God knew you, as he knew Jeremiah, long before you were born or even conceived. He knew you, thought about you, and planned for you. When you feel discouraged or inadequate, remember that God has always thought of you as valuable and has had a purpose in mind for you.
Each Christian has a purpose in life, but some are appointed by God for a specific kind of work. Samson, John the Baptist, and Paul were each called to do a particular job for God. If God gives you a specific task, accept it cheerful and do it with excellence. If God has not given you a specific assignment, then seek to fulfill the mission common to all believers - love, obey, and serve God - until such time as his guidance becomes more clear.
Often people struggle with new challenges because they lack self-confidence. They feel they have inadequate ability, training or experience. Jeremiah thought he was too young and inexperience to be God's spokesman to the world. But God promised to be with him. We must never allow feelings of inadequacy to keep us from obeying God's call. He will always be with us. If God gives you a job to do, he will provide all you need to do it.
God's message to Jeremiah was like his message to Moses: the God who made our mouths can provide the words he wants us to speak.
Jeremiah predicted that after the destruction of the nation, God would send a new Shepherd, the Messiah.
God still restores his people by renewing their hearts. We can have assurance of a new heart by loving God, trusting Christ to save us, and repenting of our sin.
Jeremiah served God faithfully for 40 years. During that time the people ignored, rejected, and persecuted him. He remained faithful to God.
People's acceptance or rejection of us is not the measure of our success. God's approval alone should be our standard for service. We must bring God's message to others when we are rejected.
Reference summary used from the Life Application Bible, KJV; Tyndale Publishers Inc; Wheaton, IL
Saturday, July 15, 2017
Sunday - Isaiah in the Temple - Isaiah 6:1-8 - 7/9/17
Isaiah was considered the greatest Old Testament prophet. He had powerful messages of both judgment and hope.
God is purely and perfectly holy, and just, and loving.
In Jerusalem - Isaiah was a Scribe and Prophet.
King Uzziah died of leprosy for trying to take over the High Priest's duties. Although he was generally a good king and his reign was long and prosperous, many of his people turned away from God.
The lofty throne, the attending angels, and the threefold holy all stressed God holiness. We need to rediscover God holiness. We need the Bible's view of God as high and lifted us out of our problems and concerns.
Isaiah's vision was his call to be God's messenger to his people. Isaiah was given a difficult mission. He had to tell people who believed they were blessed by God that God was going to destroy them because of their disobedience.
The seraphims are an order of angelic beings created by God. Here they functioned as God's agents in commissioning Isaiah. Isaiah could understand them when they spoke to him and when they praised God. They were awe-inspiring and powerful creatures - their singing shook the Temple!
Listening to the praise of the angels, Isaiah realized he was common and unclean before God, with no hope of measuring up to God's standard of holiness. When his lips were touched with a burning coal, however, he was told his sins were forgiven. It wasn't the coal that cleansed him, but God. No matter how difficult his task would be, he said, "Here am I; send me." Before we accept God's call to speak for him to those around us, we must be cleansed as Isaiah was. Letting God purify us may be painful, but we must be purified so that we can truly represent God, who is pure and holy.
Reference summary used from the Life Application Bible; KJV, Tyndale Bible Publishers, Wheaton, IL
God is purely and perfectly holy, and just, and loving.
In Jerusalem - Isaiah was a Scribe and Prophet.
King Uzziah died of leprosy for trying to take over the High Priest's duties. Although he was generally a good king and his reign was long and prosperous, many of his people turned away from God.
The lofty throne, the attending angels, and the threefold holy all stressed God holiness. We need to rediscover God holiness. We need the Bible's view of God as high and lifted us out of our problems and concerns.
Isaiah's vision was his call to be God's messenger to his people. Isaiah was given a difficult mission. He had to tell people who believed they were blessed by God that God was going to destroy them because of their disobedience.
The seraphims are an order of angelic beings created by God. Here they functioned as God's agents in commissioning Isaiah. Isaiah could understand them when they spoke to him and when they praised God. They were awe-inspiring and powerful creatures - their singing shook the Temple!
Listening to the praise of the angels, Isaiah realized he was common and unclean before God, with no hope of measuring up to God's standard of holiness. When his lips were touched with a burning coal, however, he was told his sins were forgiven. It wasn't the coal that cleansed him, but God. No matter how difficult his task would be, he said, "Here am I; send me." Before we accept God's call to speak for him to those around us, we must be cleansed as Isaiah was. Letting God purify us may be painful, but we must be purified so that we can truly represent God, who is pure and holy.
Reference summary used from the Life Application Bible; KJV, Tyndale Bible Publishers, Wheaton, IL
The 23RD App
(Poem by Mike Ramey)
I have downloaded my shepherd,
With other commercial Apps…I think I want;
I don’t have time to read my KJV Bible,
I simply MUST surf whenever I want.
I’ve got so much to post,
Tweet, Snap, Stamp…Pin, too!
I don’t have any time left for prayer;
Lord, you can understand…IF I text you?
The flesh won’t bother me, as I shop on line
for the latest skinny jeans, groceries or frock;
Ooh, look at how tight he/she wears it,
Modesty? That’s such a crock!
Yeah, Mom and Dad aren’t hip, even though
They modeled you a lot--God--walking before you humbly;
The Pastor--he’s so out-of-touch,
He STILL hand writes his sermons…and points,
ACTUALLY POINTS to that unflattering cross up there.
Me? I’ve got to screen and laugh at the latest comic,
Who is making fun of traditions…old and new.
(It is tweetrumored that ‘he’ is really a ‘she’,
And likes to sleep with a beast…or two--so cool!)
The Devil…he’s only a figment of the imagination;
He doesn’t exist…he’s little more than ‘emojii stew’.
‘Spiritual Warfare’, what is THAT?
‘Spiritual Gifts’? Is that an app…that’s new?
The Preacher Sighs: Poor Little Fool…wrapped up in his technology.
They didn’t become a Christian…didn’t want to be ‘odd’;
In all their worldly wisdom, he/she couldn’t tell;
There’s no app that will state when one will die,
And move right for a Sinner’s Hell…well below the real sod!
Lift up Christ and lay the sinner low. --C. H. Spurgeon
I have downloaded my shepherd,
With other commercial Apps…I think I want;
I don’t have time to read my KJV Bible,
I simply MUST surf whenever I want.
I’ve got so much to post,
Tweet, Snap, Stamp…Pin, too!
I don’t have any time left for prayer;
Lord, you can understand…IF I text you?
The flesh won’t bother me, as I shop on line
for the latest skinny jeans, groceries or frock;
Ooh, look at how tight he/she wears it,
Modesty? That’s such a crock!
Yeah, Mom and Dad aren’t hip, even though
They modeled you a lot--God--walking before you humbly;
The Pastor--he’s so out-of-touch,
He STILL hand writes his sermons…and points,
ACTUALLY POINTS to that unflattering cross up there.
Me? I’ve got to screen and laugh at the latest comic,
Who is making fun of traditions…old and new.
(It is tweetrumored that ‘he’ is really a ‘she’,
And likes to sleep with a beast…or two--so cool!)
The Devil…he’s only a figment of the imagination;
He doesn’t exist…he’s little more than ‘emojii stew’.
‘Spiritual Warfare’, what is THAT?
‘Spiritual Gifts’? Is that an app…that’s new?
The Preacher Sighs: Poor Little Fool…wrapped up in his technology.
They didn’t become a Christian…didn’t want to be ‘odd’;
In all their worldly wisdom, he/she couldn’t tell;
There’s no app that will state when one will die,
And move right for a Sinner’s Hell…well below the real sod!
Lift up Christ and lay the sinner low. --C. H. Spurgeon
Saturday, July 8, 2017
5 of ... The Heart: The Key to Everything in the Christian Life - Book Review
The Third Soil of the Heart: The Choking Weeds - Five Thorns to Avoid
Let us examine the third soil of the heart and what happens when the Word of God is sown into it.
In this third soil of the heart, the seed of the Word of God fell among the seeds of thorns and both began to grow in this fertile soil. This word "thorn" in the Greek means a thorny plant, a bramble bush, briers, and thistles.
Israel in Bible times had a great variety of these thorny weeds throughout its land. Giant thistles, growing to the height of a man on horseback, frequently spread over regions once rich and fruitful. Prickly roses abound on the lower slopes of Hermon.
Thorns are carriers of spiritual disease and allow rebellion, lust, and idolatry to ride into the human heart.
The First Thorn: The Cares of This World. (Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:19). The Greek word for "cares" in these verses means an anxious worry that distracts and divides the mind. These anxious worries and cares are indicative of a heart that does not trust God.
Unrepentant sin is a major cause of anxiety in the heart. Anxiety, worry and fear are sin, and should have no place in the heart of a christian.
The Second Thorn: The Cares of This Life. The second thorn in the Parable of the Sower is "the cares of this life." The same Greek Word is used for "cares" so these are still anxious worries that divide and distract the mind and agitate the heart with fear, but it is a different category of cares.
Jesus perfectly illustrates these anxious cares in the Sermon on the Mount and commands these worries have no place in the heart of the child of God.
The Third Thorn: The Deceitfulness of Riches. Millions of people have been corrupted, ruined and destroyed by the deceitfulness of riches. Riches can turn the heart away from God quicker than almost anything on earth.
John Wesley said wealth had destroyed the godliness of more people than other things. This thorn illustrates the eternal truth in the Sermon on the Mount that "where your treasure is there your heart be also" (Luke 12:34).
The Fourth Thorn: The Lust for Other Things. The fourth thorn in the Parable of the Sower are "the lust for other things."
Lust is excessive desire that has gone overboard and adrift from the heart of God that seeks self-satisfaction, self-gratification and self-pleasure as its ultimate thrill ride. Lust has no perception of eternity and no realization of its deadly consequences to the heart.
The Fifth Thorn: The Pleasures of This Life. The fifth and final thorn in the Parable of the Sower is the "pleasures of this life." The Greek word for "pleasures" is "hedone" which means delight, pleasureable, sensation, and sensual pleasures. Hedone is an unrestrained pursuit of anything that over stimulates the senses, stopping at nothing to gorge the body's sinful inner cravings.
Tim Rowe, the author, has a doctorate of jurisprudence and a bachelor's degree in biblical studies, history, and classics. He is the president of Goodness of God Ministries and lives with his wife and son.
Let us examine the third soil of the heart and what happens when the Word of God is sown into it.
In this third soil of the heart, the seed of the Word of God fell among the seeds of thorns and both began to grow in this fertile soil. This word "thorn" in the Greek means a thorny plant, a bramble bush, briers, and thistles.
Israel in Bible times had a great variety of these thorny weeds throughout its land. Giant thistles, growing to the height of a man on horseback, frequently spread over regions once rich and fruitful. Prickly roses abound on the lower slopes of Hermon.
Thorns are carriers of spiritual disease and allow rebellion, lust, and idolatry to ride into the human heart.
The First Thorn: The Cares of This World. (Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:19). The Greek word for "cares" in these verses means an anxious worry that distracts and divides the mind. These anxious worries and cares are indicative of a heart that does not trust God.
Unrepentant sin is a major cause of anxiety in the heart. Anxiety, worry and fear are sin, and should have no place in the heart of a christian.
The Second Thorn: The Cares of This Life. The second thorn in the Parable of the Sower is "the cares of this life." The same Greek Word is used for "cares" so these are still anxious worries that divide and distract the mind and agitate the heart with fear, but it is a different category of cares.
Jesus perfectly illustrates these anxious cares in the Sermon on the Mount and commands these worries have no place in the heart of the child of God.
The Third Thorn: The Deceitfulness of Riches. Millions of people have been corrupted, ruined and destroyed by the deceitfulness of riches. Riches can turn the heart away from God quicker than almost anything on earth.
John Wesley said wealth had destroyed the godliness of more people than other things. This thorn illustrates the eternal truth in the Sermon on the Mount that "where your treasure is there your heart be also" (Luke 12:34).
The Fourth Thorn: The Lust for Other Things. The fourth thorn in the Parable of the Sower are "the lust for other things."
Lust is excessive desire that has gone overboard and adrift from the heart of God that seeks self-satisfaction, self-gratification and self-pleasure as its ultimate thrill ride. Lust has no perception of eternity and no realization of its deadly consequences to the heart.
The Fifth Thorn: The Pleasures of This Life. The fifth and final thorn in the Parable of the Sower is the "pleasures of this life." The Greek word for "pleasures" is "hedone" which means delight, pleasureable, sensation, and sensual pleasures. Hedone is an unrestrained pursuit of anything that over stimulates the senses, stopping at nothing to gorge the body's sinful inner cravings.
Tim Rowe, the author, has a doctorate of jurisprudence and a bachelor's degree in biblical studies, history, and classics. He is the president of Goodness of God Ministries and lives with his wife and son.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Sunday - Moses & the Burning Bush - Exodus 3:1-12 -7/2/17
The burning bush
Moses was an Egyptian prince. As a prince he had everything done for him; he was the famous son of an Egyptian princess. As a shepherd he had to do everything for himself. He was holding the very job he had been taught to despise (Genesis 43:32; 46:32-34). What a humbling experience this must had been for Moses. But God was preparing Moses for leadership. Living the life of a shepherd and nomad. Moses couldn't see this himself.
God spoke to Moses from an unexpected source: a burning bush. God often uses unexpected sources when working in our lives too, whether people, thoughts, or experiences. Be willing to investigate, and be open to God's surprises.
Moses saw a burning bush and spoke with God. When the slaves were freed from Egypt, God led them by a pillar of cloud and fire. God made such appearances to encourage his new nation, to guide them, and to prove the reliability of his verbal message.
At God's command, Moses removed his shoes and covered his face as well. God is our friend, but he is also our sovereign Lord. If necessary, adjust your attitude so it is suitable for approaching a holy God.
Reference summary used from Life Application Bible, KJV, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL
Moses was an Egyptian prince. As a prince he had everything done for him; he was the famous son of an Egyptian princess. As a shepherd he had to do everything for himself. He was holding the very job he had been taught to despise (Genesis 43:32; 46:32-34). What a humbling experience this must had been for Moses. But God was preparing Moses for leadership. Living the life of a shepherd and nomad. Moses couldn't see this himself.
God spoke to Moses from an unexpected source: a burning bush. God often uses unexpected sources when working in our lives too, whether people, thoughts, or experiences. Be willing to investigate, and be open to God's surprises.
Moses saw a burning bush and spoke with God. When the slaves were freed from Egypt, God led them by a pillar of cloud and fire. God made such appearances to encourage his new nation, to guide them, and to prove the reliability of his verbal message.
At God's command, Moses removed his shoes and covered his face as well. God is our friend, but he is also our sovereign Lord. If necessary, adjust your attitude so it is suitable for approaching a holy God.
Reference summary used from Life Application Bible, KJV, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Sunday - Samson's Call - Judges 13:1-7, 24-25 - 6/25/17
The Philistines lived on the west side of Canaan, along the Mediterranean seacoast. From Samson's day until the time of David they were the major enemy force in the land & a constant threat to Israel. The Philistines were fierce warriors; they had the advantage over Israel in numbers, tactical expertise, & technology. They knew the secret of making weapons out of iron. But none of that mattered when God was fighting for Israel.
Once again the cycle of sin, judgment, & repentance began. The Israelites would not turn to God unless they had been stunned by suffering, oppression, & death. This suffered was not caused by God, but resulted from the fact that the people ignored God, their Judge & Ruler. The warnings in God's Word are clear; if we continue to harden our hearts against God, we can expect the same fate as Israel.
The angel of the Lord could have been a special divine messenger sent from God or a pre-incarnation appearance of Jesus Christ. The reason for the angel's visit was to give Samson's parents the vital news that Samson would begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.
Samson was to be a Nazarite - a person who took a vow to be set apart for God's service. Samson's parents made the vow for him. A Nazarite vow was sometimes for him. A Nazarite vow was sometimes temporary, but in Samson's case, it was for life. As a Nazarite, Samson could not cut his hair, touch a dead body, or drink anything containing alcohol.
Although Samson often used poor judgment & sinned terribly, he accomplished much when he determined to be set apart for God. In this way he was like the nation Israel. As long as the Israelites remained set apart for God, the nation thrived. But they into terrible sin when they ignored God.
Manoah's wife was told that her son would begin to rescue the Israelites from Philistine oppression. It wasn't until David's day that the Philistine opposition was completely crushed. Samson's part in subduing the Philistines was just the beginning, but it was important nonetheless. It was the task God had given Samson to do. Be faithful in following God even if you don't see instant results, because you might be beginning an important job that others will finish.
Samson's tribe, Dan, continued to wander in their inherited land, which was yet unconquered. Samson must have grown up with his warlike tribe's yearnings for a permanent & settled territory. Thus his visits to the tribal army camp stirred his heart, & God's Spirit began preparing him for his role as judge & leader against the Philistines.
God uses a variety of means to develop & prepare us: hereditary traits, environmental influences, & personal experiences. As with Samson, this preparation often begins long before adulthood. Work at being sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading & the tasks God has prepared for you. Your past may be more useful to you than you imagine.
Samson's Ventures: He grew up in Zorah & wanted to marry a Philistine girl from Timnah (Timnath). Tricked at his own wedding feast, he went to Ashkelon & killed some Philistine men & stole their coats to pay off a bet. Samson then let himself be captured & brought to Lehi where he snapped his ropes & killed 1,000 people.
Reference summary used from Life Application Bible, KJV, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL
Once again the cycle of sin, judgment, & repentance began. The Israelites would not turn to God unless they had been stunned by suffering, oppression, & death. This suffered was not caused by God, but resulted from the fact that the people ignored God, their Judge & Ruler. The warnings in God's Word are clear; if we continue to harden our hearts against God, we can expect the same fate as Israel.
The angel of the Lord could have been a special divine messenger sent from God or a pre-incarnation appearance of Jesus Christ. The reason for the angel's visit was to give Samson's parents the vital news that Samson would begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.
Samson was to be a Nazarite - a person who took a vow to be set apart for God's service. Samson's parents made the vow for him. A Nazarite vow was sometimes for him. A Nazarite vow was sometimes temporary, but in Samson's case, it was for life. As a Nazarite, Samson could not cut his hair, touch a dead body, or drink anything containing alcohol.
Although Samson often used poor judgment & sinned terribly, he accomplished much when he determined to be set apart for God. In this way he was like the nation Israel. As long as the Israelites remained set apart for God, the nation thrived. But they into terrible sin when they ignored God.
Manoah's wife was told that her son would begin to rescue the Israelites from Philistine oppression. It wasn't until David's day that the Philistine opposition was completely crushed. Samson's part in subduing the Philistines was just the beginning, but it was important nonetheless. It was the task God had given Samson to do. Be faithful in following God even if you don't see instant results, because you might be beginning an important job that others will finish.
Samson's tribe, Dan, continued to wander in their inherited land, which was yet unconquered. Samson must have grown up with his warlike tribe's yearnings for a permanent & settled territory. Thus his visits to the tribal army camp stirred his heart, & God's Spirit began preparing him for his role as judge & leader against the Philistines.
God uses a variety of means to develop & prepare us: hereditary traits, environmental influences, & personal experiences. As with Samson, this preparation often begins long before adulthood. Work at being sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading & the tasks God has prepared for you. Your past may be more useful to you than you imagine.
Samson's Ventures: He grew up in Zorah & wanted to marry a Philistine girl from Timnah (Timnath). Tricked at his own wedding feast, he went to Ashkelon & killed some Philistine men & stole their coats to pay off a bet. Samson then let himself be captured & brought to Lehi where he snapped his ropes & killed 1,000 people.
Reference summary used from Life Application Bible, KJV, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Sunday - Jephthah Answers The Call - Judges 11:4-11,29-31 - 6/18/17
Jephthah (Personal name meaning "he will open." One of Israel's judges about 1100 B.C. (Judges 11:1-12:7). A Gileadite, he was driven from his home because he was "the son of a harlot" (Judges 11:1). He lived & raided in the land of Tob with a band of outlaws, becoming known as a "mighty warrior." When the Ammonites moved against Israel, Jephthah people asked him to return & lead them. His victory over the Ammonites came about after a vow he made to offer as a burnt offering the first living thing he saw upon his return from battle. Although it was his daughter who greeted him, Jephthah did fulfill his rash vow. Considering as one of Yahweh's "chief" deliverers of His people (1 Samuel 12:11), Jephthah is hailed by the author of Hebrews, as a hero of faith (Hebrews 11:32).
For further study of the lesson "Google" Ammon; Ammonites; Human Sacrifices; Book of Judges.
Reference summary used from the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, @2003 by Holman Bible Publishers; Nashville, TN
For further study of the lesson "Google" Ammon; Ammonites; Human Sacrifices; Book of Judges.
Reference summary used from the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, @2003 by Holman Bible Publishers; Nashville, TN
Thursday, June 15, 2017
4 of ... The Heart: The Key to Everything in the Christian Life - Book Review
The Second Soil of the Heart: Rocks, Scorching & Withering.
Let's examine the second soil of the heart & what happens when the seed of the Word of God is sown into it.
As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word & immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, & when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. (Matthew 13:20-21, ESV)
On the surface, this second soil of the heart looks like good, fertile ground for the Word of God. The seed has a sudden, brief growth spurt, but its young root can never develop & become strong. Once it hits the rock, the root soon withers away causing the tiny plant that has emerged from the soil to die. The second soil of the heart is the great enemy to the growth of the Word of God.
Never forget how important it is for the seed of the Word of God to take root deeply in our hearts so it can produce fruit. The seed of the Word of God contains everything that God is: His love, righteousness, grace, salvation, goodness, holiness, faithfulness, peace & joy just to name a few. Faith comes by hearing this magnificent seed of the Word of God & allowing it to grow & become engrafted into the very fiber of the heart.
Importance of a Strong Root System. For the seed of the Word of God to prosper & grow into a strong, healthy tree, it must have a deep root system. The root system allows the heart to be anchored to the character of God.
2 Kings 19:30 declares that we must take root downward, so that we can bear fruit upward! Proverbs 12:12 declares that the root of the righteous yields fruit, & shall not be moved, because it is anchored in the Word of God.
It is imperative as Christians that we cultivate a deep root system of the Word of God in our hearts. The truth in Psalm 1 is vital to maintain a healthy spiritual heart.
The word "blessed" describes the condition of our heart should be in daily & it is linked to what it is rooted in. The Hebrew word "blessed" conveys the idea of happiness that flows from a sense of well-being & righteous. Bad company will corrupt the heart & destroy its root system. Our delight, desire, & longing must be to know God & His Word as the great treasure of our heart.
Do we delight in the pure words of Scripture more than the words from television, radio, Internet & chatter of the trival that relentlessly bombards our lives daily?
When we delight in the Word of God & mediate upon it daily, the spiritual root system of our heart is strong in God.
Jesus Christ is the true vine & we are to abide in Him if we are to be branches that bear much spiritual fruit.
And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, & let your lives be built on him.
Let's examine tribulation & persecution in more depth & see how they have such a dramatic effect on the heart.
Tribulation: The Forceful Squeezing of the Heart. The Greek word for "tribulation" is thlipsis which means to press, squeeze, compress, & crush. It was used to describe the squeezing of olives in a press to extract oil & the squeezing of grapes to produce juice.
The Lesson of Joseph. Thlipsis is the word to describe what Joseph went through before He was made governor in Egypt.
The world specializes in thlipsis.
Jesus Christ: Our Example in Times of Thlipsis. Thlipsis is nothing to Jesus Christ. He endured the worst thlipsis ever known to mankind in the ordeal of the crucifixion. His sweat was like great drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane in intense prayer to his Heavenly Father. He was about to go through forty hours of beatings, mocking, torture, physical disfigurement, & unbearable pain. He endured this brutal physical punishment to pay the price for our sin & crush the power of the kingdom of darkness, ushering us as citizens into his kingdom.
Only in Jesus Christ can we be victorious over thlipsis. Only in Jesus Christ can we endure & overcome the blistering heat of the kosmos, the entire system that the Devil has set up as the Prince of the Power of the Air.
Only in Jesus Christ can we withstand this pressure & emerge over every burden & weight thrown at our heart.
Thlipsis & the Birth of Extraordinary. God always births something extraordinary in the heart when we come through a season of thlipsis still firmly rooted in Christ & the Word of God.
God uses the word "thlipsis" to describe the anguish the female body endures in labor. The woman is pregnant with something extraordinary & amazing with a wonderful, beautiful baby forming in her womb.
Likewise our heart is pregnant with the extraordinary plans, purposes & works of God Almighty, but it is only when we come through the labor pains of thlipsis that the heart gives birth to something extraordinary. How tragic that we never give birth to God's amazing plans & purposes for our life because under the crushing pressure of thlipsis we have a miscarriage.
Jesus Christ endured the intense thlipsis of the crucifixion & bearing the sin of the human race, but now he is seated at the right hand of God having obtained eternal redemption for all those who believe.
Look what was birthed out of the heart of Joseph when he passed the thlipsis test. What an extraordinary thing God birthed in the heart of Joseph to go from a slave, condemned in prison, to a ruler of a mighty kingdom.
God birthed an extraordinary calling & work in the heart of David as he became the greatest king in the history of Israel & a man after God's own heart.
The Apostle Paul was deeply rooted in Christ & the Word of God & endured great thlipsis during his journeys to spread the gospel. He suffered beatings, stoning, false accusations, imprisonment, shipwreck, hunger, weariness, riots & persecution. His ministry turned the world upside down, & he shook the gates of hell with the truth of the gospel.
Jesus Christ: The Focal Point of all Persecution. Persecution arises out of the violent clashing between two spiritual kingdoms. The Word of God is the mighty weapon of one kingdom. The heart is at the center of this fierce battle. The Book of Revelation speaks of this. (Revelation 12:4b-5,7,9,12b,17)
Jesus Christ is the focal point of all persecution because He is God's plan for redemption. He is the Savior, the Great Shepherd, the second Adam, the Alpha & Omega, the light of the world, the bread of life, the way, the truth, the life, & the door to God's kingdom. He restored everything that Adam & Eve had lost in the Garden of Eden & conquered sin & death.
The Greek word for "hatred" in John & Luke means to pursue with hatred, to detest, to have extreme hostility towards, & to abhor.
Surprising Source of Most Persecution. The Devil is very subtle as persecution often arises from our inner circle: our churches, fellow-christians, family, friends, co-workers, teachers, professors, neighbors, & community.
The devil loves religion because it has nothing to do with the true God & is an easy facade to hide his deceptions. Look at our Savior as the constant persecution to his ministry was from the Pharisees, Sadducees, chief priests & scribes, who were the religious elite of his day. The great religious men & their corrupt system crucified their Messiah.
Persecution also comes from the inner circle of our family, friends, & close associates whom the Devil craftily influences to shake our faith in God & His Word.
When Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem near the time of his crucifixion, great multitudes of apparent followers & disciples cried out "Hosanna (save us please) to the son of David, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord even the King of Israel! Hosanna in the highest!" This whole multitude rejoiced & praised God with a loud voice. Many of these people had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus out from the grave & had heard about this great miracle. The entire city of Jerusalem was moved & the multitude declared "This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee!"
The Greek word for "seize" means to take hold of forcibly, to take into custody & arrest, to continually hold back, to hinder & restrain, to prevail & rule over, & to take into one's possession.
Jesus Christ: The Prince of Peace. Without Jesus no person on earth can ever have true peace.
In Hebrew, the word for peace, shalom, means wholeness, completeness & soundness. It is an inward & outward tranquility, a quiet assurance, & a complete well-being where nothing is lacking or broken. Peace is the highest measure of contentment, joyfulness, happiness, & satisfaction in life.
God is the source of all peace, & we have peace because of our relationship with Him. His peace is our peace. Peace can not live in a heart of unbelief.
The author, Tim Rowe has a doctorate of jurisprudence & a bachelor's degree in biblical studies, history & classics. He is president of Goodness of God's Ministries & lives in Indianapolis with his wife & son.
Let's examine the second soil of the heart & what happens when the seed of the Word of God is sown into it.
As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word & immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, & when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. (Matthew 13:20-21, ESV)
On the surface, this second soil of the heart looks like good, fertile ground for the Word of God. The seed has a sudden, brief growth spurt, but its young root can never develop & become strong. Once it hits the rock, the root soon withers away causing the tiny plant that has emerged from the soil to die. The second soil of the heart is the great enemy to the growth of the Word of God.
Never forget how important it is for the seed of the Word of God to take root deeply in our hearts so it can produce fruit. The seed of the Word of God contains everything that God is: His love, righteousness, grace, salvation, goodness, holiness, faithfulness, peace & joy just to name a few. Faith comes by hearing this magnificent seed of the Word of God & allowing it to grow & become engrafted into the very fiber of the heart.
Importance of a Strong Root System. For the seed of the Word of God to prosper & grow into a strong, healthy tree, it must have a deep root system. The root system allows the heart to be anchored to the character of God.
2 Kings 19:30 declares that we must take root downward, so that we can bear fruit upward! Proverbs 12:12 declares that the root of the righteous yields fruit, & shall not be moved, because it is anchored in the Word of God.
It is imperative as Christians that we cultivate a deep root system of the Word of God in our hearts. The truth in Psalm 1 is vital to maintain a healthy spiritual heart.
The word "blessed" describes the condition of our heart should be in daily & it is linked to what it is rooted in. The Hebrew word "blessed" conveys the idea of happiness that flows from a sense of well-being & righteous. Bad company will corrupt the heart & destroy its root system. Our delight, desire, & longing must be to know God & His Word as the great treasure of our heart.
Do we delight in the pure words of Scripture more than the words from television, radio, Internet & chatter of the trival that relentlessly bombards our lives daily?
When we delight in the Word of God & mediate upon it daily, the spiritual root system of our heart is strong in God.
Jesus Christ is the true vine & we are to abide in Him if we are to be branches that bear much spiritual fruit.
And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, & let your lives be built on him.
Let's examine tribulation & persecution in more depth & see how they have such a dramatic effect on the heart.
Tribulation: The Forceful Squeezing of the Heart. The Greek word for "tribulation" is thlipsis which means to press, squeeze, compress, & crush. It was used to describe the squeezing of olives in a press to extract oil & the squeezing of grapes to produce juice.
The Lesson of Joseph. Thlipsis is the word to describe what Joseph went through before He was made governor in Egypt.
The world specializes in thlipsis.
Jesus Christ: Our Example in Times of Thlipsis. Thlipsis is nothing to Jesus Christ. He endured the worst thlipsis ever known to mankind in the ordeal of the crucifixion. His sweat was like great drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane in intense prayer to his Heavenly Father. He was about to go through forty hours of beatings, mocking, torture, physical disfigurement, & unbearable pain. He endured this brutal physical punishment to pay the price for our sin & crush the power of the kingdom of darkness, ushering us as citizens into his kingdom.
Only in Jesus Christ can we be victorious over thlipsis. Only in Jesus Christ can we endure & overcome the blistering heat of the kosmos, the entire system that the Devil has set up as the Prince of the Power of the Air.
Only in Jesus Christ can we withstand this pressure & emerge over every burden & weight thrown at our heart.
Thlipsis & the Birth of Extraordinary. God always births something extraordinary in the heart when we come through a season of thlipsis still firmly rooted in Christ & the Word of God.
God uses the word "thlipsis" to describe the anguish the female body endures in labor. The woman is pregnant with something extraordinary & amazing with a wonderful, beautiful baby forming in her womb.
Likewise our heart is pregnant with the extraordinary plans, purposes & works of God Almighty, but it is only when we come through the labor pains of thlipsis that the heart gives birth to something extraordinary. How tragic that we never give birth to God's amazing plans & purposes for our life because under the crushing pressure of thlipsis we have a miscarriage.
Jesus Christ endured the intense thlipsis of the crucifixion & bearing the sin of the human race, but now he is seated at the right hand of God having obtained eternal redemption for all those who believe.
Look what was birthed out of the heart of Joseph when he passed the thlipsis test. What an extraordinary thing God birthed in the heart of Joseph to go from a slave, condemned in prison, to a ruler of a mighty kingdom.
God birthed an extraordinary calling & work in the heart of David as he became the greatest king in the history of Israel & a man after God's own heart.
The Apostle Paul was deeply rooted in Christ & the Word of God & endured great thlipsis during his journeys to spread the gospel. He suffered beatings, stoning, false accusations, imprisonment, shipwreck, hunger, weariness, riots & persecution. His ministry turned the world upside down, & he shook the gates of hell with the truth of the gospel.
Jesus Christ: The Focal Point of all Persecution. Persecution arises out of the violent clashing between two spiritual kingdoms. The Word of God is the mighty weapon of one kingdom. The heart is at the center of this fierce battle. The Book of Revelation speaks of this. (Revelation 12:4b-5,7,9,12b,17)
Jesus Christ is the focal point of all persecution because He is God's plan for redemption. He is the Savior, the Great Shepherd, the second Adam, the Alpha & Omega, the light of the world, the bread of life, the way, the truth, the life, & the door to God's kingdom. He restored everything that Adam & Eve had lost in the Garden of Eden & conquered sin & death.
The Greek word for "hatred" in John & Luke means to pursue with hatred, to detest, to have extreme hostility towards, & to abhor.
Surprising Source of Most Persecution. The Devil is very subtle as persecution often arises from our inner circle: our churches, fellow-christians, family, friends, co-workers, teachers, professors, neighbors, & community.
The devil loves religion because it has nothing to do with the true God & is an easy facade to hide his deceptions. Look at our Savior as the constant persecution to his ministry was from the Pharisees, Sadducees, chief priests & scribes, who were the religious elite of his day. The great religious men & their corrupt system crucified their Messiah.
Persecution also comes from the inner circle of our family, friends, & close associates whom the Devil craftily influences to shake our faith in God & His Word.
When Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem near the time of his crucifixion, great multitudes of apparent followers & disciples cried out "Hosanna (save us please) to the son of David, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord even the King of Israel! Hosanna in the highest!" This whole multitude rejoiced & praised God with a loud voice. Many of these people had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus out from the grave & had heard about this great miracle. The entire city of Jerusalem was moved & the multitude declared "This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee!"
The Greek word for "seize" means to take hold of forcibly, to take into custody & arrest, to continually hold back, to hinder & restrain, to prevail & rule over, & to take into one's possession.
Jesus Christ: The Prince of Peace. Without Jesus no person on earth can ever have true peace.
In Hebrew, the word for peace, shalom, means wholeness, completeness & soundness. It is an inward & outward tranquility, a quiet assurance, & a complete well-being where nothing is lacking or broken. Peace is the highest measure of contentment, joyfulness, happiness, & satisfaction in life.
God is the source of all peace, & we have peace because of our relationship with Him. His peace is our peace. Peace can not live in a heart of unbelief.
The author, Tim Rowe has a doctorate of jurisprudence & a bachelor's degree in biblical studies, history & classics. He is president of Goodness of God's Ministries & lives in Indianapolis with his wife & son.
Monday, June 12, 2017
Sunday - Gideon's Call - Judges 6:11-18 - 6/11/17
Gideon - A farmer - To deliver Israel from Midian
Midian, Midianites ... Person & clan name meaning "strife." Midian was the son of Abraham by his concubine Keturah (Genesis 25:2). Abraham sent him & his brothers away to the east, leading to the association of the Midianites with the "children of the east" (Judges 6:3). When Moses fled from Pharoh, he went east to Midian (Exodus 2:15). Here he met Jethro, the priest of Midian, & married his daughter.
It is also possible that as a special messenger from God, the angel had authority to speak for God. God sent a special messenger to deliver an important message to Gideon.
Threshing was the process of separating the grains of wheat from the useless outer shell called chaff. This was normally done in a large area, often on a hill, when the wind could blow away the lighter chaff when the farmer tossed the beaten wheat into the air. If Gideon had done this, however, he would have been an easy target for the bands of raiders who were overrunning the land. Therefore, he was forced to thresh his wheat in a winepress, a pit that was probably hidden from view & that would not be suspected as a place to find a farmer's crop.
Gideon questioned God about the problems he & his nation faced & God's apparent lack of help. What he didn't acknowledge was the fact that the people had brought calamity upon themselves when they decided to disobey & neglect God. How easy it is to overlook personal accountability & blame our problems on God & others.
Gideon had heard about the great miracles God had done for his people, but he hadn't seen any. It had been almost 250 years since the ten plagues & the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 7-14), & 200 years had passed since the last great miracle, the parting of the Jordan River (Joshua 3). But it was the people who had given up on God. They knew what God expected of them. They had his laws, but they chose not to obey them. God's blessings, as Moses & Joshua had foretold, came only when the people were obedient.
"Surely I will be with thee," God told Gideon, & God promised to give him the strength he needed to overcome the opposition. In spite of this clear promise for strength, Gideon made excuses. He failed to see how God could work through him.
Like Gideon, we are called to serve God in specific ways. Don't spend time making excuses. Instead spend it doing what God wants.
Reference summary used from the Life Application KJV Bible, Tyndale Publishers, Wheaton, IL
Midian, Midianites ... Person & clan name meaning "strife." Midian was the son of Abraham by his concubine Keturah (Genesis 25:2). Abraham sent him & his brothers away to the east, leading to the association of the Midianites with the "children of the east" (Judges 6:3). When Moses fled from Pharoh, he went east to Midian (Exodus 2:15). Here he met Jethro, the priest of Midian, & married his daughter.
It is also possible that as a special messenger from God, the angel had authority to speak for God. God sent a special messenger to deliver an important message to Gideon.
Threshing was the process of separating the grains of wheat from the useless outer shell called chaff. This was normally done in a large area, often on a hill, when the wind could blow away the lighter chaff when the farmer tossed the beaten wheat into the air. If Gideon had done this, however, he would have been an easy target for the bands of raiders who were overrunning the land. Therefore, he was forced to thresh his wheat in a winepress, a pit that was probably hidden from view & that would not be suspected as a place to find a farmer's crop.
Gideon questioned God about the problems he & his nation faced & God's apparent lack of help. What he didn't acknowledge was the fact that the people had brought calamity upon themselves when they decided to disobey & neglect God. How easy it is to overlook personal accountability & blame our problems on God & others.
Gideon had heard about the great miracles God had done for his people, but he hadn't seen any. It had been almost 250 years since the ten plagues & the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 7-14), & 200 years had passed since the last great miracle, the parting of the Jordan River (Joshua 3). But it was the people who had given up on God. They knew what God expected of them. They had his laws, but they chose not to obey them. God's blessings, as Moses & Joshua had foretold, came only when the people were obedient.
"Surely I will be with thee," God told Gideon, & God promised to give him the strength he needed to overcome the opposition. In spite of this clear promise for strength, Gideon made excuses. He failed to see how God could work through him.
Like Gideon, we are called to serve God in specific ways. Don't spend time making excuses. Instead spend it doing what God wants.
Reference summary used from the Life Application KJV Bible, Tyndale Publishers, Wheaton, IL
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
3 of - The Heart: The Key to Everything in the Christian Life - Book Review
The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, & he saw that everything they sought or imagined was consistently & totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had made them & put them on the earth. It broke his heart. (Genesis 6:5-6, NLT)
In Genesis 6, people's thought life had so corrupted their hearts that it reached a point of no return.
The Devil is a master general at attacking the thought life of a Christian. His war strategy involves tactics of deception, pressure, & enticement to turn our thinking away from God & toward his kingdom.
The Devil knows that in order for a person to do evil, he must first think evil.
Within ten generations he was so successful that only one person on the entire earth had godly thoughts. The population of the earth at the time of the flood was between 235 million & 7 billion people.
They were wise, rich, sophisticated, & cultured for their time, but the defining characteristic of their age was wickedness because of their thinking.
Only Noah was thinking rightly & found favor with God. Noah's thought life was pure & free from evil because he walked with God.
And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, & He was grieved in His heart. (Genesis 6:6, NKJV)
As Christians our thought life should honor God first & foremost. The Greek word translated "honor" in Romans 1:21 means to make glorious, to adorn with splendor, to make excellent, & to cause the worth of something to be made known.
Do your thoughts glorify God daily? We must never give the glory of our thoughts to another.
Before Noah, Enoch also walked with God for hundreds of years.
In the Hebrew, "to walk" is to form habit patterns that determine your way of life.
We must walk with God for life to have true meaning. A thought life without God is ultimately an exercise in foolishness, & it always lead to dangerous consequences for the heart.
Toxic thoughts are like a spiritual cancer to the heart.
Toxic thoughts are like poison, but the good news is you can break the cycle of toxic thinking.
Toxic thoughts are thoughts that trigger negative & anxious emotions, which produce biochemicals that cause the body stress.
God sets the standard high for our thought life in the book of Philippians.
Selfishness did not exist in thought life of Jesus.
We cannot serve God if we are not humble. We cannot obey God if we are not humble. We cannot love God if we are not humble.
Pride is lethal because it lifts up the heart against God.
Jesus Christ did not have one ounce of fear in his thinking. During a great Storm on the Sea of Galilee, waves pounded on the tiny boat He was in, & it was filling with water. Jesus was sleeping soundly when He was frantically awakened by His disciples. He rebuked the wind, crying out, "Peace be still" (Mark 4:39), & reproved His disciples for their lack of faith.
Jesus had great compassion for people who were hurting & suffering from physical & spiritual ailments.
Jesus never had a thought of unforgiveness or bitterness. He demonstrated great mercy & forgiveness in his thinking, no matter what the circumstance or offense.
God commands us to think from a heavenly perspective, with eternity stamped on our thoughts, & no longer allow the temporal things of this earth to control our thought life.
Carelessness in our thought life, by allowing the sin natural to control it, is dangerously destructive to our walk with God.
Train yourself for godliness. (I Timothy 4:7, NIV)
I have fought the good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. (II Timothy 4:7 KJV)
So run to win!
Only God's mighty weapons have any chance of tearing down every brick of the strongholds that captivate our hearts.
The Greek word translated "stronghold" means fortress, castle, or prison.
Do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:27 NIV)
Leave no such room or foothold for the devil (give no opportunity to him.) (AMP)
In the battle of Jericho God sets forth the pattern of how we should approach the tearing down of every stronghold in our minds & hearts.
The second thing we must do to tear down any stronghold is to consecrate ourselves. The Hebrew word translated "consecrate" is qadash, which means to be set apart, sanctified, holy, & pure, & is used to describe what is set aside for God's purpose.
Salvation is now available through Jesus Christ.
The Battle is Not Yours but God's. Believe in your awesome God. No stronghold can stand against the Almighty God!
The Ark of the Covenant: The Power of God's Word & Presence. The sixth truth is, just as the Ark of the Covenant was marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, we can take the Word of God & march it around every stronghold, confessing its truth & claiming its power.
The seventh truth is to have faith in God & His Word. Faith is an unwavering trust & confidence in our God that he will never fail us.
The last truth in the Battle of Jericho is that we must wait on the Lord. God did not move to demolish the walls of Jericho until the seventh day.
God does not need an advisor. God does not need a counselor.
Leading Every Thought Captive to Obey Christ. The last & great truth of how to tear down strongholds in our hearts is in 2 Corinthians 10:5.
The first thought pattern is false reasoning.
It is never wise to try to out think God Almighty!
The Lesson of Lazarus. We must take off our grave clothes when it comes to our thought life.
Jesus first calls Lazarus by name. Jesus is calling you.
The Parable of the Sower & the Seed: The Four Conditions of the Heart.
This parable is an illustration of how to build the kingdom of God in our hearts & produce an abundant harvest of fruit to the glory of God.
The most important time of a man or woman's life is when the Word of God is sown into their heart.
Listen & Behold.
The sower does not sow Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Secular humanism, modernism or spiritualism. The sower sows the God-breathed Word that proceeds directly from the mouth of God Almighty.
The Devil is the supreme enemy of the heart & he is sowing his tares in every community, city, & nation.
This seed is producing hearts that hate truth & love darkness.
In this first soil of the heart, the seed of Word of God is sown, but it has no chance to grow because the Devil comes immediately & snatches away the seed.
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.
Judas was in the inner circle with Jesus Christ, one of his original twelve disciples , who followed Jesus. Yet Satan entered into his heart at the last supper & he went out into the night to betray Jesus.
There are only two spiritual fathers that can give birth to their image in our hearts: God or the Devil.
Now let us think about spiritual arteriosclerosis for a moment. This is a gradual day-by-day process where our spiritual arteries become hardened by sin, poneros evil & unbelief.
The author, Tim Rowe has a doctorate of jurisprudence & a bachelor's degree in biblical studies, history, & classics. He is the president of Goodness of God Ministries & lives in Indianapolis with his wife & son.
In Genesis 6, people's thought life had so corrupted their hearts that it reached a point of no return.
The Devil is a master general at attacking the thought life of a Christian. His war strategy involves tactics of deception, pressure, & enticement to turn our thinking away from God & toward his kingdom.
The Devil knows that in order for a person to do evil, he must first think evil.
Within ten generations he was so successful that only one person on the entire earth had godly thoughts. The population of the earth at the time of the flood was between 235 million & 7 billion people.
They were wise, rich, sophisticated, & cultured for their time, but the defining characteristic of their age was wickedness because of their thinking.
Only Noah was thinking rightly & found favor with God. Noah's thought life was pure & free from evil because he walked with God.
And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, & He was grieved in His heart. (Genesis 6:6, NKJV)
As Christians our thought life should honor God first & foremost. The Greek word translated "honor" in Romans 1:21 means to make glorious, to adorn with splendor, to make excellent, & to cause the worth of something to be made known.
Do your thoughts glorify God daily? We must never give the glory of our thoughts to another.
Before Noah, Enoch also walked with God for hundreds of years.
In the Hebrew, "to walk" is to form habit patterns that determine your way of life.
We must walk with God for life to have true meaning. A thought life without God is ultimately an exercise in foolishness, & it always lead to dangerous consequences for the heart.
Toxic thoughts are like a spiritual cancer to the heart.
Toxic thoughts are like poison, but the good news is you can break the cycle of toxic thinking.
Toxic thoughts are thoughts that trigger negative & anxious emotions, which produce biochemicals that cause the body stress.
God sets the standard high for our thought life in the book of Philippians.
Selfishness did not exist in thought life of Jesus.
We cannot serve God if we are not humble. We cannot obey God if we are not humble. We cannot love God if we are not humble.
Pride is lethal because it lifts up the heart against God.
Jesus Christ did not have one ounce of fear in his thinking. During a great Storm on the Sea of Galilee, waves pounded on the tiny boat He was in, & it was filling with water. Jesus was sleeping soundly when He was frantically awakened by His disciples. He rebuked the wind, crying out, "Peace be still" (Mark 4:39), & reproved His disciples for their lack of faith.
Jesus had great compassion for people who were hurting & suffering from physical & spiritual ailments.
Jesus never had a thought of unforgiveness or bitterness. He demonstrated great mercy & forgiveness in his thinking, no matter what the circumstance or offense.
God commands us to think from a heavenly perspective, with eternity stamped on our thoughts, & no longer allow the temporal things of this earth to control our thought life.
Carelessness in our thought life, by allowing the sin natural to control it, is dangerously destructive to our walk with God.
Train yourself for godliness. (I Timothy 4:7, NIV)
I have fought the good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. (II Timothy 4:7 KJV)
So run to win!
Only God's mighty weapons have any chance of tearing down every brick of the strongholds that captivate our hearts.
The Greek word translated "stronghold" means fortress, castle, or prison.
Do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:27 NIV)
Leave no such room or foothold for the devil (give no opportunity to him.) (AMP)
In the battle of Jericho God sets forth the pattern of how we should approach the tearing down of every stronghold in our minds & hearts.
The second thing we must do to tear down any stronghold is to consecrate ourselves. The Hebrew word translated "consecrate" is qadash, which means to be set apart, sanctified, holy, & pure, & is used to describe what is set aside for God's purpose.
Salvation is now available through Jesus Christ.
The Battle is Not Yours but God's. Believe in your awesome God. No stronghold can stand against the Almighty God!
The Ark of the Covenant: The Power of God's Word & Presence. The sixth truth is, just as the Ark of the Covenant was marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, we can take the Word of God & march it around every stronghold, confessing its truth & claiming its power.
The seventh truth is to have faith in God & His Word. Faith is an unwavering trust & confidence in our God that he will never fail us.
The last truth in the Battle of Jericho is that we must wait on the Lord. God did not move to demolish the walls of Jericho until the seventh day.
God does not need an advisor. God does not need a counselor.
Leading Every Thought Captive to Obey Christ. The last & great truth of how to tear down strongholds in our hearts is in 2 Corinthians 10:5.
The first thought pattern is false reasoning.
It is never wise to try to out think God Almighty!
The Lesson of Lazarus. We must take off our grave clothes when it comes to our thought life.
Jesus first calls Lazarus by name. Jesus is calling you.
The Parable of the Sower & the Seed: The Four Conditions of the Heart.
This parable is an illustration of how to build the kingdom of God in our hearts & produce an abundant harvest of fruit to the glory of God.
The most important time of a man or woman's life is when the Word of God is sown into their heart.
Listen & Behold.
The sower does not sow Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Secular humanism, modernism or spiritualism. The sower sows the God-breathed Word that proceeds directly from the mouth of God Almighty.
The Devil is the supreme enemy of the heart & he is sowing his tares in every community, city, & nation.
This seed is producing hearts that hate truth & love darkness.
In this first soil of the heart, the seed of Word of God is sown, but it has no chance to grow because the Devil comes immediately & snatches away the seed.
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.
Judas was in the inner circle with Jesus Christ, one of his original twelve disciples , who followed Jesus. Yet Satan entered into his heart at the last supper & he went out into the night to betray Jesus.
There are only two spiritual fathers that can give birth to their image in our hearts: God or the Devil.
Now let us think about spiritual arteriosclerosis for a moment. This is a gradual day-by-day process where our spiritual arteries become hardened by sin, poneros evil & unbelief.
The author, Tim Rowe has a doctorate of jurisprudence & a bachelor's degree in biblical studies, history, & classics. He is the president of Goodness of God Ministries & lives in Indianapolis with his wife & son.
2 of - The Heart: The Key to Everything in the Christian Life - Book Review
When King Solomon had the Ark of the Covenant brought to the temple at its dedication, he had the Levites play cymbals, harps, lyres , & trumpets. Singers raised their voices to praise God with this magnificent musical accompaniment. The glory of the Lord filled the temple with a cloud after this musical display. (2 Chronicles 5:12-14).
When a vast army of Moabites, Ammonites, & Meunites came against Jerusalem, King Jehoshaphat & all of Judah stood before the Lord & prayed. When the Israelites returned to Jerusalem in victory, they went to the temple of the Lord with harps, lutes, & trumpets praising God in music & song. (2 Chronicles 20:21-22,28).
In 2 Chronicles 29:25-28 we read that King Hezekiah opened the doors of the temple & cleansed it from idolatry, one of the first he did was reestablish music & song there. He furnished the Levites with cymbals, harps, trumpets, & all the instruments of David.
After rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah immediately established the singers in the temple.
The book of Nehemiah indicates in the time of David there were directors of music for the singers & songs of praise & thanks. Nehemiah realized how important music was in the service of God in the temple & for the worship of God among the people.
After Jesus instituted communion as a memorial of His death, Matthew 26:30 says, "When they had sung a hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives." Mark 14:26 states that Jesus sang this hymn along with His disciples right before He prayed in Gethsemane shortly before He was crucified. This was probably not the first time that they had sung together, but this is the only time recorded in Scripture that our Lord sang.
This hymn is believed to be from the psalms called the "Great Hallel" or the "praise Psalms," which were Psalms 113-118 & 136.
A song can lift us into the presence of God & comfort our hearts even in life's darkest hours.
Paul & Silas was severely beaten for preaching the gospel & thrown into prison with their feet in stocks, but they sang praises to God in the midst of this seemingly hopeless situation. God moved with a great earthquake that shook the entire foundation of the prison & they were set free.
Throughout time, great men in Church history have understood the profound effect of music on the heart & the importance of godly music in the life of a Christian.
Martin Luther, who is credited with igniting the flame of the Protestant Reformation, was a wonderful composer.
One of his greatest hymns, which was one of my favorite growing up, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God."
Martin Luther had a legendary love for music. He often played after dinner with his family & guests & composed songs for his children. Music was not just a recreational tool for Luther - it was an integral part of his life & he found a source of strength & comfort in music.
Luther was well aware of the power of music & insisted that its proper use was "to the glorification of God & the edification to man."
During the Wesleyan Revival in the 18th Century, Charles Wesley wrote more than six thousand hymns, including some that became classics of the Church, like "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sink," "Jesus, Lover of My Soul," & "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing."
Listening to music is not meant to replace a Christian's time in studying & mediating on the Bible, or prayer & intimate fellowship with the heavenly Father & our Lord Jesus.
Music either pulls you into the heart of God or pulls you into the heart of God or pulls you into the heart of the world. God is crying out to the Church & to every Christian believer, "Do not be ignorant or fooled by music & think your listening choices are harmless to your walk & relationship with me!"
Since the fall of Lucifier, music has been a major weapon in the battle for the heart.
Often our greatest songs of praise are borne in trials & temptations.
Many Christians today have lost the song in their hearts for God. When the heart is bitter & unforgiving, when the heart forgets God, when the heart becomes entangled with the things of this world, it loses its song.
In Exodus 15, the children of Israel sang the right song when they were delivered from the army of Egypt, but they sang it on the wrong side. They should have been singing this song even when they were in bondage in Egypt, not simply after a great miracle & deliverance from God.
Our God will never fail us. Our God will never leave us, or forsake us, & His strength is perfect in our weakness.
Yes, indeed - God is my Salvation. God - yes God! is my strength & song, best of all, my salvation!
Our song is never a song of anxiety, fear, or worry. He is our strength, our defender, our provider, & our deliverer. We should be raising the roof with our praise - song to God.
We cannot keep silent about the wonder of our God & His amazing works. God cries when the song of our hearts goes silent.
Don't lose your love song for God by turning away from Him when things get tough.
Yahweh your God is there with you, the warrior-Savior. He will rejoice over you with happy song, he will renew you by His love, He will dance with shout of joy for you (NJB).
This song of God is a hymn of deliverance; victory, & Salvation. Psalm 32:7 says that God "surrounds us with songs of deliverance." God sings because He knows that He has made you in Christ & that He has given you a name & divine destiny.
But God, says, "No matter anyone says, you are my beloved, My treasure, My pearl more valueable than all the treasures of the earth."
God sings to us. We sing to God.
Nothing is more important to our life than the thoughts that occupy our minds on a daily basis. The critical question becomes "What are you thinking?"
Our hearts are built on the foundation of our thoughts. The heart is molded & shaped by our thoughts. Thoughts are the blueprint of the hear, & the heart becomes the image of its thought. We are what we think.
We can't ignore the importance of our thinking if we want to love God with all our heart.
Tozer encourages Christians to "form the habit of a holy thought life."
God commands us to love Him with all our mind (Luke 10:27).
Our thought life should prepare our hearts for the Lord so that He might live & reign from its throne room. King David, in his last admonishment to his son Solomon & the children of Israel, exhorts them to frame their thoughts carefully so God can prepare their hearts to love & serve Him above all else.
The heart is like a mirror, reflecting the image of its thoughts. God should be the only image that dominates our thinking.
The author, Tim Rowe has a doctorate of jurisprudence & a bachelor's degree in biblical studies, history, & classics. An attorney & author. He is the president of Goodness of God Ministries & lives in Indianapolis with his wife & son.
When a vast army of Moabites, Ammonites, & Meunites came against Jerusalem, King Jehoshaphat & all of Judah stood before the Lord & prayed. When the Israelites returned to Jerusalem in victory, they went to the temple of the Lord with harps, lutes, & trumpets praising God in music & song. (2 Chronicles 20:21-22,28).
In 2 Chronicles 29:25-28 we read that King Hezekiah opened the doors of the temple & cleansed it from idolatry, one of the first he did was reestablish music & song there. He furnished the Levites with cymbals, harps, trumpets, & all the instruments of David.
After rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah immediately established the singers in the temple.
The book of Nehemiah indicates in the time of David there were directors of music for the singers & songs of praise & thanks. Nehemiah realized how important music was in the service of God in the temple & for the worship of God among the people.
After Jesus instituted communion as a memorial of His death, Matthew 26:30 says, "When they had sung a hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives." Mark 14:26 states that Jesus sang this hymn along with His disciples right before He prayed in Gethsemane shortly before He was crucified. This was probably not the first time that they had sung together, but this is the only time recorded in Scripture that our Lord sang.
This hymn is believed to be from the psalms called the "Great Hallel" or the "praise Psalms," which were Psalms 113-118 & 136.
A song can lift us into the presence of God & comfort our hearts even in life's darkest hours.
Paul & Silas was severely beaten for preaching the gospel & thrown into prison with their feet in stocks, but they sang praises to God in the midst of this seemingly hopeless situation. God moved with a great earthquake that shook the entire foundation of the prison & they were set free.
Throughout time, great men in Church history have understood the profound effect of music on the heart & the importance of godly music in the life of a Christian.
Martin Luther, who is credited with igniting the flame of the Protestant Reformation, was a wonderful composer.
One of his greatest hymns, which was one of my favorite growing up, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God."
Martin Luther had a legendary love for music. He often played after dinner with his family & guests & composed songs for his children. Music was not just a recreational tool for Luther - it was an integral part of his life & he found a source of strength & comfort in music.
Luther was well aware of the power of music & insisted that its proper use was "to the glorification of God & the edification to man."
During the Wesleyan Revival in the 18th Century, Charles Wesley wrote more than six thousand hymns, including some that became classics of the Church, like "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sink," "Jesus, Lover of My Soul," & "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing."
Listening to music is not meant to replace a Christian's time in studying & mediating on the Bible, or prayer & intimate fellowship with the heavenly Father & our Lord Jesus.
Music either pulls you into the heart of God or pulls you into the heart of God or pulls you into the heart of the world. God is crying out to the Church & to every Christian believer, "Do not be ignorant or fooled by music & think your listening choices are harmless to your walk & relationship with me!"
Since the fall of Lucifier, music has been a major weapon in the battle for the heart.
Often our greatest songs of praise are borne in trials & temptations.
Many Christians today have lost the song in their hearts for God. When the heart is bitter & unforgiving, when the heart forgets God, when the heart becomes entangled with the things of this world, it loses its song.
In Exodus 15, the children of Israel sang the right song when they were delivered from the army of Egypt, but they sang it on the wrong side. They should have been singing this song even when they were in bondage in Egypt, not simply after a great miracle & deliverance from God.
Our God will never fail us. Our God will never leave us, or forsake us, & His strength is perfect in our weakness.
Yes, indeed - God is my Salvation. God - yes God! is my strength & song, best of all, my salvation!
Our song is never a song of anxiety, fear, or worry. He is our strength, our defender, our provider, & our deliverer. We should be raising the roof with our praise - song to God.
We cannot keep silent about the wonder of our God & His amazing works. God cries when the song of our hearts goes silent.
Don't lose your love song for God by turning away from Him when things get tough.
Yahweh your God is there with you, the warrior-Savior. He will rejoice over you with happy song, he will renew you by His love, He will dance with shout of joy for you (NJB).
This song of God is a hymn of deliverance; victory, & Salvation. Psalm 32:7 says that God "surrounds us with songs of deliverance." God sings because He knows that He has made you in Christ & that He has given you a name & divine destiny.
But God, says, "No matter anyone says, you are my beloved, My treasure, My pearl more valueable than all the treasures of the earth."
God sings to us. We sing to God.
Nothing is more important to our life than the thoughts that occupy our minds on a daily basis. The critical question becomes "What are you thinking?"
Our hearts are built on the foundation of our thoughts. The heart is molded & shaped by our thoughts. Thoughts are the blueprint of the hear, & the heart becomes the image of its thought. We are what we think.
We can't ignore the importance of our thinking if we want to love God with all our heart.
Tozer encourages Christians to "form the habit of a holy thought life."
God commands us to love Him with all our mind (Luke 10:27).
Our thought life should prepare our hearts for the Lord so that He might live & reign from its throne room. King David, in his last admonishment to his son Solomon & the children of Israel, exhorts them to frame their thoughts carefully so God can prepare their hearts to love & serve Him above all else.
The heart is like a mirror, reflecting the image of its thoughts. God should be the only image that dominates our thinking.
The author, Tim Rowe has a doctorate of jurisprudence & a bachelor's degree in biblical studies, history, & classics. An attorney & author. He is the president of Goodness of God Ministries & lives in Indianapolis with his wife & son.
God's Father Of The Year
GOD’S FATHER OF THE YEAR
A few years back, I read a column along the information superhighway entitled: “But What About Me?” It was a sad article, written in frustration, by a Black brother who pointed out--in painful detail--how Black women (and additional women in general) were always ‘crying’ for ‘a good man’, but time, and time again were eagerly chasing after the ‘dregs’ and ‘thugs’ of society, bypassing the good brothers that were right in front of them.
What REALLY bugged the writer of that particular column; SOME of the brothers were married to SOME of these female coalflakes and were taking care of children who were not even related to them by blood. In short, they were raising the children of another man (or men) because their wives had a straight-up street history, and were proud of their rebellion.
Kind of sounds like today, doesn’t it? But, I digress…and look upward!
In searching the Scriptures, one comes across a host of fathers…some good, some not so good, and a few outstanding. In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15, we see the Prodigal Son. We also see God’s ‘Father of the Year’…that being the father of this young man. I believe the story itself produces the fruit of which one could give this quiet, spiritual father a big trophy. Here are my three reasons why:
First reason…like a lot of husbands and fathers today, he is doing the right thing WITHOUT the support of his wife. Brothers, let’s be bold…the wife of this man is NOWHERE to be seen in this parable. There was a reason why fathers were created by God to be the head of the home. We have been given more logic than emotion; bigger shoulders to support our families in rough, uncertain times, and the ability to ‘wait some things out’ that would have killed off the mothers of our children. Folk today want to talk about how great mothers are? Try being a husband and a father. THAT is where God is in full display, no matter what society might say.
Second reason…like a lot of husbands and fathers today, he is dealing with offspring that are ‘smelling the odor’ under their armpits. They ‘think’ they are grown. Most of their ‘experiences’ are based on what they have seen, heard or ‘re-heard’ from their friends, and NOT from older members of society. Fathers have been where sons have YET to GO! One son can hardly wait to leave home; the other one is ‘staying with an attitude’. Brothers, having TWO kids like this is enough to ‘pre-gray’ any father’s hair! It may be a new day, baby, but the same old rules…still apply!
Third and final reason…like a lot of husbands and fathers today, he is looking to God to sort out this mess. Father is by the window, day after day, in hopes of having that wayward child come home. Awaiting a knock at the door, in the hopes of that stubborn child will come to themselves and come for a visit, or just to talk. Jesus Christ paints a portrait of this man as having a lot of ‘staying’ power. What is unsaid in the parable, is that this father had to have a LOT of alone time with God to keep himself in check, and on course…thus, he had a lot of PRAYING power. My brothers, in our feminized western culture, MEN pray MORE than women and children and get LESS respect or recognition for it. There is STILL a call for praying men, as well as godly husbands and fathers.
When the prodigal came to himself and came home, father was there. When the other son refused to even consider making peace with his brother, it was his father who negotiated on the wayward son’s behalf. Even the servants were ‘looking out’ for this father, because the routine of the household continued, the calf was fattened, and the new clothes were kept at the ready. Yes, fathers today don’t catch a break from society, the media, their Pastors, their wives or even their kids at times. However, God has NOT forgotten them. As long as God is in your corner, fathers…EVERYDAY is Father’s Day.
Don’t ‘whine’. Just keep on praying and shine, shine, SHINE!
A tip of the hat for you--my godly brothers, on this Father’s Day, 2017!
Mike Ramey, a Minister, syndicated columnist and book reviewer lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. To correspond, drop him an email at manhoodline@yahoo.com. © 2017 Barnstorm Communications.
**************
Lift up Christ and lay the sinner low. --C. H. Spurgeon
A few years back, I read a column along the information superhighway entitled: “But What About Me?” It was a sad article, written in frustration, by a Black brother who pointed out--in painful detail--how Black women (and additional women in general) were always ‘crying’ for ‘a good man’, but time, and time again were eagerly chasing after the ‘dregs’ and ‘thugs’ of society, bypassing the good brothers that were right in front of them.
What REALLY bugged the writer of that particular column; SOME of the brothers were married to SOME of these female coalflakes and were taking care of children who were not even related to them by blood. In short, they were raising the children of another man (or men) because their wives had a straight-up street history, and were proud of their rebellion.
Kind of sounds like today, doesn’t it? But, I digress…and look upward!
In searching the Scriptures, one comes across a host of fathers…some good, some not so good, and a few outstanding. In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15, we see the Prodigal Son. We also see God’s ‘Father of the Year’…that being the father of this young man. I believe the story itself produces the fruit of which one could give this quiet, spiritual father a big trophy. Here are my three reasons why:
First reason…like a lot of husbands and fathers today, he is doing the right thing WITHOUT the support of his wife. Brothers, let’s be bold…the wife of this man is NOWHERE to be seen in this parable. There was a reason why fathers were created by God to be the head of the home. We have been given more logic than emotion; bigger shoulders to support our families in rough, uncertain times, and the ability to ‘wait some things out’ that would have killed off the mothers of our children. Folk today want to talk about how great mothers are? Try being a husband and a father. THAT is where God is in full display, no matter what society might say.
Second reason…like a lot of husbands and fathers today, he is dealing with offspring that are ‘smelling the odor’ under their armpits. They ‘think’ they are grown. Most of their ‘experiences’ are based on what they have seen, heard or ‘re-heard’ from their friends, and NOT from older members of society. Fathers have been where sons have YET to GO! One son can hardly wait to leave home; the other one is ‘staying with an attitude’. Brothers, having TWO kids like this is enough to ‘pre-gray’ any father’s hair! It may be a new day, baby, but the same old rules…still apply!
Third and final reason…like a lot of husbands and fathers today, he is looking to God to sort out this mess. Father is by the window, day after day, in hopes of having that wayward child come home. Awaiting a knock at the door, in the hopes of that stubborn child will come to themselves and come for a visit, or just to talk. Jesus Christ paints a portrait of this man as having a lot of ‘staying’ power. What is unsaid in the parable, is that this father had to have a LOT of alone time with God to keep himself in check, and on course…thus, he had a lot of PRAYING power. My brothers, in our feminized western culture, MEN pray MORE than women and children and get LESS respect or recognition for it. There is STILL a call for praying men, as well as godly husbands and fathers.
When the prodigal came to himself and came home, father was there. When the other son refused to even consider making peace with his brother, it was his father who negotiated on the wayward son’s behalf. Even the servants were ‘looking out’ for this father, because the routine of the household continued, the calf was fattened, and the new clothes were kept at the ready. Yes, fathers today don’t catch a break from society, the media, their Pastors, their wives or even their kids at times. However, God has NOT forgotten them. As long as God is in your corner, fathers…EVERYDAY is Father’s Day.
Don’t ‘whine’. Just keep on praying and shine, shine, SHINE!
A tip of the hat for you--my godly brothers, on this Father’s Day, 2017!
Mike Ramey, a Minister, syndicated columnist and book reviewer lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. To correspond, drop him an email at manhoodline@yahoo.com. © 2017 Barnstorm Communications.
**************
Lift up Christ and lay the sinner low. --C. H. Spurgeon
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Sunday - Deborah & Barak - Judges 4:1-10 - 6/4/17
The Bible records few women in national leadership positions, but Deborah was the best person for the job, & God chose her to lead Israel. God can choose anyone to lead his people, young or old, man or woman. Don't let your prejudices get in the way of those God may have chosen to lead you.
We don't know Barak's character, but we see the character of a great leader in Deborah, who took charge as God directed. Deborah told Barak that God would be with him in battle, but that was not enough for Barak. He wanted Deborah to go with him. Barak request shows that at heart he trusted human strength more than God's promise. A person of real faith steps out at God's command even if he or she must do so alone.
She was responsible for leading the people into battle, but more than that, she influenced them to live for God after the battle was over. Her personality drew people together & commanded the respect of even Barak, a military general. She was also a prophetess, whose main role was to encourage the people to obey God. Those who lead must not forget about the spiritual condition of those being led. A true leader is concerned for persons, not just success.
Israel's sin was not only "in the sight of the Lord"; it was also against the Lord. Our sins harm both ourselves & others, But all sin is ultimately against God because it disregards his commands & his authority over our lives. When confessing his sin David prayed, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned & done this evil in thy sight" (Psalm 51:4). Recognizing the seriousness of sin may be the first step toward removing it from our lives.
This is the only time during the period of the judges when the Israelites' enemies came from within their land. The Israelites had failed to drive out all the Canaanites, & they had regrouped & were attempting to restore their lost power. If the Israelites had obeyed God in the first place & driven the Canaanites from the land, this incident would not have happened.
Chariots were the tanks of the ancient world. Made of iron or wood, they were pulled by one or two horses & were the most feared & powerful weapons of the day. Some chariots even had razor sharp knives extending from the wheels designed to mutilate helpless foot soliders. The Canaanite army had 900 iron chariots. It was not within Israel's power to defeat such an invincible army. With such power Jabin & Sisera had no problem oppressing the people - until a faithful woman named Deborah called upon God.
After 20 years of unbearable circumstances, the Israelites finally turned to God for help. But God should be the first place we turn when we are facing struggles or dilemmas. The Israelites did things their way & got into a mess. We often do the same thing. Trying to control our own lives without God's help often leads to struggle & confusion. By contrast, when we stay in daily contact with God, we are less likely to create painful circumstances for ourselves. This is a lesson the Israelites never fully learned. When struggles come our way, God wants us to seek him first, giving him top priority in our lives.
Reference summary used from the Life Application Bible, KJV, Tyndale Bible Publishers, Wheaton, IL
We don't know Barak's character, but we see the character of a great leader in Deborah, who took charge as God directed. Deborah told Barak that God would be with him in battle, but that was not enough for Barak. He wanted Deborah to go with him. Barak request shows that at heart he trusted human strength more than God's promise. A person of real faith steps out at God's command even if he or she must do so alone.
She was responsible for leading the people into battle, but more than that, she influenced them to live for God after the battle was over. Her personality drew people together & commanded the respect of even Barak, a military general. She was also a prophetess, whose main role was to encourage the people to obey God. Those who lead must not forget about the spiritual condition of those being led. A true leader is concerned for persons, not just success.
Israel's sin was not only "in the sight of the Lord"; it was also against the Lord. Our sins harm both ourselves & others, But all sin is ultimately against God because it disregards his commands & his authority over our lives. When confessing his sin David prayed, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned & done this evil in thy sight" (Psalm 51:4). Recognizing the seriousness of sin may be the first step toward removing it from our lives.
This is the only time during the period of the judges when the Israelites' enemies came from within their land. The Israelites had failed to drive out all the Canaanites, & they had regrouped & were attempting to restore their lost power. If the Israelites had obeyed God in the first place & driven the Canaanites from the land, this incident would not have happened.
Chariots were the tanks of the ancient world. Made of iron or wood, they were pulled by one or two horses & were the most feared & powerful weapons of the day. Some chariots even had razor sharp knives extending from the wheels designed to mutilate helpless foot soliders. The Canaanite army had 900 iron chariots. It was not within Israel's power to defeat such an invincible army. With such power Jabin & Sisera had no problem oppressing the people - until a faithful woman named Deborah called upon God.
After 20 years of unbearable circumstances, the Israelites finally turned to God for help. But God should be the first place we turn when we are facing struggles or dilemmas. The Israelites did things their way & got into a mess. We often do the same thing. Trying to control our own lives without God's help often leads to struggle & confusion. By contrast, when we stay in daily contact with God, we are less likely to create painful circumstances for ourselves. This is a lesson the Israelites never fully learned. When struggles come our way, God wants us to seek him first, giving him top priority in our lives.
Reference summary used from the Life Application Bible, KJV, Tyndale Bible Publishers, Wheaton, IL
Monday, May 29, 2017
Sunday - God's Love for Nineveh - Jonah 3 - 5/21/17
Jonah's second call to preach to Nineveh, although reluctantly & grudgingly obeyed, results in the wholesale conversion of the heathen city. Exceedingly great city; excavations have revealed a city about three miles in length & somewhat less than one & one-half miles wide. The message of the story, not the size of the city, is of primary import.
Again Jonah is a successful missionary in spite of himself. Sackcloth & ashes, traditional signs of mourning & repentance. The pagan king sets a better4 example than Jonah. Repentance & deliverance are themes, dominating the story of Jonah & its use in the New Testament.
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with The Apocrypha Expanded Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
Again Jonah is a successful missionary in spite of himself. Sackcloth & ashes, traditional signs of mourning & repentance. The pagan king sets a better4 example than Jonah. Repentance & deliverance are themes, dominating the story of Jonah & its use in the New Testament.
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with The Apocrypha Expanded Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
Sunday - God's Pervasive Love - Jonah 4:1-11 - 5/28/17
Pervasive: Having power or tendency to persuade. To win to full belief. Plead or argue with.
Why did Jonah become angry when God spared Nineveh? The Jews did not want to share God's message with Gentile nations in Jonah's day. Jonah thought God should not freely give his salvation to a wicked heathen nation.
Jonah was angry that God had spared Nineveh. How much better it would have been if he had rejoiced that sinners had repented (Luke 15:10).
Jonah reveals the reason for his reluctance to go to Nineveh (Jonah 1:3). He didn't want the Ninevites forgiven, he wanted them destroyed. We must not forget that, in reality, we do not deserve to be forgiven by God.
Johan had run from the job of delivering God's message of destruction to Nineveh (Jonah 1:2,3); now he wanted to die because the destruction wouldn't happen. How quickly Jonah had forgotten God's mercy on him when he was in the fish (Jonah 2:9,10). He was happy when God saved him, but angry when Nineveh was saved. God's forgiveness was not only for Jonah or for Israel alone, & extends to all who repent & believe.
God ministered tenderly to Jonah just as he did to Nineveh & to Israel & just as he does to us. If we will obey God's Word he will gently lead us.
Jonah was angry at the death of the plant, but not over what could have happened to Nineveh. How easy it is to be more sensitive to our own interests than to the spiritual needs of people around us.
God feels compassion for the sinners we want judged. What is your attitude toward those who are especially wicked? Do you wish that they could experience God's mercy & forgiveness?
God spared the sailors when they pleaded for mercy. God saved the people of Nineveh when they responded to Jonah's preaching. God answers the prayers of those who call upon him. We can be saved if we heed God's warnings to us through his Word. If we respond in obedience, he will be gracious, & we will receive his mercy, not his judgment.
Reference summary used from Life Application Bible, KJV Bible, Tyndale Publishers, Wheaton, IL
Why did Jonah become angry when God spared Nineveh? The Jews did not want to share God's message with Gentile nations in Jonah's day. Jonah thought God should not freely give his salvation to a wicked heathen nation.
Jonah was angry that God had spared Nineveh. How much better it would have been if he had rejoiced that sinners had repented (Luke 15:10).
Jonah reveals the reason for his reluctance to go to Nineveh (Jonah 1:3). He didn't want the Ninevites forgiven, he wanted them destroyed. We must not forget that, in reality, we do not deserve to be forgiven by God.
Johan had run from the job of delivering God's message of destruction to Nineveh (Jonah 1:2,3); now he wanted to die because the destruction wouldn't happen. How quickly Jonah had forgotten God's mercy on him when he was in the fish (Jonah 2:9,10). He was happy when God saved him, but angry when Nineveh was saved. God's forgiveness was not only for Jonah or for Israel alone, & extends to all who repent & believe.
God ministered tenderly to Jonah just as he did to Nineveh & to Israel & just as he does to us. If we will obey God's Word he will gently lead us.
Jonah was angry at the death of the plant, but not over what could have happened to Nineveh. How easy it is to be more sensitive to our own interests than to the spiritual needs of people around us.
God feels compassion for the sinners we want judged. What is your attitude toward those who are especially wicked? Do you wish that they could experience God's mercy & forgiveness?
God spared the sailors when they pleaded for mercy. God saved the people of Nineveh when they responded to Jonah's preaching. God answers the prayers of those who call upon him. We can be saved if we heed God's warnings to us through his Word. If we respond in obedience, he will be gracious, & we will receive his mercy, not his judgment.
Reference summary used from Life Application Bible, KJV Bible, Tyndale Publishers, Wheaton, IL
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Book Review: Prison Life
ON LINE REVIEWS BY MIKE RAMEY
Everyone has their own view of what prison life is really like. Some of these views are shaped--in part--by various media offerings, such as movies and tv shows. However, one’s viewpoint of life behind bars drastically changes when they have not only ‘done time’ but have emerged from a corrections facility and lived to tell the tale.
“A Day In Prison: An Insider‘s Guide To Life Behind Bars”, by John ‘Doc’ Fuller and Holly Lorincz is a book that gives one the full treatment of what it’s like to spend a day in prison. Fuller, who is a New York based prison consultant, served time in various federal facilities for eleven years. Lorincz assists with the telling and shaping of Fuller’s story (2017, 174 pages, Skyhorse Publishing).
This book is going to quickly find its way to younger readers, and many parents as it gives the before and after of life after the prison doors slam, and one is placed in a cell. Fuller provides a ‘preparatory’ section to get the reader ready for the trip inside…including the ‘Ten Prison Commandments’. Later, the reader is taken on a step-by-step trip through ‘the day’, from lights on and first count at 5am to inmates finishing their day in their cells at 8pm.
While Fuller provides a ‘tour’ of federal facilities--where he served the bulk of his time, he also offers insights into county--and other--corrections facilities. The book ‘wraps up’ with plenty of extra insights, advice, and help for families of inmates, the inmates themselves, and a few pointers for young people who may find their way behind bars. The book also has a detailed glossary AND helps section, with contact information for those who are either incarcerated, or are a family member of one who is on the inside.
“A Day In Prison: An Insider‘s Guide To Life Behind Bars”, is available from your favorite on-line book seller, or may be obtained through Skyhorse Publishing at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.
Mike Ramey is a Minister, Reviewer and Syndicated Columnist who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. He brings current and lesser-known titles to light to re-kindle a love for reading and thinking in a sea of modern technology. Feel free to reach him via email at manhoodline@yahoo.com. © 2017 Barnstorm Communications.
***************
Lift up Christ and lay the sinner low. --C. H. Spurgeon
Everyone has their own view of what prison life is really like. Some of these views are shaped--in part--by various media offerings, such as movies and tv shows. However, one’s viewpoint of life behind bars drastically changes when they have not only ‘done time’ but have emerged from a corrections facility and lived to tell the tale.
“A Day In Prison: An Insider‘s Guide To Life Behind Bars”, by John ‘Doc’ Fuller and Holly Lorincz is a book that gives one the full treatment of what it’s like to spend a day in prison. Fuller, who is a New York based prison consultant, served time in various federal facilities for eleven years. Lorincz assists with the telling and shaping of Fuller’s story (2017, 174 pages, Skyhorse Publishing).
This book is going to quickly find its way to younger readers, and many parents as it gives the before and after of life after the prison doors slam, and one is placed in a cell. Fuller provides a ‘preparatory’ section to get the reader ready for the trip inside…including the ‘Ten Prison Commandments’. Later, the reader is taken on a step-by-step trip through ‘the day’, from lights on and first count at 5am to inmates finishing their day in their cells at 8pm.
While Fuller provides a ‘tour’ of federal facilities--where he served the bulk of his time, he also offers insights into county--and other--corrections facilities. The book ‘wraps up’ with plenty of extra insights, advice, and help for families of inmates, the inmates themselves, and a few pointers for young people who may find their way behind bars. The book also has a detailed glossary AND helps section, with contact information for those who are either incarcerated, or are a family member of one who is on the inside.
“A Day In Prison: An Insider‘s Guide To Life Behind Bars”, is available from your favorite on-line book seller, or may be obtained through Skyhorse Publishing at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.
Mike Ramey is a Minister, Reviewer and Syndicated Columnist who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. He brings current and lesser-known titles to light to re-kindle a love for reading and thinking in a sea of modern technology. Feel free to reach him via email at manhoodline@yahoo.com. © 2017 Barnstorm Communications.
***************
Lift up Christ and lay the sinner low. --C. H. Spurgeon
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Part I: The Heart The Key to Everything in the Christian Life: Book Review
The fact is the heart is the key to everything in your life! Your family, your job, your relationships, & your self-image all depend on the condition of the heart. The quality of your service & witness for Christ comes down to the condition of your heart. Even your future rewards in the kingdom of God & your responsibilities in His kingdom throughout all eternity will be determined by the motives & condition of your heart here & now.
You need to understand what constitutes a healthy heart, according to the Bible, before you can take real lasting steps toward building it up & keeping it in top condition. But you must realize that you have an Enemy who wants to take your heart captive. He wants to weigh it down with oppression, bondage, impurities, bitterness, hatred, envy, & strife so that it is weak & sickly throughout your life.
God meant for your heart to be alive with His presence, a place where He is enthroned as its rightful ruler. Your heart is a treasure that should be given fully to Him, for only in God your heart your heart will find its home. Your heart is meant to be, like the Holy Holies in the temple in the Old Testament, a place where God is vibrantly alive & present, where He lives & is enjoyed & is intimately experienced.
The loving & magnificent God of the universe has a purpose & a destiny for you. You are part of a plan that will rock Satan's kingdom to the core & shake up the world for Jesus Christ. No one else has been given your unique mission as it has been ordained by God Almighty.
There was a salt covenant with meals in the Bible in which a person would bind himself to another in utmost loyalty & truthfulness as salt was a symbol of enduring friendship, honesty, & close alliance. It is still common today for people from the Eastern culture to say, "There is salt between us."
Jesus Christ wants to make a salt covenant with your heart, too. He wants your heart to be forever knit & linked with His, united & moving forward as one.
The heart is the center of everything that is manifested & comes forth in your life.
The heart is "essentially the whole man, with all his attributes, physical, intellectual, & psychological ... & the heart was conceived of as the governing center for all of these. It is the heart which makes the man ... what he is, & governs all his actions."
Every moment you draw breath upon the earth, something is flowing out of your heart.
What flows out of the heart even determines the direction & course of your life.
The first usage of this word "wellspring" in Scripture is found in the book of Numbers, in which God reveals to Moses the borders of the Promised Land that Israel is to go & possess: "This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side" (Numbers 34:12).
God has set the boundaries of a Promised Land for your life where you can accomplish your God-given destiny & purpose that God has lovingly designed for you. This Promised Land is a place where you can enjoy the blessings of God, the peace of God, the deliverance of God, the protection of God, & the presence of God. The Promised Land is where God is enjoyed, praised, & glorified for His matchless love, grace, & mercy. But your heart can only remain in God's ordained Promised Land if you diligently guard its borders from infiltration by the enemy.
We must be aware that the enemy is always prowling near the borders of our hearts, subtly trying to gain entrance so he can establish a stronghold in the heart & exercise his control & influence.
In order to enter the Promised Land & keep its borders secure, we must guard our hearts with all diligence, protecting it from the schemes & strategies of Satan, devoting it instead wholeheartedly & passionately to God & His Word.
But the devil has also staked out a territory for your life, & it is called the wilderness. Evil is the active opposition of God's good purpose or design for a person with the intent of destroying, limiting, & hindering it in any way possible.
The devil is called the evil one (Matthew 5:37), if we are careless with our hearts, he will re-position the borders of life so that the destiny God has for you is shattered & broken into pieces.
An exodus is a departure from one geographical location to another. The most magnificent example in human history is, of course, the exodus of Israel out of the slavery & bondage of Egypt. Hundreds pf thousands of men, women, & children departed Egypt on their journey to a new land.
Is the exodus from your heart taking you to a land of promise or a land of bondage? Every journey have ever embarked upon in your life has come of the heart, & the condition of your heart will determine which path you decide to follow.
Without hearts that are utterly devoted to Him in all purity & faith, the gospel becomes dead in our Christian walk & growth.
We must take back our hearts from the clutches of Satan & allow God to heal, restore, & reign from the throne in our hearts.
The Spirit of God is the true guide, helper, encourager, purifier, & discerner of the heart. The Spirit of God enables Christians to follow God decrees, & it is always exerting its influence on the heart to obey God at all times.
The flesh & the Spirit are at odds & enmity & have been at war since the beginning.
Do people see Jesus when they see your heart? Open your spiritual eyes & look at your heart in the mirror of God's Word.
The heart is under vicious attack daily by the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4) who wants to cripple, sicken, & twist it, so that it becomes dead to the things of God.
A Sleeping Heart Is Unguarded.
Prayer Guards the Heart.
The organ we call the human heart pumps 1,900 gallons of blood through it every day.
In Scripture we discover three important gateways to the heart: our eyes, our ears, & our thoughts.
The eye is the second most complex organ in the human body, next to the brain. Our human eye can distinguish up to one million color surfaces, & our eyes take in more information than the largest telescope known to man.
Although much good can come through the Internet, numerous people, including Christians, have allowed the Internet to consume them & poison their heart for God. Forty million U.S. adults regularly visit pornographic sites, as this is fast becoming the number one addiction not only in America, but also around the world.
Pornography is like a cancer in the Christian church & has destroyed many lives, marriages, & ministries.
The devil understood this truth & used it to his advantage in the temptation & seduction of Eve. She was deceived by the serpent because she failed to guard her eyes & thus her heart (Genesis 3:4-6).
Make a Covenant with Your Eyes.
The Ears: The Second Gateway To The Heart.
Together, the ears are stereo receivers responsible for collecting sounds, processing them, & sending signals to the brain in a form that it understands.
Faith comes by hearing.
Faith always dwells & blossoms in the heart, but it is born & originates in the ear.
Hear & Obey.
Hear, Hear! Listen, Listen! Obey, Obey!
Whenever God's Words are rejected, it brings death in some way, shape, or form to the human heart.
Test Every Word.
But we don't have to be deceived!
The Hebrew word rendered as "test" in this passage means to search out, examine, try, & prove.
The Priest's Ear: Set Apart for God.
God set up the ministry of the priest in such a beautiful way to minister the heart of God to the needs of His people. The priests were to help restore the hearts of His people to the ways of God & keep them on the path of His righteousness.
The Prophet's Downfall.
A prophet was never to speak his own words but only that which he divinely heard from the heart of God.
What a chilling statement as to what can happen to the heart when the ears go astray! The prophets had allowed their hearts to become full of idolatry, lies, & wickedness.
Your Life Is Molded By Your Ear.
Be Still & Listen!
The Prince of the Power of the Air: The Spiritual Battle for Your Ears.
Paul calls Satan "the prince of the power of the air," indeed the devil has shown himself to be the great broadcaster to the world in this media age (Ephesians 2:1-2).
Satan's programming never takes a break.
Never Fear: Our God Is Greater.
The World Never Satisfies Like God Satisfies.
The Ears: Music's Enormous Impact on the Heart.
We must be aware of the music we are allowing to saturate our hearts.
Music in the Bible.
The right music is powerful enough to drive away demons & negative spiritual influences from the heart (I Samuel 16).
Music can calm the heart & make it more receptive to hearing the voice of the Lord. Music can bring our thoughts, emotions, & desires into the presence of the Lord, where the life & words of God can flow into our hearts (2 Kings 3).
In Exodus 32, music caused an increase in evil in the hearts of the children of Israel, plunging them into idolatry.
Angelic Music
Music is a vital part of heaven & the throne of God. It has been part of the worship & praise of God since the beginning. Lucifer (Ezekiel 28:13-14), was created as a beautiful & wise archangel, an anointed cherub, & music was an integrated part of his being.
Corruption of Music.
Music can cause the heart to become a prisoner of war in Satan's kingdom.
Moses the Songwriter.
Moses was a wonderful songwriter in the Bible & we see his first song in Exodus 15 after the miraculous deliverance of the children of Israel from the Egyptian army. In Revelation 15, the song of Moses is sung in heaven.
Make Music in Your Heart for the Ears of God'
All Music Originates in the Heart.
David the Musician & Songwriter.
David was a wonderful skilled musician & songwriter. He was also an inventor of musical instruments (I Chronicles 23:5; 2 Chronicles 7:6; Amos 6:5). He helped to reestablish the functions the functions of the Levites in regards to music in the tabernacle & select singers & musicians from the non-priest to participate in worship services of song & music to God. At the heart of their music was the wonderful book of Psalm.
Psalms is the hymn book of the Bible.
Tim Rowe (author) has a doctorate of jurisprudence & a bachelor degree in biblical studies, history, & classics. An attorney & author of The Magnificent Goodness of God & How It Will Transform Your Life, he is president of Goodness of God Ministries & lives in Indianapolis with his wife & son.
You need to understand what constitutes a healthy heart, according to the Bible, before you can take real lasting steps toward building it up & keeping it in top condition. But you must realize that you have an Enemy who wants to take your heart captive. He wants to weigh it down with oppression, bondage, impurities, bitterness, hatred, envy, & strife so that it is weak & sickly throughout your life.
God meant for your heart to be alive with His presence, a place where He is enthroned as its rightful ruler. Your heart is a treasure that should be given fully to Him, for only in God your heart your heart will find its home. Your heart is meant to be, like the Holy Holies in the temple in the Old Testament, a place where God is vibrantly alive & present, where He lives & is enjoyed & is intimately experienced.
The loving & magnificent God of the universe has a purpose & a destiny for you. You are part of a plan that will rock Satan's kingdom to the core & shake up the world for Jesus Christ. No one else has been given your unique mission as it has been ordained by God Almighty.
There was a salt covenant with meals in the Bible in which a person would bind himself to another in utmost loyalty & truthfulness as salt was a symbol of enduring friendship, honesty, & close alliance. It is still common today for people from the Eastern culture to say, "There is salt between us."
Jesus Christ wants to make a salt covenant with your heart, too. He wants your heart to be forever knit & linked with His, united & moving forward as one.
The heart is the center of everything that is manifested & comes forth in your life.
The heart is "essentially the whole man, with all his attributes, physical, intellectual, & psychological ... & the heart was conceived of as the governing center for all of these. It is the heart which makes the man ... what he is, & governs all his actions."
Every moment you draw breath upon the earth, something is flowing out of your heart.
What flows out of the heart even determines the direction & course of your life.
The first usage of this word "wellspring" in Scripture is found in the book of Numbers, in which God reveals to Moses the borders of the Promised Land that Israel is to go & possess: "This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side" (Numbers 34:12).
God has set the boundaries of a Promised Land for your life where you can accomplish your God-given destiny & purpose that God has lovingly designed for you. This Promised Land is a place where you can enjoy the blessings of God, the peace of God, the deliverance of God, the protection of God, & the presence of God. The Promised Land is where God is enjoyed, praised, & glorified for His matchless love, grace, & mercy. But your heart can only remain in God's ordained Promised Land if you diligently guard its borders from infiltration by the enemy.
We must be aware that the enemy is always prowling near the borders of our hearts, subtly trying to gain entrance so he can establish a stronghold in the heart & exercise his control & influence.
In order to enter the Promised Land & keep its borders secure, we must guard our hearts with all diligence, protecting it from the schemes & strategies of Satan, devoting it instead wholeheartedly & passionately to God & His Word.
But the devil has also staked out a territory for your life, & it is called the wilderness. Evil is the active opposition of God's good purpose or design for a person with the intent of destroying, limiting, & hindering it in any way possible.
The devil is called the evil one (Matthew 5:37), if we are careless with our hearts, he will re-position the borders of life so that the destiny God has for you is shattered & broken into pieces.
An exodus is a departure from one geographical location to another. The most magnificent example in human history is, of course, the exodus of Israel out of the slavery & bondage of Egypt. Hundreds pf thousands of men, women, & children departed Egypt on their journey to a new land.
Is the exodus from your heart taking you to a land of promise or a land of bondage? Every journey have ever embarked upon in your life has come of the heart, & the condition of your heart will determine which path you decide to follow.
Without hearts that are utterly devoted to Him in all purity & faith, the gospel becomes dead in our Christian walk & growth.
We must take back our hearts from the clutches of Satan & allow God to heal, restore, & reign from the throne in our hearts.
The Spirit of God is the true guide, helper, encourager, purifier, & discerner of the heart. The Spirit of God enables Christians to follow God decrees, & it is always exerting its influence on the heart to obey God at all times.
The flesh & the Spirit are at odds & enmity & have been at war since the beginning.
Do people see Jesus when they see your heart? Open your spiritual eyes & look at your heart in the mirror of God's Word.
The heart is under vicious attack daily by the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4) who wants to cripple, sicken, & twist it, so that it becomes dead to the things of God.
A Sleeping Heart Is Unguarded.
Prayer Guards the Heart.
The organ we call the human heart pumps 1,900 gallons of blood through it every day.
In Scripture we discover three important gateways to the heart: our eyes, our ears, & our thoughts.
The eye is the second most complex organ in the human body, next to the brain. Our human eye can distinguish up to one million color surfaces, & our eyes take in more information than the largest telescope known to man.
Although much good can come through the Internet, numerous people, including Christians, have allowed the Internet to consume them & poison their heart for God. Forty million U.S. adults regularly visit pornographic sites, as this is fast becoming the number one addiction not only in America, but also around the world.
Pornography is like a cancer in the Christian church & has destroyed many lives, marriages, & ministries.
The devil understood this truth & used it to his advantage in the temptation & seduction of Eve. She was deceived by the serpent because she failed to guard her eyes & thus her heart (Genesis 3:4-6).
Make a Covenant with Your Eyes.
The Ears: The Second Gateway To The Heart.
Together, the ears are stereo receivers responsible for collecting sounds, processing them, & sending signals to the brain in a form that it understands.
Faith comes by hearing.
Faith always dwells & blossoms in the heart, but it is born & originates in the ear.
Hear & Obey.
Hear, Hear! Listen, Listen! Obey, Obey!
Whenever God's Words are rejected, it brings death in some way, shape, or form to the human heart.
Test Every Word.
But we don't have to be deceived!
The Hebrew word rendered as "test" in this passage means to search out, examine, try, & prove.
The Priest's Ear: Set Apart for God.
God set up the ministry of the priest in such a beautiful way to minister the heart of God to the needs of His people. The priests were to help restore the hearts of His people to the ways of God & keep them on the path of His righteousness.
The Prophet's Downfall.
A prophet was never to speak his own words but only that which he divinely heard from the heart of God.
What a chilling statement as to what can happen to the heart when the ears go astray! The prophets had allowed their hearts to become full of idolatry, lies, & wickedness.
Your Life Is Molded By Your Ear.
Be Still & Listen!
The Prince of the Power of the Air: The Spiritual Battle for Your Ears.
Paul calls Satan "the prince of the power of the air," indeed the devil has shown himself to be the great broadcaster to the world in this media age (Ephesians 2:1-2).
Satan's programming never takes a break.
Never Fear: Our God Is Greater.
The World Never Satisfies Like God Satisfies.
The Ears: Music's Enormous Impact on the Heart.
We must be aware of the music we are allowing to saturate our hearts.
Music in the Bible.
The right music is powerful enough to drive away demons & negative spiritual influences from the heart (I Samuel 16).
Music can calm the heart & make it more receptive to hearing the voice of the Lord. Music can bring our thoughts, emotions, & desires into the presence of the Lord, where the life & words of God can flow into our hearts (2 Kings 3).
In Exodus 32, music caused an increase in evil in the hearts of the children of Israel, plunging them into idolatry.
Angelic Music
Music is a vital part of heaven & the throne of God. It has been part of the worship & praise of God since the beginning. Lucifer (Ezekiel 28:13-14), was created as a beautiful & wise archangel, an anointed cherub, & music was an integrated part of his being.
Corruption of Music.
Music can cause the heart to become a prisoner of war in Satan's kingdom.
Moses the Songwriter.
Moses was a wonderful songwriter in the Bible & we see his first song in Exodus 15 after the miraculous deliverance of the children of Israel from the Egyptian army. In Revelation 15, the song of Moses is sung in heaven.
Make Music in Your Heart for the Ears of God'
All Music Originates in the Heart.
David the Musician & Songwriter.
David was a wonderful skilled musician & songwriter. He was also an inventor of musical instruments (I Chronicles 23:5; 2 Chronicles 7:6; Amos 6:5). He helped to reestablish the functions the functions of the Levites in regards to music in the tabernacle & select singers & musicians from the non-priest to participate in worship services of song & music to God. At the heart of their music was the wonderful book of Psalm.
Psalms is the hymn book of the Bible.
Tim Rowe (author) has a doctorate of jurisprudence & a bachelor degree in biblical studies, history, & classics. An attorney & author of The Magnificent Goodness of God & How It Will Transform Your Life, he is president of Goodness of God Ministries & lives in Indianapolis with his wife & son.
Friday, April 28, 2017
4/24;4/27; &4:28/17 - Daily Sunday School Readings - Sheep & Shepherd
4/24/17 - Tuesday - God Will Rescue the Endangered Sheep- Ezekiel 34:1-10
The shepherds of Israel. The shepherd (kings) had misused the people and scattered them. This oracle applies to doctrine of individuals responsibilities to the rulers, who are also subject to God's laws. Wild beasts, Judah's attackers, especially especially Babylonia.
4/27/17 - Thursday - Pastor's Shepherd the Church of God - Acts 20:25-28
Accomplish my course ... testify, a premonition of marytdom. Overseers, Greek "bishops" the elders of verse 17. The Bishop is a Shepherd.
4/28/17 - Friday - Pastor, Tend My Sheep - John 21:15-19
The triple question is reminiscent of Peter's triple denial. According to tradition. Peter was marytdom under Nero under Nero of Rome. Each is to follow his LORD, regardless of others. Until Jesus come the second come.
Reference summary coming from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with The Apocrpypha Expanded Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
The shepherds of Israel. The shepherd (kings) had misused the people and scattered them. This oracle applies to doctrine of individuals responsibilities to the rulers, who are also subject to God's laws. Wild beasts, Judah's attackers, especially especially Babylonia.
4/27/17 - Thursday - Pastor's Shepherd the Church of God - Acts 20:25-28
Accomplish my course ... testify, a premonition of marytdom. Overseers, Greek "bishops" the elders of verse 17. The Bishop is a Shepherd.
4/28/17 - Friday - Pastor, Tend My Sheep - John 21:15-19
The triple question is reminiscent of Peter's triple denial. According to tradition. Peter was marytdom under Nero under Nero of Rome. Each is to follow his LORD, regardless of others. Until Jesus come the second come.
Reference summary coming from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with The Apocrpypha Expanded Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
Monday, April 24, 2017
Sunday - God's Reconciling Love - Romans 5:6-11; 8:31-39 - 4/23/17
Christ in his death has borne the consequences of our sin & thus reconciled us to God. Note that the apostle Paul never speaks of a reconciliation of God to us; it is we who were estranged. Being now justified (& reconciled) by Christ's death, we shall ... be saved in the final Judgment by his life, through our participation in his present life as the risen Lord. Now, under the gospel.
Our confidence in God. To be a Christian in the first century was both difficult & dangerous. Neither death, nor life, whether we live or die we shall not be separated. Angels ... principalities ... powers are supernatural beings, whether evil or good, & or various ranks. Height & depth, the highest point to which the stars rise & the abyss (A deep crack or gap in the earth earth) out of which they were thought to to ascend; no supposed astrological power can separate us from Christ or defeat God's purpose for us.
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha Expanded Edition,An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
Our confidence in God. To be a Christian in the first century was both difficult & dangerous. Neither death, nor life, whether we live or die we shall not be separated. Angels ... principalities ... powers are supernatural beings, whether evil or good, & or various ranks. Height & depth, the highest point to which the stars rise & the abyss (A deep crack or gap in the earth earth) out of which they were thought to to ascend; no supposed astrological power can separate us from Christ or defeat God's purpose for us.
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha Expanded Edition,An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
Friday, April 21, 2017
Wednesday - Grace Abounded through Jesus Christ - Romans 5:18-21 - 4/19/17
Acquittal and life for all followed upon Christ's perfect obedience. Law ... to increase the trespass, this is explained in 7:7-13.
Romans 7:7-13: The law & sin. Though the law is holy ... and good, it not only makes man conscious of sin (Galatians 3:19), but also incites to sin (coveteousness; compare Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21). Probably a reminiscence of a thoughtless, carefree boyhood brought to an end (death) by the dawning sense of moral obligation & guilt. The real enemy is sin, which uses even what is good (the law) to make a man more sinful than he would otherwise be.
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha Expanded Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
Romans 7:7-13: The law & sin. Though the law is holy ... and good, it not only makes man conscious of sin (Galatians 3:19), but also incites to sin (coveteousness; compare Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21). Probably a reminiscence of a thoughtless, carefree boyhood brought to an end (death) by the dawning sense of moral obligation & guilt. The real enemy is sin, which uses even what is good (the law) to make a man more sinful than he would otherwise be.
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha Expanded Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Tuesday - Fruit of Justification by Faith - Romans 5:1-5 - 4/18/17
Consequences of justification. 1:1-5: When we rely utterly upon God's grace and not at all upon ourselves, we have peace, reconciliation, or a state of harmony with God. Hope of ... the glory of God, though we had fallen short of the glorious destiny God intended for us, we now find ourselves confidently expecting it.
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with The Apocrypha Expanded Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with The Apocrypha Expanded Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
Monday, April 17, 2017
Monday - Mutually Sharing the Gospel of Christ - Romans 1:1-15 -4/17/17
1:1-7 ... Salutation. Ancient Greek letters customarily began with the names of the sender & the recipient & a short greeting. Paul expands the usual form to express his Christian faith as well. God's Son, who came into the world physically descended from David, was manifested & installed in his true status at the resurrection. Saints, those who belong to God, consecrated to his service. Grace ... & peace.
1:8-15 ... Thanksgiving. After the salutation in ancient letters there usually came a short prayer of thanksgiving or of petition on behalf of the person addressed. This element also Paul expands in a characteristically Christian way.
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with The Apocrypha Expanded Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
1:8-15 ... Thanksgiving. After the salutation in ancient letters there usually came a short prayer of thanksgiving or of petition on behalf of the person addressed. This element also Paul expands in a characteristically Christian way.
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with The Apocrypha Expanded Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Leading Up to Victory Over Death - Monday through Sunday - 4/16/17
John 19:31-37 ... Monday: High day, especially holy since it fell on the Passover. Blood & water indicate the reality of Jesus' humanity & perhaps the new covenant & baptism. Jesus fulfills the passover.
I John 5:6-12 ... Tuesday: The Spirit's witness to the water (Jesus' baptism) & to the blood (the cross). Eternal life is in (living union with) Jesus, God's Son, & nowhere else.
Psalm/Tehillim 34:15-20 ... Wednesday: The Lord Breaks No Bones (None of Jesus Bones was Broken)
John 19:23-25 ... Thursday: A Roman Custom. Providence controlled even the soliders' behavior.
John 19:26-27 ... Friday: Indicates Jesus' real humanity & concern for human values.
Luke 24:1-12 ... The first Resurrection ... Saturday: Suggests that Jesus' disciples as a group often included others than those of the inner circle.
John 20:1-10 ... Sunday: Resurrection Day - The first day, Sunday. The empty tomb indicates actual resurrection, not mere immortality. The other disciples was younger. Peter shows characteristic boldness. Jesus body escaped without the linen cloths being unwound. The napkin which had been wrapped about his head, lay apart, still rolled up. Believed, faith grasped the evidence that Jesus had not been resuscitated from a swoon, or stolen; he had been transformed without corruption into his resurrection body. The title, Teacher, & Mary's effort to hold (cling to) him, were to be abandoned for the new relation with him as the ascended Lord.
Monday - Jesus' Side is Pierced - John 19:31-37 - 4/10/17
Tuesday - The Spirit, Water, & Blood Agree - I John 5:6-12 - 4/11/17
Wednesday - The Lord Breaks No Bones - Psalm/Tehillim 34:15-20 -4/12/17
Thursday - Soliders Casts Lots for Jesus' Clothing - John 19:23-25 -4/13/17
Friday - Jesus' Final Words to His Mother - John 19:26-27 -4/14/17
Saturday - The Women & Peter were Amazed - Luke 24:1-12 - 4/15/17
Sunday - God's Love as Victory Over Death - John 20:1-10
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha Expanded Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
I John 5:6-12 ... Tuesday: The Spirit's witness to the water (Jesus' baptism) & to the blood (the cross). Eternal life is in (living union with) Jesus, God's Son, & nowhere else.
Psalm/Tehillim 34:15-20 ... Wednesday: The Lord Breaks No Bones (None of Jesus Bones was Broken)
John 19:23-25 ... Thursday: A Roman Custom. Providence controlled even the soliders' behavior.
John 19:26-27 ... Friday: Indicates Jesus' real humanity & concern for human values.
Luke 24:1-12 ... The first Resurrection ... Saturday: Suggests that Jesus' disciples as a group often included others than those of the inner circle.
John 20:1-10 ... Sunday: Resurrection Day - The first day, Sunday. The empty tomb indicates actual resurrection, not mere immortality. The other disciples was younger. Peter shows characteristic boldness. Jesus body escaped without the linen cloths being unwound. The napkin which had been wrapped about his head, lay apart, still rolled up. Believed, faith grasped the evidence that Jesus had not been resuscitated from a swoon, or stolen; he had been transformed without corruption into his resurrection body. The title, Teacher, & Mary's effort to hold (cling to) him, were to be abandoned for the new relation with him as the ascended Lord.
Monday - Jesus' Side is Pierced - John 19:31-37 - 4/10/17
Tuesday - The Spirit, Water, & Blood Agree - I John 5:6-12 - 4/11/17
Wednesday - The Lord Breaks No Bones - Psalm/Tehillim 34:15-20 -4/12/17
Thursday - Soliders Casts Lots for Jesus' Clothing - John 19:23-25 -4/13/17
Friday - Jesus' Final Words to His Mother - John 19:26-27 -4/14/17
Saturday - The Women & Peter were Amazed - Luke 24:1-12 - 4/15/17
Sunday - God's Love as Victory Over Death - John 20:1-10
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha Expanded Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Sunday - God's Saving Love in Christ - John 3:1-16 - 4/9/2017
Verse 14 (crucifixion) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of man be lifted up:
Nicodemus personal name meaning "innocent of blood." John identifies Nicodemus as a Pharisee, "a ruler of the Jews," that is, a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, & as a "teacher of Israel," that is, an authority on the interpretation of the Hebrew scripture. Nicodemus coming at night suggests his timid & his trek from the darkness of his own sin & ignorance to the light of Jesus. Nicodemus greeted Jesus with a title of respect, "Rabbi" (teacher), recognizing Him as a God sent teacher whose signs bore witness to the presence of God. Jesus replied that Nicodemus could never see the Kingdom of God without being "born again" or "born of water & Spirit." Nicodemus could only marvel at the impossibility of such a thing.
True to his name, Nicodemus defended Christ before his peers who were unaware that one of their number might have believed in him.
The reference to Nicodemus' initial coming at night highlights his later public participation in Jesus' burial. Nicodemus contribution was enough aloes & spices to prepare a King for burial, & so he did. On a deeper level it recognized that in His role as King of the Jews.
The Pharisees were the most devout of Jews. The Kingdom of God is entered, not by moral achievement, but by a transformation wrought by God. Birth into the new order is through water (referring to baptism; & the Spirit). Jesus descended from heaven to bring eternal life, (participation in God's life), through being lifted up on the cross.
Reference summary used from: An Ecumenial Study Bible, The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha RSV & Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Nicodemus personal name meaning "innocent of blood." John identifies Nicodemus as a Pharisee, "a ruler of the Jews," that is, a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, & as a "teacher of Israel," that is, an authority on the interpretation of the Hebrew scripture. Nicodemus coming at night suggests his timid & his trek from the darkness of his own sin & ignorance to the light of Jesus. Nicodemus greeted Jesus with a title of respect, "Rabbi" (teacher), recognizing Him as a God sent teacher whose signs bore witness to the presence of God. Jesus replied that Nicodemus could never see the Kingdom of God without being "born again" or "born of water & Spirit." Nicodemus could only marvel at the impossibility of such a thing.
True to his name, Nicodemus defended Christ before his peers who were unaware that one of their number might have believed in him.
The reference to Nicodemus' initial coming at night highlights his later public participation in Jesus' burial. Nicodemus contribution was enough aloes & spices to prepare a King for burial, & so he did. On a deeper level it recognized that in His role as King of the Jews.
The Pharisees were the most devout of Jews. The Kingdom of God is entered, not by moral achievement, but by a transformation wrought by God. Birth into the new order is through water (referring to baptism; & the Spirit). Jesus descended from heaven to bring eternal life, (participation in God's life), through being lifted up on the cross.
Reference summary used from: An Ecumenial Study Bible, The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha RSV & Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Saturday, April 1, 2017
God as our Shepherd - Psalm/Tehillim 23 - April 2, 2017
An expression of confidence in God's protection (a song of trust). The LORD is compared to a shepherd. Soul means vitality, life. Path of righteousness, or "of rightness," that is, right paths which suits the context better. Shadow of death is the reading of the scribes, but "deep darkness" is the better rendering; where the same Hebrew expression occurs. The LORD is compared to a gracious host. Dwell in house of the LORD means to worship in the temple. For ever, Hebrew "for length of days," meaning as long as I live.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. At night, sheep were often gathered into a sheepfold to protect them from thieves, weather, or wild animals. The sheepfolds were caves, sheds, or open areas surrounded by walls made of stones or branches. The sheepfold often slept in the fold to protect the sheep. Just as a shepherd cares for his sheep, Jesus the Good Shepherd, cares for his flock (those who follow him). The prophet Ezekiel, in predicting the coming of the Messiah, called him a Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:23).
The life that Jesus gives is abundantly richer & fuller. It is eternal, yet is begins immediately. Life in him is lived on a higher plain because of his overflowing forgiveness, love, & guidance.
A hired man tends the sheep for money, while the shepherd does it for love. The shepherd owns the sheep & is committed to them. Jesus is not merely doing a job, he is committed to love us & even lay down his life for us. False teachers & false prophets do not have this commitment.
The "other sheep" were non-Jews. Jesus came to save Gentiles as well as Jews. This is an insight into his worldwide mission-to die for the sins of the whole world.
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with The Apocrypha Expanded Edition RSV & The Life Application Bible KJV, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. At night, sheep were often gathered into a sheepfold to protect them from thieves, weather, or wild animals. The sheepfolds were caves, sheds, or open areas surrounded by walls made of stones or branches. The sheepfold often slept in the fold to protect the sheep. Just as a shepherd cares for his sheep, Jesus the Good Shepherd, cares for his flock (those who follow him). The prophet Ezekiel, in predicting the coming of the Messiah, called him a Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:23).
The life that Jesus gives is abundantly richer & fuller. It is eternal, yet is begins immediately. Life in him is lived on a higher plain because of his overflowing forgiveness, love, & guidance.
A hired man tends the sheep for money, while the shepherd does it for love. The shepherd owns the sheep & is committed to them. Jesus is not merely doing a job, he is committed to love us & even lay down his life for us. False teachers & false prophets do not have this commitment.
The "other sheep" were non-Jews. Jesus came to save Gentiles as well as Jews. This is an insight into his worldwide mission-to die for the sins of the whole world.
Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with The Apocrypha Expanded Edition RSV & The Life Application Bible KJV, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
On Rust, The Movie ... Book Excerpts Discussions
What People Are Saying About Rust the Movie:
"a shining story of rediscovering faith" - Francine Brokaw of Family Magazine Group
"... all the elements of a great mystery with a helping hand of faith." - Dana Chaffin, Godandscience.org
"...spiritually uplifting & clearly shows that God will not forsake you & that His promises will be fulfilled. Dove is pleased to award Rust our Dove Seal for ages 12 & over." - Dove Reviews, dove.org
"...mature & engrossing ... Anyone who likes a mystery should be up for this." - Greg Wright, Christiancinema.com
RUST is an uplifting tale about faith, family, & the powerful ties that bind a community.
A unique story of friendship & calling RUST is a mystery that will leave you seeking the power of Grace. The beauty in sacrifice, & the HOPE of faith renewed.
Christian Film Database
On RUST, The Movie
Discussions In RUST The Novel:
James leaves his clerical shirt & collar on the pew when he leaves the church. Discuss the symbolism within his soul & what others might think. Is he leaving the ministry behind because he feels compelled to a new calling or is he simply running away? Can you relate to James's action?
Discuss the correlation (mutual relations) between James leaving his Heavenly Father behind while, at the same time, he works up the courage to face & repair the relationship with his earthly father. Is it easier to mend an earthly relationship of the spiritual relationship with the Almighty?
Discuss the aspects of finally recognizing when the heart begins to heal. How do you handle those often times difficult epiphany (any bodily manifestation, as of a diety. A Feast observed January 6 to commmemorate the manifestation of Christ to the Magi.
Have you ever felt so broken, so helpless, so despairing, that it seemed as if nothing matters? Did you turn to God in those times? Did you receive no as an answer, peace as an answer ... or a miracle?
Have you ever experienced an epiphany that confirms you were in the wrong? How did you handle it?
Have you even been someone's knight in shining armor, sacrificed yourself or something else of value in order to save their reputation? If so, what were your secret misgivings, if any? If not, under what circumstance would be willing to sacrifice for another?
Rust: The Novel is the plight of one pastor's crisis of faith and the struggle to save his friend's life & restore hope to a floundering community. Readers will be getting a "better, fuller, richer story in the novel," says Bernsen."
The author, Corbin Bernsen First catapulted to stardom during the 1980's by the hit NBC TV series, L.A. Law, he was nominated twice for both an Emmy Award & a Golden Globe Award. Along the way he hosted Saturday Night Live, & guest starred on Seinfeld & Star Trek to name a few notable television appearances.l
Pelican Book Group is a producer of Christ-centered fiction & is the first publisher to dedicate an entire new-adult romance imprint to promoting purity. Pelican Book Group was among the first to provide subscription-based e-books to the Christian marketplace.
"a shining story of rediscovering faith" - Francine Brokaw of Family Magazine Group
"... all the elements of a great mystery with a helping hand of faith." - Dana Chaffin, Godandscience.org
"...spiritually uplifting & clearly shows that God will not forsake you & that His promises will be fulfilled. Dove is pleased to award Rust our Dove Seal for ages 12 & over." - Dove Reviews, dove.org
"...mature & engrossing ... Anyone who likes a mystery should be up for this." - Greg Wright, Christiancinema.com
RUST is an uplifting tale about faith, family, & the powerful ties that bind a community.
A unique story of friendship & calling RUST is a mystery that will leave you seeking the power of Grace. The beauty in sacrifice, & the HOPE of faith renewed.
Christian Film Database
On RUST, The Movie
Discussions In RUST The Novel:
James leaves his clerical shirt & collar on the pew when he leaves the church. Discuss the symbolism within his soul & what others might think. Is he leaving the ministry behind because he feels compelled to a new calling or is he simply running away? Can you relate to James's action?
Discuss the correlation (mutual relations) between James leaving his Heavenly Father behind while, at the same time, he works up the courage to face & repair the relationship with his earthly father. Is it easier to mend an earthly relationship of the spiritual relationship with the Almighty?
Discuss the aspects of finally recognizing when the heart begins to heal. How do you handle those often times difficult epiphany (any bodily manifestation, as of a diety. A Feast observed January 6 to commmemorate the manifestation of Christ to the Magi.
Have you ever felt so broken, so helpless, so despairing, that it seemed as if nothing matters? Did you turn to God in those times? Did you receive no as an answer, peace as an answer ... or a miracle?
Have you ever experienced an epiphany that confirms you were in the wrong? How did you handle it?
Have you even been someone's knight in shining armor, sacrificed yourself or something else of value in order to save their reputation? If so, what were your secret misgivings, if any? If not, under what circumstance would be willing to sacrifice for another?
Rust: The Novel is the plight of one pastor's crisis of faith and the struggle to save his friend's life & restore hope to a floundering community. Readers will be getting a "better, fuller, richer story in the novel," says Bernsen."
The author, Corbin Bernsen First catapulted to stardom during the 1980's by the hit NBC TV series, L.A. Law, he was nominated twice for both an Emmy Award & a Golden Globe Award. Along the way he hosted Saturday Night Live, & guest starred on Seinfeld & Star Trek to name a few notable television appearances.l
Pelican Book Group is a producer of Christ-centered fiction & is the first publisher to dedicate an entire new-adult romance imprint to promoting purity. Pelican Book Group was among the first to provide subscription-based e-books to the Christian marketplace.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Sunday - God's Love Manifest - John 15:1-17 - 3/19/17
The grapevine is a profilic plant: a single vine bears many grapes. In the Old Testament grapes symbolized Israel's fruitfulness in doing God's work on the earth. In the Passover meal, the fruit of the vine symbolized, God's goodness to His people.
Christ is the vine, & God is the husbandman who cares for the branches to make them fruitful. The branches are all who claim to be followers of Christ. The fruitful branches are true believers who by their living union with followers are as good as dead & will be cut off & cast aside.
Jesus makes a distinction between two kinds of pruning (1) separating & (2) cutting back branches. Fruitful branches are cut back to promote growth. God must sometimes discipline us to strength our character & faith. But branches that don't bear fruit are cut off at the trunk, because not only are they worthless, they often infect the rest of the tree.
Prayer, joy, & soul-winning are also fruit.
Abiding in Christ means (1) believing he is God's Son (2) receiving Him as Saviour (3) doing what God says (4) continuing in faith (5) & relating to the community of believers. Christ's body Jesus says to only live a truly good life is to stay close to him, like a branch attached to the vine. Apart from him our efforts are unfruitful.
When a vine bears "much fruit," God is glorified, for daily He sent the sunshine & rain to make the crops grow, & constantly be nurtured each tiny plant & prepared to blossomed. What a moment of glory for the Lord of the harvest when the harvest is brought into the barns, safe & ready for use! This farming picture shows how God is glorified when people come into a right relationship with him & begin to "bear much fruit" in their lives.
Joy comes from a consistent relationship with Jesus Christ. The joy of living with Jesus Christ daily keeps us levelheaded no matter how high or low our circumstances.
We are to love one another as Jesus loved us, & He loved us enough to give His life for us. Give all the love you can, & then try to give a little more.
Jesus made the first choice --- to love & to die for us; to offer us eternal life. We make the next choice --- to accept or reject His offer. Without His choice, we would have no choice.
Reference summary used from the Life Application Bible KJV, Tyndale Publishing House, Inc., Wheaton, IL
Christ is the vine, & God is the husbandman who cares for the branches to make them fruitful. The branches are all who claim to be followers of Christ. The fruitful branches are true believers who by their living union with followers are as good as dead & will be cut off & cast aside.
Jesus makes a distinction between two kinds of pruning (1) separating & (2) cutting back branches. Fruitful branches are cut back to promote growth. God must sometimes discipline us to strength our character & faith. But branches that don't bear fruit are cut off at the trunk, because not only are they worthless, they often infect the rest of the tree.
Prayer, joy, & soul-winning are also fruit.
Abiding in Christ means (1) believing he is God's Son (2) receiving Him as Saviour (3) doing what God says (4) continuing in faith (5) & relating to the community of believers. Christ's body Jesus says to only live a truly good life is to stay close to him, like a branch attached to the vine. Apart from him our efforts are unfruitful.
When a vine bears "much fruit," God is glorified, for daily He sent the sunshine & rain to make the crops grow, & constantly be nurtured each tiny plant & prepared to blossomed. What a moment of glory for the Lord of the harvest when the harvest is brought into the barns, safe & ready for use! This farming picture shows how God is glorified when people come into a right relationship with him & begin to "bear much fruit" in their lives.
Joy comes from a consistent relationship with Jesus Christ. The joy of living with Jesus Christ daily keeps us levelheaded no matter how high or low our circumstances.
We are to love one another as Jesus loved us, & He loved us enough to give His life for us. Give all the love you can, & then try to give a little more.
Jesus made the first choice --- to love & to die for us; to offer us eternal life. We make the next choice --- to accept or reject His offer. Without His choice, we would have no choice.
Reference summary used from the Life Application Bible KJV, Tyndale Publishing House, Inc., Wheaton, IL
2 of 2 ... The Beginning: Prelude To The Apocalypse: Book Review
The Corinthian church was so free in the grace of God that they begin to sin with some very real consequences. The truth is that we cannot exclude either the law or faith. It is faith that frees us from the law of sin & death (Romans 8:2). The eternal or second death is what we have been set free from. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
It is understood that God is the ultimate power in the universe. In heaven all the angels obey the will of God. The fact that Satan had to go to God to get permission to sift Peter is further evidence of God's complete authority. God sits on the throne & listen daily to the adversary. If the adversary brings an accusation against us, God may allow him to chasten us. This has no effect on our eternal life. This will affect the quality of our life on planet Earth.
It is through the law that all sin was made known in the universe. Until the law came, sin was not understood or known (Romans 7:7-8). In other words we all must die in the flesh to fulfill the law. So we fulfill the law by dying & we fulfill the law of grace by living. Both laws are in effect & neither has been disregarded.
We can conclude that the flesh remains under the law of death & our spirit is under the law of grace. The Corinthians began to die & became sick due to sin. Paul admonished the congregation to walk in a worthy manner when involved with holy things such as the Lord's Supper (I Corinthians 11:26-30).
Christians need to understand that the law of grace is the eternal law & affects the spirit of man in eternity.
One of the most penetrating questions about life is this: "If God is good, why does He allow evil to exist?" As we know from Jesus, Satan is the father of all evil, (John 8:44). Job calls the angelic host "the sons of God" (Job 1:6-7). We find an interesting perspective in Job.
Satan, or Lucifer, was a covering cherub (Ezekiel 28:13-15). It's apparent that Lucifer wanted to be like God (Isaiah 14:12-15).
Satan believed & preached his doctrine of equality with God through knowledge of evil. If you knew God's secret knowledge of evil you would be like God (Genesis 3:4-5). As much as God loved His family, He must give them the freedom to choose their destiny.
The knowledge of evil caught the attention of one third of the angelic hosts (Revelation 12).
God knew that all creation could only live in harmony with love if it was voluntary. Anything else is not love. God only wants those who worship Him to do so in truth & spirit (John 4:23-24).
It is important to believe every Word of God.
Man & angels had to choose by faith whether to trust God or trust Satan.
God placed two trees in the garden. The tree of life was free & it yielded its fruit for food & life. The tree of knowledge of good & evil was beautiful to behold but contained only death. It was only the knowledge of evil that could bring death. Satan believed that if Adam & Eve would eat of it they would be as gods knowing good & evil (Genesis 3:5).
Satan does not have the power to take anything. Each time you see him in heavenly scenes he is asking permission to do what he wants. He asked permission to harm Job in Job chapter one. He asked to sift Peter as wheat in Luke 22:31. In Revelation chapter twelve, Satan stands before God day & night accusing the brethren.
We are faced with the choice of trusting God by faith or living according to the way of sin (Galatians 3:11).
Enoch & Elijah was taken by God without dying. And Enoch walked with God; & he was not for God took him (Genesis 5:24). By faith Enoch was was taken away so that he did not see death (Hebrews 11:5). Then it happened, as they continued on & talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, & separated the two of them; & Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven (2 Kings 2:11).
Christ was not a sinner & yet He was put to death. It was the will of God that He should be put to death. Jesus must also be recompensed for the wrong done to Him. His blood redeemed us from death & we are given to Him as His bride. Not only did Christ receive all who believe in Him, but He was given the keys of death & became Lord of all (Revelation 1:17-18).
We are given enough to make a choice of faith - to accept the Bible. The Bible does not seek to answer the questions of science.
Bruce Campbell is the author of The Beginning Prelude to the Apocalypse Companion Study Guide. He has been a pastor, evangelist and a successful business man. He currently runs The Secret Place, an international ministry to ministers. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Divinity degree. He, along with his wife and daughter live in Picayune, MS
It is understood that God is the ultimate power in the universe. In heaven all the angels obey the will of God. The fact that Satan had to go to God to get permission to sift Peter is further evidence of God's complete authority. God sits on the throne & listen daily to the adversary. If the adversary brings an accusation against us, God may allow him to chasten us. This has no effect on our eternal life. This will affect the quality of our life on planet Earth.
It is through the law that all sin was made known in the universe. Until the law came, sin was not understood or known (Romans 7:7-8). In other words we all must die in the flesh to fulfill the law. So we fulfill the law by dying & we fulfill the law of grace by living. Both laws are in effect & neither has been disregarded.
We can conclude that the flesh remains under the law of death & our spirit is under the law of grace. The Corinthians began to die & became sick due to sin. Paul admonished the congregation to walk in a worthy manner when involved with holy things such as the Lord's Supper (I Corinthians 11:26-30).
Christians need to understand that the law of grace is the eternal law & affects the spirit of man in eternity.
One of the most penetrating questions about life is this: "If God is good, why does He allow evil to exist?" As we know from Jesus, Satan is the father of all evil, (John 8:44). Job calls the angelic host "the sons of God" (Job 1:6-7). We find an interesting perspective in Job.
Satan, or Lucifer, was a covering cherub (Ezekiel 28:13-15). It's apparent that Lucifer wanted to be like God (Isaiah 14:12-15).
Satan believed & preached his doctrine of equality with God through knowledge of evil. If you knew God's secret knowledge of evil you would be like God (Genesis 3:4-5). As much as God loved His family, He must give them the freedom to choose their destiny.
The knowledge of evil caught the attention of one third of the angelic hosts (Revelation 12).
God knew that all creation could only live in harmony with love if it was voluntary. Anything else is not love. God only wants those who worship Him to do so in truth & spirit (John 4:23-24).
It is important to believe every Word of God.
Man & angels had to choose by faith whether to trust God or trust Satan.
God placed two trees in the garden. The tree of life was free & it yielded its fruit for food & life. The tree of knowledge of good & evil was beautiful to behold but contained only death. It was only the knowledge of evil that could bring death. Satan believed that if Adam & Eve would eat of it they would be as gods knowing good & evil (Genesis 3:5).
Satan does not have the power to take anything. Each time you see him in heavenly scenes he is asking permission to do what he wants. He asked permission to harm Job in Job chapter one. He asked to sift Peter as wheat in Luke 22:31. In Revelation chapter twelve, Satan stands before God day & night accusing the brethren.
We are faced with the choice of trusting God by faith or living according to the way of sin (Galatians 3:11).
Enoch & Elijah was taken by God without dying. And Enoch walked with God; & he was not for God took him (Genesis 5:24). By faith Enoch was was taken away so that he did not see death (Hebrews 11:5). Then it happened, as they continued on & talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, & separated the two of them; & Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven (2 Kings 2:11).
Christ was not a sinner & yet He was put to death. It was the will of God that He should be put to death. Jesus must also be recompensed for the wrong done to Him. His blood redeemed us from death & we are given to Him as His bride. Not only did Christ receive all who believe in Him, but He was given the keys of death & became Lord of all (Revelation 1:17-18).
We are given enough to make a choice of faith - to accept the Bible. The Bible does not seek to answer the questions of science.
Bruce Campbell is the author of The Beginning Prelude to the Apocalypse Companion Study Guide. He has been a pastor, evangelist and a successful business man. He currently runs The Secret Place, an international ministry to ministers. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Divinity degree. He, along with his wife and daughter live in Picayune, MS
Saturday, March 18, 2017
1 of 2 The Begining ... Book Review
Prelude To The Apocalypse: Companion Study Guide
Paradox: A statement, doctrine, or expression seemingly absurd or contradiction to the received belief or to what would naturally be believing, but perhaps really true.
Gnotics: Of, pertaining to, or possessing knowledge;
Apocalypse: The book of Revelation ... The revelation made to the Apostle John
(John 16:12-13) I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; & He will tell you things to come.
The Scriptures clearly teach that knowledge is surpassed by the love of God in Christ (Ephesians 3:19). Knowledge is not the ultimate reality in the universe.
First, the author would like to explain to his readers the oneness of God (1 John). The most important reality about God is that He is love. John tells us that God is love. God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit & that Spirit is love.
Here is why we need to understand the nature of love & how it can manifest in differing ways. When most people think about love they often think of love in one way only. The love that does not fail & always accepts us even when we don't deserve it. This kind of love is explained in I Corinthians 13.
God the Father represents a different manifestation of love. Protective love is rooted in righteousness.
The first paradox that was formed was found in the nature of love. God brought us life into existence & He loved His creation with an everlasting love. When sin came into existence it threatened life itself. God loved his angels but they were turning away from love to evil. God must be able to judge His own children & removed evil from existence. The love that cannot fail, by nature, cannot fail even Lucifer. God, in a sense, had to sacrifice His own heart in order to throw the diseased sons of God into the place of eternal quarantine prepared for them.
The Godhead is manisfected in differing ways even though the three manifestations are love.
Simply put, Jesus taught us that there is no giving or taking in marriage in heaven & that we will all be like angels (Matthew 22:29-30). There is no feminine in the Godhead & we know from the book of Job that angels are called the sons of God.
The Hebrew word for Spirit ("ruach") is feminine in Genesis 1:2. In the New Testament the Holy Spirit is presented in the masculine gender. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit "the Comforter" (John 16:7).
The church takes on the role of the feminine in the relation to Christ. The Greek word for church (ecclesia) is feminine in gender. The church is called the bride of the lamb (Revelation 19:7; 21:9). The church receives the Spirit (seed) & produces life (John 7:38,39).
Jesus submitted to His Father's will. Even though He was one with the Father in Spirit, He took on the role of submission. The church, in the same way, must learn to submit to the will of Christ.
The maternal side of love cries out for forgiving (Luke 23:34). Many people have asked, as did Jesus, "Why did God forsake Christ when he was on the cross (Mark 15:34).
Jesus is directly referenced to as the lamb that was sacrificed for sin. Christ was begotten of God & not created. He is the same essence, substance, or Spirit as the Father (John 16:27-28; John 10:30).
The lamb (Christ) was slain from the freedom of the world (Revelation 13:8). When the knowledge of good & evil came into existence through the law, the perfect Love (Holy Spirit) in a real sense had to be sacrificed, lest it should forgive Satan. Pure love can never turn away from the children.
The Passover lamb, in contrast to the sin offering, had to be a male lamb (Exodus 12:5-8). The Passover lamb represented represents the reality of eternal death passing over all who take Christ (the lamb) into their life. These are picture types that teach us about God's plan for redemption of all who receive Christ. It also shows us the protective side of love in that we are protected from death through Christ.
God's ways make sense & everything God made reflects something about the Godhead.
Angels were not begotten but rather created. Adam was first & Eve was begotten out of Adam. Planets & moons are one matter & are drawn together by the unknown force called gravity. Adam & Eve are one flesh & drawn together by love. The Father & Son are drawn together by the Holy Spirit of love.
Let us be glad & rejoice & give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, & His wife has made herself ready (Revelation 19:7). We should not think of these pictures types in fleshly terms but rather spiritual.
As the bride of Christ we are to yield (submit) to His will. Remember that in the Spirit there is no giving or taking in marriage but we shall all be as angels. We as His bride, must learn submission to His will & then we shall be exalted. The will of Christ is found in the Sermon on the Mount & Beatitudes. He told us to learn the ways of love.
In chapter eight of Proverbs wisdom speaks to us declaring she was brought forth from God.
Comparison between Christ & Wisdom:
Through Wisdom all things created: Psalm 104:24; Jeremiah 10:12; Proverbs 3:19
Through Christ all things created: John 1:1,9; Hebrews 1:2; Colossians 1:16
Find wisdom find life: Proverbs 8:35; Ecclesiastes 7:12; Proverbs 4:20-22
Find Christ find life: 1 John 1:12; John 14:6; John 10:10
Wisdom established from everlasting: Proverbs 8:23
Christ established from everlasting: John 8:58
Wisdom invites to eat her Bread & drink her wine: Proverbs 9:5
Jesus is the bread of life. Wine is life: John 6:33-48; Matthew 26:28
Satan will try to turn the picture of the Godhead in creation upside down. Evil will grow if left unchecked by power & strength. Evil masquerades as good & takes advantages of innocence.
Imagine a time before evil existed. There was no need for law or protective because there was no knowledge of evil. Because creation was innocence, God had to create a way of understanding what sin was. He spoke into existence or permissive side of love is perfectly explained in I Corinthians 13.
Mankind will attempt to become as god & reinterpret all things through selfish ambition carnal desire & call it freedom.
The world is attempting to cast off God in order to pursue carnal lust & selfish desire. The law of God is hated by those who proclaim freedom. Anyone who stands in the way of this "freedom" will be hated & reviled, even as God is reviled.
Revile: To address scandalous language; abuse; be abusive in speech or act.
When there is no longer anything to stop sin, it will run rampant.
Evil must be resisted. God the Father must turn away from His own children (fallen angels, sons of God) & eventually separate them from the family. The disease called sin must be put away into a quarantine zone forever. That zone is known as hell.
There is a concerted effort in this day to make boys more like girls in their emotions. When men become emotionally driven instead of righteously driven there will be an eroding of strength in society.
Bruce Campbell is the author of The Beginning Prelude to the Apocalypse Companion Study Guide. He has been a pastor, evangelist and a successful business man. He currently runs The Secret Place, an international ministry to ministers. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Divinity degree. He, along with his wife and daughter live in Picayune, MS
Paradox: A statement, doctrine, or expression seemingly absurd or contradiction to the received belief or to what would naturally be believing, but perhaps really true.
Gnotics: Of, pertaining to, or possessing knowledge;
Apocalypse: The book of Revelation ... The revelation made to the Apostle John
(John 16:12-13) I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; & He will tell you things to come.
The Scriptures clearly teach that knowledge is surpassed by the love of God in Christ (Ephesians 3:19). Knowledge is not the ultimate reality in the universe.
First, the author would like to explain to his readers the oneness of God (1 John). The most important reality about God is that He is love. John tells us that God is love. God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit & that Spirit is love.
Here is why we need to understand the nature of love & how it can manifest in differing ways. When most people think about love they often think of love in one way only. The love that does not fail & always accepts us even when we don't deserve it. This kind of love is explained in I Corinthians 13.
God the Father represents a different manifestation of love. Protective love is rooted in righteousness.
The first paradox that was formed was found in the nature of love. God brought us life into existence & He loved His creation with an everlasting love. When sin came into existence it threatened life itself. God loved his angels but they were turning away from love to evil. God must be able to judge His own children & removed evil from existence. The love that cannot fail, by nature, cannot fail even Lucifer. God, in a sense, had to sacrifice His own heart in order to throw the diseased sons of God into the place of eternal quarantine prepared for them.
The Godhead is manisfected in differing ways even though the three manifestations are love.
Simply put, Jesus taught us that there is no giving or taking in marriage in heaven & that we will all be like angels (Matthew 22:29-30). There is no feminine in the Godhead & we know from the book of Job that angels are called the sons of God.
The Hebrew word for Spirit ("ruach") is feminine in Genesis 1:2. In the New Testament the Holy Spirit is presented in the masculine gender. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit "the Comforter" (John 16:7).
The church takes on the role of the feminine in the relation to Christ. The Greek word for church (ecclesia) is feminine in gender. The church is called the bride of the lamb (Revelation 19:7; 21:9). The church receives the Spirit (seed) & produces life (John 7:38,39).
Jesus submitted to His Father's will. Even though He was one with the Father in Spirit, He took on the role of submission. The church, in the same way, must learn to submit to the will of Christ.
The maternal side of love cries out for forgiving (Luke 23:34). Many people have asked, as did Jesus, "Why did God forsake Christ when he was on the cross (Mark 15:34).
Jesus is directly referenced to as the lamb that was sacrificed for sin. Christ was begotten of God & not created. He is the same essence, substance, or Spirit as the Father (John 16:27-28; John 10:30).
The lamb (Christ) was slain from the freedom of the world (Revelation 13:8). When the knowledge of good & evil came into existence through the law, the perfect Love (Holy Spirit) in a real sense had to be sacrificed, lest it should forgive Satan. Pure love can never turn away from the children.
The Passover lamb, in contrast to the sin offering, had to be a male lamb (Exodus 12:5-8). The Passover lamb represented represents the reality of eternal death passing over all who take Christ (the lamb) into their life. These are picture types that teach us about God's plan for redemption of all who receive Christ. It also shows us the protective side of love in that we are protected from death through Christ.
God's ways make sense & everything God made reflects something about the Godhead.
Angels were not begotten but rather created. Adam was first & Eve was begotten out of Adam. Planets & moons are one matter & are drawn together by the unknown force called gravity. Adam & Eve are one flesh & drawn together by love. The Father & Son are drawn together by the Holy Spirit of love.
Let us be glad & rejoice & give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, & His wife has made herself ready (Revelation 19:7). We should not think of these pictures types in fleshly terms but rather spiritual.
As the bride of Christ we are to yield (submit) to His will. Remember that in the Spirit there is no giving or taking in marriage but we shall all be as angels. We as His bride, must learn submission to His will & then we shall be exalted. The will of Christ is found in the Sermon on the Mount & Beatitudes. He told us to learn the ways of love.
In chapter eight of Proverbs wisdom speaks to us declaring she was brought forth from God.
Comparison between Christ & Wisdom:
Through Wisdom all things created: Psalm 104:24; Jeremiah 10:12; Proverbs 3:19
Through Christ all things created: John 1:1,9; Hebrews 1:2; Colossians 1:16
Find wisdom find life: Proverbs 8:35; Ecclesiastes 7:12; Proverbs 4:20-22
Find Christ find life: 1 John 1:12; John 14:6; John 10:10
Wisdom established from everlasting: Proverbs 8:23
Christ established from everlasting: John 8:58
Wisdom invites to eat her Bread & drink her wine: Proverbs 9:5
Jesus is the bread of life. Wine is life: John 6:33-48; Matthew 26:28
Satan will try to turn the picture of the Godhead in creation upside down. Evil will grow if left unchecked by power & strength. Evil masquerades as good & takes advantages of innocence.
Imagine a time before evil existed. There was no need for law or protective because there was no knowledge of evil. Because creation was innocence, God had to create a way of understanding what sin was. He spoke into existence or permissive side of love is perfectly explained in I Corinthians 13.
Mankind will attempt to become as god & reinterpret all things through selfish ambition carnal desire & call it freedom.
The world is attempting to cast off God in order to pursue carnal lust & selfish desire. The law of God is hated by those who proclaim freedom. Anyone who stands in the way of this "freedom" will be hated & reviled, even as God is reviled.
Revile: To address scandalous language; abuse; be abusive in speech or act.
When there is no longer anything to stop sin, it will run rampant.
Evil must be resisted. God the Father must turn away from His own children (fallen angels, sons of God) & eventually separate them from the family. The disease called sin must be put away into a quarantine zone forever. That zone is known as hell.
There is a concerted effort in this day to make boys more like girls in their emotions. When men become emotionally driven instead of righteously driven there will be an eroding of strength in society.
Bruce Campbell is the author of The Beginning Prelude to the Apocalypse Companion Study Guide. He has been a pastor, evangelist and a successful business man. He currently runs The Secret Place, an international ministry to ministers. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Divinity degree. He, along with his wife and daughter live in Picayune, MS
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Saturday - Thankful for God's Steadfast Love - Psalm 40:1-10 - 3/4/17
Waiting for God to help us is not easy, but David received four benefits from waiting: God (1) lifted him out of his despair, (2) set his feet on firm ground, (3) established his goings (steadied him as he walked), & (4) gave him a new song.
The religious ritual of David's day involved sacrificing animals in the Tabernacle. Today we often make rituals of going to church, taking communion, or paying tithe. Make sure you give God the obedience & life-long service he desires from you.
Jesus portrayed this attitude of obeying & serving God (John 4:34;5:30).
God shows his righteousness & faithfulness to his people in his offer of salvation. David boldly proclaimed this to those around him. We want to tell other people what God has done for us. Since it is natural to share a good bargain with others or recommend a skillful doctor, then we should also feel natural sharing what God has done for us.
People who are faithful to us accept & love us, even when we are unloveable. Faithful people keep their promises whether promises of support or marriage vows. He loves us in spite of our constant bent toward sin, & he keeps all his promises he has made to us, even when we break our promises to him.
Reference summary used from the Life Application Bible KJV, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
The religious ritual of David's day involved sacrificing animals in the Tabernacle. Today we often make rituals of going to church, taking communion, or paying tithe. Make sure you give God the obedience & life-long service he desires from you.
Jesus portrayed this attitude of obeying & serving God (John 4:34;5:30).
God shows his righteousness & faithfulness to his people in his offer of salvation. David boldly proclaimed this to those around him. We want to tell other people what God has done for us. Since it is natural to share a good bargain with others or recommend a skillful doctor, then we should also feel natural sharing what God has done for us.
People who are faithful to us accept & love us, even when we are unloveable. Faithful people keep their promises whether promises of support or marriage vows. He loves us in spite of our constant bent toward sin, & he keeps all his promises he has made to us, even when we break our promises to him.
Reference summary used from the Life Application Bible KJV, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
Friday - Loving God & Brothers & Sisters - I John 4:20-5:5 - 3/3/17
It is easy to say we love God when it doesn't cost us anything more than weekly attendance at religious services. But the real test of our love for God is how we treat the people right in front of us - our family members & fellow believers. We cannot truly love God while neglecting to love those who are created in his image.
When we become Christians we become part of God's family, with fellow believers as our brothers & sisters. We are simply called to accept & love them. How well do you treat your fellow family members?
Jesus never promised that obeying him would be easy. The hard work & self-discipline of serving Christ is no burden to those who love him. And if our load starts to feel heavy, we can always trust Christ to help us bear it (see Matthew 11:28-30).
Reference summary is used from the Life Application Bible KJV, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
When we become Christians we become part of God's family, with fellow believers as our brothers & sisters. We are simply called to accept & love them. How well do you treat your fellow family members?
Jesus never promised that obeying him would be easy. The hard work & self-discipline of serving Christ is no burden to those who love him. And if our load starts to feel heavy, we can always trust Christ to help us bear it (see Matthew 11:28-30).
Reference summary is used from the Life Application Bible KJV, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
Friday, March 3, 2017
Monday - Christ Died for Us - I John 3:11-17 - 2/27/17
We must love other Christians.
Cain destroyed his brother Abel when God accepted Abel's offering & not Cain's (Genesis 4:1-16). People who are morally upright expose & shame those who aren't. If we live for God, the world will often hate us because we make them painfully aware of their immoral way of living.
John echoes Jesus' words that one who hates another person is a destroyer at heart (Matthew 5:21,22). Christianity is a religion of the heart; outward compliance alone is not you is an evil cancer within you & will eventually destroy you. Don't let a "root of bitterness" (Hebrews 12:15) grow in you or your church.
Real love is an action, not a feeling. Sometimes it is easier to say we'll die for others than to truly live for them, which involves putting others' desires first.
Christians must show their love, & one way to do that is to provide money or material possession to help others' needs. How clearly do your actions say you really love others?
Reference summary used from the Life Application Bible KJV, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
Cain destroyed his brother Abel when God accepted Abel's offering & not Cain's (Genesis 4:1-16). People who are morally upright expose & shame those who aren't. If we live for God, the world will often hate us because we make them painfully aware of their immoral way of living.
John echoes Jesus' words that one who hates another person is a destroyer at heart (Matthew 5:21,22). Christianity is a religion of the heart; outward compliance alone is not you is an evil cancer within you & will eventually destroy you. Don't let a "root of bitterness" (Hebrews 12:15) grow in you or your church.
Real love is an action, not a feeling. Sometimes it is easier to say we'll die for others than to truly live for them, which involves putting others' desires first.
Christians must show their love, & one way to do that is to provide money or material possession to help others' needs. How clearly do your actions say you really love others?
Reference summary used from the Life Application Bible KJV, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Stand - Book Review
Staying Balanced with Answers for Real Teen Life
The advice offered herein does not constitute a substitute for professional treatment, therapy, or other types of professional advice & intervention. The author nor publisher does not assume any responsibility for use of these materials & information.
Stand:
a. An attitude toward a particular issue, a position taken in an argument
b. Have or maintain an upright position, supported by one's feet
c. Withstand an experience or test without being damaged
When a guy is controlling, checks your phone, manipulative or a cheater, he is not Christ-like & he is not for you. We are reminded in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that we are not to be "yoked together" with unbelievers. In biblical times, a yoke was used to keep oxen together when they would plow the fields.
Cute guys don't always have cute character. Proverbs 27:19 says, "As water reflects the face, so one's life reflects the heart." We know a person's heart by the way they live. You may be dating a cute guy, but does he treat you one way in private & another way in public?
When a guy truly cares about you, he will treat you with the same respect & adoration in public that he does in private.
Don't "sugar coat" how you feel & state upfront that you are only interested in being friends.
When your friends motives are pure, he can see things in other guys that you may not see & help protect you from making a mistake.
It is okay to say, "NO!"
Taking Out the Trash: "A woman is not written in braille. You don't have to touch her to know her." - Unknown
Why is it so important that we keep our morals? Our study group would like to assure you EVERYONE IS DOING IT. The girls in our study group have made a commitment to save themselves for their husbands.
You must be the one that is worthy of the chase.
In case you're still tempted to experiment with sex outside of marriage, knowing that approximately 750,000 teenagers get pregnant every year may help yu reconsider ("Teen Pregnancy Facts"). If you fantasize about quitting EVERYTHING in your life to take care of someone else for the next 18 years, you are definitely in the minority. I have never spoken to an unmarried teen who said, "I'm so glad I got pregnant." Their friends eventually went off to college & they were left alone. Contrary to what "Hollywood" promotes, most guys do NOT stay with or marry the teen mother of their child.
God loves you & you will never find a love greater than His.
Compromising your morals & your values is going too far.
So what if we've already messed up. I've got good news! Jesus Christ gave His life so that we can be healed from past mistakes. He can forgive you & give you a new start TODAY when you ask HIM for one. This is what His grace is all about. We've all messed up, & we all need forgiveness. Don't allow shame to tell you it's too late to start over. THAT IS A LIE. God wants to walk with you into every situation in your life. I John 1:9 say's, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful & just to forgive us & PURIFY us." He can restore the purity you have lost & make you a new creation in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17). He loves you & has great plans just for you when you turn away from making your own decisions & allow Him to help you make the right ones.
Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all times." Friendship is an "equal opportunity" relationship, & both friends must take responsibility for the friendship to work.
Communication is crucial in friendship because when we stop talking, problems arise.
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. I Peter 4:8
Trust is a key characteristic in friendship.
God NEVER Changes!
ask God to till the hole that is there with the "high" only He can give.
Choices are life-changing.
It's our job to share the truth. It's God job to do the changing.
Beating the Bullies: Your values doesn't decrease based on someone's inability to see your worth. Idiot. Ugly. Fat. Loser. For most of us, nothing is more painful than rejection. Bullies feed on their victims reactions such as hurt, fear, insecurity, & weakness. God did not design us to be mistreated or bullied. Bullies do not get to defines us, GOD does.
The most important thing you must DO is to notify your parents & health officials immediately after the rape occurs, whether it is by a boyfriend, family member or a stranger.
Shannon Perry is an author, conference speaker, recording artist & TV host. She worked in the public school system for over fourteen years as a school teacher & counselor before entering full-time ministry. She helped create an Anti-bullying program which is still used by one of the largest school systems in America. She has one son who is a Captain in the U.S. Air Force.
She is the creator of the "In Her Shoes" Conference written especially for Moms & their teen daughters.
The advice offered herein does not constitute a substitute for professional treatment, therapy, or other types of professional advice & intervention. The author nor publisher does not assume any responsibility for use of these materials & information.
Stand:
a. An attitude toward a particular issue, a position taken in an argument
b. Have or maintain an upright position, supported by one's feet
c. Withstand an experience or test without being damaged
When a guy is controlling, checks your phone, manipulative or a cheater, he is not Christ-like & he is not for you. We are reminded in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that we are not to be "yoked together" with unbelievers. In biblical times, a yoke was used to keep oxen together when they would plow the fields.
Cute guys don't always have cute character. Proverbs 27:19 says, "As water reflects the face, so one's life reflects the heart." We know a person's heart by the way they live. You may be dating a cute guy, but does he treat you one way in private & another way in public?
When a guy truly cares about you, he will treat you with the same respect & adoration in public that he does in private.
Don't "sugar coat" how you feel & state upfront that you are only interested in being friends.
When your friends motives are pure, he can see things in other guys that you may not see & help protect you from making a mistake.
It is okay to say, "NO!"
Taking Out the Trash: "A woman is not written in braille. You don't have to touch her to know her." - Unknown
Why is it so important that we keep our morals? Our study group would like to assure you EVERYONE IS DOING IT. The girls in our study group have made a commitment to save themselves for their husbands.
You must be the one that is worthy of the chase.
In case you're still tempted to experiment with sex outside of marriage, knowing that approximately 750,000 teenagers get pregnant every year may help yu reconsider ("Teen Pregnancy Facts"). If you fantasize about quitting EVERYTHING in your life to take care of someone else for the next 18 years, you are definitely in the minority. I have never spoken to an unmarried teen who said, "I'm so glad I got pregnant." Their friends eventually went off to college & they were left alone. Contrary to what "Hollywood" promotes, most guys do NOT stay with or marry the teen mother of their child.
God loves you & you will never find a love greater than His.
Compromising your morals & your values is going too far.
So what if we've already messed up. I've got good news! Jesus Christ gave His life so that we can be healed from past mistakes. He can forgive you & give you a new start TODAY when you ask HIM for one. This is what His grace is all about. We've all messed up, & we all need forgiveness. Don't allow shame to tell you it's too late to start over. THAT IS A LIE. God wants to walk with you into every situation in your life. I John 1:9 say's, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful & just to forgive us & PURIFY us." He can restore the purity you have lost & make you a new creation in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17). He loves you & has great plans just for you when you turn away from making your own decisions & allow Him to help you make the right ones.
Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all times." Friendship is an "equal opportunity" relationship, & both friends must take responsibility for the friendship to work.
Communication is crucial in friendship because when we stop talking, problems arise.
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. I Peter 4:8
Trust is a key characteristic in friendship.
God NEVER Changes!
ask God to till the hole that is there with the "high" only He can give.
Choices are life-changing.
It's our job to share the truth. It's God job to do the changing.
Beating the Bullies: Your values doesn't decrease based on someone's inability to see your worth. Idiot. Ugly. Fat. Loser. For most of us, nothing is more painful than rejection. Bullies feed on their victims reactions such as hurt, fear, insecurity, & weakness. God did not design us to be mistreated or bullied. Bullies do not get to defines us, GOD does.
The most important thing you must DO is to notify your parents & health officials immediately after the rape occurs, whether it is by a boyfriend, family member or a stranger.
Shannon Perry is an author, conference speaker, recording artist & TV host. She worked in the public school system for over fourteen years as a school teacher & counselor before entering full-time ministry. She helped create an Anti-bullying program which is still used by one of the largest school systems in America. She has one son who is a Captain in the U.S. Air Force.
She is the creator of the "In Her Shoes" Conference written especially for Moms & their teen daughters.
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