to its nature. 

They have been many persons throughtout history who have claimed to be Christians, but have lived a life of sin because of love for it. Such persons are conterfeits, not real Christians. True Christians love righteousness because they have the nature of God and God is righteous. 

If you claim to be a Christian but you love sin you are not a Christian. You need to be born again by asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins and come into your heart to live. If you do, you will fall in love with Christ. You will hate sin and love righteousness. Your life will reflect the righteousness of God rather than the unrighteousness of the devil. Examine yourself today to see whether or not you are a Christian.

"No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother," ​1 John 3:9 - 10

The all sufficient God, who is the Father of all those who accept Him as Savior and Lord, is absolutely loving, so He has their well-being at heart. He possesses all things, so they do not need to worry about provisions. He is all powerful, so they do not need to worry about His ability to do what He has lovingly promised for them. He is omnipresent, so they do not need to worry about protection. He omniscient, so they do not need to worry about finding solutions to life's problems, because He is all wise, all knowing and understands all that exist, good and evil. 

This is the God who is their Father. Is this God your Father? If not, let Him become your Father now, by asking Him to forgive you of all your sins  in the name of Jesus Christ, His Son. DO IT NOW!!

Man was created by God to live in both time and eternity. Time is the finite gap between eternity past and eternity future. Eternity past existed before time began and eternity future will exist after the present time, as we know it, has come to an end. At present both time and eternity co-exist.  Every human being has failed to live in eternity past, but none will fail to exist in eternity future. Man was created in time to prepare for eternity future. 

Eternity future will have two realms. One will be filled with the everlasting love of God, which is heaven, and the other will burn with the everlasting wrath of God, which is hell. Each person is required to choose one of both realms. He who choose Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will live forever in the eternal realm of God's love: WHAT A BLISS!! Those who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will live forever in the realm of God's eternal wrath:WHAT A DISASTER THAT WILL BE!!  Both destinies, as you can see, are the results of choosing or rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 

No one will be able to escape from God in eternity future, no matter what choice you make. You will have to live in His love or His wrath. THE CHOICE IS YOURS!!

Listen to John 3:16,18 "For God so loved the world that He gave is one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. ... Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's  one and only Son."

When a person approaches God in prayer, he must do so in faith, respect, making requests and not giving commands to God, for He is Lord. Although He is Lord He is pleased to listen to our prayers and grant our requests according to His will and our benefits. However, when one comes to Him in prayer attacking demonic spirits and their works and other negative circumstances, one must give commands to them according to the revealed will of God in the bible, in the name of Jesus. When the apostles in the book of Acts cast out demons and worked miracles they gave commands in a spirit of prayer, in the name of Jesus rather than making requests to God, because God had already given them the authority and power to do so.

Let us begin or continue to pray effectively, making requests or giving commands in prayer as needed in our respective situations. As James says in James 5:16 ... "The prayer of a righteous man is powereful and effective." (NIV) " The Apostle Paul also says, 1 Thessalonians 5:17"Pray without ceasing."  (KJV)  If we pray in faith consistently and effectively we will see the effects of our prayers in our daily lives.

God provides the means to have faith. That is, the truth of His word. But He does not force anyone to believe it, for that would not be faith. Faith is the free choice of a volitional being (one who has a will to choose) to whole-heartedly accept and live in harmony with God's word. 

Therefore, although God does not force man to have faith, He aids man's faith by the persuasive presentation of truth to his mind and spirit. However, man must choose to respond to God's convincing truth by faith or unbelief.

I challenge you today, in whatever circumstances you are in, to find a truth in the word of God that suits your situation then believe it and apply it to that situation and God will work for you. 

For the human body to be healthy, it must feed on the right diet. In like manner, the human mind and spirit must feed on the right spiritual diet to be healthy, mentally, spiritually and morally. To do so, we must feed on living food, which is the word of God in the bible. Jesus says in Matthew 4:4 that man should live "On every word that comes from the mouth of God." Jesus also says in John 6:63, "The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." This implies that the human mind and spirit should live on the word of God, which is the living food and living truth that comes directly from God through His inspired writers of the bible. 

Any word, idea, teaching, doctrine, concept, philosophy, and belief that is not in harmony with the word of God that is revealed in the bible, is not spirit, life, nor truth. Therefore, it is not living food. It is therefore dead food that pollutes both mind and spirit. If you feed on it, it will destroy you.

I encourage you to read, memorize, study and meditate on the word of God, so that you will be healthy in mind and spirit. When you are healthy in these ways you will be an act like God. This is our purpose here on earth. GOD BLESS YOU AS YOU DO SO

Those whom God has saved and assigned for particular purposes in life, must be trained and tested through every day experiences. They must pass their test in order to be competent to fulfill their God-given purpose. They are numerous examples of this in the Bible relating to this. Examples such as Joseph, Moses and David. They had to be trained and pass their tests before God could use them in the ways He did. Joseph went through a long series of trials before he was exalted as Governor in Egypt. Moses spent forty years in the king palace in Egypt and forty year taking care of sheep in the desert before he was qualified to lead the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. David was anointed king as a teenager yet he had to go through long series of training and sufferings before he begin to reign as king.

You and I are no different. There is no getting around these requirements. Everyone of us must go through them and pass his or her tests. The longer you try to avoid them the longer it will take for you to fulfill God's purpose for your life. So don't waste your time trying to fulfill God's purpose but at the same time trying to escape His training and tests, for it will not work.  

Therefore, do as Paul told the church in Rome in the book of Romans 12:1, Present yourself to God as a living sacrifices and submit through His training and tests; so you may be competent to fulfill God's purpose for your life. DO IT NOW!

When God created Adam and Eve he placed them in a paradise called Eden; a place of perfect beauty and profection. He commanded them to rule over everything in the world, including the beasts of the field. He only denied them one thing; they were forbidden to eat of the tree of knowledge, good and evil that was in the middle of the garden. God told them that the day they eat of it they would die. The first death they would experience is spiritual death, which is seperation from or broken fellowship with God.

The serpent was one of the beasts that was created by God. It was craftier than any of the other animals God created according to Genesis 3:1. According to Genesis the serpent began to speak to Eve, telling her that the reason why God did not want her to eat of the forbidden tree was because God did not want her to become like HIm. It also told her that if she eat of the tree she would not die, implying that God was a lier. As a result she ate the fruit and also influence Adam to do the same. They died spiritually as God told them and that was the beginning of sin in the world. This was tragedy in paradise and paradise was no more paradise because sin and the devil began to reign in it.

Here are some lessons we should learn: We should listen to the truth of God rather than the lies of His creatures. Whenever we listen to the lies of His creatures rather than the truth of God we bring tragedy and chaos in our lives. Therefore, listen to God's truths and live by them for the truth shall set us free. The truth is God's word, the Bible.

The fear (Reverence) of God gives many blessings to those who fear Him. Here are some of them: (1) It brings salvation, "Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him." Psalm 85:9  (2) It causes one to receive God's compassion, "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him." Pslam 103:13  (3) It causes one to trust in God, "You who fear Him, trust in the Lord He is their help and sheild." Psalm 115:11  (4) It causes one to serve God, "Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling." Psalm2:11 (5) It makes one rejoice.  (6) It causes one to live holy, "The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever." Psalm 19:9 and (7) It causes God to find pleasure in the one who fears Him.

Therefore, fear God and experience the blessings that come through fearing Him.

From the beginning of time people have been seeking wisdom. One of the reasons Eve ate the fruit that God told her not to eat was because she believed it would give her wisdom, Genesis 3.

How can one get heavenly wisdom? What are some of the benefits of wisdom? Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10 and Proverbs 9:10 tell us that it is fear (reverence) of God that gives divine or heavenly wisdom. "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom."

There are many benefits to gain through heavenly wisdom. Here are three of them. (1) The fear of God causes a person to give up evil, Proverbs 6:6. (2) The fear of God causes a person to live in conscious fellowship of the presence of God, which gives fullness of joy, Psalm 118:4 - 7; Psalm 16:11. And (3) The fear of God causes a person to receive divine provisions and blessings, Psalm 3:19; 34:9 and 115:13.

Fear God and receive heavenly wisdom and all the many benefits it gives.

To be continued.