TODAY'S PROMISE

"For the mountains may move

and the hills disappear,

but even then my faithful love for you

will remain.

My covenant of blessing will never

be broken,'

says the LORD, who has mercy on you."

(Isaiah 54:10 NLT)

ALL SHOW, BUT NO GO.

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Many years ago my wife and I was at one of the national

parks near here.  We probably were there to do some 

hiking.  However there was a bicycle event of some sort

going on there also.  They were "mountain bikes" [Like in 

the image below.] with a number of different obstacle courses 

and contests being conducted, so we stopped to watch one.

What was of special interest to myself was that most of the

contestants, in the one we were watching ,were teen age boys,

except for one young man possibly thirty years old.  This

guy had one of the better bikes and wore all the "correct"

bicycling clothing.  He was dressed to kill, just like the

fellow in the upper image.  Not being too smart I assumed

he must be a real pro in that kind of thing.  So, I was anxious

to see him preform.

When his turn came, well, he did manage to finish just 

barely, the beginners course.

He had lots of SHOW but no GO.

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay.com     

I am noticing that same problem in the "spiritual world" of 

today.  Or if you prefer the "religious" world.  There is lots 

of good talk, but very little "walk" that matches their talk.

God told us that in these end times things would be that

way.  He said it this way;

 "They will act religious, but

 they will reject the power that could make 

them godly.  Stay away from people like 

that!"

(2 Timothy 3:5 NLT)

Jesus Christ said it this way;

"Beware of false prophets who come disguised
as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.
You can identify them by their fruit, that is,
by the way they act.  Can you pick grapes from
thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?" ...
"Yes, just as you can identify a tree by it fruit,
so you can identify people by their actions."
(Matthew 7:15,16 and 20 NLT)

What am I suggesting?
Quit looking at "religious" people to see how it is
done.  Get ahold of a "Holy Bible" and read it for
yourself.  After all, it is God himself that you and
I will answer to, not these pseudo spiritual people.

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"Found not thy hopes on thyself but on thy God.

For if thou restest thy hopes on thyself, thy soul

is troubled within thyself, for it has not yet found

anything about thee that should make it secure."

-St. Augustine

TODAY'S PROMISE

"For all that is in the world, the lust of 

the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the

pride of life, is not of the Father but is of 

the world.

And the world passeth away, and the lust

thereof; but he that doth the will of God

abideth for ever."

(1 John 2:16,17 KJV)

  

BETTER THAN THE ANGELS

How angelic do you feel today?
Anybody old enough to read this knows that they
are not made out of "angel stuff".  Of course it was
a long time ago but you probably remember that
you was less than angelic one time in the distant past.
But I am sure you have overcome that by now.
[Overcoming that small failure is intended to be
a joke.  You understand that.]

Hey!  It is a daily struggle to even want to do right,
let alone live right all the time.  That's why Jesus
Christ said;

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born
again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
(John 3:3 NASB) 

It is interesting that the man Jesus Christ was
saying this to was not a thief, a murder or vile
person, but a very, very religious man.  Far
more religious than you and I put together.
But, still he would not be able to go to Heaven
with out being born again.

The reason of course is that the nature in us
just makes us do or live wrong.  So if we
continue as we are we will end up in the Devil's
hell.

So how do I get this new nature that I need?
That is what Jesus Christ came into the world for.
He took my place and died for all the wrongs I
have done.  He became a sacrifice to God in my
 place.

When I recognize this fact and turn to God asking
for forgiveness and invite Him to move into me
and take over my life He will come in with His
nature and we will have the very life of God in
us.  This makes us new creatures.  We then have
two natures in us.  The one we were born with
at birth, AND, a new one from God himself.

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave
the right to become children of God, even to those
who believe in His name."  
(John 1:12 NASB) 

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creature; the old things passed away; behold, new 
things have come."  
(2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB) 

The truth of the matter is, the real fight begins now.
Yes, there will be our old nature fighting against the
new nature.  But when we have invited Jesus Christ
into our lives to run our life, we have God himself
in us.  Now that is better than being an angel.

"For by these He has granted to us His precious
and magnificent promises, so that by them you
may become partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."  
(2 Peter 1:4 NASB)

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"I took up that word Love, and I do not know how

many weeks I spent in studying the passages in

which it occurs, till at last I could not help loving

people.  I had been feeding on love so long that I was

anxious to do everybody good I came in contact

with.  I got full of it.  It ran out my fingers.  You take

up the subject of love in the Bible!  You will get so

full of it that all you have to do is to open your lips,

and a flood of the Love of God flows out. "

- D. L. Moody

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Furthermore, as for every man to whom

God has given riches and wealth, He has

also empowered him to eat from them and

to receive his reward and rejoice in his

labor; this is the gift of God."  

(Ecclesiastes 5:19 NASB)

WHERE IS YOUR LOVE?

You are not going to be taking it with you when
you die.  You will leave it all behind for the family
to squabble over and then squander.

If your love is for the things of this world, you
will loose it all and the things that could come
for you after death.

God through the Apostle Pauls said;

"For we have brought nothing into the world,
so we cannot take anything out of it either" 
(1 Timothy 6:7 NASB)    

We need to set our love on God and the things
of God.  When our love rests on Him and our
efforts are spent for Him, then our true reward
comes after death and is eternal.

Even old Socrates had some insight into chasing
after the things of the world when he said;

“He who is not contented with what he has,
 would not be contented with what he would 
like to have.” 
― Socrates

But even more importantly the very creator

of life and the universe, Jesus Christ warns

us;

"For what does it profit a man to gain the

whole world, and forfeit his soul?

For what will a man give in exchange for

his soul?  

(Mark 8:36,37 NASB)

"...for where your treasure is, 
there your heart will be also."
(Matthew 6:21 NASB) 

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"Be assured that, if God waits longer than you

could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly

precious!  God waited four thousand years, till

the fullness of time, ere He sent His Son.  Our

times are in His hands; He will avenge His elect

speedily; He will make hast for our help, and not

delay one hour too long."

- Andrew Murray

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled;

and whoever humbles himself

shall be exalted."   

(Matthew 23:12 NASB)

GET THE TRASH OUT

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GET THE TRASH OUT.

Do you ever feel like the dumpster above, full of trash?

I often do.  It can be the result of attitudes, wrong actions,

moods, events or just about anything.  It can make a person

feel like they need a good scrubbing on the inside.

The good news is that something can be done about it.

Consider King David.  One evening he saw another man's

wife taking a bath.  I guess she was prettier than his own

wife.  The result was he lusted for her.  Then he found a

way to get her and you know what he did.  Now he was

guilty of adultery.  Then in an attempt to cover it up he 

had her husband killed.  Now he is also a murder.  BUT,

it was not hid from God.  God let David know in no 

uncertain terms that he had screwed up big time and really

King David deserved to die.

However, King David also knew that there can be 

forgiveness from God.  Listen to David's words as he

calls out to God.

"Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your

lovingkindness;

According to the greatness of Your compassion

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity

And cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,

And my sin is ever before me."

***********

"Creat in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

(Psalms 51:1-3 & 10 NASB)

Do you want to feel clean and new inside?

You can.

Obviously if you continue the way you have

been going, what's going to change?  First we

have to turn and go with God.  We need to submit

to God and allow him to become our Lord, Master

and Savior.  Remember, He loved us enough to 

come down to earth and became a man like us 

named Jesus Christ.  Then he died as a sacrifice in

 our place, if we will accept it.

Then as we begin to live with and for God He 

tells us;

"If we confess out sins, He is faithful and 

righteous to forgive us our sins and to 

cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

(1 John 1:9 NASB)

God wants to clean us up inside and out.

Go talk to Him about it.

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"Down through the centuries in times of trouble,

temptation, trial, bereavement, and crisis, God has

brought courage to the hearts of those who love

Him.  The Bible is crowded with assurances of 

God's help and comfort in every kind of trouble

which might cause fears to arise in the human heart.

-Billy Graham

TODAY'S PROMISE

"And He said to them, "Truly I say to you,

there is no one who has left house or wife

or brothers or parents or children, for the

sake of the kingdom of God who will not

receive many times as much at this time

and in the age too come, eternal life."  

(Luke 18:29,30 NASB)

THE AGING OF THE CHURCH

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THE AGING OF THE CHURCH.

Just like people that get old.  What we call the church

is getting old also.  In our younger days we are full of 

strength and energy, ready to take on a days work or

a project.  But when you get to be my age, just getting

our of bed is a real accomplishment.

But first let me define "church".  It is unfortunate but 

when we say church today we often mean that building

down on the corner, or wherever.  But the Holy Bible 

has a different view of what the "church" is.

In the Bible the word "church" comes from the Greek

word, "ekklesia" meaning "a calling out" or a popular

meeting, specifically a religious conjuration.  So, we

could simply say that a true church is simply a group

of people, especially a group of Christians.

When the church was formed by God it was largely

a group of poor uneducated people.  It went out 

full of power, running over everything it it's way

as it were.

But what changed?

Back then they depended on God and his power and

help.  But the longer the "church" has existed, the more

the ideas and workings of mankind have influenced it

like toxins would in your body until today it is almost

dead in comparison to then.  In fact, many so called 

"churches" today are no more a "church" than a circus

is.

O.K.

What brought all this on?

I had been thinking about one of the things in the

"church" that had changed, "preaching".  This is only

one facet of the deterioration of the Church of Jesus

Christ.  I will share that with you and then quit.

New Testament preaching was simply

any one and everyone PROCLAIMING

Jesus Christ anywhere and everywhere.

Today, preaching Christ has become

a performance by a paid performer to

a clique of people in a building.

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"Men must be governed by God,

or they will be ruled by tyrants."  

- William Penn