December 8, 1941 F. D. R. started his address to the nation with these words, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.“

Reminding us of the importance of this day, Dr. Paul Chappell wrote:The day of infamy should be our reminder to always heed warning.

 

Three hundred and fifty-three Japanese planes took off from the flight deck of six Japanese carriers on the morning of December 7,1941; one hundred and eighty-three at 6:00 a.m. and a second wave of one hundred and seventy followed at 7:15 a.m. Pearl Harbor was the objective of their attack.

 

The USS Condor was on routine mine-sweeping patrol duty offshore near the island of Oahu early that morning. About 3:45 a.m., men of her crew spotted a submarine in the restricted waters near the entrance to Pearl Harbor. Condor’s skipper signaled to the destroyer Ward, which was also on patrol close by, giving the Condor’s position and what they had seen.

 

As the Condor was only equipped for mine-sweeping, and the Ward was armed with guns and depth charges, they proceeded into Pearl Harbor as their patrol duty time was over. The anti- submarine nets in the channel had been opened for the Condor as she was scheduled to come in at that hour.

 

The USS Ward responded to the message from the Condor by speeding to the area named but could not locate the submarine. Both the Condor and the Ward considered the idea that one of their own submarines might be in the restricted area by error. The Ward went to battle stations anyways but found nothing.

 

In the daylight at 7 o’clock, the Ward sighted a submarine and again went to battle stations. They sank the midget Japanese submarine near the Pearl Harbor channel entrance and the commanding officer of the Ward sent the following tense message to the commandant of the 14th Naval District in Pearl Harbor.

 

We have attacked, fired upon, and dropped depth charges upon a submarine operating in defensive sea area.

 

Neither the text nor the implications of this message were distributed to the fleet in time to warn them of the impending enemy attack.

 

So many stories are told of warnings of the Japanese attack on December 7. Yet none of the recipients of those warnings took heed to the messages and acted on them. Close to three thousand lives were lost that day because no one acted on the warnings given.

 

In our lives, how often do we ignore the warnings of God’s Word?—-As you read God’s Word, do not lightly read over commands. Take them to heart. Recognize God’s message directly to you. Apply them to your life and always heed God’s warnings. Let the day which will live in infamy be a day you remember to heed God’s warnings.

Think about it!

We have an enormous craving for popularity. This is the stuff of which false prophets are made. We have a desire to avoid unpleasantness at all cost. A desire like this keeps us from confronting, from intervening when we should.

We have a distaste for being different. We find it easier to move along with the crowd, to drift with the tide. It is all too easy to remain silent when we are in an adverse theological climate. We are ‘slaves who dare not to be right with two or three’.

We have lost the capacity for being angry. We are not easily enough disturbed. We are in the sorry state of having no capacity for indignation. We are experts at putting off decisiveness simply because we don’t want to act.

Sometimes we are too blinded by friendship to stand against wrong. When a Christian spoke out against E J Carnell’s book ‘The Case For Orthodoxy’ because it argued against the inspiration of the Scriptures, a friend of the author said ‘Well you do not know him personally as I do. He is a gracious gentleman, a godly man’.

Jay Adams was right when he said ‘In some circles, the fear of controversy is so great that preachers and congregations following after them will settle for peace at any cost – even the cost of the truth – God’s truth. The idea is that peace is all- important. Peace is a biblical ideal…but so is purity. The peace of the church may never be bought at the price of the purity of the church. The price is too dear’.

Ecumenism and catholicity are two great buzzwords today. Let’s all get together. Don’t do or say anything to rock the boat. Doctrine divides, they say. What we need is unity.

What we really need is to contend earnestly for the faith in a day when it is being attacked, diluted and denied. We will be tolerant in matters of indifference but intolerant of departure from the truth of God.— ‘Here we stand. We can do no other’. –William MacDonald,  Think about it!

I just heard a news report that pointed out the problems encountered by many as a result of winning the lottery. It was really amazing to hear about all the bad results–things like ruined relationships, divorce, and murder. Some confessed,”I wish I had never won the lottery”.

I am of the opinion that no one wins when they “win” the lottery! We never win when we misuse what God has entrusted us with. Gaining a large sum of money by gambling  isn’t “winning”. Winning, success, victory, etc. is simply discovering the will of God and doing it. No amount of fortune, fame, or anything else is worth violating the principles of God’s Word. Those in the will of God are content with what they have. “Winning” $5,000,000 doesn’t make you a winner. Why would anyone in their right mind sin against God, especially considering the odds are 1 in 175 million that you will hit the jackpot? Would it not be better to invest that money in things that will pay eternal dividends rather than waste it on the lottery, offend God, and pull a curse down upon your own head? Think about it! And, by the way–if you are playing the lottery or participating in any other form of gambling don’t call the church when you are broke–we’re not going to fix it!

Actor/ musician Jamie Foxx recently called Barack Obama, “Our Lord and Savior” during an Awards show! “Just a harmless joke”, some will say. But, there are some things that you just don’t joke about and this is on top of the list. “Joke” or not, it’s obvious that the natural man is a very poor judge of character and selfish beyond measure. Give them what they want and they will put you on the throne!

Some people have wondered how it could be possible that the Antichrist could gain such wide-spread acceptance and control– how could one man deceive so many? My response is, How can you not see the ease with which this could happen? Have you forgotten about the popularity of Hitler and other ruthless dictators? All you have to do is find a man who convinces the people that he will give them what they want. Do that and BINGO he is installed in office. All he has to do is appeal to the lowest, base, sinful desires of people and they will follow him off “the cliff”. All this is easy to explain–but, for the Christian, very heart-breaking to see. And it is going to happen! The only people who have hope of eternal life are those who trust Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Think about it!

I hate sin! I wish I could say it more forcefully, more convincingly, but I don’t know how.I don’t have words enough to explain how much I hate sin. I hate it for numerous and good reasons.

I hate sin because of what it has done to me. Surveying my life and thinking about all my experiences I can’t help but hate sin. It has done me nothing but bad. It deceived me, defiled me, enslaved me, tormented me, and caused me to do the same to others. Sin corrupted my character, caused me grief, and condemned my soul. Words cannot explain how much I have suffered because of sin. I hate sin!

I hate sin because of what it has done to others. Every parent and spouse knows that it hurts to see your loved ones hurting. Seeing them suffer hurts us more than if we were  in their shoes. We would gladly suffer for them, but we can’t– we can only suffer with them. Seeing your loved one succumb to an illness, suffer an injustice, injured in an accident, or enslaved by a sin breaks your heart. I’ve seen sin destroy families, preachers, and churches. That’s the nature of sin– it deceives, defiles and destroys. I’ve cried my eyes out as I watched sin ruin the lives of people I love. I hate sin!

I hate sin because of what it did to Jesus. He suffered because of sin–not His own, but the sins of others. He had no sin. And it is His sinlessness that makes this all the more painful. When Jesus died on the cross He suffered beyond anything we can imagine, beyond what we can comprehend or describe. If this was the only bad thing about sin it should be enough to cause us to hate it with all our heart. It was sin that subjected Christ to cruel mocking, the lash of the whip, the crown of thorns, and the agony of the cross. It was our sins that caused Him, for the first and only time in eternity, to be separated from the Father. He suffered hell for each of us, paid our sin debt that we might be forgiven, and died that we might live. It was our sins that caused Him to be nailed to the cross and to suffer beyond our ability to understand. I hate sin!

I hate sin and I want to show it through my purity, by my preaching,in my prayers, and by my protest against it. Knowing my hatred of it protects me from it, I want to love God so much that I will utterly detest it with all my heart. Knowing it is dangerous I want to avoid the very appearance of evil. Knowing I am weak, I must be filled with the Spirit lest I be attracted to it and overcome by it. I hate sin!

But, more important than my hatred of sin is God’s hatred of it. It is not my law that has been violated, but God’s righteous standard. God hates sin and because He is holy He must deal with it and He will! God will deal with your sin, either by way of the cross or in hell. As much as you and I might hate sin it pales in comparison to God’s hatred of it. He hates it and will punish it.

God hates sin. I hate sin. You ought to hate sin! When you embrace sin it is like pulling fire into your bosom– you will get burned! When you put the cup of sin to your lips it will be as a deadly poison. When you invite sin into your life it is like inviting a lion into your home– you’re going to get hurt. When you ignore sin it is like dismissing a cancer in your body– it will consume you. When you play with temptation it is like playing Russian roulette– the danger isn’t worth the risk–you will lose. The only provision for sin and protection against sin is the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. As believers it is essential that we hide God’s Word in heart, and hate sin with all our hearts that we might avoid it. Think about it!