Wednesday, July 31, 2013

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)


******************
"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)

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

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? 

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







Sunday, July 28, 2013

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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Go to the link below for a free
download of the
Updated King James Version.

Friday, July 26, 2013

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)


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

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)




Tuesday, July 23, 2013

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?







Sunday, July 21, 2013

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)





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

Would you like a free download of
THE HOLY BIBLE

Go to the link below for a free
download of the
Updated King James Version.

Friday, July 19, 2013

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? 




Wednesday, July 17, 2013

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)

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

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




Sunday, July 14, 2013

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"

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

Would you like a free download of
THE HOLY BIBLE

Go to the link below for a free
download of the
Updated King James Version.

Friday, July 12, 2013

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)





Wednesday, July 10, 2013

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)

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

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?

Sunday, July 7, 2013

PEOPLE & DONKEYS



"Stupid people will start being wise
when wild donkeys are born tame."
(Job 11:12 TEV)

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

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THE HOLY BIBLE

Go to the link below for a free
download of the
Updated King James Version.