04/14/20 Members Only Benefits: Recently I was filling my gas tank at Sam’s Club; prices there were 30+ cents cheaper than anywhere else in town! A young couple pulled in on the other side of the pump. A few moments later, the young lady asked me if I knew why the pump would not accept her credit card. I reluctantly asked her if she had put in her Sam’s membership card first. She said they were not members. Sadly I told her that only members could purchase gas there.

Understandably I suppose, lots of people and churches are posting signs and messages of encouragement during this dangerous crisis. But a careful check of the CONTEXT of many/most of these promises of God from Scripture reveals that they are also “Members Only Benefits. If they occur in the Old Testament, they may be only for the Hebrews (in Isaiah and Jeremiah, most of these benefits will occur AFTER their 70 years of God-imposed judgment!?). In the New Testament they may very well be only for “members of Christ’s body,” the church, which consists of believers—people who have realized the utter hopelessness of their lives apart from Jesus Christ, repented of their sins and surrendered control of their lives to him.

My prayer is that many people will become members of His body soon and have a certain hope of enjoying His benefits.