In Hot Water

2012-01-28T21:58:00.001-08:00

Last week we ended by talking about the written word of God and his judgment.
We saw that for the Christian there is power in the word.
• Jesus defeated Satan with the words that were written (Matt. 4:1-11). The written word of God is a sword for battle and a light to guide us (Psalm 119:11). It is food that enables us (Matt. 4:4) and water that washes us (Eph. 5:25-27).
• The word of God is how we know God, How we follow Jesus and how we grow. (Rom 10:14-21)
• James 1:22 fits here!
• We then read 1 Peter 1:17 which say’s, Christian, God Judges each one of us impartially.
• He does not favor one over another.
• He is Holy and righteous and cannot compromise with sin.
• We need to be serious in how we live our lives. We need to be in the world, but most certainly not of it! (Rom 12:2).
• God is mercy and love, so he is Gracious, Merciful, Loving and forgiving, but he cannot permit his children to enjoy or find pleasure in sin.
• Sin is what nailed Jesus to the cross. Our sins have already been judged (1 Peter 2:24) and so we should leave them there nailed to the cross.
• Prepare your minds. Gird up your loins and follow Jesus. He will lead you away from sin and toward victory!
• We need to prepare our minds with a healthy understanding of the fear of the Lord and knowledge of his judgment.
• Peter writes that not only are we to live our lives of Holiness in the light of our hope, but we are to also conduct our walk in the fear of the Lord.
• Not in a worldly understanding of fear, but we are to live in reverent fear of a Father who judges each one impartially.
• The Greek word used here for judges is krino. It means to consider or determine the correctness of a matter.
• God looks at the believer who is already eternally Judged and he considers their “works” to see if our lives are lived in agreement with his ways.
• It is in effect God searching our motives and examining our hearts (1 Cor. 4:5).
*God evaluates our lives. Because he does we need to live out our salvation with fear and trembling as Phil. 2:12 says.
• His purpose in examining our hearts is to glorify himself in our lives. I think Paul writes about this as well. Our faith as Christians needs to be both from our mouth and in our hearts. If it is then our lives will show it.
• Our lives should also show that we live with a reverence of God. Heb. 12:21 says that the sight of God was so terrible that Moses trembled.
The Psalmist wrote that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge
• I think the judgment that Peter writes about is the judgment where we will stand before God and give an account of ourselves. Some will have built or done things that reap an eternal reward, but the believer with no reward is still saved (1 Cor. 3:12-15), he cannot be plucked from the Fathers hand (John 10)
• The judgment Peter speaks of is where God will search us and see if the deeds of our faith are in line with the words of our mouth and is our mouth speaking the truth of our hearts?
• God might ask me, “Ted, why did you keep on living this way, when I showed you in my word and told you repeatedly to not do that?”
• He will search my heart and see what motivated me.
• Paul wrote about this further in 2 Cor. 5:9-10
Because God is the Judge and he judges impartially, we should have a healthy, reverent fear of him.
• So because God will search out the motives and intentions of our hearts, Peter writes again, “to live as strangers (v.17).
• Because you are a stranger to this world. God purchased you with the precious blood of Jesus!
We have been redeemed by an imperishable thing, the blood of Jesus.
We Must set our minds on this fact as Christians. We must gird our minds on the truth, because the number 1 battle field in the spirtual realms for us is our minds.
Satan wants our minds focused on anything other then Jesus and so we must gird it up with truth, holiness and reverent fear of God.
• We should take our mind captive and know that Jesus is the most valuable commodity in all the universe and heaven. A perfect, sinless, spotless sacrifice.
• Ordained by God to die for sins before the creation and because of him, we believe in God. God knew we were helpless! That we could not overcome our sin and could not obey his law, so he sent Jesus, the most valuable of heaven to die for us.
• Because of what Jesus did, our faith and hope is in God. Our faith comes from God’s own grace, it is his gift to all who believe. Our hope grows in and with our reverent fear of the Lord and our love for him.
• It is the love of God that is the greatest motivator for Holy Living.
• The greatest command . . .
• It is because we obey this command that we want to be Holy.
• Peter reminds us, where we are from, where we are going and who got us there:
• You were redeemed
• From the empty way of life
• With the precious blood of Christ
• A lamb without blemish or defect
• He was chosen for this work before creation
• Revealed for your sake
• Through him you believe in God
• God raised him from the dead
• God glorified him
• So, your faith and hope are in God
• Since you have purified yourself by obeying the truth (the word) the son
• So that You have sincere love for your brothers
• Love one another, deeply!
• Love from the heart
• You have been born again
• Born not of perishable seed (the flesh)
• Born of imperishable (the spirit)
• Born through the living and enduring word of God (Jesus)
• Because you have been born again and because of all these things,
• Rid yourself of all malice
• All deceit
• All hypocrisy
• All envy
• And slander of every kind
• Be like new born babies and desire pure spiritual milk
• Desire it so that you may grow
• Desire it so that you may grow up into your salvation
• Because you have now tasted that the Lord is good.
• The Lord is good!

• The bible is clear that Jesus bought us with his blood to live as strangers, to be ambassadors of his kingdom to a fallen world. To walk as his agents of grace, to be light in a dark place and salt to a bitter land.
• For us to do what God wants us to do, we need to do at least four things:
• 1, pay close attention to what we look at, by preparing our minds for action and keeping our spirit sober and fixing our hope on Jesus.
• 2, give more thought to the consequences of our actions then our immediate pleasure. We need to be humble, broken creatures, not selfish, proud and arrogant citizens of a world that usually thinks about me first and above all else.
• 3, we should start each day by renewing our reverence for God. Don’t forget that while God is love, mercy and grace, he is also a jealous God and will not be mocked.
• 4, all through our day we need to refocus on Jesus. Stop throughout the day and pray, read your bible, meditate, allow the Holy Spirit to guide you and your thoughts to dwell on Jesus instead of work, finances, sex, retirement , vacation.

2012-01-21T11:27:00.001-08:00

I Peter 1:13-2:3
• Last week we looked at Peter’s bold claims.
• We confirmed that he is writing his letter to believers scattered around the Roman Empire.
• We talked about his address to his readers. That he starts out broad and then he will go back and develop some of those points with more depth.
• I think we will see that in today’s text.
• Therefore, is a connector word. Peter is connecting this passage as one thought to the previous passage.
• Therefore or since, you have a New Hope, a living hope, and you love and believe in Jesus, though you have not seen him, prepare your minds for action.
• Peter is telling the Church to listen up!
• Christian, prepare your mind for action.
• Notice how Peter knows God is sovereign, how God chose you in his foreknowledge, for obedience to Jesus, and yet Peter does not give us an excuse to inaction.
• He allows for both God to work in us and through us and for us to respond.
• Peter say’s to prepare your minds, or to gird up your minds for action.
• To “Gird up” is the Ancient practice of gathering up your robe so that you can move quickly.
• Peter tells the Christians here, get your mind ready so that your body can follow your faith.
• Ready your mind so that you can be self-controlled or sober minded. MacArthur writes of this that, “the sober Christian is correctly in charge of his priorities and not intoxicated with the various [snares] of the world (1906).”
• Get your mind ready for action by being in control of your thoughts, take them captive, and set your hope on the grace that is to be given to you.
• I think hope is often lumped in with belief, but it shouldn’t be.
• Faith or belief is from the heart.
• Hope is from our mind.
• Because I believe in Jesus (in my heart) I have a hope (in my mind) that what he has promised will come true.
• They work together.
• Peter then calls the Christians obedient children.
• He calls them to obedience first.
• Live as obedient Children.
• He calls them children, because they have an inheritance (1:4).
• Because we are God’s children we are to no longer live as if we are children of sin.
• Don’t be ignorant, don’t conform to the evil desires that you once did.
• Romans 8 can be applied here.
• But be holy, just as God is Holy.
• In other words, imitate God (Eph. 5:1). You are his child, act like it.
• The argument is clear and simple. Children inherit the nature of their parents. God, [our Father] is Holy, therefore as his children, we should live Holy lives (Wiersbe, 396).
• The life of sin is disobedience (Eph. 2:1-3), but salvation, true salvation always results in obedience (Rom. 1:5; 1 Peter 1:2)
• Peter say’s to be holy in all you do!
• Therefore, in everything you do, be different then who you were, be different then the world.
• Set yourself apart.
• Prepare your mind, be self-controlled, hope on the grace given to you, stop sinning and be like God.
• Since you call on a Father, you are a Christian.
• To the Christian the words it is written have great authority for us.
• Jesus defeated Satan with the words that were written (Matt. 4:1-11). The written word of God is a sword for battle and a light to guide us (Psalm 119:11). It is food that enables us (Matt. 4:4) and water that washes us (Eph. 5:25-27).
• The word of God is how we know God, How we follow Jesus and how we grow. (Rom 10:14-21)
• James 1:22 fits here!
• Peter then say’s, Christian, God Judges each one of us impartially.
• He does not favor one over another.
• He is Holy and righteous and can not compromise with sin.
• We need to be serious in how we live our lives. We need to be in the world, but most certainly not of it! (Rom 12:2).
• God is mercy and love, so he is Gracious, Merciful, Loving and forgiving, but he can not permit his children to enjoy or find pleasure in sin.
• Sin is what nailed Jesus to the cross. Our sins have already been judged (1 Peter 2:24) and so we should leave them there.
• Prepare your minds. Gird up your loins and follow Jesus. He will lead you away from sin and toward victory!
• The Greek word used here for judges is krino. It means to consider or determine the correctness of a matter.
• God looks at the believer who is already eternally Judged and he considers their “works” to see if our lives are lived in agreement with his ways.
• It is in effect God searching our motives and examining our hearts (1 Cor. 4:5).
• His purpose is to glorify himself in our lives. I think Paul writes about this as well. Our faith as Christians needs to be both from our mouth and in our hearts. If it is then our lives will show it.
• Read Romans 10:8-12
• I think the judgment Peter writes about is the judgment where we will stand before God and give an account of ourselves.
• Are the deeds of our faith in line with the words of our mouth and is our mouth speaking the truth of our hearts?
• God might ask me, “Ted, why did you keep on living this way, when I showed you in my word and told you repeatedly to not do that?”
• He will search my heart and see what motivated me.
• Paul wrote about this further in 2 Cor. 5:9-10
• So because God will search out the motives and intentions of our hearts, Peter writes again, “to live as strangers (v.17).
• Because you are a stranger to this world. God purchased you with the precious blood of Jesus!
• Jesus is the most valuable commodity in all of creation. A perfect, sinless, spotless sacrifice.
• Ordained by God to die for sins before the creation and because of him, we believe in God.
• Because of what Jesus did, our faith and hope is in God.
• It is the love of God that is the greatest motivator for Holy Living.
• The greatest command . . .
• It is because we obey this command that we want to be Holy.
• Peter reminds us, where we are from, where we are going and who got us there:
• You were redeemed
• From the empty way of life
• With the precious blood of Christ
• A lamb without blemish or defect
• He was chosen for this work before creation
• Revealed for your sake
• Through him you believe in God
• God raised him from the dead
• God glorified him
• So, your faith and hope are in God
• Since you have purified yourself by obeying the truth (the word) the son
• So that You have sincere love for your brothers
• Love one another, deeply!
• Love from the heart
• You have been born again
• Born not of perishable seed (the flesh)
• Born of imperishable (the spirit)
• Born through the living and enduring word of God (Jesus)
• Because you have been born again and because of all these things,
• Rid yourself of all malice
• All deceit
• All hypocrisy
• All envy
• And slander of every kind
• Be like new born babies and desire pure spiritual milk
• Desire it so that you may grow
• Desire it so that you may grow up into your salvation
• Because you have now tasted that the Lord is good.
• The Lord is good!

1 Peter 1:3-12

2012-01-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

r 1:3-12
• We looked last week at the setting in Peter’s day.
• How he wrote this between 64-65 A.D. during the persecution under Nero.
• We see Peter start his letter with a typical NT address, but he adds 5 quick points of Doctrine.
• These are statements of whom he is writing to and about.
• We spoke of 4 of them last week: 1, God’s elect, 2, the elect are strangers; 3, the elect are chosen; and 4, the elect are chosen according to God’s foreknowledge.
• The 5th statement is the Tri-unity of God.
• He writes that the Elect have “been chosen by according to the Foreknowledge of GOD THE FATHER, through the sanctifying WORK OF THE SPIRIT, for OBEDIENCE to JESUS Christ and sprinkling by HIS BLOOD.”
• SO Peter asserts that God also chooses us by his foreknowledge, through the work of the spirit so that we can be obedient to Jesus Christ, [and this is possible] because of the work he did on the cross with his blood.
• We talked about 2 themes that will develop in this letter; Suffering and Hope.
• Before he deals with suffering, Peter lay’s down a great hope for the believer.
• Remember, these were most likely Gentile converts of Paul scattered throughout the Roman Empire by the persecution of Nero.
• Peter is writing from Rome, which he calls Babylon.
• Many of these New Converts might have been questioning their sanity.
• “I left the comforts of my life to be tortured, burned, crucified or thrown into the Arena?”
• So Peter reminds them, “You didn’t choose this path anymore then I did. You were chosen by God, elected by him in his great, sovereign foreknowledge, to live as strangers in this world.”
• He is trying to remind them of the facts of their salvation.
• Read 1:3-12
• Peter writes to remind Christians of some facts.
• You might be suffering now, but remember what the blood of Jesus did. Remember what he took on the cross from you and for you.
• It was God’s great Mercy (v.3) that gave you New Birth (regeneration).
• This New Birth is into a living Hope!
• This hope is through the resurrection of Jesus!
• Because he lives we will also.
• We might die here on earth, but Eternity is a different story!
• God’s Great Mercy gave us an inheritance.
• It can never perish.
• It can never spoil.
• It can never fade.
• It is kept in heaven for you!
• There is nothing that can take away your inheritance.
• It is kept in Heaven for you, because you are known by both the father and the Son and are sanctified by the Spirit.
• You are a New Creature.
• No longer a citizen of Rome, but a stranger to them.
• Your home is now eternal and your allegiance is Heaven.
• This inheritance can never Perish, because it is held in an imperishable place, heaven, and through your faith, it is shielded by God’s power.
• Your inheritance is not for this life, it is kept in heaven until the coming of the salvation that will be revealed in the last time.
• The Jews were looking for an inheritance in the promised land of Canaan (Num. 32:19; Deut. 2:12;19:9).
• They got a glimpse, just a taste of the future inheritance that was made known in Christ and extended to the Gentiles by adoption.
• If you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, if he is your Lord, you have an inheritance too.
• If you trust him, you will obey him and do what he did and go where he tells you to go.
• Your inheritance won’t come until the last time, when history ends (Rom. 14:10; Rev. 20:11-15) or until your days on earth, living as a stranger are over.
• So Peter say’s, “In this, greatly rejoice!” v.6
• Greatly Rejoice!
• Greatly rejoice, even though you suffer for a little while.
• Even though you have grief and trials of many kinds.
• Greatly Rejoice, because these have come for a purpose.
• They have come so that your faith may be proved genuine.
• A connection to James!
• Your faith, which is greater then, better then, worth more then Gold, may be proved genuine.
• More genuine then Gold that perishes even though it is refined by fire.
• It is no mistake that Peter uses Gold here as an illustration. Just like today Gold is among the most valuable of things on the planet.
• It supports our markets, buy’s our money and build our computers.
• As Gold is refined all the impurities float to the top and can be skimmed off, leaving only the finest materials behind.
• But like steel that is strengthened by fire, our faith is made strong in suffering and trials and grief.
• Persecution refines us and makes our faith strong so that we can be useful to God and more valuable to his kingdom and plan.
• Our faith, that is proved genuine, 24 karat, is more valuable then the Earth’s most precious metal.
• That Faith, Pater say’s, may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
• It certainly will result in praise, glory, and honor for the name of Jesus, but it may result in that for you! (v.7).
• Your suffering is refining you.
• It is making you more valuable to God.
• It is making you more useful for God.
• It may result in praise, glory and honor for you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
• What a goal!
• Faithfully suffering, knowing you are being purified and perhaps hearing praise form Jesus on that blessed day.
• Imagine, “Steve, or Dennis, or Betty, everyone, listen up. Here is my beloved, in whom I am pleased!” Jesus might say.
• Your faith is proved genuine.
• Though you have not ever seen him, YOU LOVE HIM.
• Our modern language would describe love like this:
An intense feeling of deep affection:
• The Greek word is agapo, which is slightly different then Agape. Agape is Charitable love. Love from God to us and us to him and from God to Jesus is this use. It is an active love. An image used to describe it is feast.
• Agapo is really close to that, but takes a greater image instead of feast it focuses more on the state of wonder and amazement.
• Both have the same type of intensity and root meaning. It is an active love, but agape is used more to describe love as an intense, active, charitable and in connection with a feast. Agape describes a love feast.
• Agapo looks more to the word as a gape. Jaw dropped, awe standing.
• Though you have never seen Jesus, you love him. You are in AWE of him.
• You faith is also proved genuine (v.7), because though you can not see him now, YOU BELIEVE IN HIM>
• Because you love him and believe in him you are filled with an inexpressible joy.
• WHY? Because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
• What a great JOY indeed! Salvation!
• Freedom.
• Liberty from sin and all it’s consequences.
• Charles Spurgeon wrote, “If God justifieth the Ungodly, then he can justify you. Is that not the very person you are? (Spurgeon, 27).”
• That is the goal of faith, to be justified by God.
• Salvation is why we are all here.
• Salvation bought us and brought us here.
• Salvation is our greatest joy.
• Again Spurgeon said, “Only God can justify the ungodly, but he can do it to perfection (40). If God has justified a man it is well done, it is rightly done, it is justly done, it is everlastingly done (41).”
• You believe in him? Then you have been justified by him and you are receiving the goal of your faith, salvation of your soul. And that has been done by Christ, through the work of the Spirit, by the foreknowledge of God and it is everlastingly done!
• This salvation was such a great work, that the prophets spoke of the Grace that was to come, searched intently for it and with the greatest of care. Not serving themselves, but you.
• Peter ends this chapter with 2 more bold points: It was not just the Holy Spirit, but that the Holy Spirit is THE Spirit of Christ.
• The Spirit of Christ inspired the prophets writings.
• Peter states here that before Jesus was a man, he was God. It was the Spirit of Christ in the prophets pointing them to the time and circumstances.
• Predicting the sufferings of Christ and the glories that followed.
• Peter say’s there that Jesus was in the OLD TESTAMENT and that the prophets wrote about him!
• They wrote by the Sprit of Christ, that Jesus yet to come would suffer and bring glories, because he is the Salvation of God.
• Salvation that comes by God’s grace to those he chose is such a wonderful thing it fills you with an inexpressible and glorious joy and even Angels long to look into these things.
• This first part of 1 Peter paints a picture for the rest of the letter.
• The next few weeks we will hopefully see Peter as he looks more fully into the claims he laid before us today.

My notes for 1 Peter

2011-12-31T16:24:00.001-08:00

1 Peter 1:1-2
• 1 Peter continues nicely from where we left off in James.
• James spoke of perservering under trials of various kinds. We discovered that poverty and oppression by the wealthy were among the trials that James saw in the 1st century Church.
• 1 Peter focuses on suffering and try’s to show us that suffering, no matter how long it continues, is only temporary.
• Peter is an expert on this subject for 2 reasons: He witnessed the suffering of Jesus and he suffered himself.
• He was flogged and imprisoned for his faith.
• Once he even expected his imprisonment to end with his execution.
• Like James, Peter calls on Jesus for our example of how to respond under suffering.
• 1 Peter states that it was written by Peter and he was clearly the leader of the early Church. Remember that Jesus changed his name and declared that upon him he would build the Church.
• There is more information about Peter in the 4 gospels then any other person outside of Christ.
• There is a debate that Peter wrote this letter. The Greek used is considered too well written for an uneducated fisherman.
• 5:12 Peter writes that he wrote this letter by Silas or Silvanus, and diction was certainly common in the 1st century.
•
•
• John MacArthur writes:
Peter, under the superintendence of the Spirit of God, dictated the letter to Silvanus, who was also a Prophet (Acts 15:32), [and] may have aided in some of the composition of the more classical Greek.
• The writing is dated somewhere between 64 and 65 A.D. placing it under the time of the reign of Nero.
• Nero set the city of Rome on fire in his lust to build a new city and when the Populous revolted he blamed it on the Christians, ushering in years of persecution.
• The Christians were hated in Rome because of their close association with the Jews.
• The Christians in Rome were most likely Gentile converts of Paul and Peter writes to them to strengthen their faith because of all their suffering.
• MacArthur writes that the purpose of 1 Peter is to teach how to live victoriously in the midst of hostility, without losing hope; without becoming bitter; while trusting the Lord; while looking for his second coming (MacArthur, 1901).
• Peter knows that suffering comes in many ways. He knows Satan and his demons are a part of the cause of the suffering Christians face. These evil spirits want nothing more then to discredit the Church and Christianity.
• Again, MacArthur writes, “One way these spirits work is by finding Christians whose lives are not consistent with the word of God, and then parading them before unbelievers to show what a sham the Church is (1901).”
• This is among the reasons for our study of scripture. To better know the word of God, better defend the word of God and also so that we can better live the word of God.
• This is a great defense against the schemes of our enemy.
• Not to be outdone, the secondary theme of 1 Peter is hope.
• More specifically, a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• I wanted to just look today at verses 1-2 because there are a few disputed or debated doctrines contained here.
• The first is: To God’s elect.
• This word comes from a Greek word which can mean, called out, to pick out, or to select.
• The same use of the word was used in the OT to set apart Israel (Duet. 7:6) indicating that God had chosen his people.
• It was used as Elect 13 times in scripture and chosen 7 times.
• Peter uses it here as Chosen.
• Many of the uses of the word elect as chosen are in Isaiah.
• God calls Jesus his Chosen in Isaiah 42:1
• He calls Israel his chosen in Isaiah 45:4
• Isaiah 65:9 “I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah those who will possess my mountains; my chosen people [elect] will inherit them.”
• In the glimpse of Eternal Glory the Lord gave to Isaiah he writes, “my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.” 65:22 speaking of the New Heaven and New Earth.
• Romans 8:33 Paul writes of Gods elect as being Chosen.
• And again in Colossians 3:12.
• So there is clearly many references to God’s people being a chosen people.
• Peter here writes that God’s elect have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.
• In other words, the chosen have been chosen, according to God’s foreknowledge.
• I don’t think Peter, Paul, or even James had difficulty understanding this language and I don’t think it was as debated as it is today.
• I know many who disagree with the “Elect” on the basis of Free will.
• They argue that God can not know if I am saved before I am saved and, God would not preordain that some are saved and some are not.
• They have said things to me like, “If that is the case, then there is no reason to evangelize.”
• Peter gives a good counter argument to that, “You are chosen for obedience.”
• Evangelize out of obedience, live out of obedience, suffer out of obedience.
• Another argument that I have encountered is, “that’s not fair.” God would not choose some to save and not others.
• Paul wrote that God, “Chose us in him before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4)” and that he predestined us [Gentiles] to be adopted as his children through faith in Jesus Christ.
• Not only were we chosen by God, but we were chosen based solely on God’s Grace and love. It had nothing to do with you or I. It had nothing to do with any good thing we had done or would do.
• The knowledge of that should cause great humility in us.
• God knew us before we knew him.
• To foreknow, as the bible uses it, means to “set one’s love on a person or person’s in a personal way.” It was used this way in Amos 3:2
• God knew Israel in this way.
• God knows us, better then we know ourselves.
• Look at Matthew 7:15-23.
• Jesus says, don’t look at their prophesy, there driving out of demons and their miracles, look at their fruit. Did they do the word of God? Or did they just pursue the miraculous, or did they just do the Christian thing in front of others, but not bear fruit in front of God in their private time.
• Many of Jesus miracles speak of right living, bearing fruit, and living in obedience to the will of God. Part of our fruit is in doing what we are told to do.
• Look at John 10:14-30.
• Jesus knows his sheep in the same way that God knows his chosen people Israel.
• His sheep hear his voice, they listen and they follow.
• It is no accident that Jesus gave an example of himself as a Shepherd and His flock and then recognized his sheep in Matthew 25:31-46. The sheep in Matthew 25 did not do great miracles, they lived with compassion, humility, love and an open eye to hurt, and an open hand to help. They did these things from within.
• These are among the people that God knows in the way “foreknow” is used.
• God set his love upon his sheep in a deep, personal way.
• I love how Warren Wiersbe writes on this passage. Speaking of Election, Chosen and Foreknowledge: The plan of salvation includes more then the Father’s Electing love . . . we have been chosen by the Father, purchased by the son and set apart by the Spirit. It takes all three for there to be a true experience of salvation. As far as God the Father is concerned, I was saved when he chose me before the foundation of the world. As far as the son is concerned, I was saved when he died on the cross. As far as the Holy Spirit is concerned I was saved one night when I heard the gospel and received Christ (392).”
• The reality is that no matter how you experienced conversion the bible is clear that it is by God’s grace. Over and over we see his hand of Grace guiding his foreknowledge as he chose his people again and again. He chose Israel, He chose the 12 and he chose you and I.
• Romans 5:6 tells us that, “You see at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”
• He died for us and set us free from sin.
• We are no longer a slave to sin, but we are a slave to God (Romans 6:15-23).
• He chose us and set us free from sin.
• Because he chose us we are strangers in a foreign land.
• We are living in a temporary home.
• It is no coincidence that Isaiah uses Election in this context
• Read Isaiah 65:17-25.
• We are strangers because we long for our home, our new home, or eternal home.
• So we ought to live in a manner that represent our master and our home land.
• That is why Peter will quote the OT and tell us to be Holy as God is Holy.
• We were saved for this reason.
• To be like Christ.
• To imitate God as dearly loved children, and live a life of love (Eph. 5:1)
• This kind of life should seem strange to the world.

Pray by faith

2011-12-13T15:26:00.001-08:00

• The Prayer of Faith?
• I wanted to take some time as we close and just examine the claims made here in James 5:13-16.
• Claim 1, we should pray verse 13. Is this true? Why? Encouragement to pray is a typical conclusion of NT books, but James emphasis is different then just a reminder to pray. He encourages prayer by reminding us of the powerful effects of prayer, or the things that prayer can accomplish.
• James conclusion mirrors Paul’s, who said to “pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests (Eph. 6:18)” and to pray continually and in all circumstances (1 Thess. 5:17-18).
• For James those circumstances are trouble and happiness.
• Is anyone in trouble? Pray. James brings us back to the beginning of his letter, the trials or trouble of many kinds. He introduced this a problem in the Church community and here at the end he goes back to it. Are you in trouble of any kind pray!
• If you are happy, sing praise. James is giving us a reminder here, because he knows that turning to God is important at all times. We need to be reminded to turn toward God in good times more then we need to be reminded in bad times.
• Giving praise to God in song, worship and prayer need to be a regular part of our lifestyle the same as prayer in times of trouble.
• James gives a third time to pray. When we are sick. The point James is making here is physical sickness. In the NT the use of the Greek word (astheneia) always is associated with physical health.
• We should call on the Elder’s of the Church to pray over us, anoint us with oil in the name of the Lord. Why? What is the importance of anointing with oil? The practice of anointing with oil in healing is only mentioned in one other place, Mark 6:13 and it is as vague as James use here. “They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.”
• Most of the use of oil in the bible is for anointing in a way of consecrating something or someone. It is a symbolic act. It is often associated with the spirit of the Lord being upon Jesus. Jesus spoke from Isaiah in Luke 4:18 when he read, “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” [see also: Acts 4:27; 10:38; 2 Cor. 1:21; Heb. 1:9]
• Perhaps James see’s anointing as a physical act of obedience to be used in conjunction with the prayer of faith?
• Jesus healed with more then prayer and prayer at times. He rubbed the blind mans eyes (Mark 8:23), he put his fingers in the deaf mans ears (Mark 7:33).
• Whatever James intention with anointing is we need to be sure that it is not the oil that has any power, but it is the prayer. Specificially the prayer of faith.
• It is fascinating to me that the prayer of faith being addressed here is not by the person who is suffering, but by the Elder. James places the burden on the Elder to be the one who prays in faith for the healing here. He also ties the anointing with oil to the Elders.
• I think the oil for the Elder is a symbolic gesture between the Elder, the sick person and God. It is a statement much like Communion that we are setting this person apart for prayer, special attention and care in our wisdom and understanding of the situation, we are going to look at the sickness to discover “if” it is caused by sin.
• James say’s the prayer offered in Faith will make the sick person well. Really? James gives Elijah as an example for us.
• Some scholars argue that the healing is in eternity by confining the power of healing to the apostolic age. I don’t see anything in the text or in the NT to make such a restriction.
• Certainly all of us who struggle with illness and every believer can be confident that God will heal them in the end, but that does not require a special visit by the Elders, the laying on of hands or even faith. Victory in the end is a part of the guarantee of salvation and a part of the gift of God’s grace to us.
• There is a relationship at work here between God’s sovereignty and our prayers. Both the believer’s prayer and the Elders prayer. Because James says, “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
• The righteous live by faith! (Romans 1:17). The righteous live by faith, “being sure of what [they] hope for and certain of what [they] do not see (Heb.11:1) and that is evident in their prayer.
• The righteous know that God is in control. That he is in all things. That he is mighty to save. That he can and does heal, and so they pray trusting that he will. They know that some times he doesn’t heal because of discipline or sin and still they ask with a hope. There prayer isn’t a fervent wish, but it is a solid petition of the one who sits upon the throne.
• James places and expects the Elders to be among the ones who pray with this kind of faith, presumably because they are called and set apart as mature believers who would understand the will of God, his sovereignty and their ability to live by faith.
• So when the sick come to them for prayer it isn’t the lack of faith on the sick that has kept them ill and it isn’t the power of the Elder that healed them. It is the grace of God at work through the faithful prayer of his people that he has set apart to minister to the needs of the Church.
• Douglas Moo say’s the Shepherd of God’s people, the Elder, should pray with “faith in the God whose will is supreme and best; only sometimes does this faith include assurance that a particular request is within that will. This is exactly the qualification that is needed to understand Jesus’ own promise, ‘You may ask for anything in my name and I will do it’ (John 14:14). To ask in Jesus name means not to simply utter his name, but to take into account his will (Moo, 245).”
• In his book, The Miracles of Jesus, h. Van der loos writes, “faith, forgiveness and healing are all three in essence dispensations of the grace of God. This implies that the relations between these three are not governed by the law of causality but by the will and intention of God.”
• So the big question of the day, James gives us Elijah as an example: Can we expect to be like Elijah?

Woe to the wealthy merchants . . .

2011-12-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

• Last weeks text and today’s both “condemn a pursuit of wealth that fails to take into account the reality of God and his will for humanity (Moo, 209).
• In the course of Eternity what we do in life reflects who we are.
• If we live a life consistent with our confession we should be able to take confidence in our position as co-heirs with Christ.
• In Chapter 5:1, James returns to condemn the rich. These are mostly likely worldly rich people.
• They may be rich believers who are not living like they are a Christian and are oppressing their poor brothers, but I think, and am fairly confident that they may be the wealthy merchants of the 1st century.
• Either way there are truths spoken against them here for some serious misdeeds.
• Calvin writes that those to whom James speaks here, that he has a “regard to the faithful. That [at] hearing the miserable end of the rich, they might not envy their fortune. And that knowing that God would be the avenger of the wrongs they suffered, they might with a calm and resigned mind bear them.”
• In other words, the rich believer at hearing what James says might not pursue their riches and the poor believer might rest knowing God will give them their due.
• James say’s “weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.”
• As we discussed 2 weeks ago, weep and wail are prophetic language. The sense is that there is terrible judgment for those who abuse their station in life. It is language used by the prophets to foreshadow doom on pagan nations.
• The word used for wail (ololyzo) is only found in the prophets and always in the context of judgment, making it clear that the misery coming upon them is judgment.
• The term rich can be used for unrighteous. And the prophets denounce the oppression of the poor often, especially in Amos. Correlating the rich with unrighteousness and poverty with righteousness.
• The rich that James writes about here are not condemned for their wealth, they are condemned for how they use their wealth. This is consistent with other NT writings.
• It was a sinful accumulation of things, because wealth can be a powerful obstacle to Christian discipleship. It is difficult to overcome the greed of consumption.
• It asks the question, when do we have too much?
• James goes on, your wealth has rotted, moths have eaten your clothes, your gold and silver are corroded and the corrosion will testify against you.
• This mirrors the words of Jesus and shows the frailty of earthly treasures (Matthew 6:19).
• James is saying that the stuff we have has already rotted. It is associated with all the things of this world that will one day fade away and offer no foundation for future glory.
• Not only will our stuff give us no eternal benefit, it stands as a witness against us.
• The fact that these people have accumulated so much shows that their heart is guilty of focusing on earthly treasure.
• I have said it before, take an inventory of your time, energy, money, and possessions and that is where you will find your heart!
• Dibelius said, People who hoard wealth are not only demonstrating false priorities, they are depriving others of life.
• Calvin wrote, “God has not appointed gold for rust, nor garments for moths; but, on the contrary, he has designed them as aids to help human life.”
• This speaks to James heart for the poor, the broken and needy. James witnessed Jesus care for these and the evidence of misuse or disuse will stand as a witness against the rich and it will stand as witness either for or against us as well.
• Have you hoarded wealth or have you been charitable with what God has given you?
• Did you invest what he gave you wisely, or did you bury it in a field?
• James writes that the rich have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence.
• He has accused the rich of hoarding wealth, cheating workers, living self-indulgent lives and at the end of murdering innocent people.
• They murder them by depriving the poor of the things they need to live.
• They hoard things, so there isn’t enough to go around. Supply and demand. They don’t pay fairly or at all, so the poor struggle to eat and survive. The rich take whatever they want even if it costs lives.
• So James tells the brothers to be patient, even until the Lord’s coming.
• You might not see the judgment or justice, but be patient.
• James focus here is on how a believer should respond and it is an attitude we must adopt in order to have a solid biblical understanding of this life and of future judgment..
• We need to be patient. We need to stand firm.
• We need to not grumble against each other, but rather look at the prophets as an example of patience in the face of suffering.
• Look at Jeremiah!
• Know the bible. Know that we consider blessed those who have persevered.
• Look at Job.
• Know the truth. Know that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy!
• Know the 37th Psalm. Trust in the Lord and do good. Commit yourself to him. Wait Patiently for him. Know that the meek will inherit the land, the Lord upholds the righteous and their inheritance will endure forever. Know that the righteous give generously and they take refuge in him.
• When we know these things we can patiently endure all kinds of difficulties and we can be a better witness of his grace wherever we go.

Understanding time and Eternity

2011-12-02T12:33:00.001-08:00

Understanding time and Eternity; James 4:13-5:12
• I think that James has one thought that he begins to develop here at the close of his letter.
• This thought begins in verse 13 of chapter 4, transitions in verse 1 of chapter 5 and then again in verse 7 of chapter 5.
• He says, you who say today or tomorrow we will . . .in verse 13
• Weep and wail because of the misery that is coming to you. In verse 1.
• Be patient until the Lords coming. In verse 7.
• Using the framing technique James reiterates at end of his letter what we have discussed before, warning the wealthy believer who oppresses another, speaks boldly about enduring suffering and then ends this point in verse 12 of chapter 5 telling the believer to not swear by anything, but rather let your yes be yes and your no be no.
• We are going to focus today on the first part of this as we begin to close up James.
• The thought James develops here is this: James is speaking to believers about how to understand time and eternity.
• In other words, James restates some of the things he has addressed because they have eternal consequences.
• Remember that we have tried to view James as a NT book of wisdom and it relates to Proverbs in that way. Today the text relates to the wisdom of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
• James also draws much of his intent from the life of Jesus and I hope we will see that today as well.
• Verse 13, 14A and 15 flow well together as a unit. The second part of 14 starting at “What is your life?” can be read as a standalone statement on the supremacy and sovereignty of God.
• Looking at verse 13, “Now listen you who say,” parallels the intro in 5:1, “Now listen you rich people.”
• We just came from James showing the believer who is struggling living a right life how to submit to God.
• Here he tells that same believer, listen in verse 13, listen in verse 1 and be patient my brothers in verse 7.
• The uses of listen, and be patient brothers joins these passages into one thought.
• James wants us to understand some truths about time and about eternity.
• It is critical that the believer know what his life is for and how to live it.
• Douglas moo says that both passages, in verse 13 and 5:1, “rebuke the attitude of well-to-do people who arrogantly suppose that they can think and act without reference to God and to eternity. Arrogant selfishness is the problem [James addresses] in both paragraphs (Moo, 200).
• The NIV titles the 1st paragraph Boasting about tomorrow, but I think it might be better titles, Ignorance toward God’s providence.
• Wealth again seems to be at the heart of James in both passages.
• Here in Chapter 4 the reader is supposed to say, we will go to this city, spend a year there, do business and make money.
• In the 1st century only the wealthy had the means to do this or plan this.
• James seems to want to show that these people do not give God the glory for what they accomplish, but rather they act arrogantly as if their plans, their desires and their good sense is all that is needed or required to find success.
• James chastises them for failing to look at life from a Christian or eternal perspective in verse 14, urges them to acknowledge the Lord in verse 15 and tells them that after all, they no what they should do in the first place in verse 17.
• James has framed his letter well and has returned to a subject we looked at in Chapter 1:10-11 when he told the wealthy believers to avoid boasting in the worldly status, but rather boast in the Lord.
• It seems clear to me that the language James uses here shows an elevated state in his voice. He is getting angry in a way or is being stern like a father who is rebuking his children.
• It seems like James regards the heart of the believer here or their attitude as unworthy of who they are in Christ. I think this is evident in verse 17.
• These people are worldly self-confident and they ought to be Godly self-confident.
• James rebukes them for their planning that is based not on God’s will, but of their own ability to determine or force the outcome.
• In verse 14 James tries to bring them back to reality. He reminds them of who they are.
• You are limited; you don’t know what tomorrow will bring.
• What is your life? You are a mist. The word here could also mean vapor or smoke. The point is it is something that is insignificant, short lived, here one day and gone the next, here one minute and gone, vanished.
• It is as if James is saying, how dare you! Don’t you know you are nothing and can do nothing apart from God? In the realm of eternity you are vapor.
• Proverbs 27:1 says do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day might bring forth.
• Luke 12:15-20 might also be in James mind (read)
• James does not want his audience of believers to store up wealth on earth and be neglectful of eternity.
• We shouldn’t pursue the things of this earth more then God. Wealth is ok, but we should desire to be rich in the Lord, not in earthly treasures.
• It seems as though many believers had forgotten to live as though this world was not their home. They became consumed by greed and power and status. These things became an idol and robbed them of the joy of an abundant life and in a way robbed God of what he wanted to accomplish in them.
• Solomon wrote about the meaningless pursuit of wealth in Ecclesiastes2:17-26.
• The people in the 1st century needed to be reminded of this. Why are you pursuing wealth and business if it is not done in agreement with the will of the Father? Don’t you know, you will one day leave all you have to someone else and they might not take care of it. That day night be tomorrow and when it comes what will you say to God?
• I was busy making plans for the future? I was storing up my wealth so that when I was old I could live a comfortable life? I wanted to leave wealth to my offspring?
• Or will you say, Lord I did with it what you told me. I asked you for guidance, your spirit directed me and your word confirmed to me what I was to do with all you have given me. You have shown what is good and what you require of me and that is how I handled my business, my wealth and my possessions.
• I didn’t just say, if the Lord wills, I lived with a heart attitude that knew that what I do, if I am successful or not depended only and solely on the sovereign eternal providence of God in heaven.
• I think that is what James is trying to convey here.
• He doesn’t want us to just say empty words, “I will go to SLO, if the Lord wills.” He wants us to live with a confidence that knows if I get to SLO it is because the Lord had willed it. If I am a success, it is because the Lord willed. If my Children live as believers it is because the Lord willed.
• It had nothing to do with my plans.
• I make plans, but God must direct them.
• We know what we should do. We read James 1:22
• I know I should pray for the salvation of my children, I should live a life of love, I should humble myself before the Lord, I should draw near to the throne of Grace with confidence, I should pursue Godly wisdom that is pure, patient and peace loving. I should ask things of God, not in selfishness, but out of faith.
• If I do not do what I know I should do, then I am sinning.
• The people James addresses here knew how to live and weren’t doing it so James tells them, you are sinning.
• You and, we know how we ought to live, are we doing it?

Drawing near to God . . .James 4:4-12

2011-11-25T13:58:00.001-08:00

• James 4:4-12
• Today we are going to look at 10 imperative verbs in the text.
• These imperative verbs are commands that James writes to believers.
• They are written here to help the believers overcome the difficulties we addressed in previous weeks.
• If you are struggling with your tongue, your deeds, coveting, fighting, selfish desires, lack of faith, or an inability to preserver these commands will help!
• James makes the transition here in verse 4 with, “You adulterous people.”
• This is in contrast to the 12 tribes in verse 1:1; My dear brothers in 1:19; My brothers in 2:1; My brothers in 2:14;
• He is still speaking to these brothers when he calls them adulterous because of how they are living.
• They have one foot in the kingdom and are still in love with the things of the world.
• He makes a strong statement, “Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?”
• How do we overcome this? By obeying the commands God has given us.
• Augustine said that God gives us what he demands.
• Douglas Moo say’s, God’s Grace demands a response from us. James reminds us that God’s grace is completely adequate to meet the requirements imposed upon us by God’s jealousy. He adds that Our God is a consuming fire, and his demand for exclusive allegiance may seem terrifying. But Our God is also merciful, gracious, all-loving, and willingly supplies all that we need to meet his all-encompassing demands.
• I like that. It is because God opposes the proud, but gives Grace to the humble (Prov. 3:34) that we can do this.
• The Hebrew and Greek would write this list backwards, instead of:
• 1- Submit yourselves to God.
• 2-Resist the Devil.
• 3-Come near to God.
• 4-Wash your hands.
• 5-Purify your hearts.
• 6-Grieve, Mourn and wail.
• 7-Change your laughter.
• 8-Change your Joy.
• 9-Humble yourselves before the Lord.
• 10-Do not slander one another.
• The list might be best read 10-1.
• Stop slandering one another! Humble your self before the Lord then you can do 8-2 and then submitting yourself to God will be easy.
• We must be humble first if we expect to enjoy God’s grace.
• Peter wrote a similar message in 1 Peter 5:5-10.
• To Submit to God means to place ourselves under his Lordship and therefore to commit ourselves to obey him in all things (Moo). The Greek word used here for submit is hypotasso and it means to “put in order under.” It also suggests that there is a system of authority.
• God ordered his universe with laws and he established authority in heaven and on earth.
• He established Government (Rom. 13:1,5; 1 Peter 2:13).
• Authority in Marriage (Eph. 5:21; Col. 3:18; Titus 2:5; 1 Peter 3:1,5).
• It is unbelief or lack of faith, scripture will say, that leads to a failure to submit to God’s law (Rom. 8:7) and his righteousness (Rom. 10:3).
• We should and we must place ourselves in humble submission to will and authority of God.
• That can only come through humbling ourselves to him and then working to do the word of God. That was part of why I wanted to spend the time on James 1:22. We can only do those things by dying to ourselves and living for Christ.
• When we have humbled ourselves then we can change our Joy to gloom and our laughter to mourning.
• James wants us to take no pleasure in earthly joy. He wants us to identify sin for what it is and it interferes with our relationship with God. We must not live like these Christians in the 1st century. They seem to have had a worldview that was ignoring the reality of God’s judgment. Perhaps they clung too much to God’s mercy and love and had forgotten about his wrath and anger.
• Paul writes to rejoice in the Lord always (Phil 4:4) and that is where a Christian finds his joy, not in sin.
• In the bible laughter is often associated with the fool or the foolish. Jesus wrote, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep” (Luke 6:25).
• It is the laughter caused by sin resulting from foolish pursuits.
• To grieve, mourn and wail are all images used by the prophets to depict reactions of those who suffer the judgment of God.
• Joel wrote to people of God, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning (2:12).”
• Like Joel, James calls on God’s people to exhibit a heartfelt sorrow for sin and this heartfelt sorrow is a mark of true repentance (MOO, 195).
• Paul also called God’s people to mourn for their sin (1 Cor. 5:2).
• The command for clean hands and a pure heart are images drawn from the Psalms.
• Clean hands and a pure heart were required of anyone who was to stand before the Lord. James asks the same of those who would draw near to God.
• It is a repentance of an external behavior and an internal one.
• The text literally reads: wash hands, sinners. Purify hearts, double minded.
• James sees his readers as believers who needed a wake up call. He wanted to show them the seriousness of their departure from Godly living.
• After washing and purifying the believer can come near to or draw near to God.
• James uses the verb draw near in the same manner Hosea used it in Hosea 12:6, “But you must return [come near; draw near] to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.”
• This use as return fits James use as he is writing to Christians who have wandered from truth or who have followed the world, while still worshiping God.
• Return to God and resist the devil.
• Satan’s goal is separate man from God.
• When we resist him he will flee James say’s.
• The devil here can literally be Satan, so whatever Power he has the Christian can be certain that God has given the means to overcome him.
• It can mean the schemes of the devil and so we can be certain that God has given the means to victory.
• It can mean the demonic forces and so the Christian can be sure that God has given the means to overcome them and the power to or the ability to overcome their power.

This weeks James . . .

2011-11-16T15:53:00.000-08:00

James 4:1-3

• Drawing near to Go . . .
• I think Chapter 4 continues an argument that began in Chapter 3.
• Verses 1-3 of chapter 4 finish the thought James started toward, first teachers and then believers.
• Verse 4 signals a transition specifically to people in the Churches. So I want to look today at verse 1-3 as they relate to the last two weeks.
• The context of James speaks first to the teachers or to those who desired to teach.
• He connected the tongue to the teacher first, then to the person who desired to teach and the lesson applies to all believers.
• Last week James spoke of two kinds of wisdom. The wisdom of the devil and of heaven.
• The wisdom of heaven leads the Church and should lead the lives of every believer and it should lead the life of the teacher.
• Today we see James focus first on the teacher or the leader of the Church again.
• Many in the 1st century Church presumed to be teachers and I think it is these who led to the quarreling in the early Church.
• Many of these who desired to be teachers did so out of selfish motives. I tried to show 2 weeks ago that we should not desire or try to do something that is not done by faith.
• I think it was RC Sproul who said that you know you are called to Preach or teach if you are no good at anything else.
• I disagree, I think you know you should, when even though you are successful at something else you are compelled to or desire to walk away from it to do what God leads you to do.
• God puts a desire in your heart to teach or preach and so you pursue it.
• But, if you pursue it so that you can appear more spiritual or greater then someone else then the desire is from the flesh. We presume to be what we are not if we do not have the evidence to support it.
• There is a battle inside all of us. A battle to do what we want and what God wants. I think Paul confirms this in Romans 7:15-25
• Here James says that the fights and quarrels among the believers and even among the leaders or teachers come from these desires that battle within.
• What did they fight about? 1 clue they coveted. I think some of these people coveted teaching and so they presumed to be teachers.
• They also might have fought over who they followed and associated that with being a true believer or not. This was happening in the early church.
• Look at what Paul wrote: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
• Clearly disputes, fights and quarrels have been happening since the beginning of the Church and so James must address it. Here he is addressing the quarreling that starts at the top. If the leaders quarrel or allow quarreling it will not stop.
• It causes me to think of disputes today. Calvin or Armenis. Who do we follow? I say Christ! And him crucified.
• There is fighting today among denominations as there were in the early Church.
• I might be going too far on this, but I know people who will not associate with a brother of another denomination. Theologically they are in agreement, but they dispute over interpretation and obscure doctrine. I don’t think this should be.
• Certainly Paul wrote about avoiding those who do not teach sound doctrine (1 Timothy 6) among others.
• I think God desires unity among the Church. He wants us to be his hands, his feet and his voice in a fallen world. We should not be fighting with a brother.
• A brother is someone who abides in the teaching of God (2 John 1:9). A brother is someone who lives with love (1 John 4:7-13). A brother is someone who believes in Jesus and keeps his commands (1 John 3:23-24).
• Look at what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:1-16.
• That is the Church. Paul writes, There is one body (v.4) be eager to maintain unity of it.
• God gave: apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers, to equip the saints until we attain to the unity of the faith (v.12-13).
• That is the calling of many in the Church, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, not tearing down. Not fighting it or dividing it. To work toward unity of faith and unity of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. So that we are no longer tossed by every wind of doctrine. That we are mature believers, not easily led astray.
• Unity, so that each part, when it is working properly, grows so that the Church builds itself up in love.
• I think this is at the heart of James 4.
• Stop fighting amongst yourselves. Test yourself and grow in your faith. Quit quarreling about Jesus and start living like Jesus.
• I think this is a reason why verses 1-3 fit well with last week’s class. James carries this thought over from last week.
• The wisdom that comes from God is pure and peace loving, not quarrelsome and fighting.
• V.18, peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
• They sow in peace and harvest righteousness, not fighting and quarreling.
• James doesn’t seem to desire to talk only about what wisdom is or where it comes from, but to really look at the fruit of wisdom.
• If you are wise, you will have deeds done in humility.
• Humble people are not quarreling people. Humble people don’t argue over who is greater. Humble people are not motivated to do something out of selfishness. They do not covet or presume to be anything other then what they are. I think James makes the case that teachers, more then any, should be humble. They should be the peacemakers.
• In this case the fighting in the church is why the church needs peacemakers.
• The word James uses for quarrels in verse 2 is: machai. It means battles or strife.
• It can often be used to mean actual physical battle, or to kill. But it can also be figurative.
• I think James uses the word figuratively here.
• If the Church was killing one another over disputes, I think James would address that more exhaustively.
• The figurative use of the words: battle and kill, is also emphasized by James questioning of the tongue in Chapter 3. The tongue is the instrument of destruction. The tongue is what is killing here in Chapter 4. The wisdom of God would cause you to use your tongue for peace, love and truth, not to bring strife.
• So we have another test of ourselves developing in James.
• Chapter 1:Do you persevere under trial? Chapter 2:Do you have deeds of your faith? Chapter 3:Can you control your tongue? Chapter 3:Are you filled with the wisdom of God?
• If you are filled with the wisdom of God, then you shouldn’t be quarreling.
• If you are quarreling then you are battling desires from within.
• You are fighting your flesh. And this affects your prayers and your desires.
• James said in 3:14, “If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.”
• I think James is telling us to be aware of what we are dealing with. Don’t deceive ourselves and deny what is going on. Test yourself, and see if you have any bitter envy or selfish ambition. Is this what motivates your desire to teach, or whatever?
• It is selfish ambition that leads to coveting and battling, because “you cannot have what you want.”
• Our prayers are ruined before they begin.
• We ask God for things in prayer, but we do not get them because we are asking with wrong motives.
• We don’t approach the throne of Grace with confidence because we lack faith. We lack faith because we lack wisdom. Our lack of wisdom results in a lack of humility and so our motives in prayer are wrong.
• James says you do not have because you do not ask God. Why don’t we ask? Lack of faith? Why don’t we receive when we ask? Lack of faith.
• We can read the word and know things that are true about God and yet not ask for them in prayer because we are proud or faithless. Jesus raised Lazarus, but we will never pray expecting him to do it. We also have an out in our prayer. That was a onetime deal, or a special circumstance.
• Jesus said that the faith of a mustard seed can move a mountain in Matthew 17. Was Jesus lying? Was he speaking literal or figurative? Your presupposition to that question will affect your prayer, because it affects your faith.
• What about John 14:12-14. If you have faith in Jesus you will do what he was doing, do even greater then that and he will do whatever you ask in his name.
• Why don’t we see the evidence of this? Was Jesus lying? No. Then it must be because of our lack of faith or our wrong motives in prayer and life.
• James has been teaching us to test ourselves. See if we have the deeds of faith. See if the life we live is consistent with the claim we make and adjust accordingly.
• If we are not praying in faith it is sin (Romans 14:23) James says that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (5:16), because the righteous will live by faith (Habakkuk 2:2-4).
• When you start to live by faith, you will start to be a doer of the word of God.
• Next week we will look at 10 commands in the text that can only be done in faith through God’s gracious provision.

Thought's on James . . .

2011-11-07T12:10:00.001-08:00

I have really been enjoying studying, and applying James.
James writes to believers that they will be tested and challenges believers to test themselves.
He opens with consider the testing joy.
You can pass the test! Persevere and you may be a mature believer.
Test 1: do you care about others?
God gives generously to all without finding fault.
Are you imitating God?
Don't worry about what you don't have on earth, but rejoice that if you pass the test you have a high position.
You are a child of God and a co-heir with Christ.
So, be slow to anger.
Get rid of moral filth.
Do what the bible says.
Keep a tight rein on your tongue.
Look out for the poor, the needy, the orphan, the widow.
Don't let the world, sin, the flesh, the devil, corrupt you.
Test 2: Do you live with the Royal Law?
The law of God is his kingdoms law and it is love.
Love does not show favoritism.
It does not discriminate or judge with evil thoughts.
Those who love God are rich in faith and they will inherit the promised kingdom.
Love is a deed.
It is exampled in action.
What good is it to say"I love you." but to not have love?
Love is 1 John 4:7-8
Love does good things.
If you love God, then you will love what he loves and who he loves.
Jesus told us to love our neighbor.
Do you love your neighbor?
If you do you will live by faith and show them your love by what you do.
If you put your faith to the test, then you can pass the pass the test.
You will know if you are a Christian if you do the things that Jesus did.
Test 3: You will control your tongue.
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
What is in your heart?
You cannot love God and your life.
Praise and cursing ought to not flow from the same spring.
Have you tamed your tongue?
Only the Spirit of God can.
If he has, you pass the test.
Test 4: Are you wise?
do you boast?
Do you envy?
Do you covet?
You are not wise in God's eyes.
The wise are pure.
peace-loving.
considerate.
submissive.
full of mercy and good fruit.
impartial and sincere.
Are you wise?
Did you pass the test?
Test 5: Do you submit yourself to God?
In all things?
In prayer?
In quite?

James say's many things. He shows us many ways to test ourselves. Did you pass the test?

The teachers tongue . . .

2011-11-05T10:14:00.001-07:00

James 3:1-12

• The Tongue reveals the heart.
• This passage is closely tied to Chapter 2:14-26. James makes a natural progression from works to words. James Commentary Author Tasker say’s of this, “Words are also works.” In fact they are very significant works.
• We read a couple of weeks ago James 1:19 and talked about being quick to listen and slow to speak as an example of the true worship James speaks of in verse 1:27. In James 1:26 we read, “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.”
• The Context of James 1:27 started in verse 19 and James gave three examples of pure or true religion (worship): Controlling the tongue, caring for the needy and keeping ourselves from being polluted by the world. James comes back to that here and builds upon his identification of what we say with who we are.
• James is trying to show us that not only is what we do a test of who we are, but what we say is also a test, especially of those who desire to teach.
• Jesus said in Matthew 12:36 &37, “But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned.” N.I.V.
• I think Jesus words from Matthew are at the heart of James 3:1
• The passage applies to all believers, but James knows that those who teach are in more danger of misspeaking and that can not only hinder their own testimony, but it can lead others astray.
• Some Observations of the text: We who teach will be judged more strictly. Why? Because the tongue can make great boasts (v.5) it can steer the wrong way or the right way (v. 4) it can corrupt the whole person (v.6) and it can praise and curse (v.9).
• You who want to teach be on the watch, for your mouth reveals your heart! And no man can tame the tongue (v.8). Only the Holy Spirit can.
• Proverbs has many things to say about the tongue. It connects the tongue to wisdom, to righteousness and to Godliness.
• Read Proverbs 10:11;21;11:9;12:18;22;13:3;18:7;21;
• The tongue has the power of life and death! It can steer us toward life and it can steer us toward disaster. So the teacher can too.
• I think James address many things here in chapter 3, but the heart of the matter isn’t just the teacher, but those who want to teach and especially those who want to teach, but aren’t called to teach.
• In the first century, few could read and so the teachers of the early church were held in a position of esteem like a Rabbi was.
• If you were a teacher in the early church you could be famous, powerful, and well respected. Many sought this position because Paul wrote about teaching as a spiritual gift and gave it high standing as a gift (1 Cor. 12:28). There were perhaps too many in the early church striving toward this gift without having the calling, the maturity or the moral qualifications. They were a major cause, most likely, in the quarreling, unkind, critical speech that James addresses later on.
• James considered himself a teacher in verse 1, saying “we” will be judged more strictly. And because the teacher uses his tongue, the hardest part of the body to control in his ministry, he exposes himself to sin and to leading the Church astray.
• I think James is sharing that those who teach have been given a great burden and unless it is given to you, don’t seek it!
• Jesus said in Luke 12:48 that to those who have been given much, much will be demanded.
• So to those who want to teach, desire to teach or are called to teach know that you will have to give a careful account of the stewardship that God has entrusted to you!
• To those who will not teach or do not teach this text today can still apply.
• It is true that our tongue can sing praises or rain curses and that no man can tame the tongue only the Holy Spirit can.
• Jesus said in Matthew 12:34 that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Why? Because the heart is deceitful above all else (Jeremiah 17:9)
• The Lord went on to say through Jeremiah, “I the Lord search the Heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” (Jer.17:10)
• Proverbs says that the mouth of the fool says from his heart there is no God.
• The question is, are you a wise person or a fool? Your mouth will reveal that to you.
• Proverbs 18:6-7 say’s, “A fools lips bring him strife and his mouth invites a beating. A fools mouth is his undoing and his lips are a snare to his soul.”
• I shared last week that I no longer golf, because when I would golf I would loose control of my tongue.
• James shares that we all, you and I, stumble in many ways.
• But the tongue is critical! If you can control what you say, you can keep your whole body in check.
• In other words, if you can stop your mouth from saying things it shouldn’t say then it will be easy for you to control your hands from taking what isn’t yours, your eyes from looking at something you shouldn’t, your feet from taking you where you don’t want to go and so on.
• Why if you can control your mouth would it be easy to control you body? Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 15:11, 17-20
• James ends his point in verse 10-12 with a strong point, “Out of the same mouth come praising and cursing. My brothers this should not be.”
• The Lord searches the heart to see the deeds and the conduct (Jeremiah 17:10; Revelation 2:23). The heart of man apart from God is deceitful and the deceit is abundant. From this abundance the mouth speaks. If you are not a Christian then your mouth will not speak abundant praises.
• But, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For it is with your heart you believe and are justified and with your mouth you confess and are saved.” If you are a believer we are told that, “I [the Lord] will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you . . . a heart of flesh, not stone. And I will move you to follow my decrees.” Ezekiel 36:26

A Harmony of Justification between Paul and James.

2011-10-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

• I wrote last week that we can know what God say’s to do. We can even agree that we need to do them. But, if we are not actually being obedient to the revealed word of God, do we really have faith?
• James states that he will show his faith by what he does, that Abraham’s faith was made complete by what he did and Rahab was called righteous by what she did.
• John MacArthur say’s that James continues his series of tests by which his readers can evaluate whether their faith is living or dead.
• James point is that faith that is not accompanied by works cannot justify, because it is not true saving faith.
• Saying in Verse 24, “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone” N.I.V.
• James showed in the previous verse that deeds and faith are intimately connected and now he ratchets up the argument with, “you see.”
• Here is the controversy, Paul wrote in Romans 3:28, “A person is justified by faith and not by works of the law.”
• But James is not disagreeing with that. He wrote in verse 18 that God chose to give us birth through the word of truth.
• This is consistent with Paul that faith comes from hearing (Romans 10:17) and that it is a gift that comes down from God (Ephesians 2:8-10)
• So verse 24 James says, ”You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone” and in Romans 3:28 Paul say’s, , “A person is justified by faith and not by works of the law.”
• Most scholars agree that James uses the term works, or deeds (what he does), to denote anything done in service to God, with emphasis on works of charity, like the Orphan, widow and poor. Paul’s emphasis is on faith at conversion and how he uses the term indicates innocence is declared in justification. The word Paul uses (dikaiosis) and those related to it’s original Greek verb occur 30 times in Romans, mostly between 2:13-5:1. The forensic term means to declare righteous.
• The word in James is ‘dikaioo’, which is an equitable deed and it can mean vindicate or demonstrate to be right. So there is a degree of variation between Paul and James to the intent of the word Justify. The word in James is the same word Jesus used in Matthew 11:19, “Wisdom is justified [proved right] by her actions.” According to Douglas Moo, Judaism maintained the same basic viewpoint, that a person’s righteousness (the same word James uses for Justify) is related to correct conduct, as defined by God’s law, and the verdict of justification was pronounced over those who faithfully observed the law. Matthew’s gospel reflects this Jewish usage.
• Two key differences between the two is the addition of “alone” by James. Calvin wrote that, “Paul contends that we are justified apart from the help of works, so James does not allow those who lack good works to be reckoned righteous.” And Romans 3:28, which was the basis for Luther calling James an Epistle of straw and relegating it to secondary status. In the original Greek translation of Romans 3:28 the word alone does not exist! In MacArthur’s commentary he say’s, “Although the word alone does not appear in the Greek text. (MacArthur, 1515)”
• I think we can easily harmonize the two: Paul wrote that it is faith that Justifies, but he never excused right living. Adding alone is ok, because we are justified by faith alone, but Paul assumed that saving faith would result in righteousness. He assumed that faith would bear fruit. He assumed that Christians would be transformed from darkness into light and they would imitate God according to what he wrote in Ephesians 5:1. The bible says that God is a father to fatherless, gives clothes to the naked, brings food to the hungry and so on. So Paul would assume that Christians would do likewise.
• He also would agree with James that a Christian needs to test themselves as James argues. Test yourself, see if you have the deeds of Christ and then know you are saved. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”
• So what is the test? James would tell us it is 1:22, do the word of God. Hear what is said and do it!
• Jesus said in John 10:27 that his sheep hear his voice, they listen to it and they follow him. Paul would agree with this. In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus connected the good things the people had done for others as doing them for him. He said his sheep are the ones who clothe, feed, visit, give water, etc. Jesus assumed that his sheep would be the ones doing these good deeds.
• James agreed with Paul from Romans 10:9 confess and believe and you will be saved, but he was aware of many who confess Christ and did not believe, because they did not live it.
• The early Church was filled with people who claimed to have faith, but did not posses salvation. I think that where there is truth, there will also be an attempt to copy it or counterfeit it. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21 that not all who call me Lord will enter heaven, but only those who “do” the will of the Father.
• We can only “do” the Father’s will if we know what it is, and it is revealed to us in his word. Once we know what it is, by faith and out of the Holy Spirit leading us, we should live it in and with our lives. Words alone should never rob God of our service to him or rob us from the call to live Godly lives to his glory.
• We need to and should do good to all men as we have opportunity (Galatians 6:10), knowing that what we do to or for the least among us we do unto Jesus himself (Matt. 25:40).
• James assumed, as Paul did, that saving faith would result in righteousness. That Christians would be transformed from darkness into light and they would imitate God and be charitable.
• Both know that it is God who saves by grace through faith and that results in doing good things. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10.
• Faith that justifies results in correct conduct and if correct conduct is absent there is no saving faith, because saving faith brings life, not death.
• Paul wrote in Titus 1:16, “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.”
• Both Paul and James use Abraham as an example of faith. They both show that the justified ‘dikaiosis’ person has a changed life and is able to obey the will of God. Abraham was justified, as Paul’s use of the Greek would show, he was declared righteous before God by his faith, not by his doing. His obedience justified him, ‘dikaioo’ proving that he was already saved!

Sunday School, James 2:14-26

2011-10-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

James 2:14-26

Deeds of Obedience to the will of God
• What we do is a test of who we are
• Like the statement, you are what you eat. James say’s here you are what you do.
• James states in verse 14 that he thinks that if you do not have deeds then you have no faith. Saying, what good is it, if a man claims he has faith?”
• The word for good used here is (ophelos) and it translates to profit or gain.
• What [gain] is it, if you claim you have faith, but don’t have any deeds? Can such faith save you?
• It is of no profit for you!
• A faith that is without deeds is not saving faith.
• I heard on the radio the other day that what matters is faith. We all need to have faith, but it doesn’t matter in what, just as long as we have it in something.
• As Christians we would argue that is not true, we must have faith in Christ alone, but do our lives reflect that we have faith? Or is our faith just merely a statement?
• Can I really be a Christian just because I claim to be one, or should there be evidence that I am one?
• Can I really be a great athlete because I claim that I am or should there be evidence that I am?
• Paul said in Acts 26:20, “to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” REPENTANCE OR FAITH IS PROVED BY DEEDS.
• James and Paul are in agreement that saving faith is evidenced by having deeds or by doing Godly things.
• I think scripture makes it clear, saving faith is always accompanied by results. The results are a changed life, a purified heart and a willingness to do good things.
• Wayne Grudem say’s that Conversion is our willing response to the gospel call, in which we sincerely repent of sins and place our trust in Christ for salvation (Grudem, 709). He writes that turning from sin is repentance and turning toward Christ is faith. He argues that saving faith requires more then knowledge. Just knowing God’s commands and agreeing to them are not enough.
• This is James 1:22. We can know what God say’s to do. We can even agree that we need to do them. But, if we are not actually being obedient to the revealed word of God, do we really have faith? Do we really believe that is our guide and our source of truth?
• We can claim to have faith because we know the right words or we know the attributes that we are supposed to have, but do we put into practice what we know?
• All of the passages that I have read about salvation include faith. Jesus told us to believe. Paul wrote in Romans 10:9, confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raise him from the dead and you will be saved.” Confessing and believing go hand in hand. Say it and then believe it, have faith in it.
• Verse 10, “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth confesses and is saved.”
• I love what John Calvin wrote about James. He said that it is faith alone that justifies, but faith that justifies is never alone.
• True faith, saving faith is always accompanied by good deeds. Hebrews 11:6 say’s that without faith we cannot please God.
• Faith must have deeds and that pleases God.
• So what are the deeds of faith?
• Ephesians 4:22-5:21, imitate God; Love, Galatians 5:16-26 & 1 JOHN 4:7-8; Doing good to each other Galatians 6:9-10. Having a heart set on things above Colossians 3:1-3. Have compassion, Colossians 3:12-17. Praying, 1 Timothy 2:1-3. Be holy, 1 Peter 1:13-16. Rid yourself of hypocrisy, 1 Peter2:1. Be clear minded, 1 Peter 4:7-11. Obey his commands, 1 John 2:3-6 (very consistent with James). Do what is right, 1 JOHN 2:29. GIVING TO THOSE IN NEED, 1 JOHN 3:16-18.
• Those deeds reveal faith as they did for many in scripture. Hebrews 11:4, Abel offered a sacrifice; 11:7 Noah, in Holy Fear obeyed God; 11:8, Abraham went where God told him to go, and he offered his son as a sacrifice (v. 17). Lived by faith even till they died v.13, they continued in faith or persevered. By Faith, Moses parents did not fear the Kings edict (v. 23), and Moses regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value then all the treasure of Egypt.
• I said earlier that we can know what God say’s to do. We can even agree that we need to do them. But, if we are not actually being obedient to the revealed word of God, do we really have faith?
• James states that he will show his faith by what he does, that Abraham’s faith was made complete by what he did and Rahab was called righteous by what she did.
• Verse 24, “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone” N.I.V.
• James showed in the previous verse that deeds and faith are intimately connected and now he ratchets up the argument with, “you see.”
• Here is the controversy, Paul wrote in Romans 3:28, “A person is justified by faith and not by works of the law.”
• Most scholars agree that James uses the term works, or what he does, to denote anything done in service to God, with emphasis on works of charity. Paul’s emphasis is on faith at conversion and how he uses the term indicates innocence is declared in justification. The word in James is ‘dikaioo’, and it can mean vindicate or demonstrate to be right. So there is a degree of variation between Paul and James to the intent of the word Justify. The word in James is the same word Jesus used in Matthew 11:19, “Wisdom is justified [proved right] by her actions.” According to Douglas Moo, Judaism maintained the same basic viewpoint, that a person’s righteousness (the same word James uses for Justify) is related to correct conduct, as defined by God’s law, and the verdict of justification was pronounced over those who faithfully observed the law. Matthew’s gospel reflects this Jewish usage.
• A key difference between the two is the addition of “alone” by James. Calvin wrote that, “Paul contends that we are justified apart from the help of works, so James does not allow those who lack good works to be reckoned righteous.”
• I think this can easily harmonize the two: Paul wrote that it is faith that Justifies, but he never excused right living. He assumed that saving faith would result in righteousness. He assumed that faith would bear fruit. He assumed that Christians would be transformed from darkness into light and they would imitate God according to what Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:1. The bible says that God is a father to fatherless, gives clothes to the naked, brings, food to the hungry and so on. So Paul would assume that Christians would do likewise.
• Jesus said in John 10:27 that his sheep hear his voice, they listen to it and they follow him. Paul would agree with this. In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus connected the good things the people had done for others as doing them for him. He said his sheep are the ones who clothe, feed, visit, give water, etc. Jesus assumed that his sheep would be the ones doing these good deeds.
• James agreed with Paul from Romans 10:9 confess and believe and you will be saved, but he was aware of many who confess Christ and did not believe, because they did not live it. James assumed, as Paul did, that saving faith would result in righteousness. That Christians would be transformed from darkness into light and they would imitate God and be charitable.
• Both know that it is God who saves by grace through faith and that results in doing good things. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10.
• Faith that justifies results in correct conduct and if correct conduct is absent there is no saving faith, because saving faith brings life, not death.

Sunday School James 2:1-13

2011-10-16T15:22:00.000-07:00

• James 2:1-13
• Key verse: James 2:8-9, “If you really keep the royal law found in scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’, you are doing right. But, if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.”
• Before we get into the text I wanted to share a story.
• In every business there are things that happen that might be unique to the circumstances. For me I sell Hot tubs and pool tables. A few years ago this old man came in, torn clothes, dirty and drove a beat up truck. He asked about my hot tubs. I had this thought, “This guy doesn’t have any money.” But, I still did my job, treated him fairly and then he left. A week later he came in and bought a hot tub, pool table and chairs from me. It was the largest sale I have ever made, around $65,000. What was amazing is that he was driving and Aston Martin and wearing a nice suit. He told me that he bought from me because I treated right. My competitors didn’t want to talk to him and I did.
• I thought of this story as I read through James.
• How often do we treat others according to what we think they are worthy of.
• James starts off by telling us, as believers, don’t show favoritism.
• He begins to apply James 1:22 in a specific way, how we treat the poor.
• James argued that how we do the perfect law includes showing compassion to the helpless (v.27).
• Do you want to do what Jesus said in Matthew, the second command is to love your neighbor as yourself? How you look upon them reveals your heart.
• I think James will convince us that in effect, how we treat people may reveal if we have deceived ourselves and that should reveal to us much about our relationship with God.
• Read Isaiah 1:10-17
• Because James spends time addressing discrimination suggests that it was an issue in the early church. Is it today? As an Elder in our Church, would I treat a wealthy member different then a poor? What if we knew someone who gives a lot of money to the church is going to leave, would we try to stop that from happening? Would we do more to reconcile them then someone who doesn’t give at all?
• I think James connects how we treat the needy with who we truly are.
• There are 2 views of the gathering here and the seating of the men.
• 1 view is that this is a typical worship meeting, the other that this is a dispute meting.
• In the first, the Ushers seat the wealthy in full view of everyone. So that they are know to attend. It would be like us taking a picture of Michael Jordan or the President and saying, “Come to PRBC, because he is here as a member.” And yet we hide the poor, the needy and the lowly out back, or in the balcony seats. At PRBC we would have them in the library, with the door closed and out of view.
• In the 2nd view, this could be a dispute among members. Here the wealthy member is given more of a chance to win the dispute. The leadership holds him in higher standing then poor member.
• This brings a good question to mind. What if this happens at PRBC? What if people get saved and start coming to Church here. They are new believers, they don’t look like us, talk like us, dress like us, or smell like us. Would we be ashamed of them? They might cuss. They might wear revealing clothes around our children. They might sleep under a bridge. They might smell of cigarettes or alcohol. They don’t know any better and won’t for some time. Will we treat them as less of a believer then our Pastors? Would we treat them as not worthy of associating with us? Would we ask them to leave, change or cover up? Even if asking that of them, a immature believer, would cause them to leave in anger and never come back?
• James says in verse 6, that by this attitude, “you have insulted the poor.”
• I love how James starts of this point back in verse 1, “as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.” I think James is making the point: look at the lowliness of Jesus, look at who he ministered to and with, prostitutes, tax collectors, leapers, fishermen. He was and he is the glorious one. James is associating Jesus with the poor and this asks the question, “If Jesus walked into the 1st century church would they recognize him for who he is and who he is with? Or, would they be quick to dismiss him?”
• In verse 3, both of these men are told where to sit. This indicates they are visitors or new to the meeting. These are new converts that James is writing about. Again, what would we do?
• James asks a rhetorical question in verse 4. He says, “You are judges with evil thoughts.” He calls us evil, if we discriminate against a brother.
• He then begins to emphasize a new attitude in us.
• He declares that favoring the wealthy is wrong because it contradicts God’s attitude as revealed in his gracious election to salvation.
• Read 1 Corinthins 1:26-31
• Read Ephesians 1:4
• Douglas Moo says, “James assumes his readers are well aware of the many poor people who have embraced Jesus as their Messiah. Their conversion is powerful evidence of God’s deep regard for poor people. In a stark reversal of status, poor people have become rich in faith.”
• The wealth of the poor is their faith.
• Jesus said, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” Luke 6:20
• God’s choice of the poor to inherit his kingdom shows his regard for them and condemns us if we discriminate against them.
• The word for poor here is, ptochos. It has a dual meaning. Poor in material possession and poor in a spiritual sense, emphasizing wickedness.
• James might be addressing 2 issues here. A new believer who is physically poor and a new believer who is spiritually poor. Often both can be argued. Again my question from earlier, “What if a poor, poor believer came to PRBC?” No knowledge of the Holy and not dressed appropriate?
• The wealthy could be the same. Wealthy in earthly status and they could be believers who are deceived.
• In verse 6 the word insulted can also mean dishonored. So to say it literally, those whom God honors, the Church dishonors.
• Verses 6 and 7 ask 3 questions that make statements about the rich. These seem to be directed at what was happening at that time, and so they might not totally apply to us. The history of that day suggests that the wealthy were holding land, taking the poor to court to get more land or titles and trying to quell Christianity. This might be going on still in the Middle east, but I don’t think it is a direct slam of all the wealthy.
• I think verse 8-13 is James speaking to believers, even wealthy believers. I think 6-7 are added in to give weight to 8-12. Don’t be like the wealthy who are doing these things to the poor, love your neighbor, do the word of God, act like you are going to be judged by what you do, and do it with mercy.
• James argues here at the end that the number 1 reason to not discriminate against the poor, is because discriminating violates the law kingdoms law of love.
• We cannot love God, the first command, and yet not love what and whom he loves. We cannot love our neighbor, the second command, and not love the poor around us.
• Ephesians 5:1
• If I might go out on a limb here. I think that the Royal Law found in scripture is not just the 1st and 2nd commands. I think God has ordered our universe with laws. There are moral laws, laws of physics, laws of dynamics, laws for the wilderness wandering, the laws of God, etc. James uses the “Royal” law here and that is not found anywhere else in scripture. I think the Royal law is the kingdom law. I think it is what we are supposed to live by now that the kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus came to fulfill the law and in so doing he established a new kingdom, not of this world! The Kingdom of God is ruled by law also, and that law is love. The law of love gives freedom, because love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8), it keeps us from doing wrong, by faith it motivates to do what is right and changes how we treat others.
• 1 Corinthians 13
•

Sunday School James 1:13-18

2011-10-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

• Read James 1:13-18
• We read 2 weeks ago about trials and last week we talked about being poor and being rich. We contrasted the 2 as believer and non-believer.
• James restates what he had said earlier here to reiterate that every difficult circumstance in life, trial, need, or lack of wealth, that enters a believer’s life can either strengthen him if he perseveres and obeys God or it can become an enticement toward evil if we don’t believe God and disobey him.
• We need to be certain that we do not blame God. He is too Holy to be tempted and He is too loving to tempt us.
• It is us that turns a testing of God into a temptation.
• John Macarthur says, “God purposes trials to occur and in them he allows temptation to happen, but he has promised to not allow believers more then they can endure and never without a way to escape (1 Cor. 10:13). Believers choose whether to take the escape God provides or to give into temptation.
• Enticement comes from our desires, and if those desires are rooted in sin they will give birth to that sin.
• Looking back on verses 9 and 10, are you poor don’t fall into temptation while going through that trial. If you are tempted to cheat or steal, don’t do it!
• Financial difficulty can tempt us to question God’s providence in our lives. We may ask, “Why Am I going through this hardship while someone else who doesn’t trust in Jesus thrives?”
• Death of a loved one can tempt us to question God’s love for us. We might ask, “Why didn’t God answer my prayer?” or “Why did a Godly man die and a murderer lives?”
• The difficulty faced by poor believers and the ease of life of wealthy sinners can tempt us to question God’s justice. But remember what James said, the rich got their reward on earth.
• We must resist these temptations or they will become sin.
• James describes the process of sin in 4 stages:
• Stage 1=Desire. God gave the normal desires of life to us; by themselves they are not sinful. Without these desires we could not live. We hunger and thirst, long for affection, sex and so forth out of desire. It is when we want to satisfy these desires outside of God’s will that we get into trouble. We desire to eat, that is normal, but gluttony is sin. Sleep is normal, laziness is sin. Sex in marriage is good and right, outside of those bonds it is sin. The desires of our flesh must be our servants and not our master. We can and should only have one master, and that is Jesus.
• Stage 2 = deception. No temptation appears as temptation. The word used in verse 14, drawn away or dragged away carries with it the idea of putting bait or food on a trap. The word enticed in the original Greek means to bait a hook. No animal is going to willfully step into a trap and no fish will knowingly bite a naked hook. The idea is to hide the trap and hide the hook. Temptation always carries bait that appeals to our natural desires. It is the bait that is the exciting thing. That bait keeps us from seeing the consequences of sin.
• Stage 3 = Disobedience. Falling to the deception leads to disobedience. The emotions of desire and the failure of our intellect to deception leads to a failure in our will. James changes from the image of a hunter to a baby. Desire conceives a way of taking the bait. The will approves and acts and the result is sin. Christian living or right living is a matter of will not feeling. Mature Christians should act on something because it is right no matter how they feel. The more we can exercise our will by saying no to temptation the more mature we will become and the more God will take control of our lives. Phil. 2:13, For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure.”
• Stage 4 of sin is death. Disobedience is sin and sin leads to death. Rom. 6:23, for the wages of sin is death.
• We can see all 4 stages in the Garden in genesis. The serpent went after Eve’s desire. Paul described the deception in 2 Cor. 11:3. Eve disobeyed God and that sin resulted in spiritual death in separation from God and ultimately in physical death.
• Sin doesn’t lead to spiritual death to the believer it always leads to physical death (1 Cor.11:30; 1 John 5:16)
• One of the things that Satan tries to deceive us with is trying to convince us that God is holding out on us. He tries to tell us that God doesn’t really love us and he is keeping us from enjoying life. Once we are attracted to that lie and doubt God’s goodness we will often fall for the bait. Moses warned Israel not to forget God’s goodness in Duet. 6:10-15. Israel had been enjoying the goodness of the Promised Land and he knew that the good things God had provided Satan would try to use for bad. We need this warning today and James gives it to us. Stating 4 facts about Gods goodness.
• Fact 1= God gives only good gifts. Everything good in the world is from God. If it does not come from God it is not good, no matter how pleasing it looks. I quoted Rom. 6:23, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God [which is good and perfect according to James] is Eternal life through Christ Jesus.
• Fact 2= The way that God gives is good. The value of a gift can always be diminished in the way it is given, but God’s gifts always come in a loving, gracious way. What he gives and how is gives is always good.
• Fact 3= God gives constantly. The term coming down is a present participle. It reads as, it keeps coming down. God does not occasionally give; he is always giving even when we don’t notice.
• Fact 4 about God’s goodness is a big one, he does not change. It is impossible for God to change. He cannot change for the worse because he is Holy, and he cannot change for the better because he is perfect. If there is any shadow that is found between God, and us look at us! He did not change the shadow, he is the unchanging one. God’s gifts are better then Satan’s bargains. Satan doesn’t give gifts, because what he gives will cost us dearly. Prov. 10:22 says, “It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich and he adds no sorrow to it.”
• James speaks in our text of 3 barriers against temptation. The first was a negative one, death. Temptation that results in disobedience leads to death or judgment. The second is a positive one, God’s goodness. We should fear God, but we should also balance that fear with love.
• In the first barrier God says look ahead to the end and beware of judgment. Then in the second he says look around you and see my goodness, see how good I have been to you. And in verse 18 he says look inside yourself and realize that you have been born again.
• James used birth 2 ways. It was a picture of desire leading to sin and death and he also used it to explain how we can enjoy victory over temptation and sin.
• That new birth is gracious. We did not earn it or deserve it. God gives us spiritual birth through his own goodness.
• The new birth is by his word. Just like a natural birth, new birth has two parents, Spirit and Truth. The Holy Spirit and the word of God. John 3:6 says that which is born of flesh is flesh and born of spirit spirit. 1 Peter 1:23 says, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives forever.
• The Holy Spirit uses the word of God to bring the miracle of new birth. Since the word of God is living and powerful (Heb. 4:12) it can generate life in the hearts of sinners who trust in Jesus.
• The new birth is the finest birth possible! Old Testament Jews brought the first fruits as an expression of their devotion and obedience. The first fruits were the best they had to offer. Of all creation Christians are the highest and finest! God gives us new birth, because he cannot accept the old. Throughout the bible God rejects the firstborn for the second. He accepted Abel over Cain, Isaac, not Ishmael, Jacob not Esau. He rejects your first birth and mine, no matter if you are King of England or Son to the President. No matter how great it looks to men. He rejects our first birth from a fallen nature and tells us in His word we need a new birth. It is being born again that ultimately gives us victory of temptation and sin. If we allow the old nature to take over, we will fail and fall. We received our Old nature from Adam and he was a failure. If we yield to the new nature we will succeed, because it is found in Christ and he is the victor and already has the victory.
• We must feed the new nature. We must be in the word! Daily so that our nature will become stronger and able to overcome Satan. Just as the Holy Spirit used the word to give us birth, he uses it to give us strength. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
• No matter what excuses we make for our lives we have no one to blame for sin but ourselves. It is our own desires that fall to temptation and lead to sin. Warren Weirsbe said that God gave us 3 barriers, the judgment of God, the Goodness of God and the gift of God. If we use these barriers we can stand the test and receive the crown of life spoken of in verse 12. If we don’t we will find a coffin (v.15) and if we find that coffin apart from being saved it is an eternal coffin. Which one will it be?

Man Makes Idols; God does not make Idle Threats

2011-10-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

Sermon Notes
Ted Fletcher
7/3/2011
Man Makes Idols; God does not make Idle Threats
If you were here last week, you should remember that Pastor Dave spoke to us about breaking the law of God. He showed the Ten Commandments and how by not keeping the least of them we are guilty of breaking all of them. Every one of us in this room stands guilty before the Lord. He knows the details of all of our lives. He knows what we do and what we deserve.
As I thought about this last week, I was reminded of a day a couple of years ago. We live on my parent’s property in Templeton and it is near the railroad tracks. This area is always used by motorcycles and off road vehicles. They tear up our driveway and sometimes they even drive through after midnight. This day it was about 4 o’clock and there were about 50 motorcycles. They were there just a few minutes and then there was a large commotion followed a few minutes later by a CHP car, an ambulance and a helicopter. One of the riders had crashed hard and broken his back. My dad and I approached the officer after awhile as the paramedic was tending to the young man and asked him, “What about the trespassing law these people are breaking here?” Technically this was on our property and we were worried about being sued. The officer responded, “these people trespass all the time, I don’t see what the big deal is!” We were dumbstruck. I guess if you break the law all the time it really isn’t a big deal, at least not for this officer, but what about to God?
In Jeremiah’s day Judah was constantly breaking the law. Let’s pick up where we left of last week in Jeremiah 10:1
The first 29 chapters of Jeremiah record 14 messages of Condemnation that the Lord spoke through Jeremiah to Judah because they were sinful and had continued to break His laws. If you where wondering I counted 176 passages of scripture referencing condemnation or God’s judgment. Our text today is the end of the third message of condemnation announced in 7:1. Chapter 10 relates back to chapter 2:5-6 where the Holy Spirit calls the idols that Judah is following worthless, and even goes on to say that by following these worthless Idols, Judah made themselves worthless as well. Keep that thought, by following worthless idols the people made themselves worthless.
(read 10:1-5)
• Hear what the Lord says to you. The Holy Spirit speaking through Jeremiah is telling the people to listen up. So he can show them the error of their ways and instruct them how to live. We should apply this to ourselves. We must listen to the word of the Lord, so that we can see and know the error of our ways and be instructed in right living. Jesus spoke about hearing and doing in the parable of the house built upon the sand in Matthew 7:24, “Whoever hears these words of mine and puts them into practice . . . [can with stand the storm because their foundation] is built upon the Rock.” The Psalmist wrote, thy word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you, Psalm 119:11. Judah needed to hear the word of the Lord, they needed it written on their hearts and they needed to obey it. They needed James 1:22, do not just hear the word, do what it says.
• The Holy Spirit said to them: Do not learn the ways of the nations (Gentiles). This is a command to Judah not just a suggestion. Do not learn the ways. Do not play with sin. During this time the spiritual condition of Judah was blatant, open, flagrant Idol worship. Ahaz had set up a system of Idol worship and sacrificing children to the god Molech. Ahaz’z grandson Manasseh continued the child sacrifice that was stopped during his father Hezekiah’s reign, and Manasseh also brought in other forms of Idolatry. History shows that during Jeremiah’s time sin was deep and flourishing in Judah. We know that Judah was filled with Religious insincerity, dishonesty, adultery, injustice, tyranny against the helpless. The people neglected the widow and Orphan. Slander was the norm of the society.
Sounds like our nation today, and all the nations of the earth for that matter, deep sin, religious insincerity, dishonesty, adultery, neglecting the helpless. Playing with sin and all the while worshiping Idols. I did a search, “what is an Idol?” The # 1 dictionary definition was object of adoration: somebody or something greatly admired or loved, often to excess. Look at our culture, there are many people and things that we greatly admire, often to excess. We certainly have our share of Idol worship. We Idolize Musicians, Politicians, facebook, even our national sovereignty, many of us will celebrate our Independence as a nation tomorrow and that national independence can become an Idol if it comes before our dependence on God alone.
• The Lord then mocks their Idols in verse 5. I love this!

• (read 10:6-16)
• v. 7 who should not revere you, King of nations? Who should not stand in awe of you? Jeremiah declares some of the reasons why we should revere God, there is none like you, you are great, mighty in power, he’s saying, God you are the King of all. You are God who sovereignly created and controls all things, even the Gentiles. You are the eternal, living God, who alone is worthy of being trusted.
• Jeremiah contrast God with Idols. They are dead, but I (God) am alive. They perish, but I am. I create lightening and rain, and I am the portion of Jacob, meaning I am the all-sufficient source for my people, I am the maker of all things, almighty is my name. God declares my people don’t need you worthless idols! This applies to us today. God is the maker of all things, he is alive, He is the all-sufficient source for his people. What was true of Judah a couple thousand years ago should be taken to heart by us. We must not trust in and follow Idols. Whether it is our money, job, 401k, music, sports or whatever. Those things aren’t bad in themselves, but they can become Idols. We need to remember who God is and that those things can do nothing by themselves. Your 401k is in God’s hand, it is his money. My future is his and I take great comfort in that.
• (read 10:17-22) Jeremiah weeps in verse 19 because he knows that the day of judgment and destruction is coming. He sees it and he weeps.
• He writes in verse 21, the shepherds are senseless. They do not inquire of the Lord and so they do not prosper. Jeremiah linked the prosperity of the shepherds to their lack of inquiring of the Lord. Symbolically the shepherds would be the leaders of Judah and the flock would be the people. The Leaders are senseless, they do not inquire of the Lord. This would mean then that had they inquired they would have prospered. The word used here for prosper would mean to succeed or to have help along the way. I think we can apply this to our lives. Do you want to succeed? Inquire of the Lord. Perhaps by faith he will help you along the way. I am not talking about finances. Men, Inquire of him for your marriage and your family as the leader of your home. And above all that your relationship with him would prosper, that it would thrive or flourish. How many of us when we are faced with the things of life don’t inquire of the Lord we turn elsewhere? Your marriage is failing, where do you turn? Self help books? Oprah? Your best friend? How long before you inquire of the Lord in prayer, with meditation, fasting and reading his word? How about finances? It seems with many people that I know prayer is the last hope. If Dave Ramsey can’t fix it, then the last resort is to turn to God after turning everywhere else. You want to know God more, inquire of him. Hebrews 14:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Draw near to God through pray and inquire of him by his word that you may find help in time of need. That is what all of Judah needed, but instead of inquiring of God they inquired of Idols. Because of this Jeremiah prays for the people.
• (read 10:23-25) Jeremiah starts his prayer by admitting to God what God already knows. He declares that Man is incapable of guiding his own life. Did you know that? You and I are incapable of guiding our own life. Because either sin is our master or Jesus is. Either way something else guides us and motivates us. Romans 6:20-22 declares that we are either a slave to sin or set from sin and a slave to God. If you are a slave to God you are set free from sin so that you can love him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. You cannot love him fully if you cherish something more than him.
• Jeremiah cries out, correct me, Lord. I don’t think Jeremiah was the one who needed the correcting. He was not the Idol worshiper and the child killer, but he associated himself with the people of Judah in his prayer. He knew they needed to be and must be punished. Judah had committed so many sins and broken so many of God’s laws. They were guilty of breaking the 1st and 2nd commandments concurrently.
• Have no other gods before me and Don’t make an Idol
• Can our idols today be a reason why we might face God’s wrath? Absolutely! Romans 1:18 says, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men [against the sins of mankind like worshiping idols or loving things more then God] . . . (Why? verse 22) although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.” They worshiped the creation not the creator. They loved their dog more then God. They worshiped Mary and not Jesus. Jesus told the religious leaders in Matthew 22:37 that the greatest commandment was to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind.” In his book What Jesus demands from the world, John Piper tells the story of the rich young ruler. The young ruler asked what must I do to inherit eternal life. Piper said that Jesus answered in two steps. First, he connected eternal life with keeping the law. Second, he revealed the man’s heart. He showed him that his attachments to his stuff needed to be replaced with an attachment to Jesus, that had he given away all he had he would have been perfect. (Matthew 19:21) God wants our heart. The Ten Commandments tell us that God is a jealous God. He has not ceased being jealous. God is just as angry today at sinful people as he was in Jeremiah’s day. If we love our stuff more then God then we do not love God with all heart, soul and mind. Your stuff and my stuff can become an idol if we spend our time, energy, money and talent pursuing it rather then pursuing God.
• I heard an Old preacher once who said, “I can tell if you have any Idols or gods before the Lord by looking at your checkbook register and your radio station presets.” He would add the words of Jesus from Luke 12:34, where your treasure is, where your time is, where your talent is, there you will find your heart. Where is your heart? In Matthew 5:17-30. Jesus said I did not come to abolish the law, but fulfill them. Anyone who breaks the least of these (laws) and teaches anyone else to break them [like our children] will be the least in heaven. What are we teaching our children about the 1st and 2nd commandments? That baseball or Nascar are more worthy of our worship then God is. We teach our children that it is better to give 10% of our paycheck to our 401k or our IRA then to his church. We teach our children that it is ok to get radical for our favorite team or movie, but do we teach them it is ok to be radical for the Lord? We teach our children that it is worthwhile to invest in earthly things like college, but it isn’t as worthwhile to invest in Church. As a culture we teach our children it is good to invest time and money into the lives of politicians or political parties, but it isn’t as gratifying to invest in the lives of the broken and needy. We can declare with confidence in the workplace, I am a Republican, but we can be ashamed to say I am a Christian. What are we teaching our children about worship? Do we teach them that it is better to worship our Idols then God? I sit in the back most Sundays and as I read the words on the screen it is easy to see people worship. I see some people raise hands to the Lord during worship and I have wondered before what our church would look like at a sporting event? Or a political rally. How many hands would be up, clapping, cheering, how joyful it is for us to give our money to Dodgers stadium, but it is not joyful for many of us to drop a check in the box. I wonder if we searched our hearts and were honest with ourselves, what we think God might think about our worship? Is our worship glorifying to him or is it even on par with the worship we give to other things in our life? You probably know James 1:27, but I love an understanding of it that I have read in a few commentaries. The commentators argue that the word religion is not the best interpretation. They argue that the intent is not religion, but worship. “Worship that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after [lit. plead for] orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” I wonder if that is because Idol worshipers were sacrificing children, not care for them. In the early 1st century Church the Orphan had little to no support. They were often reduced to being beggars, or selling themselves as slaves or starving to death. By caring for these orphans the Church put it’s faith to practice and this pleased God. Today there are 143 million orphans in the world and they are going through the same things that orphans did in the 1st century. If we as the Church put our faith to practice and cared for them our worship would please God. I spoke earlier about Judah sacrificing children to Idols. From what I understand of the history of the culture most if not all of the children being sacrificed to idols were orphans. The Holy Spirit pleaded for the Orphan. We can read in Isaiah, 1:15-17. He declared that he was sick and tired of meaningless worship. He hated their worship and sacrifices so much that he said, “When you spread out your hands in prayer I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the Fatherless.”
• I hope and I pray that the Holy Spirit does not hate our worship. I pray that the sacrifices we make and the worship that we give is not given the same response by God; “My soul hates them.”
• Look back at Jeremiah’s prayer verse 24, correct your people Lord, but only with justice- not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing. Pour out your wrath on the nations (gentiles) that do not acknowledge you. (do we acknowledge the Lord? Does America?) Pour out your wrath on the people who do not call on your name (again do we? Do we inquire of him?) If we don’t then what do we deserve if not God’s wrath?
• Jeremiah desired mercy for Judah in verse 24, but in verse 25 he prayed that God’s full fury would be poured out on the nations that led Judah into idolatry. I hope no one ever pray’s that God’s wrath is poured out on me. I hope I never lead my children into honoring idols or putting anything above God.
The bible say’s that anyone who disregards God’s law and does not heed his word has reason to fear! Every one of us will one day stand before the throne and face his judgment. You and I, all of us here today will stand before the Judgment seat of God. If you are here today and you cherish anything on earth more then God then you are guilty of breaking all his laws. If you have had anger toward a brother, or taken the name of God in vain, or in humor, you deserve God’s justice. If you have lusted after a woman in your heart or on the Internet, you will stand before God’s judgment. If you have sinned, then you deserve the punishment of that. In Galatians 5:19-21 Paul writes about sin when he speaks of the works of the flesh. He says’ “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” If you are living a life consumed by these then you are living according to the flesh and you are a sinner. In Romans 3:23, we can read that all have sinned. Everyone of us! Turn a couple pages, and in Romans 6:23 we find that the wages of that sin is death. That is what our sin has earned us, and that is what it earned the people of Judah. Not just mortal death, but eternal separation from anything pleasant. Our sins earn us a one way ticket to hell.
Jesus Called Hell fire in Matthew 18:9; In the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:34-35 Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive and then at the end of the parable Jesus say’s, “In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured . . . This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” Jesus spoke of Judgment toward those who do not forgive, as being tortured. That is a description of the Judgment taking place in hell. In Luke 13:1-9 Jesus tells some people that they must repent or perish. I hope no one here will perish. Philippians 2:10-11 say’s, “That at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” If we are not repenting and turning from our sinful ways and bowing to the throne of Jesus in and with our lives, we will at our earthly death. A minute ago I quoted Romans 6:23, “for the wages of sin is death,” I love that it doesn’t end there. Paul writes, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Eternal life, not death. Life -not fire, or hell, or torture. The gift of God is eternal life, and that is only by God’s grace. God has given us something that we don’t deserve, we cannot earn and are not worthy of. It’s his gift to all who believe, and it is salvation from sin and all of its consequences. I said earlier that I counted 176 passages of God’s judgment and he will judge the earth and all that is in it one day, but I have another truth about God. I also counted 52 passages showing God’s goodness, 152 showing his grace and 219 showing his mercy. Each and every one of us in here today needs his grace and we need his mercy. Judah needed God’s grace and mercy in Jeremiah’s day. That is what Jeremiah prayed for in verse 24, “Correct me [Judah] but only with justice- not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing.” That call for justice is calling for God’s grace and mercy. Judah did not deserve any better treatment then the Gentiles who led Judah astray did. They deserved God’s wrath. Jeremiah prayed that they might be saved.
Like the song says: Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. It is God’s grace that saves, (Ephesians 2:8-10.) What does this Grace save us from? Those things that Jesus spoke of in his gospel, the fire of hell, eternal darkness, an eternal gnawing and gnashing of teeth, judgment to come. Those are all real things and they are the consequences of sin. Jesus said, “I can guarantee this truth: Those who listen to what I say and believe in the one who sent me will have eternal life. They won’t be judged because they have already passed from death to life John 5:24.”
For 40 years Jeremiah proclaimed judgment is coming, this is how it is to happen. It is because of sin and that as a people Judah must repent! They must turn toward God, believe on him and be a recipient of his grace. Sadly, if we skip to the end of Jeremiah we read that they didn’t repent and what Jeremiah foretells comes true.
As we prepare to close, I think that the judgment and wrath that Jeremiah speaks of is critical for us, so that we can better and more deeply understand God’s grace. Much of the Old Testament paints a picture of God’s wrath so that we can better understand Romans 5:6, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”
What a picture of Grace! Unmerited, unexpected, never before exampled love, “Christ died for the ungodly.” He died for you and I, when we were unable, powerless, unready for it, God gave us His grace which comes by faith in Jesus Christ.
I have to quote Charles Spurgeon. I can’t sum up Grace in any better words then he used, he said, “Jesus did not die for our righteousness, but he died for our sins. He did not come to save us because we were worth saving, but because we were utterly worthless, ruined and undone. He did not come to earth out of any reason that was in us, but solely and only because of reasons which he took from the depths of his divine love (89).”
I like that! Because we were utterly worthless, sounds like what God said of Judah in Jeremiah 2:5, “They followed worthless Idols and became worthless themselves.”
Jesus Christ came to earth to save sinners by the Grace of God, so that we could repent and believe in him the maker of all things, the author and finisher of our faith.
You are here today, because the Lord brought you here. He directed your steps. If you care to admit it or not, doesn’t matter, but the truth is that your life is not your own. You are one of two people here today, you are dead because of sin, or you are alive because of Christ. The bible says in Romans 8:2 that through Jesus Christ God’s law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. I hope you have been set free and that can only happen by God’s grace.
In the story I told earlier about the motorcycle rider, we had fences up and signs posted by the railroad company as well as by ourselves. Maybe they missed the signs. Maybe they didn’t read the law, know the law or hear the law, but they still didn’t have an excuse they knew it wasn’t their dirt road. They deserved to pay the penalty, to be fined and have their bikes impounded. The officer gave them grace. I hope and pray that God has given you grace as well.

James 1:22

2011-09-28T13:42:00.000-07:00

I was reading James 1:22, "Do not merely hear the word of the Lord and so deceive yourself, do what it says" and as I read I wondered what does the bible say? I have been doing my daily reading and highlighting some of those things. This certainly is not an exhaustive list, but it shows many of the things that the bible tells Christians to do. I want to look at this list and ask myself, "Am I doing what this says?"

Examples: Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you but to do justice, and to love mercy [kindness] and to walk humbly with your God.”
Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
1 Corinthians 12:31, “But earnestly desire the higher gifts.”
James 5:16, “therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
James 1:27, “visit Orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (could also interpret to say, look after or plead for instead of visit) (see also Isaiah 1)
Ten Commandments Exodus 20
Luke 12:4-5 Fear him who after he has killed the body has the authority to cast into hell.

Luke 9:23-24, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever looses his life for my sake will save it.”
Luke 10:25-28, “What must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said, ‘what is written in the law?’
‘he answered, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’
‘Jesus said to him, you have answered correctly, do this and you will live.”

Luke 11:9-10, Speaking of the Holy Spirit “I tell you, ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”

Luke 12:15, “Take care and be on guard against all kinds of [greed].”
Luke 12:22, “do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or about your body what you will put on.” Verse 31, “but seek first his kingdom and these things will be added to you.”

Ephesians 5:1, “be imitators of God as beloved children, and live a life of love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”

Matthew 6:1 & 3, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, but when you give to the needy, do not let your right hand know what your left is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.”

John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

John 12:25-26, “Whoever loves his life looses it and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me and where I am there will my servant be also.”

Romans 2:13, “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”
Luke 11:28, “blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”

John 13:14-15, 34, “If I then, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. V.34 a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another Just as I have loves you, you also are to love one another.”

John 14:15, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Church Bulletins

2011-04-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

A friend sent this to me. It's funny so I had to share....
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The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
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The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water.' The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.'
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Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth
keeping around the house. Bring your husbands..
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Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you.
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Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
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Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
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For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
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Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
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Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
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A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
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At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice.
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Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
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Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.
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The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.
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Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
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The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
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This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
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Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. Is done.
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The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
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Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
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The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM.. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
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Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

Thoughts on 2 Samuel

2011-03-05T13:38:00.000-08:00

I was reading in 2 Samuel 11. As I read I thought about David. Here he is, a man after God’s own heart. He has everything he could want and still he wants more. He sees Bathsheba. He wants her too. He sleeps with her and she becomes pregnant. So what does the man after Gods own heart do? He calls her husband back from war. Tells him hey, why don’t you go home and sleep with your wife.
David was hoping to hide his sin. He was hoping that Uriah would think the child was his own, but Uriah won’t go in the house, not while they are wt war. In 1 Samuel 21:5, we can read that Israelite soldiers abstained from sexual relations while preparing for battle. Uriah’s honor of God and toward his king would not allow him to disobey this military command and it costs him his life.
David, tries to get him drunk, doesn’t work, gives him gifts to take home, doesn’t work and so finally sends him to battle. He commands Joab to put Uriah into a battle that he is sure to die in. And Uriah dies.
At the end of chapter 11 we read, “But, the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.” (11:27)
What was The thing? Was it the adultery? The murder? The lying? Or was it simply taking something that God had not given him?
Nathan the prophet confronts David and tells him what the Lord says.
I gave you your masters house. (12:8)
I gave you your masters wives.
I gave you the house of Israel and Judah.
If that had been too little, I would have given you even more.
Why did you do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord? (12:9)
You struck down Uriah, you took his wife and you killed him.
You despised me AND you took the wife of Uriah. (12:10)
David was guilty of bringing shame to the Lord (12:14) and David paid for it with his own sons life.
David was told your son will die, yet when his son became sick, the man after Gods own heart fasted.
David wouldn’t eat.
The man after Gods own heart, pleaded with God for the child. (12:16)
After the child died, David told why he fasted and wept.
“I thought, who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.”
The man after Gods own heart, the man who knew God, pleaded for his prayer to be heard and answered. He thought, maybe God will change his mind. He knew God was not a liar and he knew what was required for his sin. He knew what he had done was wrong, but perhaps he misunderstood the thing that despised the Lord the most.
It seems as though the adultery, the murder, the deception wasn’t the biggest fault. It was taking something that God had not given to him. God had seen fit to give David what he had, but God did not give him Bathsheba, David took her. The penalty for this was God taking the child.
David pleaded with the Lord. He plead with fasting and with weeping. He knew that God could answer his prayer and he knew that God could take the child. Nathan told him, “the Lord has taken away your sin.” (12:13)

Like David, you and I deserve to die. The penalty for our sin(s) is death. Like David, someone else has paid for our sin(s).
How much more should we desire to plead for the life of others? How much more should we approach the Lord with fasting and with weeping?
We have had our sins forgiven though we didn’t deserve it and we have done many evil things that are deserving of our death, and yet God provided the substitute for our death and punishment.
Though David was free from the punishment and although his sin was taken away, there were still consequences that David had. The sword would never leave his family, his child died and he lived with the guilt of that. He lived with the guilt of the murder of Uriah and with knowing he wronged the Lord.
You and I have had our sins taken away. You and I are free from the punishment of our sins. You and I will still have to deal with the ramifications, the self-doubt and the results of our sin filled actions.
Even though our sins are taken away, the results of them can leave scars or dirt or shame. It might be an out of wedlock child; A jail sentence; A life long illness; being a registered sex offender; never being able to hold a job; not being able to get a drivers license; or whatever.

The good news is that Jesus was the penalty for our sins.
He removed the guilt of our sins.
But, the results of our sin may follow us throughout our lives.

Do NOT loose heart!
God is in control.
Allow God to use the results of your sin for glory.
Do not dwell on what you cannot change, but rejoice in his truth.
He has set you free.
You are not free to keep on sinning, but set free to no longer be bound to the life you once lived.

David knew God. He was a man after God’s own heart.
David loved God.
His sin was forgiven and God blessed him, but his story of wrong doing, of murder, adultery, and deception have been used for thousands of years.
They bring shame to David, but what David meant for evil God has used for good.

The same is true for all of us.
We are forgiven and blessed, but our story, our history will still be there.
It might bring us shame, but God can and does use it for his good.

A Baby's hug....

2011-01-17T12:51:00.000-08:00

We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik
in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking.
Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi.' He pounded his fat
baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter
and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled
with merriment.

I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man
whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out
of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and
un washed.. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose
was so varicose it looked like a road map.

We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled.. His hands
waved and flapped on loose wrists.. 'Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy.
I see ya, buster,' the man said to Erik.

My husband and I exchanged looks,
'What do we do?'

Erik continued to laugh and answer, 'Hi.'
Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the
man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our
meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, 'Do ya patty
cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek- a-boo.'

Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk.

My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for
Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row
bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband
went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The
old man sat poised between me and the door. 'Lord, just let me out of
here before he speaks to me or Erik,' I prayed. As I drew closer to the
man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might
be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms
in a baby's 'pick-me-up' position. Before I could stop him, Erik had
propelled himself from my arms to the man.

Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their
love and kinship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission
laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes
closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of
grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his
back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time.

I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms
and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm
commanding voice, 'You take care of this baby.'

Somehow I managed, 'I will,' from a throat that contained a stone.

He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were
in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, 'God bless you, ma'am,
you've given me my Christmas gift.'

I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran
for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik
so tightly, and why I was saying, 'My God, my God, forgive me.'

I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny
child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and
a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind,
holding a child who was not.. I felt it was God asking, 'Are you willing
to share your son for a moment?' when He shared His for all eternity.
How did God feel when he put his baby in our arms 2000 years ago.

The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, 'To enter the Kingdom
of God , we must become as little children.'

Good bye 2010...

2010-12-30T20:25:00.001-08:00

I was thinking about this past year and what a blessing it has been.
On january 11th I went to a Doctor who the Lord used to answer my prayers and the prayers of many others.
I was told that I did not have ALS/MS or any other disease, but that I was allergic to Gluten, soy, lactose(dairy) and nuts.
I went on a very strict diet and in 3 weeks was completely healed.
God's timing is impeccable as always. Work got real slow and we had to lay off our service/delivery tech and I had to assume those responsibilities again for the first time in 8 years. Thanks to my healing I was able to physically do it!
With the blessing of being very slow at work I had plenty of time to study.
I was approached by one of our Pastors about doing an intense Theology paper with the desire to be Ordained (Lord Willing).
I spent almost 6 months and many hours studying, praying, reading, fasting, praying and praying.
I turned in my final draft in May.
I also considered attending Western Seminary. That door seemed to close out of financial and family considerations.
About two weeks later I applied for a job with PG&E.
It had been very slow at work and I was concerned about my Employer loosing his business because he was so concerned about providing for me and my family. He sold a home he owned to put a reserve in the bank primarily as a way to provide my Salary.
My intention was to take this other job so that I could free him up from having to terminate me in order to save money.
When I didn't take the job he was overjoyed and told me that God had answered his prayers. It seems he is more then fine with how we are doing.
I think God was doing something in my Life as well.
I believe that the Lord was trying to see if I would listen to Him and obey Him. I have been in the same job, doing the same thing for 15 years and I think that He was testing me, my allegiance, my obedience and my faith.
So here I am still selling and servicing Hot tubs and pool tables, thank you Lord!
My wife Cynthia and I began to search for what the Lord wanted and wants to do with my life and hers.
I took some online courses.
We prayed about and then started a new Ministry called "Cry of the Heart"
I was able to speak at a Church in Templeton and at PRBC in November for Orphan Sunday.
I realized then that I am most comfortable when I am doing what God wants me to do.
He has given me a voice to use to bring Him praise, Glory and to Proclaim his Name.
We Launched the Ministry in December and I was appointed to the California State Foster parents association.
The Lord seems to be doing something greater then I had ever imagined.
He has overcome my insecurities and has turned my weakness into His strength.
The Last week of the Year I met with the Elder board at PRBC to finish what I started on paper a year ago.
I have felt called to Ministry, specifically to Preach more then once in my Life.
The First time when I was twelve.
The Second time when i was 15 at Old Oak Ranch.
The speaker was Al Soto and he was teaching from John 21. In verse 5 Jesus, after His resurrection, asked them: "Have you caught any fish?"
It was at this moment were I heard the voice of the Lord, "Ted what have you done for me?" Nothing was my answer.
I saw his harvest of fish and I knew what he had in store for me.
Later in that Chapter Jesus reinstates Peter and asks him, "Do you Love me? ...feed my sheep...look after my sheep...follow me"
As I heard the words and read them it was as if the Holy Spirit was speaking directly to me and I knew it.
I spent the next few years running from that call, afraid, disobedient and unwilling to give up my life to find it.
When I was 23 or 24 I was at New Hope Church.
They were having a joint service between the Foursquare and Vineyard.
The Pastor was a man named Terry. I had never met him and have not seen him since.
As the service started he stopped, prayed and then looked at me, pointed to me and said, "The Holy Spirit is telling me right now that you are going to be a preacher."
How could I.
I was in the middle of a failing marriage, I was uneducated. I was not worthy.
I am now beginning to realize the Point of what the Holy Spirit said to me in the second half of John 21.
A few years later I was at PRBC and Pastor Dave told me as I sat in his office, "Ted, you have the heart of a Pastor."
I have been at PRBC for almost 9 years.
It has been almost 12 years since Pastor Terry spoke his words of Prophecy.
Almost 20 years since I heard the Lord's voice at Camp.
I have been through so much.
I knew Jesus.
Even though Peter knew Jesus he did not recognize him as he cast his nets for the second time. He had already walked down this road with Jesus Before, but it wasn't until the nets were full that he knew. Jesus found Peter qualified for the Ministry and reinstated him. In much the same way as Abraham was reinstated when he was about to take Isaacs life on the Altar. Abraham was faithful this time and because of it the Lord confirmed the Covenant with him.
Here Peter answered the Lord with faithful truth and so Jesus reinstated him as an Apostle and Preacher of the Gospel.
In my life I see an application here.
I have denied the Power of God, I have run from His call and His way. I have denied my call and His Ministry, but along the line some where I remembered.
I knew who he was, what he wanted and what I must do.
He asked me, "Do you truly love me?"
"Yes Lord, you know that I do" I would reply.
"Feed my lambs"
This has gone on for years.
I have had to show myself qualified, faithful, trustworthy and His. I had to become the man he wanted me to be, a man who fits 1 Tim. 3:1-13.
As 2010 has ended I have taken steps for 2011 to be a year of continued and New Obedience. I hope to be the Man that God wants and has wanted me to be and I stand ready to fall to my Knees and plead with the Holy Spirit for the power, the grace and the ability to be that man.
For 2011 and on, I give the Lord my filthy rags. I give him my insecurities and inadequacies. I give him my faults, my fears, my doubts. I give him my voice, my skills, my home, my money, my time, my talents, my children, my wife, my hope, my faith, my love and my ALL. If I have missed anything the Lord knows what it is, because it is already his.

May God bless all of you who read this in 2011 and in the Year to come.

Why we have opened our home to foster children.

2010-10-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have come to the conclusion that there are certain things that we must do with our life. Some of those things we are doing and have been doing for some time. Others we are just beginning to do and still more we know we need to do as soon as God provides the means.
Of the things we must do the most pressing on our heart is to help children in need. We would add more children to our home if we could, but according to the rules of our county we are at capacity. Since we have not finalized the adoptions yet we can not move in any other children. So, we have asked the county to begin the process of finalization. In the mean time we have begun to transition into challenging others to open their hearts and their homes to help those less fortunate. I read an amazing book “Radical” by David Platt. His passion and his careful explanation of scripture have further served to stir my heart into action. His words confirmed what I had been reading in the bible and what the Holy Spirit had been leading me in for some time.
Our calling in life is based solely on what we believe and know to be true as revealed in scripture. James 1:22 tells us, “do not merely hear the word of the Lord and deceive yourself, do what it says.”
Just 5 verses later we read, “Pure and undefiled religion is this, to look after (lit. care for) orphans and widows.”
We can make all sorts of claims about our faith, we can declare that we must care for widows and orphans, but if we do not care for them do we really believe that we need to? Or are we just professing what we are told is true, but we really don’t think that it is true?
In James 2:14-17 we read that faith that is not accompanied by works is dead faith or it is no faith at all.
Scripture proclaims to us over and over that we are to be doers of what we read. We must obey what we are commanded and we must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 2:8-10 is quoted often to show that salvation comes from God’s grace alone and that springs forth faith in us, however even in this passage it declares that we are created in Christ to be doers of good works.
In Matthew 25:31 we can start to realize how what we do reflects who we are. If we are caring for the sick, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty it is the same in the sight of Jesus as if we were doing it directly to him.
Of the commandments in the bible there are three that I think the Church in America needs to ask if we are obeying. The first is the greatest commandment (Matt.22:37) do we really truthfully Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength? If we do Love God we must be compelled by his love for us and out of our love for him to obey these other commands.
Jesus declared, “The second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt.22:39) This command I believe encompasses evangelism, missions and discipleship. If we truly love God, and we love our neighbors, then our love for him will pour out of us and we will tell the world about him. We will not be able to contain our love and those who hear and believe will then be able to be discipled.
The third command is to be a doer of what the bible teaches. We are told to help the needy, look after the sick, and care for widows and orphans, give of our time, money, all that we have. When Jesus was here on earth he did all of these things. He loved God better then you or I ever can. He discipled just a few men, who in turn discipled other men and women. When he traveled he met the needs of many, touching them and healing them, feeding them, giving them drink. Often when he would meet the needs of someone it was the opening to minister to their deeper need of salvation.
Being a doer of the word of God is an immediate need for all of us. Helping those in need or with needs is the first step in evangelism and leads to bringing all of us closer to the Lord. By being a doer of the word we grow closer to God and more in love with him. Our faith grows because it is active. When James say’s, “there is no purer religion then to care for widows and orphans” I think he is reiterating the truth of the bible.
Jesus told his disciples that the little children were the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 19:14). If that is true what an honor it is to be a father or mother and disciple your children and train them in the way they should go. What an honor to disciple and train up children who are not your own, but who you love the same and care for because you know in your heart it is right and scripture commands it. (Duet. 14:29; 27:19; etc.)
There was perhaps no man more Godly then Job. Job was a righteous man in God’s sight and scripture tells us of some of the righteous things he did. “I assisted the poor in their need
and the orphans who needed help. I helped those without hope..” Job 29:12.
In Psalm 10:14 the Psalmist declares of God, “You defend the Orphan.”
Isaiah proclaims the word of the Lord, “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of Orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.”
The command of the Lord to care for orphans and widows is still a command for today. There is a need. It is here, it is now and it is everywhere. There are children right here in our towns that have no homes and no hope and there are children right here without food and water. If we are not caring for these children who will?
You might say, “The state can take care them.” Or “We have programs for them” maybe your heart is to help children from other countries, great do it! But, if God commands us to do something shouldn’t we be doing it and not trusting in the state to provide?
One of the many blessings I have received from caring for foster children and adopting orphans is the times that I have been able to share the gospel with these kids and share the gospel with their social workers and even their family. Two young boys stayed with us that had been living on an abandoned boat and had no clothes, no underwear and were drinking seawater. They were naked, cold, and thirsty and we gave them a home, a bed and some water. I prayed with them as I would tuck them in. One night one of the boys asked me why I had everything in the world and he had nothing. I told him I don’t know, but I know this, Jesus loves you the bible tells me so. He looked up at me and said, “Mr. Ted, I haven’t met Jesus yet, but I know he is coming for me.”
It has been two years and I still pray for those boys. I would gladly give up my own clothes and my own bed to meet his need or the needs of countless others, but I can’t. I cannot meet the needs of all of them. Our house was past capacity and the boys were moved to another home, but there isn’t always another home. How about your home? I read in the book radical that in India families with 4,5 or 6 children live in 8’x12’ sheds, how big is your home? How empty is this possession that God blessed you with? I have a garden shed that is 8’x12’ and yet at times my home feels small for my wife and 6 kids, I can’t imagine how confusing it must be for a homeless person or an orphan to wonder why they have nothing and we have so much.
I believe that God gives us all that we have so that we can give it away. I have given my home to children who are not my own and I have opened it to their families to visit and we have shared the gospel with them, even the girls mother who cannot speak English.
Have you given your home away? Give what you have back to God, let go of it and if wants you to keep it, use it to bring him glory. Fill it with things that are eternal and not just dust collectors. Fill it with children, widows, orphans, foster kids, the sick, the lonely, the forgotten. Fill it with the things of God and let the things of God flow out of it. Use what you have to Glorify him. Ask yourself what is my most prized possession? Is it your home? Give it for him. Is it your retirement? Give it for him. Is it your time? Give it for him. Be a doer of the word of God and give to him what he has already given to you.
To God be the Glory!

Just weight....

2010-09-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

September 4, 2010
Moral and Spiritual Balances
You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin.
Leviticus 19:36

Weights and scales and measures were all to be according to the standard of justice. Surely no Christian will need to be reminded of this in his business, for if righteousness were banished from all the world beside, it would find a shelter in believing hearts. There are, however, other balances that weigh moral and spiritual things, and these need to be examined often.
Are the balances in which we weigh our own and other men's characters quite accurate? Do we not turn our own ounces of goodness into pounds, and other people's pounds of excellence into ounces? The scales in which we measure our trials and troubles—are they properly set? Paul, who had more to suffer than we have, called his afflictions light, and yet we often consider ours to be heavy—surely something must be wrong with the weights!
We must see to this matter, before we get reported to the court above for unjust dealing. Those weights with which we measure our doctrinal belief—are they quite fair? The doctrines of grace should have the same weight with us as the precepts of the Word, no more and no less; but it is to be feared that with many, one scale or the other is unfairly weighted. It is a vital matter to give honest measure in truth.
Christian, be careful here. Those measures in which we estimate our obligations and responsibilities look rather small. When a rich man gives to the work of God the same amount as the poor contribute, are things properly weighted? When pastors are neglected, is that honest dealing? When the poor are despised, while ungodly rich men are held in admiration, is that a just balance? Reader, we could extend the list, but we prefer to leave it as your evening's work to identify and destroy all unrighteous balances, weights, and measures.
delivered to my inbox from truth for life daily...

New Pledge of Allegiance?

2010-06-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

WRITTEN BY A 15 yr. Old SCHOOL KID IN ARIZONA :
New Pledge of Allegiance ?(TOTALLY AWESOME)!
Since the Pledge of Allegiance and The Lord's Prayer
are not allowed in most public schools anymore
Because the word 'God' is mentioned..... a kid in Arizona wrote the attached

NEW School prayer:

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene..
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all..
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks...
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong...

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles..
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen

What a heritage...

2010-06-21T04:49:00.000-07:00

I was out in the barn yesterday looking for my watch. I thought it might have been left in a box we moved out there for storage. As I looked around I came across a folder that was given to my Mom in 1982. It was a book of Poems, written by my Nana who passed away this last November. I knew my Nana was a beliver and hoped she would be reunited with us someday in heaven, but I could not have any greater confirmation then her own words. She had a long letter written at the beginning of her poems dated 1970. In it she said,
"Someday, my life on earth will end, but I expect to pick it up again in heaven as Jesus has promised. He always keeps His word. I know I will meet all my family who has gone on before me and I will be with each of you while you journey through this life.
Your Father(My Grandfather) and I look forward to spending eternity with each of you, your spouse and your children. These few years on earth are nothing compared to eternity, as they go by so fast that you never have enough time to do, say or be everything you wish you could. We must use this short time to prepare ourselves for the wonderful things Jesus has planned for us."
Man, what a heritage! I am thrilled to have found this and to be able to share some of her words. Please enjoy these words from my nana, Jacqueline M. Guild.

The Bible:
Every time I read the bible, I'm happy as can be. But many times the words I read, don't make no sense to me. But every time I'm sad and lonely, I take another look. and God reveals a little more, about this wonderous book. I pick it up and flip the page, and then begin to read, and there before my very eyes, is the answer that I need. It takes away my Loneliness, it takes away my fear, for all a once I seem to know, that God is very near. J. Guild 1969

Good morning God:
Good morning God, and thankyou, for the glory of the sun. And thankyou for the health I have, to get my duties done. I shall devote the hours of, this golden day to you. By honoring your Holy name in everything I do. I shall persue my daily work, without complaint or fear. And spend my every effort, to be friendly and sincere. I know there 've been so many days, that I've just whiled away. But this is one that I will try, to make your special day. And so once more, good morning God, and please depend on me. Because I want to honor you, for all eternity.

This one makes me cry. It was written about my Mom and is dated July 4th 1978.
My Milestone:
Ten years ago today I thought, my heart would surely break, because the doctor told me that, my child would never wake.
When the surgery was all over, sixteen hours later in that day, the doctor looked at me and said, "my child would go away"
We stayed for days, beside her bed, we knew we could not part, we held hand, kissed her head, deep faith was in our heart.
We talked to Jesus by the hours, no promises we made, because we knew it wasn't needed, Ruthie's life was already saved.
There were lots of things left for her to do, a marriage, a home, a child or two.
And now today, ten years gone by, I look at her with a tear in my eye. I thank my savior, for all he has done, and I thank him most for her beautiful sons.
Jimbo and Teddy, so close to my heart, and a special love for her and Mark. What a wonderful family God has lent to me, and we all be toghether throughout eternity.

Maybe at some point I will post more of these in her honor. But, what a wonderful day to find this. To be able to hear her voice once more as it booms out her words. Words that were mostly written before I was born or while I was very young. She never preached to me, nor shared her faith. She just lived her life and prayed her prayers, "If I die before I wake." I knew my nana went to heaven and that I'd see her again, but I never thought I find her words or hear her voice again.
I know this, she loved her family, all of us, but she loved Jesus more! She loved my Mom, having suffered much along side each other. I though that they would die together. When Mom fell and was bleeding in the hospital we all thought this might be the day, then Nana fell.
I am blown away to have her poems. I hope she is honored to have me post them here.

Be worthy

2010-05-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

May 24, 2010

Be Worthy
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Philippians 1:27

The apostle's concern is not simply with our talk and conversation with one another, but with the whole course of our life and behavior in the world. The Greek word translated "manner of life" signifies the actions and the privileges of citizenship: And in this way we are commanded to let our actions, as citizens of the New Jerusalem, be worthy of the Gospel of Christ. What "manner of life" is this?

•In the first place, the Gospel is very simple. So Christians should be simple and plain in their habits. There should be about our manner, our speech, our dress, our whole behavior that simplicity that is the very soul of beauty.
•The Gospel is preeminently true. It is gold without dross; and the Christian's life will be lusterless and valueless without the jewel of truth.
•The Gospel is a very fearless Gospel; it boldly proclaims the truth, whether men like it or not. We must be equally faithful and unflinching.
•But the Gospel is also very gentle. We see this in Jesus: "a bruised reed he will not break."1 Some professing Christians are sharper than a thorn-hedge; such men are not like Jesus. Let us seek to win others by the gentleness of our words and deeds.
•The Gospel is very loving. It is the message of the God of love to a lost and fallen race. Christ's command to His disciples was, "Love one another." We need more real, hearty union with and love for all the saints, more tender compassion toward the souls of the worst and vilest of men!
•We must not forget that the Gospel of Christ is holy. It never excuses sin: It pardons it, but only through an atonement. If our life is to resemble the Gospel, we must shun not merely the grosser vices, but everything that would hinder our perfect conformity to Christ.
For His sake, for our own sakes, and for the sake of others, we must strive day by day to let our manner of life be more in accordance with His Gospel.

1 Matthew 12:20
Delivered to my inbox, from truth for life daily; Alistair Begg

A hidden gem...

2010-04-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

Obadiah verse 15, "The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head."

In the time that this was written about Edom, the land of Esau's descendants, they were filled with pride and sin. They had a safe city built into the rocks south of Judah, they were wealthy, they had friends, and earthly wisdom. God took all of this away from them (v.3-9).
The bible has taught that Pride leads to destruction, (Prov. 16:8) and that is true here of Edom and of us today. One of the surest things in life is that unless we remember our history it is sure to repeat itself. We know that God will judge all people even believers, (Rev.20:12,13), but we should never be glad to see someone else or another land go through judgment (Prov.24:17). We must try to learn from the past so as not to repeat it in our own lives.
Jesus came and gave specific commands for all of us to live by. One of those was the call to repent, (Matt. 14:7; Luke 5:32; Matt 12:41; Luke 13:3). Repentance is a call for a rdical change in the way we see ourselves and the way we respond to God. Edom was unwilling to repent of their sins and unwilling to humble themselves. They took advantage of Judah for their own gain and desires and were judged accordingly.
I think that today our nation and ourselves need to not take advantage of others misfortune, but rather repent of our own sins, humble ourselves and seek to help those in need. We should help our neighbors, our allies and our enemies! We should live a life that is worthy of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Let's do this...

2010-04-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

I know there are many of you out there that are hurting right now. Maybe work, maybe health, maybe your marriage. You all have probably heard the passage of scripture, "you have not because you ask not" and another verse that is most likely not referenced properly, "I will give you the desires of your heart."
My heart aches right now with desire for an outpouring work of healing. I think the desires of my heart verse is best understood not that God will give me the sinfilled, pride filled things that I want, but rather that he will give you or change the desires of your heart. Put this way, "I will change what your heart desires." I am seeing this in my Church and in certain circles around this country. Right not he has changed what my heart desires and that is a specific work of healing for my Daughter Kylee's best friend's mom, Sandy Cookston. Sandy is terminal with a rapidly spreading cancer, and I am asking with boldness for the Holy Spirit to do a powerful work of healing in her life. I have prayed for salvation, for her husband Todd, for her 3 children, for my daughter, but I have until the last few days, been serious about praying for healing.
I believe God's word to be true, and I can not expect her to be healed if I have not asked for it. For two days I have poured out my heart, my thoughts and my prayers for her. I am trusting in the Lord to answer this prayer. I believe that the Holy Spirit wants to perform this miracle, so that the only answer that can be given by any is that it was he that did this wonderful thing. Wouldn't it be great when the Holy Spirit does something so miraculous that all the doctors, the family and her friends can say is, "Great is our God, Blessed be the name of the Lord."
I am reminded of how in the New Testament Jesus did many miracles and many healings and in most if not all of them it dealt directly with the faith of the recipient or those closly associated, like Jirus or those who helped lower the lame man through the roof.
In His hometown Jesus could perform few miracles, because of their lack of faith. Does this not remind you of your hometown? Do you see and recognize miracles? Do they happen? Or do they not because you do not believe and do not have the faith?
Let's do this! Let's all put our trust and faith in God and know that the Holy Spirit is capable of doing exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask. If Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, then so is God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
I calim healing for Sandy right now, in the name of the Holy Spirit, will you join me in this prayer? That we all can experience what we claim to know that God is great and greatly to be praised. That he is above all and over all. That he is mighty, that he is the healer and the provider.
I can say with boldness as Job did, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord. I am confident that I am not needing to see a miracle to believe like Thomas did. Jesus told him, becasue you see you believe, blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. However, because I believe I long to see this, not for my gain or glory but for his. That by healing Sandy Cookston her family, her friends our community and this state might see God for how powerful he truly is. That this miracle would revive our Land and draw many to faith in him.
Let's do this! Let's fight like real men and women, on pur knees in prayer, with fasting, meditating on his word. Let us hide the word of God in our hearts so that we might not sin against him and let us live accordingly. The bible tells us to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth. I know many who claim the truth and they worship in truth, but when was the Last time you worshiped in spirit and in truth? When last did you pray in Spirit and in truth?
I beg you right now, get down on your knees before a Holy God in heaven and ask his Holy Spirit to pour out himself upon you that you may experience the power that he has had since before time began and will have forevermore. That we may have just a taste of what those before us have had and just a glimpse of what we have instore for us at heaven. The Apostle Paul said in Phillipians, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tounge will confess that Jesus is Lord to the Glory of God the Father. I can say with great confidence that if we are not bowing to him in this life we will bow to him at our death. Let's do this, willfully, now!
I love the words of the song, Lord I come. "Lord I come. Take my life. I offer it to you a living sacrifice. By your grace, by your blood, I come into the Holy of Holies. All I want to do is dwell in your presence, drink from the well that never runs dry. All I want to see is the light of your glory, just one glimpse, just one drink and my soul is satisfied."
That is my prayer, that Sandy, her family, my family, her friends, my friends would get just one glimpse, one small taste, that by his grace She would be healed and through the power of his Holy Sprit. Can we do this? We must! Put your faith and trust in him, lean not on your own understanding. Jesus told Jirus, "Just believe."
Let's do this. Just believe.

Update* Sandy passed away last night, April 22nd. One day after I wrote this. Her mother in law found many verses highlighted in her bible so at least one of many prayers seemed to have been answered. I badly wanted a miracle of healing for her and for all who knew her. I will not give up on the Lord because of this. I believe he is more then capable of answering these types of prayers.
Please keep the family and the kids in your prayers.
To God be the Glory!

A Humble Confession

2010-04-03T12:23:00.001-07:00

From Alistair Begg, truth for life daily. Delivered to my inbox.

April 3, 2010
A Humble Confession

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:6

Here a confession of sin is shared by all the elect people of God. They have all fallen, and therefore, in one voice, from the first who entered heaven to the last who shall arrive they all say, "All we like sheep have gone astray."

This confession is not only unanimous, it is also special and particular: "We have turned every one to his own way." All are sinful, but each individual faces his or her own peculiar sinfulness, which is not found in someone else. It is the mark of genuine repentance that while it naturally associates itself with other penitents, it also takes up a position of loneliness. "We have turned every one to his own way" is a confession that each individual had sinned against light peculiar to himself or sinned with an aggravation that he could not perceive in others.

This confession is unreserved; there is not a word to detract from its force, nor a syllable by way of excuse. This confession bids farewell to every plea of self-justification. It is the declaration of those who are consciously guilty—guilty with aggravations, guilty without excuse: they stand with their weapons of rebellion broken in pieces and cry, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way."

Yet we hear no mournful wailings attending this confession of sin; for the next sentence makes it almost a song. "The LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." It is the most grievous sentence of the three, but it overflows with comfort. How strange that where misery was concentrated, mercy reigned; where sorrow reached her climax, weary souls find rest. The Savior bruised is the healing of bruised hearts.

Consider how the humble confession gives way to assured confidence by simply gazing at Christ on the cross!\
From truth from Life daily..

I had a dream....

2010-03-28T07:57:00.000-07:00

Last night Cynthia, the older kids, Kylee's friends and I watched the blind side. I thought it was a powerful story and was well acted. I fell asleep easily as I had been entertained by this good movie.
In the middle of the night I had a dream. You might call it a nightmare, but it was as real as life itself. Our social worker called us in a panic. "There is a little boy and we don't have a home for him, and we can't find anyone to love him. He needs someone to love him. Everyhome we have gone to has turned him down. They won't open there homes to him, because I must tell you, the doctors said he only has a year to live. I know your home is full, but we have no where else. Can you love him like your own son? Even though he only has a few months to live?"
That year passed and he became apart of our family. WE knew any day that he would die, but we loved him. As I drove the van past Klondike Pizza in Arroyo Grande he gasped for air and cried out, "Daddy". I can still see his face. His body was now in my arms and I cried out to God while tears poured from my face and his his. He was scared and I prayed. I asked, "Lord your word says confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you will be saved. I know he did that. I pray that my son's confession was by your grace. That your plan for his life is not ending in death, but in eternal life. Please Lord, I beg you. I would want to be sent to hell if it would allow my son to go to heaven."
"Daddy", he cried, "I'm scared"
"I know son, but Jesus loves you this I know for the bible tells me so." I said to him.
"daddy, I can see Jesus!"

I can still see his face as he died, because it was Lexi's face.

I woke with tears in my eyes and urgency in my heart. I prayed and wondered why sometimes I wait to share the gospel? Why do I sometimes choose not to tell people when I can? Why do I wait until later when it is maybe too late?
I awoke this morning with a sense of urgency to tell my kids I love them and that Jesus loves them. I woke in a sweat and with tears. This wasn't just a dream or a nightmare, but it seemed to be a reflection of the reality in which I live. I knew this boy had a year to live, so I told him the gospel accordingly, but shame on me for assuming that everybody I meet or know will live forever and so I wait to proclaim that message.
May God open hearts and lives and may he open my heart and life to be bold for the gospel. That I would know that there is no time like now to tell the world, "Jesus loves me this I know for the bible tells me so!"

emptiness of accomplishment, fulness of accomplishment....

2010-03-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

I was in my time of study and prayer this morning and felt led to reflect on what I have accomplished in life. Often we gauge things on how successful they are by how much money they made or by some other menial diagnosis. As I thought about my own life, I decided that I have had a good life. I have done some things to be proud of, I think I am a good husband, father and son. I enjoy my work and have been told that I am good at what I do. I achieved some success in athletics and usually was a good student. However, in all of these things there is an underlying emptiness at times. In business, the better you do or more success you achieve, the more you desire. The more money you make, the more you spend, the more you desire. We buy homes and cars which cause us to desire more money for upkeep or basic needs.
We can see this in famous athletes or actors or business people. The desire to win a championship is only quenched by the desire for another and another and another. What makes them strive for more? Is it the desire to be better or is it sometimes because the accomplishment has an emptiness to it? We see some of these people pursue other things to feed the emptiness in a hope to overcome it. They sometimes turn to drugs, gambling or even extra marital affairs. Some famous people often seem so miserable, yet they have what most of us want, money, possessions and a puffed up pride. We see billionaires who continue to work and pursue the goal of more money as if the money they have brought them any fullness. In appearance the money seems to be empty or an empty pursuit.
I know I have been guilty of saying things like, "I know money is the root of all evil, but I sure would like to have a shot at some." or try to overcome it. In the end, most things we accomplish in life have a temporary fullness, followed by an emptiness. Because this temporary fullness was pleasurable we seek it again and again and again.
Hopefully you can understand my point here. That there is an emptiness to our accomplishments, especially based upon their motivations. Are we accomplishing tasks in life for there pleasure or are we accomplishing them for there intended purpose of bringing Glory to God.
This week is often referred to as passion week. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday and then we have good Friday. As I prayed and pondered this I was struck by the words of Jesus on the cross. "It is finished" or "it is accomplished".(John 19:30) Was Jesus simply stating that his life was finished? No, he was proclaiming that the purpose of his life as a man was fulfilled. He had achieved the fullest accomplishment possible. "Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."Luke 24:46-47 (NKJV) Jesus was referring to Isaiah 53:1-12.
"the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth;He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,So He opened not His mouth."Isaiah 53:6-7 (NKJV)
Later Isaiah says, "He poured out His soul unto death,And He was numbered with the transgressors,And He bore the sin of many,And made intercession for the transgressors."Isaiah 53:12 (NKJV)
The fullness of his accomplishment is that he knew what he came to do and he did it. He bore our sins on the cross, he took our penalty upon himself, he felt the wrath of my sins and yours. Imagine what that must have been like. Not just the pain of the beating, the beard pulling and the cross, but the pain of Jesus Christ wearing your sin and mine. I think of all the nasty things I have done or thought and they nailed him there so he could bear that burden for me. He accomplished so much, salvation, abundant life and inclusion of all who might believe into God's Grace and family. He knew it was coming, the prophecies were clear, "I was not rebellious,
Nor did I turn away.6 I gave My back to those who struck Me,And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting."
Isaiah 50:5-6 (NKJV)
And because of his obedience to bring Glory to God the Father all might believe. "I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness,And will hold Your hand;I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,As a light to the Gentiles,7 To open blind eyes,To bring out prisoners from the prison,Those who sit in darkness from the prison house."Isaiah 42:6-7 (NKJV)
Paul said in Romans "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek". Romans 1:16 (NKJV)
The good news of Easter is simply that. The death of Jesus Christ brought about the salvation of sinners, through faith in Jesus Christ. This salvation leads to life, real life, meaningful, purposeful, and abundant. It takes our desires and accomplishments and removes the emptiness and replaces it with purpose and fulfillment. Our life is lived to glorify God. We can only do that by realizing what Christ did for us on the cross and that should change us or compel us to right living.

The star maker....

2010-03-26T18:56:00.001-07:00

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen 1:1) and God said, "let there be lights in the expanse of the sky."(v14a) He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth. (v17).
How amazing that God cared so much for us that he put trillions of stars into the night for us to enjoy, observe and to provide us light. And still the stars amaze us, because he is the amazing star maker.

A false-colour image of a sub-region of the survey field. The under-luminous Lyman-alpha image is shown in blue, green shows visible light, and red shows the infra-red observation. Astronomers may have underestimated the tally of galaxies in some parts of the Universe by as much as 90 percent, according to a study reported on Wednesday in Nature, the weekly British science journal.
(AFP/ESO)

Heart & Healing...

2010-03-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about and praying about a conversation I had the other day. I certainly do not want to make assumptions of scripture or wrongly divide the word of truth, so I decided to study these two passages of scripture, the first being Isaiah 53:5. This passage is often referred to as the suffering servant and the New Testament uses it to show Israel that the Messiah had to suffer and die. The punishment he suffered on the cross was for sin, so in that context the healing by his wounds would be of or from sin. Peter who walked with Christ said in 1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
Later he speaks of suffering for Christ (1 Peter 4:12-13) and in fact most of Chapter 3 on speaks of us suffering in one manner or another, either for doing good (3:8-22) suffering for being a Christian (4:12-19) and so forth. Certainly Paul’s letters would attest to this, that a Christian isn’t free from suffering, or afflictions because Christ died, but rather they are free from sin (Rom 8). Many Godly men suffered and died miserable deaths or were afflicted for great parts of their lives, yet they still had faith in God. I think of Job or Moses in the Old Testament, and Paul most prominently in the New Testament, Epaphroditus in the letter to Philippians Church was under some type of sickness or even disease (Phil 2:26), yet he was a worker with Paul and therefore a Christian. All were accounted righteous by their faith (Heb 11), yet all suffered, were sick and some afflicted with disease.
The second verse we spoke of is Psalm 37:4, “Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. 6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. 7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;” Psalms 37:1-7 (NKJV)
The context here seems to be a reward for obedience. Don’t fret, don’t be envious, Trust in the Lord, do good, feed on his faithfulness, And he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord also, trust also him and he will bring it to pass and ends Therefore (imp.) Rest in the Lord and wait, patiently for him.
As far as the desires of the heart, the emphasis is on petitions or prayers, “The desires of thine heart—‏משאלות‎ mishaloth, the petitions. The godly man never indulges a desire which he cannot form into a prayer to God.”—Adam Clarke's Commentary
A pleasant duty is here rewarded with another pleasure. Men who delight in God desire or ask for nothing but what will please God; hence it is safe to give them carte blanche. Their will is subdued to God's will, and now they may have what they will. Our innermost desires are here meant, not our casual wishes; there are many things which nature might desire which grace would never permit us to ask for; these deep, prayerful, asking desires are those to which the promise is made.—Treasury of David, The
Charles Spurgeon says this, “who should delight in him but you—his friends, his sons, those of his own house? Think what life and vigour it will infuse into you, and that "the joy of the Lord will be your strength, "Nehemiah 8:10. How pleasantly will you hold on your course, and discharge all the other duties of this your present state? You must serve him. Dare you think of throwing off his yoke? How desirable is it then to take delight in him whom I must serve; which only makes that service acceptable to him, and easy to myself! Further, this is a pleasure none can rob you of; a joy that cannot be taken from you.” —Treasury of David, The
The heart that is pleasing to God would desire to be obedient to God’s will. Hebrews 4:12 says that the bible is the discerner of thoughts and the intention or desire of the heart. Paul wrote in Romans, “the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:26-28 (NKJV)

So if we are praying/ petitioning God from our heart it is not often something that we know we should pray for, but the Holy Spirit petitions on our behalf. God who searches our hearts, knows the mind (desire) of the Spirit, because the Spirit petitions according to the will of the Father. In this context, which I can give other scriptures to support, the Desires of our heart are given to us, by God. Apart from his grace, my sin filled life and heart would desire things of the flesh, but a renewed, spirit filled heart would desire things of that nature. Our heart desires what it knows, sin or life in Christ. God spoke through Ezekiel saying, “26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezek 36:26 (NKJV)

From a friend in Iraq...

2010-03-10T13:29:00.001-08:00

Hello:
>
> Another day in Paradise. Weather man said it will make it to 100 degrees
> today. So much for spring.
>
> As you might know I just returned from a short R&R with all the family.
> We meet for a week in Mexico, and it was great.
> But I really need to tell about my trip back to Iraq.
>
> As we fly into Baghdad, all the rules of travel change. We are bused to
> a camp not far from the airport, and there we are housed until our means
> of transportation to our different bases are complete.
> Returning to Camp Taji is always and adventure because it can only be
> reached by helicopter.
> And all helicopter flights are controlled by the military, so we are at
> their mercy for a ride.
>
> Now comes the reason for this email.
>
> Most all flights are conducted at night for security reasons.
> First night I am bused to BIAP @ 20:00 to wait for my 24:00 flight.
> As we arrive at the airport a typical dust storm moves in and all
> flights are grounded.
> Officials tell us to wait, the dust should lift around 05:00 and we
> could get out by 06:00.
> Well, the dust did not lift.
> At 07:00 we were bused back to the camp to wait.
> Again at 17:00 we are taken back to the airport, for the 24:00 flight.
> We were able to take off at 04:30 for the 8 minute flight to Taji.
>
> The time I spent at the airport, there were young men and women moving
> in and out all night.
> These young soldiers are meet every time they come in by someone from
> the USO.
> This little lady never missed a person. She did not care where you were
> from, she made sure you had coffee and some food.
> People do not understand what the USO does for our military and their
> families.
> Just and cup of coffee and a muffin can mean so much so far from home
> and family.
>
> This organization depends on donations from individuals and companies to
> continue the unbelievable work and support they give our military.
>
> If you have ever thought of donating to any cause, this is one everyone
> we should consider.
> Their work is tireless.
>
> This is just something I had to share, please share it with others.
>
>
> Larry Franks
>
> Taji, Iraq.

Confessing sin...

2010-02-18T11:09:00.001-08:00

February 18, 2010
Confess Your Sins to God

Father, I have sinned.

Luke 15:18

It is quite certain that those whom Christ has washed in His precious blood need not make a confession of sin as culprits or criminals before God the Judge, because Christ has forever taken away all their sins in a legal sense, so that they no longer stand where they can be condemned, but are once and for all accepted in the Beloved.

But having become children, and offending as children, should they not every day go before their heavenly Father and confess their sin and acknowledge their iniquity in that character? Nature teaches that it is the duty of erring children to make a confession to their earthly father, and the grace of God in the heart teaches us that we, as Christians, owe the same duty to our heavenly Father. We daily offend and ought not to rest without daily pardon. Suppose that my trespasses against my Father are not at once taken to Him to be washed away by the cleansing power of the Lord Jesus--what will be the consequence? If I have not sought forgiveness and been washed from these offenses against my Father, I shall feel at a distance from Him; I shall doubt His love for me; I shall tremble before Him; I shall be afraid to pray to Him: I shall grow like the prodigal who, although still a child, was yet far away from his father. But if with a child's sorrow at offending so gracious and loving a Parent, I go to Him and tell Him everything, and do not rest until I realize that I am forgiven, then I shall feel a holy love to my Father and shall go through my Christian career not only as saved, but as one enjoying present peace in God through Jesus Christ my Lord.

There is a wide distinction between confessing sin as a culprit and confessing sin as a child. The Father's bosom is the place for penitent confessions. We have been cleansed once for all, but our feet still need to be washed from the defilement of our daily walk as children of God.

Another good article from truth for life daily

Romans 1&2

2010-02-17T13:05:00.000-08:00

Many despise their more ignorant neighbours who rest in a dead form of godliness; yet themselves trust in a form of knowledge, equally void of life and power, while some glory in the gospel, whose unholy lives dishonour God, and cause his name to be blasphemed. —Matthew Henry Concise
Let us pray that we may be made real Christians, not outwardly, but inwardly; in the heart and spirit, not in the letter; baptized, not with water only, but with the Holy Ghost; and let our praise be, not of men, but of God. —Matthew Henry Concise

I love these comments from Matthew Henry. He is commenting on Romans 2. I hadn't studied Romans since I was a kid. My Dad made me memorize Romans 8 (yes the whole chapter) and I can still say parts of it from memory. Since it had been a long time and our church is teaching the book of Acts on Sunday mornings I though it would be good to study Romans again. There have been a couple of verses that have stood out to me so far.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Romans 1:16-17 (NKJV)
19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse
Romans 1:19-20 (NKJV)
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
Romans 1:27-32 (NKJV)
1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man,
Romans 2:1 (NKJV)
the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who "will render to each one according to his deeds":
Romans 2:4-6 (NKJV)
12 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law 13 (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; 14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
Romans 2:12-16 (NKJV)

I have enjoyed studying these passages among the many good verses in Romans so far. Paul has alot to say to the believer in these passages. It seems to me that he is really challenging the hypocricy in the culture and I think that is relevant in today's church and culture. It is the goodness of God that leads a hard heart or sin filled heart to repentance he said, but are hard heart or unwillingness to submit to his goodness is storing up wrath in the day of judgment. Paul is painting the picture here of mans position, being sin filled and desiring or hanging onto that sin. Regardless of the law of God written down in the bible, it is written on and in the hearts of man(kind) so there is no one with excuse. Our conscience is also a witness to us either convicting us of our sins and faults or excusing us and relieving us of the penalty of those sins. Even our secret sins and actions.
Over and over in my studies I have found Paul's letters to confirm or affirm the doctrine of Grace. He is consistent in the fact that it is God's grace that saves, however he does not seperate God's grace driven salvation from our actions. More then our noticible deeds or actions he writes alot about our secret deeds. Often we focus on what is firmly visible. Like in the Parable of the widow and her 2 mites. The Pharisee was very much viewed as more religious or having more faith because of his position, however Jesus affirmed that she was more faithful in her deeds. Her heart was right, while the Pharisee was concerned not with the poor or needy, but with being seen as Holy.
Paul also reflects that how we are viewed by others is not as important as how God views us. He knows our thoughts and intentions of our heart. Our willful disobedience can lead to our hearts and lives being turned over to those evil sinful desires. Woe to us if we become people, who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
Paul does not sugar coat the gospel, I hope and pray that I can live with the same conviction and passion for the gospel and be who I claim to be, even in my private life.

A $50.00 lesson

2010-02-16T13:53:00.000-08:00

I recently asked my friends' little girl what she
wanted to be when she grows up. She said she wanted to be
President some day. Both of her parents, liberal Democrats,
were standing there, so I asked her, 'If you were
President what would be the first thing you would do?
She replied, 'I'd give food and houses to all the
homeless people.'
Her parents beamed with pride.
'Wow...what a worthy goal.' I told her, 'But
you don't have to wait until you're President to do
that. You can come over to my house and mow the lawn, pull
weeds, and sweep my yard, and I'll pay you $50. Then
I'll take you over to the grocery store where the
homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use
toward food and a new house.'
She thought that over for a few seconds, then she looked me
straight in the eye and asked, ' Why doesn't the
homeless guy come over and do the
work, and you can just pay him the $50? '
I said, 'Welcome to the Republican Party.'
Her parents still aren't speaking to me.

No, this is not my conversation, but I found it funny and true. Although I would have said Welcome to the Constitution Party!

A recent conversation about the Haiti Earthquake...

2010-02-12T12:59:00.001-08:00

So, I was asked a question the other day about the destruction in Haiti. The person I was talking to knew I was a Christian and that I had adopted children and he was wondering what I thought of this tragedy from those two perspectives. After all, he said, “Don’t you and your wife just want to go down there and get a bunch more kids?”
He went on to bring up some things he had heard, like God was judging Haiti or that it was just a freak of nature and God had absolutely no part of it or control over it. As you might imagine it was a rather lengthy conversation. It was at times exciting and at times a spirited debate, but for the most part we were both gracious to each others opinions and thoughts. This man calls himself a Christian and I believe that he is, but he seems to really struggle with the issue of God’s sovereignty and his absolute power. It is easier for him to think that God is only in control of big things not small, to which I asked him was the earthquake a big or small thing? Was Katrina, the Tsunami and 9/11 big or small? Is your salvation and faith big or small? Is an unborn life or an old person’s life big or small? Is your life big or small? Is it significant or does God just not really care about you?
He seemed to get my point and so I said, “let me try to answer your questions. I’ll start with the hardest, God’s control. What is too big for God to have control over? The things I just brought up? If God could have control over the flood of Noah’s day and the parting of the sea in Moses’ day then could he not still have control over those things today? In the New Testament Jesus had the power over the wind and the sea, he said to the wind and seas to be quiet and still. Hebrews 13:8 proclaims that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”
“So it seems to me that the question of God’s control over nature and life comes down to how accurate you think the bible is at telling the truth. If the bible is correct then God is unchanging so he still has control. If the bible is correct then Jesus is unchanging and still has control. What has changed is you and I. Culture has changed and it has influenced how we are taught and it has influenced how history has been remembered, but an unchanging God would remember history perfectly. Not only that he must then be powerful enough to have full control and to have a book written, preserved and accurately translated for thousands of years. If you don’t trust the bible, seek out your answers. Study history. Read the works of educated men, of archaeologist, of antiquities and learn what they have discovered and compare it to what you know and have been taught. But, it seems to me that you have already come to know that the bible is true. Maybe those teaching you have erred or those you have listened to have, the only way to know is to get into it and study it for yourself. I believe that you will find overwhelming evidence to support the fact that God is sovereign and in complete control, but that we are to proud at times to admit it.”
He then said, “I have seen that over and over in the bible so I will admit to you that it is there, but doesn’t that make God unfair? I mean, how could a loving God allow many to die or even cause it? How come there is evil and all sorts of murder and yet God be in control?”
What a good line of questioning! “The answer is sin” I said. “Sin is disbelief, rebellion, and an unrepentant attitude that leads to all those things. God in His power and justice can and could eliminate us all from the face of the earth at any moment and thus end sin and suffering, death and murder. In fact at the flood that was his intention, except for one man with faith. By faith Noah was spared, but not only that his wife and kids were spared and I believe you and I were spared. God who is Holy was more then right to destroy the wickedness, but faith spared Noah and his family. After the flood God said he would never destroy the earth like that again. 20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 "While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease." Gen 8:20-22 (NKJV)
“Because of God’s promise to Noah, God’s grace has spared you and I while He endures sin. He endures it for the sake of those who might believe in him.” I added, “I think that we may have come close to answer on God’s judgment. Clearly if the bible is true and correct, God has Judged nations and people in the past through natural disasters under his control. We also said that he is unchanging and the bible supports that as well. The bible also tells us that he is all knowing so nothing ever surprises him, even the things he detests, we just read in Genesis that God said, the imagination of mans heart or the desire of mans heart is evil from his youth. So sin, murder, rape and all sorts of evil does not surprise him and even though he hates it his grace allows it so that those who are lost and dead to him because of sin might become alive because of Christ. So yes the earthquake could have been judgment, but we can’t know for sure. The bible doesn’t say and it is the only source for truth. It does tell us that it is possible, it does tell us God is in control, it does tell us that he has ordered the earth, our lives and the universe by his laws and while we may not always obey his laws because of our choices his other creations do. The earth goes around the sun because he spoke and it was so. It is in complete obedience and it groans for the return of the Lord Jesus. The bible also tells us that His ways are not our ways and His plans are not our plans so to try and make God fit into our special little point of view is arrogant.”
“Your first question to me is simple. You asked don’t I want to go down there and adopt a bunch of kids. No, not really. To some that might be God’s plan, but for me there are plenty of kids here who need help. More then judgment in Haiti I see, hope for Haitie and I pray for revival. Certainly Haiti has been a wicked place for some time, but are their sins more wicked then ours? Especially if theirs is done out of ignorance and ours out of disobedience? Could it not be that God is calling us to action in our lives and the lives of others? Maybe if we humble ourselves we could hear the calling of the Holy Spirit, which leads us into obedience and into a life of doing what we already should have been doing. As a Christian we are commanded to love our neighbor as our self, we are told to help those in need, that what we have done to the least we have done unto the Lord. That is a world wide commitment and a passion in our soul that comes from the Lord, it is a desire to do what he commands and if we are disobedient, wouldn’t an all knowing heavenly father discipline his children and cause them to act? Then maybe this disaster is for us. Maybe it is to compel us to do what we already should have been doing. No I am not going to Haiti to get a bunch of Kids, because the Lord has laid it on my heart to help those here and I am trying to be obedient to that, but what about you? Has he burdened you with pictures and stories of Haiti? Pray about it. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. I have heard many say Haiti was judged for their murder, Idolatry and adultery, but Jesus said, 21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. Matt 5:21-22 (NKJV)
27 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Matt 5:27-29 (NKJV)
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Matt 5:43-45 (NKJV)
“This tells me that even though I have never murdered according to an unchanging Jesus I have if I have had anger towards a brother. If I have lusted after a woman I have committed adultery, and well I am a man so I have lusted and I stand guilty. My point is that I am certain myself, America, as well as the rest of the world is deserving of God’s Holy Judgment. The only way to avoid his judgment is through Jesus Blood and his righteousness. Romans 10:9 says, 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” The only thing we need salvation from is sin which leads to death eternally. That sin is what we are judged for. The bible says we will give account before Jesus on Judgment day of the things we have done, but if we put our faith 100% in Jesus we will be declared free of the penalty of our sin. I think that is really cool! So, maybe God caused or allowed Haiti to suffer an earthquake for the judgment of their sins, if so we might be next. Maybe in his sovereign control the earth was groaning for the return of Christ or simply obeying the laws under which it was created. Perhaps God in his infinite wisdom, mercy, grace and love is doing a redeeming work in the lives of both the people in Haiti and many around the world who have responded to his call. Maybe he is disciplining believers into obedience. My opinion is that He is doing all at once. While doing all of these things he has never stepped outside of his holiness or sovereignty. He never forgot his called, chosen or elect. He never kept anyone from seeking after him or having a chance at salvation. The bible tells us that none of us can stand before the Lord and have an excuse as to why we never believed and should get into heaven because God made a mistake.
Paul said in Romans, 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, Romans 1:16-21 (NKJV)
“We could read more to understand the full totality of this message, but my point is that none of us can ever say we did not have a chance or could not have known God. Rather our sin, disobedience and hard heart have blinded us to that truth. It might not be fair, but it is right and He is always just.”
Our conversation went on for all while longer, we then prayed and went our separate ways. I hope to see him again and continue to be challenged by him and to try to be humble and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us. I know in all of this that we learned that God is at times mysterious and to try to understand him better we need to be more disciplined in our reading, studying and praying.
I am posting this in a hope that it can urge or compel us to more action, dialogue and faith.
Blessed be the Lord!

The Cloud of sin...

2010-02-10T08:23:00.000-08:00

February 10, 2010

I Have Redeemed You
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.

Isaiah 44:22

Pay attention to THE INSTRUCTIVE PICTURE: Our sins are like a cloud. As clouds appear in many shapes and shades, so do our transgressions. As clouds obscure the light of the sun and darken the landscape below, so do our sins hide from us the light of Jehovah's face and cause us to sit in the shadow of death. They are earthborn things and arise from the miry places of our lives; and when they collect and their measure is full, they threaten us with storm and tempest. Sadly, unlike clouds, our sins yield us no genial showers but rather threaten to deluge us with a fiery flood of destruction. How can it be fair weather when the dark clouds of sin remain within our souls?

Let our happy gaze ponder THE NOTABLE ACT of divine mercy--"blotted out." God Himself appears upon the scene and in divine generosity, instead of manifesting His anger, reveals His grace. He at once and forever effectually removes the mischief, not by blowing away the cloud, but by blotting it out from existence once and for all. Against the justified man no sin remains; the great transaction of the cross has eternally removed his transgressions from him. On Calvary's summit the great deed, by which the sin of all the chosen was forever put away, was completely and effectually performed.

Practically let us obey THE GRACIOUS COMMAND: "Return to me." Why should pardoned sinners live at a distance from their God? If all of our sins have been forgiven, let no legal fear hold us back from the boldest access to our Lord. Let backslidings be bemoaned, but let us not persevere in them. Let us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, work strenuously to return to intimate communion with the Lord. O Lord, restore us now, tonight!

taken from Truth for life daily; delivered to my inbox

They Walk Among Us...

2010-02-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

They Walk Among Us
>
> IDIOT SIGHTING #1:
>
> We had to have the garage door repaired. The Sears
> repairman told us
> that one of our problems was that we did not have a
> 'large' enough motor
> on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said that
> we had the largest
> one Sears made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He
> shook his head and
> said, "Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower." I responded
> that 1/2 was
> larger than 1/4. He said, "NO, it's not Four is larger
> than two..."
> We haven't used Sears repair since.
>
>
> IDIOT SIGHTING #2:
>
> My daughter and I went through the McDonald's take-out
> window and I
> gave the clerk a $5 bill. Our total was $4.25, so I
> also handed her a
> quarter. She said, "You gave me too much money." I
> said, "Yes I know,
> but this way you can just give me a dollar bill back."
> She sighed and
> went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my
> request. I did so,
> and he handed me back the quarter, and said "We're
> sorry but we cannot
> do that kind of thing." The clerk then proceeded to
> give me back $1 and
> 75 cents in change.
> Do not confuse the clerks at McD's.
>
>
> IDIOT SIGHTING #3:
>
> I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new
> neighbor call the
> local township administrative office to request the
> removal of the DEER
> CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: "Too many deer
> are being hit by
> cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for
> them to be
> crossing anymore."
> From Kingman , KS .
>
>
> IDIOT SIGHTING IN FOOD SERVICE:
>
> My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a
> taco. She asked
> the person behind the counter for 'minimal lettuce.'
> He said he was
> sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce.
> From Kansas City
>
>
> IDIOT SIGHTING #5:
>
> I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an
> airport employee
> asked, "Has anyone put anything in your baggage without
> your knowledge?"
> To which I replied, "If it was without my knowledge,
> how would I know?"
> He smiled knowingly and nodded, "That's why we ask."
> Happened in Birmingham , Ala.
>
>
> IDIOT SIGHTING #6:
>
>
>
> The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it's safe to
> cross the street.
> I was crossing with an intellectually challenged
> coworker of mine. She
> asked if I knew what the buzzer was for.. I explained
> that it signals
> blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she
> responded, "What on
> earth are blind people doing driving?!"
> She was a probation officer in Wichita, KS
>
>
> IDIOT SIGHTING #7:
>
> We were having a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear
> coworker, as she
> was leaving the company due to 'downsizing.' Our
> manager commented
> cheerfully, "This is fun. We should do this more
> often." Not another
> word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with
> that
> deer-in-the-headlights stare. This was a lunch at
> Texas Instruments.
>
>
> IDIOT SIGHTING #8:
>
> I work with an individual who plugged her power strip
> back into itself
> and for the sake of her life, couldn't understand why
> her system would
> not turn on. A deputy with the Dallas County Sheriff's
> office, no
> less.
>
>
> IDIOT SIGHTING #9:
>
> When my husband and I arrived at an automobile
> dealership to pick up
> our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it.
> We went to the
> service department and found a mechanic working
> feverishly to unlock the
> driver side door. As I watched from the passenger
> side, I instinctively
> tried the door handle and discovered that it was
> unlocked. "Hey," I
> announced to the technician, "It's open!" His reply,
> "I know. I already
> got that side. This was at the Ford dealership in
> Canton , MS .
>
>
> IDIOT SIGHTING #10:
>
> When I left Hawaii and was transferred to Florida , I
> still had the
> Hawaiian plates on my car, as my car was shipped from
> Hawaii . I was
> parking somewhere (I can't remember) and a guy asked me
> "Wow, you drove
> from Hawaii to here?" I looked at him and quickly
> said, "Yep, I took
> the Hawaii/San Francisco Bridge". He nodded his head
> and said "Cool!"
>
>
> STAY ALERT! They walk among us, they VOTE, and they
> REPRODUCE.
and the best part, I am sure I have been one of these at one point in my life!

Things Got Ya Down? Well Then, Consider These . . ...

2010-01-29T12:41:00.000-08:00

In a hospital's Intensive Care Unit, patients always died in the same bed, on Sunday morning, at about 11:00 am , regardless of their medical condition. This puzzled the doctors and some even thought it had something to do with the super natural. No one could solve the mystery as to why the deaths occurred around 11:00 AM Sunday, so a worldwide team of experts was assembled to investigate the cause of the incidents. The next Sunday morning, a few minutes before 11:00 AM all of the doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon was all about. Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books, and other holy objects to ward off the evil spirits.. Just when the clock struck 11:00 , Pookie Johnson , the part-time Sunday sweeper, entered the ward and unplugged the life support system so he could use the vacuum cleaner.

Still Having a Bad Day????

The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez Oil spill in Alaska was $80,000.00. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were being released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later, in full view, a killer whale ate them both.

Still think you are having a Bad Day????

A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen shaking frantically, almost in a dancing frenzy, with some kind of wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current, she whacked him with a handy plank of wood, breaking his arm in two places. Up to that moment, he had been happily listening to his Walkman.

Are Ya OK Now? - No?

Two animal rights defenders were protesting the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn , Germany .. Suddenly, all two thousand pigs broke loose and escaped through a broken fence, stampeding madly.. The two helpless protesters were trampled to death.

What?!? STILL having a Bad Day????

Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet did not pay enough postage on a letter bomb. It came back with 'Return to Sender' stamped on it. Forgetting it was the bomb, he opened it and was blown to bits. God is Good!

There now, Feeling Better?

3 LADIES IN A SAUNA

2010-01-25T18:00:00.001-08:00

Three Ladies in a Sauna

THREE WOMEN, TWO YOUNGER, AND ONE SENIOR CITIZEN, WERE SITTING NAKED IN A SAUNA.

SUDDENLY THERE WAS A BEEPING SOUND. THE YOUNG WOMAN PRESSED HER FOREARM AND THE
BEEP STOPPED.

THE OTHERS LOOKED AT HER QUESTIONINGLY. 'THAT WAS MY PAGER,' SHE SAID. I HAVE A MICROCHIP UNDER THE SKIN OF MY ARM.

A FEW MINUTES LATER, A PHONE RANG. THE SECOND YOUNG WOMAN LIFTED HER PALM TO HER EAR.

WHEN SHE FINISHED, SHE EXPLAINED, 'THAT WAS MY MOBILE PHONE. I HAVE A MICROCHIP IN MY HAND.'

THE OLDER WOMAN FELT VERY LOW -TECH. NOT TO BE OUT DONE, SHE DECIDED SHE HAD TO DO SOMETHING JUST AS IMPRESSIVE. SHE STEPPED OUT OF THE SAUNA AND WENT TO THE BATHROOM.

SHE RETURNED WITH A PIECE OF TOILET PAPER HANGING FROM HER REAR END..

THE OTHERS RAISED THEIR EYEBROWS AND STARED AT HER.

THE OLDER WOMAN FINALLY SAID.........WELL,
WILL YOU LOOK AT THAT....
I'M GETTING A FAX!!

written by an 8-year-old ....

2010-01-22T13:29:00.000-08:00

It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista , CA . He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to 'explain God.' I wonder if any of us could have done as well?
[ ... And he had such an assignment, in California , and someone published it, I guess miracles do happen ! ... ]

EXPLANATION OF GOD:
'One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.'

'God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.'

'God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.'

'Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista . At least there aren't any who come to our church.'

'Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him But he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K.'

'His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.'

'You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.'

'You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!

Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.'

'If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.'

'But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases...

And...that's why I believe in God.'

Weakness in Triumph

2010-01-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

January 21, 2009
Weakness in Triumph

And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, 'You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst . . . ?'

Judges 15:18

Samson was thirsty and ready to die. The difficulty was totally different from any that the hero had met before. Merely to get thirst quenched is nothing like so great a matter as to be delivered from a thousand Philistines! But when the thirst was upon him, Samson felt that particular difficulty to be more weighty than the great past difficulty out of which he had so specially been delivered.

It is very usual for God's people, when they have enjoyed a great deliverance, to find a little trouble too much for them. Samson slays a thousand Philistines and piles them up in heaps, and then faints for a little water! Jacob wrestles with God at Peniel and overcomes Omnipotence itself, and then goes "limping because of his hip!" 1 Strange that there must be a shrinking of the sinew whenever we win the day. As if the Lord must teach us our littleness, our nothingness, in order to keep us within bounds.

Samson boasted right loudly when he said, "I have slain a thousand men." His boastful throat soon grew hoarse with thirst, and he betook himself to prayer. God has many ways of humbling His people.

Dear child of God, if after great mercy you are laid very low, your case is not an unusual one. When David had mounted the throne of Israel, he said, "I am this day weak, though anointed king." You must expect to feel weakest when you are enjoying your greatest triumph. If God has wrought for you great deliverances in the past, your present difficulty is only like Samson's thirst, and the Lord will not let you faint, nor allow your enemy to triumph over you. The road of sorrow is the road to heaven, but there are wells of refreshing water all along the route. So, tested and tired pilgrim, cheer your heart with Samson's words, and rest assured that God will deliver you before long.

1 Genesis 32:31

Another good article from Alistair Begg at truth for life daily,

Learn at the Feet of Jesus

2010-01-19T12:56:00.001-08:00

January 19, 2010
Learn at the Feet of Jesus

Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

Luke 24:45

He whom we viewed last evening as opening Scripture, we here perceive opening the understanding. In the first work He has many fellow-laborers, but in the second He stands alone; many can bring the Scriptures to the mind, but the Lord alone can prepare the mind to receive the Scriptures. Our Lord Jesus differs from all other teachers.

They reach the ear, but He instructs the heart; they deal with the outward letter, but He imparts an inward taste for the truth, by which we perceive its savor and spirit. The most unlearned of men become ripe scholars in the school of grace when the Lord Jesus by His Holy Spirit unfolds the mysteries of the kingdom to them and grants the divine anointing by which they are enabled to behold the invisible.

Happy are we if we have had our understandings cleared and strengthened by the Master! How many men of profound learning are ignorant of eternal things! They know the killing letter of revelation, but its killing spirit they cannot discern; they have a veil upon their hearts that the eyes of carnal reason cannot penetrate.

Such was our case a little time ago. We who now see were once utterly blind; truth was to us as beauty in the dark, a thing unnoticed and neglected. Had it not been for the love of Jesus we should have remained to this moment in utter ignorance, for without His gracious opening of our understanding, we could no more have attained to spiritual knowledge than an infant can climb the Pyramids or an ostrich fly up to the stars.

Jesus' College is the only one in which God's truth can be really learned; other schools may teach us what is to be believed, but Christ's alone can show us how to believe it. Let us sit at the feet of Jesus and by earnest prayer call upon His blessed help, that our dull wits may grow brighter, and our feeble understandings may receive heavenly things.

From Truth for life daily, delivered to my email inbox.

Christmas letter to all my friends

2009-12-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

I haven’t written in a while, but Christmas is always a good excuse to tell others how we are and what we have been up to. Christmas is always a season of hope, the beginning of change that leads to a new year and that brings a time of reflection.
As I thought of Christmas this year I really looked at my life and the way that Christmas has changed. When I was a child I never heard “Happy Holidays” and I do not remember people being offended by the Holy Day celebration of Christ’s birth. Sometime between my childhood and that of my own children all of this began to change. Christmas was replaced with “Xmas” and then “Happy Holidays”, stores used to advertise to Christians or toward the mass of people who celebrated Christmas and now they seem unwilling or afraid to risk the backlash of honoring Christ at this time of year.
I used to be offended that others were offended by “Merry Christmas”, but this year something hit me. Maybe those who are offended and refuse to say, “Merry Christmas” know and understand the meaning of that phrase. By not proclaiming “Merry Christmas” they are taking a stand against what they have come to know or had to have been rightly taught at some point. It makes sense to me because Jesus is offensive. What the bible claims of Jesus is offensive and what Jesus himself claimed is offensive to sin, to sinners, to the ignorant and to the disobedient.
In Matthew 1:23 Jesus was proclaimed to be Immanuel, to be God with us. The implication of that is huge. He is God with us. His birth changed history and altered our calendars. The world has never been the same from that day forward. In his life, Ministry and death he never denied that claim. In fact the opposite is true; he embraced the title and took it to the cross. In John 10:30 he said, “I and the Father are one.” In John 10:38, “though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the father is in me and I in him.”
In Matthew 12:8 he claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath. In Matthew 26:63-65, he declared to the high priest that he is the Christ the son of the living God. In John 14:6-7 “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my father also; and from now on you know him and have seen him.”
Statements like these are offensive and at the same time they are liberating. To know Christ as the purpose and reason to celebrate at Christmas is a joyful and rewarding feeling. I think that one reason why the world has turned on Christ at Christmas is because our story has become watered down. It has gone from a day that we remember Immanuel came to earth and was born to die, and become a celebration of angels, virgin birth, Santa and presents. So many stories are told and intertwined that we have lost sight of what really took place and the significance of it. If Christians can’t tell an accurate and true historical account of Christ how can we expect the world to take it seriously?
When the Magi came to visit the Christ child they brought gifts and it was more significant and symbolic then that there were three gifts. Gold was brought and used to build Jesus kingdom while he was here on earth. Frankincense is an oil used in religious ceremonies and myrrh was a burial spice. These men brought provision for the ministry of Jesus Christ. Gold for his material needs, frankincense for his position as high priest and myrrh for his necessary death. They new his life, had anticipated his arrival, saw the signs, followed the star and were expecting his death.
I must confess that as I have gotten older I love and cherish Christmas more and more, because without Christmas there would be no cross and no celebration of Easter. The true meaning of Christmas is that Immanuel, God with us was born. I pray that this Christmas, Christians around the world would begin to fully understand that Jesus Christ is who he claimed to be. That God would grant us all the grace to have the faith to believe that and that that faith would cause us to live our lives with conviction. That it would convince us to worship God in spirit and in truth. Being convinced of that we would strive to better understand the truth so that we can stand up to the devil and his schemes. I pray that we could defend Christmas and at the same time not be ashamed or afraid of speaking truth in love. I hope we can become people who influence our culture and not people who are influenced by it.
If I could change anything in this coming year, it would be that Easter is a bigger and more meaningful celebration then Christmas and that Christmas is thought of as more then a time of economic recovery or toy buying. That Christmas 2010 would not be about Ipods, TV’s or even parties, but rather about remembering the claim that Jesus Christ was and is God with us. Perhaps the greatest of all miracles, greater then fulfilling the 800+ prophecies, greater then the virgin birth, greater then anything else is the miracle that God was with us. He was born, he lived, he died to save, he rose again and he lives eternally that all who believe in him might be saved.
May you all have a most wonderful and blessed Christmas as you celebrate and remember this holiest of the holidays.

Obey and Trust Christ to Provide

2009-12-19T10:07:00.001-08:00

From: Truth for life daily

December 19, 2009
Obey and Trust Christ to Provide

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.

Proverbs 16:33

If the decision about the lot is the Lord's, whose is the arrangement of our whole life? If the simple casting of a lot is guided by Him, how much more the events of our entire life-especially when we are told by our blessed Savior, "Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."1 It would bring a holy calm over your mind, dear friend, if you were to constantly remember this. It would relieve your mind from anxiety and enable you to walk in patience, quietness, and cheerfulness as a Christian should. When a man is anxious he cannot pray with faith; when he is troubled about the world, he cannot serve his Master, for his thoughts are serving himself.

f you would "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,"2 all things would then be added to you. You are meddling with Christ's business and neglecting your own when you fret about your lot and circumstances. You have been trying to do the providing and forgetting to do the obeying. Be wise and pay attention to the obeying, and let Christ manage the providing. Come and survey your Father's storehouse, and ask whether He will allow you to starve while

He has so great an abundance in store. Look at His heart of mercy; see if that can ever prove unkind! Look at His unsearchable wisdom; see if that will ever be at fault. Above all, look to Jesus Christ your Intercessor, and ask yourself, while He pleads, can your Father deal ungraciously with you? If He remembers even sparrows, will He forget one of the least of His poor children? "Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved."3

My soul, rest happy in your low estate,
Nor hope nor wish to be esteem'd or great;
To take the impress of the Will Divine,
Be that your glory, and those riches thine.

1 Matthew 10:30-31 2 Matthew 6:33 3 Psalm 55:22

Happiness Is ... Being Old, Male and Republican

2009-12-18T19:48:00.001-08:00

Happiness Is ... Being Old, Male and Republican .By Robert Roy Britt, Editorial Director

posted: 15 May 2009 08:26 pm ET
.Buzz up! del.icio.us Digg It! Newsvine redditComments (89) | Recommend (37).Americans grow happier as they age, surveys find. And a new Pew Research Center survey shows the tendency is holding up as the economy tanks.

Happiness is a complex thing. Past studies have found that happiness is partly inherited, that Republicans are happier than Democrats, and that old men tend to be happier than old women.

And even before the economy got nasty, seniors were found to be generally happier than Baby Boomers. Some of that owes to the American Dream being lived by past generations, while Boomers work two jobs and watch the dream wither.

In times like this, it's clear how age can have its advantages. While not all seniors are weathering the recession well, for many the impact is much less severe than it is for younger people.

Why? Many people 65 and older retired and downsized their lifestyles before the economy imploded, according to Pew analysts. Most aren't raising kids and many are not so worried about being laid off. Loss of income can be, of course, a source of stress and displeasure. (While money doesn't buy happiness, a study in February showed cash can help, especially when people use it to do stuff instead of buy things.)

If you're thinking that Republicans are happy just because they perhaps make more money, that does not seem to be the case. The study that found Republicans to be happier than Democrats also showed that it held true even after adjusting for income.

It's those age 50-64 who've "seen their nest eggs shrink the most and their anxieties about retirement swell the most," the Pew survey found. It also finds that younger adults (ages 18-49) "have taken the worst lumps in the job market but remain relatively upbeat about their financial future."

Not everyone in any category is blissful, of course. Other research has shown that happiness in old age depends largely on attitude factors such as optimism and coping strategies. Add financial planning to the list.

In the new Pew telephone survey, taken in March and April of 2,969 adults, here's how many respondents in each age group said they had cut back on spending in the past year:

•18-49: 68 percent
•50-64: 59 percent
•65+: 36 percent.
And is the recession causing stress in your family?

•18-49: 52 percent
•50-64: 58 percent
•65+: 38 percent.
Now for the good news: A study in January found that key groups of people in the United States have grown happier over the past few decades, while other have become less so. The result: Happiness inequality has decreased since the 1970s. Americans are becoming more similar to each other on the happiness scale.

FOXNews.com - SpaceShots: The Week's Best Photos of Our Universe - Slide 1 of 50

2009-12-18T14:26:00.001-08:00

FOXNews.com - SpaceShots: The Week's Best Photos of Our Universe - Slide 1 of 50

Posted using ShareThis

THE CHRISTMAS PAGEANT

2009-12-15T09:55:00.001-08:00

I don't know who wrote this. It came to my email inbox, but I thought it was worth sharing....

THE CHRISTMAS PAGEANT
My husband and I had been happily
married (most of the time)
for five years
but hadn't been blessed with a baby.

I decided to do some serious
praying and promised God
that if he would give us a child,
I would be a perfect mother,
love it with all my heart
and raise it with His word
as my guide.

God answered my prayers
and blessed us with a son.

The next year God blessed us
with another son.

The following year,
He blessed us with
yet another son.

The year after that we
were blessed with a daughter.

My husband thought we'd
been blessed right into poverty.
We now had four children,
and the oldest was only
four years old.

I learned never to ask God
for anything unless I meant it
As a minister once told me,
"If you pray for rain,
make sure you carry an umbrella."

I began reading a few verses
of the Bible to the children
each day as they lay in their cribs.

I was off to a good start.
God had entrusted me
with four children a nd
I didn't want to disappoint Him.

I tried to be patient the day
the children smashed
two dozen eggs on
the kitchen floor searching
for baby chicks.

I tried to be understanding...
when they started a hotel for
homeless frogs in the spare bedroom,
although it took me nearly two hours
to catch all twenty-three frogs.

When my daughter poured
ketchup all over herself and
rolled up in a blanket to see
how it felt to be a hot dog,
I tried to see the humor
rather than the mess.

In spite of changing over
twenty-five thousand diapers,
never eating a hot meal
and never sleeping for more
than thirty minutes at a time,
I still thank God daily for my children.

While I couldn't keep my promise
to be a perfect mother -
I didn't even come close...
I did keep my promise
to raise them in the Word of God.

I knew I was missing the mark
just a little when I told
my daughter we were going
to church to worship God,
and she wanted to bring
a bar of soap along to
"wash up" Jesus, too.

Something was lost
in the translation when
I explained that
God gave us everlasting life,
and my son thought it was
generous of God to give
us his "last wife."

My proudest moment came
during the children's
Christmas pageant.

My daughter was playing Mary,
two of my sons were shepherds
and my youngest son was a wise man.
This was their moment to shine.

My five-year-old shepherd
had practiced his line,
"We found the babe wrapped
in swaddling clothes."

But he was nervous and said,
"The baby was wrapped
in wrinkled clothes."

My four-year-old "Mary" said,
"That's not 'wrinkled clothes,' silly.
That's dirty, rotten clothes."

A wrestling match broke out
between Mary and the shepherd
and was stopped by an angel,
who bent her halo and lost
her left wing.

I slouched a little lower
in my seat when Mary
dropped the doll representing
Baby Jesus, and it bounced
down the aisle crying,
"Mama-mama."

Mary grabbed the doll,
wrapped it back up
and held it tightly as
the wise men arrived.

My other son stepped forward
wearing a bathrobe
and a paper crown,
knelt at the manger
and announced,
"We are the three wise men,
and we are bringing gifts
of gold,
common sense
and fur."

The congregation
dissolved into laughter,
and the pageant
got a standing ovation.

"I've never enjoyed a Christmas
program as much as this one,"
laughed the pastor,
wiping tears from his eyes

"For the rest of my life,
I'll never hear the
Christmas story without
thinking of
gold, common sense
and fur."

"My children are my pride
and my joy and my greatest
blessing," I said as I dug
through my purse for an aspirin.

Jesus had no servants,
yet they called Him Master.

Had no degree,
yet they called Him Teacher .

Had no medicines,
yet they called Him Healer.

Had no army,
yet kings feared Him.

He won no military battles,
yet He conquered the world.

He committed no crime,
yet they crucified Him.

He was buried in a tomb,
yet He lives today.

Feel honored
to serve such a Leader
who loves us

God's Ways are Everlasting

2009-12-12T10:03:00.001-08:00

December 12, 2009
God's Ways are Everlasting

His were the everlasting ways.

Habakkuk 3:6

What God has done on one occasion, He will do again. Man's ways are variable, but God's ways are everlasting. There are many reasons for this most comforting truth.

Among them are the following: The Lord's ways are the result of wise deliberation; He orders everything according to the counsel of His own will. Human action is frequently the hasty result of passion or fear and is followed by regret and change; but nothing can take the Almighty by surprise or happen contrary to what He has foreseen.

His ways are the outgrowth of an unchanging character, and in them the fixed and settled attributes of God are clearly seen. Unless the Eternal One Himself can undergo change, His ways, which are Himself in action, must remain forever the same. Is He eternally just, gracious, faithful, wise, tender? Then His ways must always be distinguished by the same excellences. Beings act according to their nature: When those natures change, their conduct also varies. But since God cannot know the shadow of turning, His ways will remain everlastingly the same.

Furthermore there is no external reason that could reverse the divine ways, since they are the embodiment of irresistible might. The prophet tells us that the earth is split with rivers, mountains tremble, the sea lifts up its hands, and the sun and moon stand still when Jehovah marches out for the salvation of His people.

Who can prevent Him or say to Him, "What are You doing?" But it is not only might that gives stability; God's ways are the manifestation of the eternal principles of right and therefore can never pass away. Wrong breeds decay and involves ruin, but the true and the good are marked by a vitality that time cannot diminish.

This morning let us go to our heavenly Father with confidence, remembering that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in Him the Lord is always gracious to His people.

From: Truth for life daily

Going Home

2009-12-11T09:53:00.000-08:00

December 11, 2009

1 Thessalonians 5

Heaven is a place where we will never sin, where our battle with the evil one will be over; there will be no tempter to ensnare our feet. There the wicked cause no trouble, and the weary are at rest. Heaven is the undefiled inheritance; it is the land of perfect holiness, and therefore of complete security.

But don't even the saints on earth sometimes taste the joys of blissful security? The doctrine of God's Word is that all who are in union with Christ are safe, that all the righteous shall keep to the path, that those who have committed their souls to the care of Christ will find Him to be a faithful and unchanging protector.

Sustained by such a doctrine we can enjoy security even on earth-not the high and glorious security that makes us free from every slip, but that holy security that comes from the sure promise of Jesus that none who believe in Him will ever perish but will be with Him where He is. Believer, reflect often and joyfully on the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, and honor the faithfulness of God by a holy confidence in Him.

May God bring home to you a sense of your safety in Christ Jesus! May He assure you that your name is graven on His hand and whisper in your ear the promise, "Fear not, for I am with you."

Look upon Him, the great Guarantee of the covenant, as faithful and true and therefore bound and committed to present you, in your weakness, with all the chosen race, before the throne of God; and in such a sweet contemplation you will drink the cup of salvation and taste the fruits of paradise. You will have a foretaste of the enjoyments that ravish the souls of the saints in heaven if you can believe with unwavering faith that "He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."

From: Truth for life daily

A reason to help others...

2009-12-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for the opportunity to share with you for a few minutes this morning. This is something that I am very passionate about. I hope to tell you briefly how we got involved with foster care and adoptions, why I think it is important to be involved and how you can help. My wife Cynthia and I have six children,the four youngest have been brought to us for adoption by God and they our answer to prayer. Whenever I tell someone I just met, that I have six kids the response is usually, “You’ve been busy!” Then after I tell them that four of my children are adopted the question is usually, “How did that happen?” My answer is simple, “they were an answer to prayer and they were the result of being obedient to that answer.”

About five years ago Cynthia and I were blessed to build our home on my parent’s property. We were overwhelmed with this blessing and so we began to pray nightly that the Lord would allow us to use our home to bless him and to honor him. At various stages of building we would walk through our home going from room to room praying and writing verses and passages of scripture on the walls and floors. These are our markers and they are buried under drywall and carpet. Two of those passages are James 1:22-27and Matthew 25:31-46. We had the perfect little family, we had a good home and yet Jesus words in Matthew 25 had really come alive to us and challenged us. Our prayers were transformed from simple requests of let us honor you to prayers of let us live Matthew 25 and let us glorify you with passion and conviction.
Two years passed since we had built our home and we were still praying. During that time we met Lexi here at Paso Robles Bible Church. She was a county foster baby being cared for by Bob and Barbara Savryk. Cynthia loved seeing her here at church. They built a special bond mainly because they both had the same birth mark in almost the exact same spot. After a few months went by we were asked if we would want to adopt Lexi. I will never forget it, it was a Tuesday night and we were sitting in the hot tub. I had never thought of adopting or fostering a child so what happened to us was a miracle. As I sat there relaxing and looking at the stars Cynthia said, “I got a call asking if we would like to adopt Lexi.” We prayed right there in the hot tub. We said yes and Lexi entered our hearts.
We had more questions then answers from that prayer though. We were not foster parents and didn’t know what was needed to become foster parents or to adopt her, but we took a leap of faith and decided that if this is what God wanted us to do then we must be obedient. You know what? A miracle happened in February 2007. In most cases it takes months of planning to get licensed to care for a foster child, but not that February, we got licensed in two days. When the lady from the county handed us our license she asked, “How did this happen so fast?” I responded when God moves he moves!
This one simple step of obedience has lead to a lifetime of blessing for us. Sure there are ups and downs. Lexi was potentially to be reunited with her birth mother; we were told she might have had aids and so on. But God gave her to us and we trusted that he had a plan for her. We know our children are ours for a season, but we do not know how long that season is. Our natural children can be taken away from us just as fast as our supernatural children can. We had to trust God that he had given her to us and realizing that, I believe built faith in us. And God answered our prayers again when Lexi was given a clean health report.
We became a rescue shelter for a time, taking in kids sometimes for days and sometimes for only hours. Some common complaints we often hear when people say they could never get involved with foster care or adoption is that having foster children or adopting a strangers child is too hard. It will cost us too much and I can’t imagine how horrible it would be when you get attached and then they have to leave. What if it doesn’t work out? I can’t ease those concerns except by saying that we serve a God that is greater then chances or our circumstances. With Lexi we had to endure waiting on the courts to decide if she would be adopted by us or reunify with her Mom and when it seemed she might go to her Mom we had to teach her Mom how to care for her. So I can tell you this it is hard at times. Doing the right thing usually has it’s hard times. We had two boys come and live with us for a week in June 2008. They were 3 and 5 and when they came to our house they didn’t own underwear and they had sun burnt blisters from head to toe. They had been living on an abandoned boat in Morro bay harbor; the three year old was wearing his dad’s shirt and coat, because he didn’t have his own clothes. These are kids right here in wealthy SLO county.
One night as I tucked them into to bed the 5 year old asked me, “why do you have everything in the world and we got nothing?” I didn’t know what to say, what do you tell that 5 year old. Everything! I was just complaining yesterday about what I don’t have and he thinks I have everything. I finally said, “I don’t know, but I know this Jesus loves you. The Bible tells me so.” I’ll never forget what he said next, “Mr. Ted, I haven’t met Jesus yet, but I know he is coming for me one day.”
That moment was worth all the trouble, it is worth any amount of money. It could have cost me a $1000.00 to have those kids in my home and I guarantee you I have spent a $1000.00 more foolishly then this before. But it didn’t cost me anything, except time, and a few hugs and then I sat there and held him as he cried himself to sleep. I wept and my faith grew.
As that faith grew our family grew. The baby came to us when she was six weeks old just the night before the two boys from Morro bay did. She was supposed to be with us for only a few days, but she never left and six months later her sisters Maria and Jasmin moved in. In fact December 22nd will be one year since they moved into our home, but I believe they have been in our hearts since that first prayer in 2005. As I look back at those things there are times when we didn’t know what was going to happen, how we were going to afford it and where we were going to put the beds, but God did! He has provided funds by social services, accessibility to WIC programs, health care and even tax incentives. He even provided a lawyer who represented us in the adoption at no charge. We went into this with a thought of here is what we can do and by his provision we have been able to do more then that and have been reimbursed for most expenses. However, I don’t want to stand up here and tell you the reason to be involved is some financial gain, but rather that the rewards are out of this world.
In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus had some strong words about helping those in need.

I must ask this morning, who is more hungry then a starving child? Who is more naked then a newborn baby? Who is more sick then a drug addicted newborn? Who is more thirsty then a three year old or five year old boy living on an abandoned boat in Morro bay harbor with little fresh water to drink but plenty of salty ocean water? Who is more of a stranger then a foster child? Who is in need of clothes? If these kids don’t get help and homes they will most likely end up in prison according to the statistics and then who among us will visit them?
Earlier in Matthew 19:13-14 Jesus rebuked his disciples for how they treated young children. It says, “Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
Jesus said, let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Are we like the disciples? Would Jesus rebuke us for hindering little children? After all, if the Church is not caring for these kids who will? Think about that, let’s put these kids in homes of non believers, homosexual couples or in any home that’s available, but what does the world think of Christians if we are not helping those in need? Or even more what does God think of us if we are not helping those in need?
James 1:22 says this, “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself. Do what it says.
v.27 Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.
Ask yourself, do I do what the bible says? Do I look after orphans and widows? Can you say you have lived Matthew 25:31-46? If you do is it motivated by trying to bring Glory to the Lord? I believe that the goal of a Christian’s life is to bring glory to the lord. It is why we were created. We do that by being obedient and by honoring him. In James 1:27 it says, “Religion that God our father accepts” how is God our Father if not from adoption? Wouldn’t trying to mimic God’s example be honoring and glorifying to him? If he has seen it good enough to adopt us should we not find it good enough to adopt others? We often hear marriage is an image of Christ and the Church, adoption then would be an image of our place with God and helping those in need would be a testimony of our faith.
We are here today to try to give you correct information and to try to challenge the church to help kids that are in need. What better time to help kids then Christmas! Recently we were made aware that case workers are overloaded and more and more kids need homes. The number of kids currently being cared for in the US is between 510 and 800,000. Our home is full. If I could take in more kids I would, but we are at our capacity currently. I know there are families here that have been or are involved with foster children or adoptions. Maybe there are some here that just simply can’t get involved for one reason or another, but I believe most of us can be involved.
Some of you desire a ministry, why not be missionaries here? To these kids. If one family got involved, lives will be changed. There is a need for funds, for homes, for respite, mentoring and so on. We have a list in the Lobby of ways you can help. Start by praying. Examine why you can’t get involved or won’t. Search it out and see if it is because of disobedience or a hardened heart. David cried out in Psalm 139:23-24, “search me O God and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Will you do that this morning and if the Lord opens your heart come and talk to us after church.

Merry Christmas...

2009-12-08T10:35:00.001-08:00

What a clever idea! Yes, Christmas cards. This is coming early so that you can get ready to include an important address to your list. Want to have some fun this CHRISTMAS? Send the ACLU a CHRISTMAS CARD this year.

As they are working so very hard to get rid of the CHRISTMAS part of this holiday, we should all send them a nice, card to brighten up their dark, sad, little world…nothing fancy, a plain piece of paper willdo, just make sure it says "Merry Christmas" on it.

Here's the address, just don't be rude or crude.

A C L U
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004

Two tons of Christmas cards would freeze their operations because they wouldn't know if any were regular mail containing contributions. So spend 44 cents and tell the ACLU to leave Christmas alone. Also tell them that there is no such thing as a " Holiday Tree". It's always been called a CHRISTMAS TREE!

And pass this on to your email lists. We really want to communicate with the ACLU! They really DESERVE us!!

For those of you who aren't aware of them, the ACLU, (the American Civil Liberties Union) is the one suing the U.S. Government to take God, Christmas or anything religious away from us. They represent the atheists and others in this war. Help put Christ back in Christmas!

His People

2009-12-05T10:50:00.000-08:00

His People

Acts 18

This should be a great encouragement in proclaiming the Gospel, since among the people in our communities-the disinterested, the rebellious, the careless-God has an elect people who must be saved. When you take the Word to them, you do so because God has ordained you to be the messenger of life to their souls, and they must receive it, for so the decree of predestination runs.

They are as much redeemed by blood as the saints before the eternal throne. They are Christ's property, and yet perhaps they are lovers of selfish pleasures and haters of holiness; but if Jesus Christ purchased them, He will have them.

God is not unfaithful to forget the price that His Son has paid. He will not suffer His substitution to be in any case an ineffectual, dead thing. Tens of thousands of redeemed ones are not regenerated yet, but regenerated they must be; and this is our comfort when we go to them with the quickening Word of God.

More than this, the ungodly are prayed for by Christ before the throne. "I do not ask for these only," says the great Intercessor, "but also for those who will believe in me through their word."1 Poor, ignorant souls, they know nothing about prayer for themselves, but Jesus prays for them. Their names are on His breastplate, and before long they must bow their stubborn knee, breathing the penitential sigh before the throne of grace

The predestinated moment has not struck; but when it comes, they will obey, for God will have His own. They must, for the Spirit is not to be resisted when He comes with the fullness of power-they must become the willing servants of the living God. "Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power."2 He will "make many to be accounted righteous."3 "Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied."4 "I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong."5

1 John 17:20
2 Psalm 110:3
3 Isaiah 53:11
4 Isaiah 53:11
5 Isaiah 53:12
From Truth for Life daily. Delivered to you inbox or on the web.

Decorated Veteran, 90, Fights to Raise Flag in His Yard - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

2009-12-03T11:00:00.001-08:00

Decorated Veteran, 90, Fights to Raise Flag in His Yard - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

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Adoption Anxiety by Voddie Baucham

2009-11-30T19:58:00.000-08:00

Adoption Anxiety by Voddie Baucham

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After adopting Elijah, Asher, and Judah, I have become increasingly aware of high levels of anxiety among Christian families considering adoption. This anxiety seems to stem from misinformation-- not misinformation about the adoption process, the finances involved, or the tough work of assimilating children into one’s family-- this misinformation is theological in nature. There are those in the Christian community who have raised concerns about adopting children due to generational curses, family sins, and/or familiar spirits attached to adopted children. This is disturbing on many levels. Let me address three: The universality of sin, the blame game, the priority of parenting, and the power of the blood of Christ.

THE UNIVERSALITY OF SIN

A number of well-meaning saints have asked me, “Don’t you worry about generational curses, or familiar spirits that you may be inviting into your home? This is quite an ironic question for at least two reasons. First, my wife and I (like most couples) come from a long line of sin and dysfunction. If anything, I should have been worried about generational curses on the children we bore more than those whom we adopt. Moreover, all human beings are born in sin (Psalm 51:5). We all have a sin nature (Romans 3:10). This question seems to suggest that there are some wonderful church-going women out there who give birth via immaculate conception! Who am I to think that my wife and I gave birth to children who are free from baggage, but those whom we adopt are somehow ‘unclean’ compared to our biological children? That would be pure arrogance on our part.

Second, this thinking is ironic because it is often based on a misunderstanding, or a misuse of Scripture. Some have taken the Lord’s admonition in the second commandment out of context. The text says:

“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus 20:4-6; cf, Ex 34:6, 7; Num 14:18, 33; Deut 5:9, 10; 1Kin 21:29; Jer 32:18)

Some have taken this to mean that there are ‘generational curses’ that follow children throughout their lives. While it is true that my sin impacts my children (especially when they see me do it), it is not true that they are cursed, or doomed to repeat my sins.

We must read these texts in light of what the Bible says about this issue in places like Ezekiel 18.

“Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers eat the sour grapes, But the children’s teeth are set on edge’? “As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “you are surely not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore. “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.” (Ezekiel 18:1-4)

The soul who sins-- not the son of the soul who sins-- will die. The Lord is addressing the very misconception that currently plagues some in the Christian community, and sometimes discourages many from engaging in the ministry of adoption.

God most assuredly fulfilled this warning when he sent Israel into captivity (as well as other places). However, we do not see a wooden rule here. There is no one-to-one correlation. Isaac did not commit ‘every’ sin that plagued his father Abraham. Nor did Solomon repeat every evil thing that David did. Were there sinful patterns in these families? Of course there were. However, there was no one-to-one correlation. This is similar to the issue the disciples raised with Jesus concerning the man born blind (John 9). Toward the end of Ezekiel 18 the author puts an even finer point on the matter. He continues:

“The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. “But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. “All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live. “Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord GOD, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?” (Ezekiel 18:20-23)

I have met so many Christians who are in bondage over these issues and I wish I had the time to walk every one of them through this chapter. Some are terrified because they are divorced, or alcoholic, or irresponsible with money, and they ‘know’ that their sin is going to plague their children and their children’s children for three to four generations. Others sit on the opposite end of the equation and look at the sins their parents and grandparents committed and fear that they are generation three or four, and not five (the generation that gets the automatic get out of sin free card according to the erroneous reading of the text), and thus have no hope. However, if they are in generation 5 for divorce, they may only be generation two for alcoholism... Do you see how oppressive this is?

THE SIN BLAME GAME

Another major problem with this adoption anxiety is its tendency to perpetuate what I call the sin blame game. If we represented the anxiety view in the form of a syllogism, it would read as follows:

The sins of the fathers continue for 3-4 generations
I am generation 2 for ‘this’ sin
Therefore, my children and I ‘will’ continue the cycle.

Thus, according to this logic, if I am cursed, then I am neither able to resist, nor am I responsible for my sin; I’m just doing what I am destined to do. Or, one could ask, why should I employ biblical discipline with my adopted children (or my biological children for that matter) since the methods in the Bible are impotent in the face of generational sin? This kind of thinking would almost require us to rewrite several Bible verses:

Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him (unless he has a generational curse). (Proverbs 22:15)

Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die. You shall strike him with the rod And rescue his soul from Sheol (unless he has a familiar spirit). (Proverbs 23:13-14)

The rod and reproof give wisdom , But a child who (has been adopted from the wrong family tree) brings shame to his mother. (Proverbs 29:15)

The sin blame game also affects the way many Christians view themselves. There are middle-aged men with defeatist attitudes because they struggle with sin that they attribute to their biological parents who gave them up for adoption. Thus, in a society where an overwhelming number of men struggle with pornography, some men believe the root of their struggle is generational sin passed down from their biological parents whom, in some cases, they have never even met! What about the millions of other men? What about men whose fathers did not have the struggle?

I am not arguing that there is never a family issue here, but I am saying that family issues are no excuse. My adopted sons are going to struggle with many of the same issues as do other men in our society. They will have to avert their eyes from scantily clad young women; they will have to resist attractive ads for alcohol and the allure of drugs. These are realities in our society. My adopted children are also likely wrestle with their identity later in life (as do my biological children). They may have tough days ahead as they try to figure out why they were “given up” (a term adoptive parents despise) by their biological parents. They are going to have to be disciplined, corrected and redirected. However, if I am looking for generational curses and/or familiar spirits behind every conflict, I’ll go crazy and start telling people DON’T ADOPT... THEY COME WITH BAGGAGE!

THE PRIORITY OF PARENTING

Another issue that must be addressed here is parenting. I would not suggest that all adoptive parents who have significant issues with their approach to parenting, however this issue cannot be ignored. Our churches are filled with parents who haven’t a clue when it comes to child training and discipline. As a result, many parents who are reaping the harvest of their bad parenting assign the blame in the wrong place. Sometimes all of us have to look in the mirror when we want to find the root of certain behavioral patterns in our children’s lives. I know I do.

Children who are indulged will be spoiled and ill-mannered whether they were adopted or not. Children who do not have clear boundaries and consistent correction will be out of control even if they have the best ‘genetic’ and/or spiritual background. We must take this into account when we hear adoption horror stories. Remember, most of the little tyrants we see driving their parents crazy in the grocery store were not adopted. However, they certainly inherited their tendencies from their parents... Adam and Eve.

THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE BLOOD

Some people have suggested that the main problem with adoption is that we don’t know the name of the particular spirits we need to oppose or ‘bind’ in our children’s lives. To that I say, which Jesus are we serving? The Jesus whom I serve is able to save to the uttermost.

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1John 1:5-7)

My adopted children (like my biological children) need to be saved. Jesus’ blood is the only thing that can wash them clean. He turns men into new creatures, causes old things to pass away and be replaced by the new (2 Cor 5:17). My Jesus does not save in sections; he saves completely.

DON’T BE SCARED TO SERVE

My biggest concern with this adoption anxiety is that it seems to suggest that we should limit the offer our home, our hearts and our help to children whom we know will give us minimal difficulty. “I’ll take the one who will comply, but you can keep the one who may struggle with rebellion or identity in an institution, or with non-Christians who are better equipped to minister to them.” I know this is not what we mean. However, this is often the end result of our adoption anxiety. In the end, there are only a few guarantees when it comes to adoption:

1. I can guarantee you that adoption will cost you something: If you choose to adopt a child it will cost you time and treasure.

1. I can guarantee you that adopted children will have struggles: Every adopted child will struggle in some way with his or her place in your family and in God’s plan.

1. I can guarantee you that adoption will teach you more about salvation than just about anything you could do: I will never look at passages like Ephesians 1:5 the same way again.

1. I can guarantee you that adoption will change a child’s life: We will not know this side of heaven how adoption has impacted both Elijah, Asher and Judah. However, we know their lives have been set on an entirely different trajectory than they would have been had God not seen fit to send them home with us.

1. I can guarantee you that adoption is an indispensable pro-life act: I do not believe that every Christian is called to adopt children. However, I do believe that it is critical for us to give young women alternatives when we plead with them to give their babies life.

VB

How to get the family home for Thanksgiving...

2009-11-24T20:13:00.000-08:00

A man in Phoenix calls his son in New York two days before Thanksgiving and says "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing. Forty-five years of misery is enough."

"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son demands.

"We can't stand the sight of each other any longer. We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her."

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this."

She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says, "they're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way."

Happy Thanksgiving. Here's to you and your family and hoping you find your way home to your folks and tell them thank you.

So be it...

2009-11-23T15:06:00.000-08:00

So " if " the US government determines that it is against the law for the words "under God" to be on our money, then, so be it.

And " if " that same government decides that the
"Ten Commandments"
are not to be used in or on a government installation, then, so be it.

I say, "so be it," because I would like to be a
law abiding US citizen.

I say, "so be it," because I would like to think that
smarter people than I are in positions to make good decisions.

I would like to think that those people have the
American public's best interests at heart.
BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I'D LIKE?

Since we can't pray to God, can't Trust in God and cannot post His Commandments in Government buildings , I don't believe the Government and its employees should participate in the
Easter and Christmas celebrations which honor the God
that our government is eliminating from many facets of American life.

I'd like my mail delivered on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter. After all, it's just another day.

I'd like the " US Supreme Court to be in session on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter as well as Sundays." After all, it's just another day.

I'd like the Senate and the House of Representatives to not have to worry about getting home for the "Christmas Break." After all it's just another day.

I'm thinking that a lot of my taxpayer dollars could be saved, if all government offices & services would work on Christmas, Good Friday & Easter. It shouldn't cost any overtime since those would be just like any other day of the week to a government that is trying to be "politically correct."
In fact....

I think that our government should work on Sundays (initially set aside for worshipping God...) because, after all, our government says that it should be just another day....
What do you all think????

If this idea gets to enough people, maybe our elected officials will stop giving in to the "minority opinions" and begin, once again, to represent the "majority" of ALL of the American people.
SO BE IT...........

Please Dear Lord,
Give us the help needed to keep you in our country!
'Amen'

Typos in Church Bulletins...

2009-11-20T18:10:00.001-08:00

Church ladies - typos - gets better as you go down...

Love those Church Ladies.. They're Back! Those wonderful Church Bulletins! Thank God for church ladies with typewriters.These sentences (with all the BLOOPERS) actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:

--------------------------
The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
--------------------------
The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water.' The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.'
--------------------------
Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
--------------------------
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you.
--------------------------
Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
--------------------------
Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
--------------------------
For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
--------------------------
Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
--------------------------
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
--------------------------
A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
--------------------------
At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice
--------------------------
Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
--------------------------
Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
--------------------------
Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.
--------------------------
The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.
--------------------------
Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
--------------------------
The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
--------------------------
This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
--------------------------
Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.. S. Is done.
--------------------------
The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
--------------------------
Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
-------------------------
The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM.. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
--------------------------
Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
--------------------------
The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new campaign slogan last Sunday: 'I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours'.

Signs...

2009-11-10T14:21:00.002-08:00

2009-11-10T14:21:00.001-08:00

2009-11-10T14:20:00.000-08:00

2009-11-10T14:19:00.000-08:00

Abortion covered under Pelosi bill

2009-10-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

Abortion Coverage Still Included in Health Care Legislation

Nancy Pelosi’s health care bill requires the public health insurance option to cover abortion. Page 110, of the 1,990 page bill, states that the public health insurance option “shall provide coverage” for abortions for which public funding is allowed. The phrase “for which public funding is allowed” is code for the Hyde Amendment. Since 1976, the Hyde Amendment has been added each year to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) appropriations bill. The amendment prevents federal funding of abortion, except in limited circumstances. However, Congress could, at some point, fail to add the Hyde Amendment to the HHS appropriations bill, thus eliminating its protections and, if Pelosi’s health care bill passes, mandate that the public health insurance option cover all abortions. Furthermore, under the bill the public health insurance option may provide coverage for all elective abortions.

Page 171 of the bill requires that at least one plan in “each premium rating area” of the Exchange provide coverage for elective abortions.

Pelosi’s bill also fails to address the abortion funding issue. According to the section by section summary of Pelosi’s bill, the bill “[p]rohibits federal funds from being used to pay for abortion (except in cases or rape, incest, and to save [the] life of the woman).” The summary states that “[o]nly private premium dollars can be used to provide abortion coverage” and “[w]here abortion coverage is provided, funds for this purpose must be segregated from other funds, including affordability credits.” This sounds like the same accounting mechanism proposed by the Capps Amendment and rejected by the pro-life Members of Congress. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), is continuing to push for an amendment that mirrors the language of the Hyde Amendment and would prohibit federal funds from paying for a health insurance plan that covers abortion. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Posted: 10/30/2009 12:01 AM (aclj.org)

Trustworthy sayings...

2009-10-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

From Truth for Life daily.
The saying is trustworthy . . .

-- 2 Timothy 2:11

Paul has four of these "trustworthy" sayings.

* The first occurs in 1 Timothy 1:15, "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."
* The next is in 1 Timothy 4:8-9, "Godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance."
* The third is in 2 Timothy 2:11, "The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him."
* And the fourth is in Titus 3:8, "The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to do good works."

We may trace a connection between these faithful sayings. The first one lays the foundation of our eternal salvation in the free grace of God, as shown to us in the mission of the great Redeemer. The next affirms the double blessedness that we obtain through this salvation-the blessings of time and of eternity. The third shows the nature of the life to which the chosen people are called; we are ordained to die with Christ with the promise that "if we have died with him, we will also live with him." The last sets out the active form of Christian service, bidding us to diligently maintain good works.

So we have the root of salvation in free grace, then the privileges of that salvation in the life that now is and in that which is to come; and we have also the two great branches of dying with Christ and living with Christ, loaded with the fruit of the Spirit.

Treasure up these faithful sayings. Let them be the guides of your life, your comfort, and your instruction. The apostle of the Gentiles proved them to be trustworthy, and they are still trustworthy; not one word will fall to the ground. They are worthy of all acceptance; let us accept them now and prove their reliability.

Let these four trustworthy sayings be written on the four corners of my house.

What Love means to a 4-8 year old . . ...

2009-10-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

What Love means to a 4-8 year old . . ...
Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it. Touching words from the mouth of babes.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?'

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined See what you think:

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'

Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'

Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'

Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'

Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'

Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'

Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'

Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'

Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'

Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'

Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'

Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'

Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'

Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'

Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'

Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)

Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'

Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'

Jessica - age 8

And the final one

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

will he jump...

2009-10-01T15:28:00.001-07:00

Bob, a handsome dude, walked into a sports bar around 9:58 PM. He sat down next to a blonde at the bar and stared up at the TV. The 10:00 PM news was coming on. The news crew was covering a story of a man on a ledge of a large building preparing to jump.

The blonde looked at Bob and said, 'Do you think he'll jump?' Bob says, 'You know, I bet he'll jump.' The blonde replied, 'Well, I bet he won't.'

Bob placed a $20 bill on the bar and said, 'You're on!'

Just as the blonde placed her money on the bar, the guy on the ledge did a swan dive off the building, falling to his death.

The blonde was very upset, but willingly handed her $20 to Bob, saying, 'Fair's fair. Here's your money.'

Bob replied, 'I can't take your money, I saw this earlier on the 5 PM news and so I knew he would jump.'

The blond replied, 'I did, too; but I didn't think he'd do it again.'

Bob took the money.

The Pope and Nancy Pelosi

2009-09-30T12:05:00.001-07:00

The Pope and Nancy Pelosi are on stage in front of a huge crowd.

The Pope leans towards Mrs. Pelosi and said, "It is always so pleasing to be in
front of such large and attentive crowds. It really is humbling. And I suppose
you know that with one little wave of my hand I can make every person in this
crowd go wild with joy? This joy will not be a momentary display, like that of
your followers, but go deep into their hearts and for the rest of their lives
whenever they speak of this day they will rejoice!"

Pelosi replied, "I seriously doubt that; with one little wave of your hand? Show
me."

So the Pope slapped her.

Historical facts...

2009-09-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

Some Historical Facts!
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in
a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery.......if you had
to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor"
But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to
buy a pot.....they "didn't have a pot to piss in" & were the lowest of the
low.
The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water
temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be.
Here are some facts about the 1500s:
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in
May, and they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were
starting to smell . .. . brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the
body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting
married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house
had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men,
then the women and finally the children. Last of all the
> babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in
it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath.
It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other
small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became
slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof.
Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs.."
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a
real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up
your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over
the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into
existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence
the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get
slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor
to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh
until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A
piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.
(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that
always hung over the fire.. Every day they lit the fire and added things to
the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would
eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight
and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had
been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas
porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content
caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning
death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the
loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would
sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along
the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were
laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would
gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up.
Hence the custom of holding a wake.
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places
to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a
bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25
coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized
they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist
of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie
it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the
graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus,someone could be, saved by
the bell or was considered a dead ringer...
And that's the truth... Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !
So . . . get out there and educate someone! ~~~ Share these facts with a
friend like I just did! ! !

Pride...

2009-09-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

I was heading through San Luis Obispo today on my way to deliver a hot tub. As I traveled down broad st I noticed a rainbow flag proudly displayed in the window of an older home. There was nothing special about the home or the flag. I have seen hundreds of these flags in windows, on cars or as stickers around California. I do not know who lived there and it doesn't really matter.
As I drove on I began to wonder about pride. My first thoughts were that isn't it odd to be proud of sin? As a Christian or more correctly as someone who believes the bible is God's word and that it is true and without err, I know and believe homosexuality to be sin. My logic followed this reasoning to the conclusion that this, or any other person of their convictions, must be proud of, or elated with their lifestyle. Nothing new there.
What was different though was as I drove I was challenged with, "Are you proud of your sin?" I cringed! How many times, especially when I was younger did I boast in sin. I didn't hold up a sign or a flag, but it was in my speak, my jokes and my acceptance of others sin. It might have been, "man I really tied one on last night." Maybe it was laughter when a friend told of his conquest with the opposite sex or when someone would declare, "I am stoned out of my gourd!" This reasoning is no different then a rainbow flag proudly displayed in a window, except that I called my self a Christian. I was and am a hypocrite.
I know of my demise and of the penalty of my sin and yet at times I gloat in that sin. I think we all do this to a degree. Maybe it is about a business deal we lied to secure or in the way we dealt with some other things in life, etc. Our hearts have become desensitized to the truth that we all have pride and have taken pride in our sins. On a lessor level for example, we do it when we declare how fast we drove to avoid a ticket or how we cheated on our taxes.
The bible says that Pride comes before destruction Proverbs 16:18. I wonder if it is our sinful pride or our pride of sin that leads to the destruction. Sin is death and eternal damnation apart from God's saving Grace, but as a believer is it our pride alone that is our destruction or is it our pride in our sin that is our destruction?
16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.
1 John 2:16 (NKJV)
1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
2 Tim 3:1-5 (NKJV)
Also see Romans 1:22-32
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
Luke 1:50-52 (NKJV)
2 The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor;
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire;
He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.
4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
God is in none of his thoughts.
Psalms 10:2-4 (NKJV)
I could go on with many more verses. Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Isaiah all tell of God's judgment on the proud and their destruction. The root of sin is pride and pride is sin. The sinner (fool) says there is no God. It is his pride that causes his heart to be blinded to the truth. It is my own sin (pride) that causes me to be blinded or unaware of my own state of depravity. Instead our pride compels us to seek out an acceptability of our actions. It is ok to do this or that because everyone else is. Or we justify our behavior because someone else' behavior is worse.
We lose sight of the fact that sin is sin. All sin separates us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. That sin ultimately leads to death, understanding that should compel humility in us. If we boast it should be in the Lord.
I am challenged to be aware of my pride in my sin. I am compelled to seek the Lord and I desire to love my neighbor as my self. Only in and by the love of God can we overcome our love of and pride in our sin.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;(it is not proud) 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Cor 13:4-7 (NKJV)

Lessons in matthew

2009-09-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

25 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. 27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. 28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Matt 11:25-30 (NKJV)
I was reading this passage in Matthew and found that there was quite a lot said by Jesus. 1st, God has hidden things (can be read two ways?) He hid them from the wise (earthly wisdom or scripturally wise?) and revealed to babes (young? or born again? New believers) He did this because it seemed good. All things (everything) was delivered to Jesus by God. All time, judgment, glory, honor, every knee, etc. No one knows the father (God) or can know him except those to whom the son (Jesus) will to reveal him (God) to.
Come to Jesus (how? through grace and faith) all who labor (already doing the labor/ work) and Jesus will give you rest (peace/comfort/joy).
Take my yoke upon you (stop laboring in vain! Put on my yoke and let me guide your work). Learn from me (heed my words/study scripture to learn from me and about me)
I (Jesus) am gentle, (even when guiding you, leading you, chastising you, correcting you etc.)
You will find rest for your souls (only found through Jesus blood and his righteousness.)
My yoke is easy (quite struggling and let go of your yoke and let me put my yoke on you. Let me lead you and work you instead of you leading you and accomplishing nothing)
My burden is light (Jesus already took the burden of our life and sin. He was beaten for it and it was what nailed him to the cross. His burden is light because it is finished, accomplished at Calvary, by faith and through his grace all of life can been burdenless if/when we allow Jesus to carry us, guide us, lead us, correct us, discipline us, scold us, mold us, make us like him.)

Critics Assail Obama's 'Safe Schools' Czar, Say He's Wrong Man for the Job - Political News - FOXNews.com

2009-09-23T14:09:00.001-07:00

Critics Assail Obama's 'Safe Schools' Czar, Say He's Wrong Man for the Job - Political News - FOXNews.com

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letter to Obama

2009-09-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

Lou Prichett, formerly of Proctor and Gamble. Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America's true living legends- an acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize him as the foremost leader in change management. Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to be known
as "partnering." Pritchett rose from soap salesman to Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble and over the course of 36 years, made corporate history.
_______________________________________________________

> AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA
>
> Dear President Obama:
>
> You are the thirteenth President under whom I have
> lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me.
>
> You scare me because after months of exposure, I
> know nothing about you.
>
> You scare me because I do not know how you paid
> for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale
> lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.
>
> You scare me because you did not spend the
> formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally
> you are not an American.
>
> You scare me because you have never run a company
> or met a payroll.
>
> You scare me because you have never had military
> experience, thus don't understand it at its core.
>
> You scare me because you lack humility and
> 'class', always blaming others.
>
> You scare me because for over half your life you
> have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America
> and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to
> see America fail.
>
> You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the
> 'blame America ' crowd and deliver this message abroad.
>
> You scare me because you want to change America to
> a European style country where the government sector dominates
> instead of the private sector.
>
> You scare me because you want to replace our
> health care system with a government controlled one. You scare
> me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing
> on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.
>
> You scare me because you want to kill the American
> capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the
> highest standard of living in the world..
>
> You scare me because you have begun to use
> 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations.
>
> You scare me because your own political party
> shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible
> spending proposals.
>
> You scare me because you will not openly listen to
> or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.
>
> You scare me because you falsely believe that you
> are both omnipotent and omniscient.
>
> You scare me because the media gives you a free
> pass on everything you do.
>
> You scare me because you demonize and want to
> silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Relllys and Becks who offer
> opposing, conservative points of view.
>
> You scare me because you prefer controlling over
> governing.
> Finally, you scare me because if you serve a
> second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar
> letter in 8 years.
>
> Lou Pritchett

*This letter was sent to the NY Times but they never acknowledged it. Big surprise! Since it hit the internet, however, it has had over 500,000 hits. Keep it going. All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing.

1/2 man..1/2 boy

2009-09-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment either.
He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer.

He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.

He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.

He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march.

He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient.

He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.

He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.

If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.

He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.

He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job.

He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all.

He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime.
He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.

He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking.

In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.

Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great- grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.
He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.

And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so.

As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. . .

A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.

The Plan

2009-09-15T12:36:00.001-07:00

Robin Williams, wearing a shirt that says "I love New York " in Arabic.

You gotta love Robin Williams......Even if he's nuts! Leave it to Robin Williams to come up with the perfect plan. What we need now is for our UN Ambassador to stand up and repeat this message.

Robin Williams' plan...(Hard to argue with this logic!)

"I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan."

1) "The US will apologize to the world for our "interference" in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and the rest of those "good 'ole' boys", we will never "interfere" again.

2) We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting wit h Germany , South Korea , the Middle East , and the Philippines . They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No one allowed sneaking through holes in the fence.

3) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of who or where they are.. They're illegal!!! France will welcome them.

4) All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit!!!! No one from a terrorist nation will be allowed in . If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers..

5) No foreign "students" over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a "D" and it's back home baby.

6) The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while.

7) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we go someplace else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.)

8) If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not "interfere." They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides, most of what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything.

9) Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island someplace. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.

1 0) All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us "Ugly Americans" any longer. The Language we speak is ENGLISH..learn it...or LEAVE...Now, isn't that a winner of a plan?

The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses." She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, ''you want a piece of me?'"

You just can't make this up...

2009-09-15T12:31:00.001-07:00

It took me a second, but make sure you read the story under the
picture. Keep in mind this actually really did happen.

Okay so this is how I imagine this conversation went:

Walmart Employee: 'Hello 'dis be Walmart, how can I help you?'

Customer: ' I would like to order a cake for a going away party this week.'

Walmart Employee: 'What you be want'n on da cake?'

Customer: 'Best Wishes Suzanne' and underneath that 'We will miss you'.

STOP LAUGHING! You can't fix stupid

And other boats were with him.

2009-09-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

Read-- Mark 4:36 for context of application.

Jesus was the Lord High Admiral of the sea that night, and His presence preserved the whole convoy. It is good to sail with Jesus, even though we may be in a little boat. When we sail in Christ's company, we cannot be sure of fine weather, for great storms may toss the vessel that carries the Lord Himself, and we should not expect to find the sea less boisterous around our little boat. If we go with Jesus we must be content to face what He faces; and when the waves are rough for Him, they will be rough for us. It is through tempest and storm that we will reach land, just as He did before us. When the storm swept over Galilee's dark lake, the faces wore anxious frowns, and all hearts dreaded shipwreck.

When every attempt to ride it out proved useless, the resting Savior rose and with a word transformed the billowing tempest into the deep quiet of a calm. Then all the other boats were at rest as well as the one that carried the Lord. Jesus is the star of the sea; and though there is sorrow on the sea, when Jesus is on it, there is also joy.

May our hearts make Jesus their anchor, their rudder, their lighthouse, their lifeboat, and their harbor. His Church is the Admiral's flagship; let us attend her exercises and cheer her officers with our presence. He Himself is the great attraction; let us always follow in His wake, observe His signals, steer by His chart, and never fear while He is within reach. Not one ship in the convoy shall be wrecked; the great Captain will steer every craft in safety to the desired haven. By faith we will raise our anchor for another day's cruise and sail with Jesus into a sea of tribulation. Winds and waves will not spare us, but they all obey Him; and therefore whatever squalls may occur on the outside, faith will enjoy a blessed calm within. He is always in the center of the weather-beaten company:

Let us rejoice in Him. His boat has reached the harbor, and so will ours.
*From Truth for life Daily: Alistair Begg

Meet me in the stairwell...

2009-09-11T10:15:00.001-07:00

'MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL'

You say you will never forget where you were when
you heard the news On September 11, 2001.
Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room
with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' I
held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the
peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it
is OK..I am ready to go.'

I was with his wife when he called as she fed
breakfast to their children. I held her up as she
tried to understand his words and as she realized
he wasn't coming home that night..

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a
woman cried out to Me for help. 'I have been
knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said.
'Of course I will show you the way home - only
believe in Me now.'

I was at the base of the building with the Priest
ministering to the injured and devastated souls.
I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He
heard my voice and answered.

I was on all four of those planes, in every seat,
with every prayer. I was with the crew as they
were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the
believers there, comforting and assuring them that their
faith has saved them.

I was in Texas , Virginia , California , Michigan , Afghanistan .
I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news.
Did you sense Me?

I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew
every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me
for the first time on the 86th floor.

Some sought Me with their last breath.
Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the
smoke and flames; 'Come to Me... this way... take
my hand.' Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.
But, I was there.

I did not place you in the Tower that day. You
may not know why, but I do.. However, if you were
there in that explosive moment in time, would you have
reached for Me?

Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey
for you . But someday your journey will end. And I
will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may
be found.. Then, at any moment, you know you are
'ready to go.'

I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

A faith that was active...

2009-09-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.
-- Mark 2:4

Faith is full of creativity. The house was full, a crowd blocked the entry, but faith found a creative way of getting to the Lord and placing the paralytic before Him. If we cannot get sinners to Jesus by ordinary methods, we must use extraordinary ones. It seems, according to Luke 5:19, that roof tiles had to be removed. That would create dust and cause a measure of danger to those below; but where the case is very urgent, we must be prepared to run some risks and shock some people. Jesus was there to heal, and therefore roof or no roof, faith ventured all so that the poor paralytic might have his sins forgiven. We need more daring creative faith among us! Dear reader, let us seek it this morning for ourselves and for our fellow-workers and try today to perform some gallant act for the love of souls and the glory of the Lord.

The world is constantly creating and inventing; genius serves all the purposes of human desire: Can't faith invent too and by some creative means reach the people who are strangers to the Gospel? It was the presence of Jesus that stirred this victorious courage in the four friends of the paralytic. Is the Lord still present among us? Have we seen His face for ourselves this morning? Have we felt His healing power in our own souls? If so, then through the door or the window or the roof let us overcome every hindrance in bringing others to Jesus.

When faith and love are truly set on winning souls, we will learn to be creative in our approach. If hunger for bread can break through stone walls, surely hunger for souls is not to be hindered in its efforts. O Lord, make us quick to suggest and employ methods of reaching our friends and neighbors and of introducing them to You!

By: Alistair Begg/ Truth for Life daily

Stars

2009-09-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

This image is from FoxNews and was taken by the hubble telescope in June 09. What an amazing thought that in just one picture there are nearly 10,000,000 stars! The new images are amazing and show us a glimpse of some of the amazing things our Lord has made.

Spectacular New Images From the Hubble Telescope - FOXNews.com

2009-09-09T13:54:00.001-07:00

Spectacular New Images From the Hubble Telescope - FOXNews.com

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The debate of our day...

2009-09-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

I had a very long discussion this morning with a friend of mine. The topic at hand was homosexuality and is perhaps the most debated topic of our culture and certainly amongst evangelicals. My friend had just gotten into a debate with another friend who is a believer and they were opposed to each other in their views. The question was asked of me, "Ted can you write down some verse for me or tell me what you would say?"
I started to pray. There is certainly a right and wrong way to approach any debate and I believe pray is the right way. I was not harsh or unloving and never have been to anyone I know who is homosexual. The truth is that how we deal with believers is different then how we must deal with non believers. That being said, here is my letter:
Any talks or debates as to homosexuality needs to start with the fact that, “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23 (NKJV) If there is no admission of sin there can never be any understanding of why there is a need for salvation. The fact is we need salvation first and then a heart change that leads to a change in our lives. If we call ourselves a believer we must be in the process of being transformed into the image of God and of His Christ. “1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:1-3 (NKJV)

“8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, Col 3:8-10 (NKJV)

21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Eph 4:21-24 (NKJV)

16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor 3:16-18 (NKJV)

I could go on with many other verse’s the point is that first one must believe that they are in need of salvation and from what? Sin! Salvation is God’s grace to have faith in Jesus (Eph.2:8-10) that faith is life changing. We all must be in the process of conforming to his will, not God conforming to our will. The hidden evil of our day is that many believers are changing the gospel to mirror our culture instead of working to change the culture to mirror the gospel of Christ. James exhorts us to do the word of the Lord, not just hear it (James 1:22)

We must understand that we can not fix sin, only God can, but we are one of many instruments that he uses to draw lost, sin-filled, eternally dying souls to him. Once God has drawn the heart he can then do surgery to change the heart (Grace) to know him, believe him, trust him, follow him, obey him and fear him. The bible tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7)
In no way should we try to change anyone until they have first confessed to know Christ and believe in him and then we must correct errors in doctrine. 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. 9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 2 John 1:7-9 (NKJV)

2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 2 Tim 4:2-4 (NKJV)

Regarding homosexuality and the fact that it wrong and detestable to God is proven not only in the account of Sodom and Gammorah, but in the words of scripture and that of Christ.

4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. 5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" 10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. Jude 1:4-11 (NKJV)

9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor 6:9-10 (NKJV)

24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. Romans 1:24-32 (NKJV)

13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. 14 If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you. 15 If a man mates with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them. Lev 20:13-16 (NKJV)

22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. 23 Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion. 24 'Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. 25 For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. 26 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you Lev 18:22-26 (NKJV)

After all of this the question was asked, "If this is truly what the bible says, how do we know that the bible is accurate? After all, aren't there other books of the bible that were not included?"

How amazing this question seemed to me. Just an hour before I finished reading chapter 3 of Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology. "The Canon of Scripture. What belongs in the bible and what does not belong? The Lord knew this was going to come up and seemed to have just been refreshed in these answers mere moments before. My friend was encouraged and renewed by my help, I was humbled and empowered by the oprotunity and responsibility or privledge to share the gospel.

I don't know why I am posting this other then for the chance to encourage someone else or to be challenged further in my convictions.
Either way, to God be the Glory.

NIV being revised...

2009-09-01T23:22:00.000-07:00

By ERIC GORSKI, AP Religion Writer Eric Gorski, Ap Religion Writer – 1 hr 49 mins ago
The top-selling Bible in North America will undergo its first revision in 25 years, modernizing the language in some sections and promising to reopen a contentious debate about changing gender terms in the sacred text. The New International Version, the Bible of choice for conservative evangelicals, will be revised to reflect changes in English usage and advances in Biblical scholarship, it was announced Tuesday. The revision is scheduled to be completed late next year and published in 2011.

"We want to reach English speakers across the globe with a Bible that is accurate, accessible and that speaks to its readers in a language they can understand," said Keith Danby, global president and CEO of Biblica, a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Christian ministry that holds the NIV copyright.

But past attempts to remake the NIV for contemporary audiences in different editions have been plagued by controversies about gender language that have pitted theological conservatives against each other.

The changes did not make all men "people" or remove male references to God, but instead involved dropping gender-specific terms when translators judged that the original text didn't intend it. So in some verses, references to "sons of God" became "children of God," for example.

Supporters say gender-inclusive changes are more accurate and make the Bible more accessible, but critics contend they twist meaning or smack of political correctness.

Acknowledging past missteps, the NIV's overseers are promising that this time, the revision process will be more transparent and that they will actively promote what they describe as a long-held practice of inviting input from scholars and readers.

The NIV was first published in 1978 and more than 300 million NIV Bibles are in print worldwide; its publishers and distributors say the translation accounts for 30 percent of Bibles sold in North America.

The Committee on Bible Translation, an independent group of conservative scholars and translators formed in 1965 to create and revise the NIV, will oversee the new revision.

An effort earlier this decade to create a separate version of the NIV that used more gender-inclusive language in an attempt to reach a younger audience fell flat with groups that felt it crossed the line.

That edition, Today's New International Version, will cease publication once the new-look NIV is released, said Moe Girkins, president of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Zondervan, its North American publisher.

"Whatever its strengths, the TNIV has become an emblem of division in the evangelical Christian world," Girkins said.

It was the TNIV that ushered in changes from "sons of God" to "children of God," or "brothers" to "brothers and sisters." In Genesis I, God created "human beings" in his own image instead of "man."

Many prominent pastors and scholars endorsed the changes. But critics said masculine terms in the original should not be tampered with. Some warned that changing singular gender references to plural ones alters what the Bible says about God's relationships with individuals.

The Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution saying the edition "has gone beyond acceptable translation standards."

"We fell short of the trust that has been placed in us," said Danby, of Biblica. "We failed to make a clear case for the revisions."

Danby said that freezing the NIV in its 1984 state was also a mistake, however. He emphasized that in the revision, about 90 percent of the NIV will be unchanged.

Douglas Moo, a professor at Wheaton College and chairman of the Committee on Bible Translation, said the group is committed to "a complete review of every gender related change."

"I am not sure how it's going to come out," Moo said. "We have a genuine, authentic review process ... Everything is on the table."

One of the most vocal critics of gender-inclusive translations, Randy Stinson of the Louisville, Ky.-based Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, said the group supports updating the NIV. He credited organizers for their openness.

"We're still probably going to differ on the way they handle some of the gender language," Stinson said. "But we're open and anxious to see what they come up with and we're really going to be reserving judgment."

Most changes will have nothing to do with gender inclusivity, Moo said. And the TNIV provides a glimpse of likely changes: In the '84 NIV, Mary is "with child," but in the TNIV she is "pregnant." In the NIV version of Psalm 146:9, "The Lord watches over the alien." The TNIV used "foreigner" instead of "alien."

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On the Net: http//http://www.NIVBible2011.com

5 sentences...

2009-09-01T12:41:00.001-07:00

You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."*

* Adrian Rogers, 1931-2005