(As part of a series entitled “Out of the Fire and Into the Skillet”)
Luke 7:34
“The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!”

Hum! Jesus, friend of sinners. When I consider the events surrounding Luke 7:34, which would include the entirety of the Gospel accounts, I am forced to ask myself the following question:

Matthew 12:31 King James Version (KJV)
“Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.”

Far be it from me to write a controversial article about religion. Ha! Ha! That is the old-fashioned way of saying LOL! This is the beginning of a new series of articles which will be called: “Out of the Skillet and into the Fire.”

Gee, wished I was as smart as you all!

Then, I wouldn’t believe in God either. What a life we could then have. Let us eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.1 If it feels good, do it! After all, when we die we cease to exist.

Seems like everyone has a Twitter, Facebook or some kind of social media account, well everyone except me. Thus far, I have avoided social media platforms, unless of course, you count the occasional religious article like this. But, I do read and listen to a lot of news, much of it digital. So even though I have no social media accounts, I still have exposure to everyone else’s social media rants via the news. I liken social media to the 1970s phenomenon of “Streaking”. Sooner or later you are going to get flashed! “Look out Ethel” If you don’t get the reference look up Ray Stevens song, “The Streak”.

2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
[14] If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

We have been studying God’s Covenant with mankind, in particular the “Terms and Conditions.” In the previous two editions of this subject we first examined the “Verbal Agreement” between God and man. Next, we examined the “Terms and Conditions” of the “Written Agreement”. This written agreement is commonly known as the “Ten Commandments.” Nearly every Christian is familiar with the Ten Commandments; however, most don’t know or have conveniently forgotten that there are “Terms and Conditions” attached to God’s Law.

Two weeks ago, we examined the verbal covenant that God extended to each successive generation of mankind, from Adam to Abraham, which can be summed up as follows: If you do what God says, He will bless you. If you disobey God, He will curse you. Now we are going to examine God's written covenant.

I spend most of my time on another planet. Not literally of course. My mind is usually somewhere else from where I am physically; therefore, I get nudged quite often. I’m surprised my ribs don’t stay black and blue from all the elbow action they receive.

A few years ago, I received a big nudge, but it wasn’t to my ribs.

There are many places in the Scriptures where God through His prophets details to varying degrees the terms and conditions of His covenant with mankind. The very first place He speaks of it is during Moses' summary of the creation story found in Genesis Chapter 1.

Introduction: The Bible weaves a tapestry picture of a city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God. Just as Jacob(Israel) made his beloved son a coat of many colors (Genesis 37:3), God has made us a coat of many colors in Jesus. These true stories are natural examples, given by God, that we might understand a Spiritual concept. (John 4:24)