TODAY'S PROMISE

"No one has ever seen or heard of a God like you,

who does such deeds for those who put their

hope in him.

You welcome those who find joy in doing

what is right,

those who remember how you want them to live..."

(Isaiah 64:4,5a TEV)

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"The promises of the Lord can be trusted;

they are as genuine as silver refined

seven times in the furnace."

(Psalms 12:6 GNT)

1. Meditate on God's Promises.

2. Plead the Promises at the throne of Grace.

3. Act in Faith that God Will Perform His Promises.

(William Gurnall)

PLEASING GOD

Does the thought of pleasing God even enter your mind?

If it does, most likely you have the concept of a list, a long 

list, of things to do.  And an even longer list of things

to not do, to please God.

Now I am a simple old man.  Any list is hard to remember.

And even harder to keep.  In fact over the years I have come

to like things in three's.  Much more than that is complicated.

You know,

for an engine to run it has to have,

1. fuel.  

2. fire. 

3. compression.

Then there is God,

1. God the Father.

2. God the Son.

3. God the Holy Spirit.

Three in one.

And to survive you need,

1. water.

2. food.

3. shelter.

Imagine my delight to find that God only

requires three things of us.

"No, the LORD has told us what is good.

What he requires of us is this;

to do what is just,

to show constant love,

and to live in humble fellowship with our God."

(Micah 6:8 TEV)

Three thoughts.

1.  Most of us have some concept of what is just.

You know, fair, honest, etc.  In other words,

"Do unto others as you would have them do

unto you."

2. "...constant love,"  Even this we have some

concept of.  It makes sense, even if it is hard

to do.  Like as in, "Love your neighbor as

your self.".

3. But "fellowship with our God."

Hay!  That's a whole lot more that to

believe in God.  The Bible tells us that 

even the demons believe - but they "tremble"

because they know what's coming for them.

Fellowship is "companionship".  Look it up.

Fellowship, companionship, that's relationship.

Are you living in relationship, companionship,

fellowship with God.  Or, only 

believing in God? 

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THE LORD'S DAY

"The LORD says,
'If you treat the Sabbath as sacred
and do not pursue your own interests on that day;
if you value my holy day and honor it
by not traveling, working, or talking idly
on that day,
then you will find the joy that comes
from serving me,
I will make you honored all over the world,
and you will enjoy the land I gave to your
ancestor, Jacob.  
I the LORD, have spoken.'"
(Isaiah 58:13,14 TEV)

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I MADE A MISTAKE

My mistake is, I have too many books

about THE BOOK.

These are some of the books about THE BOOK.

One version of "THE BOOK" is below.

But the promise is not in reading books about the book.

But in reading THE BOOK.

More books about THE BOOK.

The promise say's;

"Blessed is he who reads and those who hear 

the words of the prophecy, and heed the things

which are written in it; for the time is near."

(Revelation 1:3 NASB)

More books about THE BOOK

See those cobwebs in the lower left corner.

They are right and proper, i.e., if the time was spent

reading THE BOOK instead of books about THE BOOK.

Jesus said,

"It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON 

BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD

THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD."

(Matthew 4:4 NASB)

This is one of my old shop buildings.  The small 

window in the back is my office.

If today's publishers had their way.  I would fill that

whole shop full of books about THE BOOK.

And read them instead of THE BOOK.

If fact, the Devil himself would approve of it,

if it draws me away from THE BOOK.

My mistake is, I bought and spent time with 

too many books about THE BOOK -

instead of time in THE BOOK.

If I were to recommend just one book -

about THE BOOK - it would be an

old book by James M. Gray.

It's title is,

HOW TO MASTER THE ENGLISH BIBLE.

If you can find a copy, get it.

It will drive you to THE BOOK.

"How sweet are Thy words to my taste!

Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

(Psalms 119:103 NASB)

TODAY'S PROMISE

"' I am the high and holy God,
who lives forever.  I live in a high and holy place,
But I also live with people who are humble and repentant,
so that I can restore their confidence and hope."
(Isaiah 57:15 TEV)

******************

"The promises of the Lord can be trusted;

they are as genuine as silver refined

seven times in the furnace."

(Psalms 12:6 GNT)

1. Meditate on God's Promises.

2. Plead the Promises at the throne of Grace.

3. Act in Faith that God Will Perform His Promises.

(William Gurnall)

MESSED UP PEOPLE

Have you ever felt like you have not succeeded in life

the way you wanted to?  In fact maybe even failed?

Perhaps messed up in a big way?

Note:

A few proud folks will not admit it.  But the rest

of us will at least admit it to ourselves.

God let me see something when reading my Bible one 

morning.  I have read dozens of times the list of ancestors

Christ had in the Gospel of Matthew.  And of course have

read the names of a few women listed there.

We both know that usually only the men are listed in

the ancestral line in the Scriptures.  Why these women

are listed here, I do not know.  But they are ancestors 

of Christ himself. 

What God let me see is that ALL of the women listed

in this ancestral line are not the epitome of polite Jewish

culture or even of godliness.  Consider each one.

Tamar.

Let's just say that she had a messed up marriage.  Or

marriages.  And that she might have even messed things

up worse.  You can read about her in Genesis chapter 38.

Rahab.

In Joshua 2:1 we learn she was a prostitute.

Ruth.

We do not know anything bad about Ruth or her

actions.  But she was a foreigner.  She was a Mobite.

The Mobites worshiped false gods.  They even tried to

get a curse put on God's people.  God said they were

not to be allowed into the Jewish fellowship until the

tenth generation because of this.

Bathsheba.

She is not named in the list.  But is very clearly spelled

out as to who she was.  As we know, king David had an

affair with her which resulted in another messed up 

marriage.

I have heard at least one preacher lay the whole blame on

her by claiming she enticed or seduced David.  However

the Scriptures indicate she was taking a "ritual" bath that

she was supposed to.  And I do not know of one word of 

criticism in the Scriptures toward her.  She may have

been coerced into the situation.  But whether willing,

or unwilling, her life was messed up.

What is the point?

God used some messed up people to bring the saviour 

into the world.  If he would do that - don't you think he

can take our messed up lives and do something with them?

MISSED BLESSINGS

"The holy God of Israel, the LORD who saves you, 
says:
'I am the LORD  your God,
the one who wants to teach you for your own good
and direct you in the way you should go.
'If only you had listened to my commands!
Then blessings would have flowed for you
like a stream that never goes dry.
Victory would have come to you
like the waves that roll on the shore.'"
(Isaiah 48:17, 18 TEV)

************************

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Updated King James Version.

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WHAT'S UP THERE?

Reputedly:

Ralph Waldo Emerson said,

"A man is what he thinks about all day long."

and,

Marcus Aurelius said,

"A man's life is what his thoughts make of it."

and,

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale said,

"Change your thoughts, and you change your world."

But even more importantly God through the 

wisest man who ever lived - Solomon- said,

"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:"

(Proverbs 23:7a KJV)

What is your mind full of?

Yourself and your desires

or 

God and his purpose? 

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Then you will know that I am the Lord;

no one who waits for my help will be disappointed.".

(Isaiah 49:23 GNT)

******************

"The promises of the Lord can be trusted;

they are as genuine as silver refined

seven times in the furnace."

(Psalms 12:6 GNT)

1. Meditate on God's Promises.

2. Plead the Promises at the throne of Grace.

3. Act in Faith that God Will Perform His Promises.

(William Gurnall)

TRUE RELIEF

Photo courtesy of: www.bigfoto.com

Charles L. Allen said,

"I once heard a man say that he was

never happier than the day he resigned

as general manager of the universe."

From "Victory in the Valleys of Life".

p. 91

GOD'S WORD PREVAILS

"My thoughts, says the LORD,

'are not like yours,

and my ways are different from yours.

As high as the heavens are above the earth,

so high are my ways and thoughts above yours.

'My word is like snow and the rain

that come down from the sky to water the earth.

They make the crops grow and provide seed

for planting and food to eat.

So also will be the word that I speak -

it will not fail to do what I plan for it;

it will do everything I send it to do."

(Isaiah 55:8-11 GNT"

************************

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Updated King James Version.

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HOW TO MULTIPLY

This is a very poor picture of Organic Black-Eyed Peas.

The picture was taken with a high quality Nikon camera,

and a very low quality photographer.

I acquired these peas back in the year 2008.  Decided to 

grow my own Black-Eyed Peas.  You know, save some money.

But they have not multiplied yet, despite protection from the

weather and rodents.

I just returned from a trip half way across the United States.

There I met with a life long friend who is an agricultural expert.

Ray has been in agriculture all his life.  Ray taught me something.

To get those peas to multiply, I have to take them off the shelf

and put them in the ground.  He said they have to die in the 

ground to multiply.

Now can you believe that?  They have to die to multiply!

All the peas I have ever seen come off the shelf.

Jesus said something like that too,

"I am telling you the truth;

a grain of wheat remains no more than

a single grain unless it is dropped into

the ground and dies.  If it does die, then

it produces many grains.

Those who love their own life will lose it;

those who hate their own life in this world

will keep it for life eternal."

(John 12:24,25 GNT)

Another very poor picture taken by the low quality

photographer.

I am like that lone solitary pea above when I sit on the shelf.

Jesus was talking to me when he said,

"If you want to come with me,

you must forget yourself,

take up your cross every day,

and follow me.

For if you want to save your own life,

you will lose it, 

but if you lose your life for my sake,

you will save it.

Will you gain anything if you win

the whole world but are yourself lost

or defeated"

of course not!"

(Luke 9:23-25 GNT)

TODAY'S PROMISE

"But Jesus lives on forever,

and his work as priest does not pass on to someone else.

And so he is able, now and always,

to save those who come to God through him,

because he lives forever to plead with God 

for them."

(Hebrews 7:24,25 TEV)

******************

"The promises of the Lord can be trusted;

they are as genuine as silver refined

seven times in the furnace."

(Psalms 12:6 GNT)

1. Meditate on God's Promises.

2. Plead the Promises at the throne of Grace.

3. Act in Faith that God Will Perform His Promises.

(William Gurnall)

GOOD PREACHING ?

Photo courtesy of:www.bigfoto.com

We all appreciate preaching that encourages us.

Preaching that uplifts us.

Preaching that makes us feel good.

I know I do.

The Israelites did too.

In fact, that is the kind of preaching that was in 

Jerusalem before it's fall to Babylonia.

The prophet Jeremiah said,

"Your prophets had nothing to tell you but lies;

Their preaching deceived you by never

exposing your sin.  They made you think

you did not need to repent."

(Lamentations 2:14 TEV)

That sounds a whole lot like the preaching

in the United States today.

But, will we ever learn from others?

PEOPLE & DONKEYS

"Stupid people will start being wise

when wild donkeys are born tame."

(Job 11:12 TEV)

************************

Would you like a free download of

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Updated King James Version.

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