TODAY'S QUOTE

"In worship, the worshipper comes to minister

to the Lord, not to receive anything.  It is a 

time of giving to God the glory due unto His 

Name." 

 

-Brother Bakht Singh of India

ME OR JESUS

Still browsing around in the book of Philippians

we find this sad comment.

"I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely

cares about your welfare.  All the others care

only for themselves and not for what matters

to Jesus Christ."  

(Philippians 2:20,21 NLT)

Paul of course is writing from prison in Rome

at this point.  You will remember that there is a 

church or group of Christians in Rome and they

have been encouraged in their living for God by 

Paul's presence there in prison.  And it seems that

there are some companions along with Paul.

But,

out of all of these there is only one person who

cares enough about other Christians to go check

on them for Paul.  The others were all too selfish

in their affairs to worry about the work of Jesus

Christ.

When asked about the greatest commandment

Jesus himself stated;

"You must love the LORD your God with all

your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.

This is the first and greatest commandment.

A second is equally important: 'Love your

neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all

the demands of the prophets are based on

these two commandments.'".  

(Matthew 22:37 - 40 NLT)

Now caring only about your own interest is 

not loving your neighbor as yourself.

God allows us to make the choice,

am I going to be interested in the things

that concern me and mine or the things

that are of concern to Jesus Christ.

PRAISE GOD, PRAISE GOD, PRAISE GOD

Pardon me if I brake stride a little on this post today.

But you see, yesterday afternoon I was simply 

overwhelmed by the mercy and goodness of God.

You know, when something good happens you just

want to share it with somebody.  And, you are the

somebody.

Yesterday morning I had gone into town for a routine

check up at the oncologist.  Yep, even if we are under

quarantine.   It was hard to understand all the nurses with

their masks on.  But all was well.

Then I came home to an annual "honey do".  That is

a lot of work.  You see, my wife has this area she calls

her yard.  It extends from the house out to the retaining

wall.  You guys will understand this.  It is an area that 

needs to be mowed, but being a woman she makes it

into an obstacle course filled with all these plants that

have to be mowed around, trimmed around and weeded.

Then to add to it, years ago she planted a lot of clusters

of pampas grass around the retaining wall.  At least 

that helps keep you from falling off over the wall and

breaking your neck.

Now more to the point.  As you understand every spring

all the dead growth in the pampas grass has to be cut off

back to the new growth.  Over the years the pampas grass

has grown bigger and bigger - and I have grown older and

tireder and tireder.

After all the pampas grass was cut back and the old growth

raked up and hauled away to be burned the wife made me 

sit down and rest.  Yes I was ready.

But after a short rest, I was ready to go again and went

down to the shop and was loading up a bunch of scrap

wood on the truck to be hauled off.  When it hit me.

Here I was eighty six years old working along and enjoying

it and I should have been dead about seven years ago.

I began to realize how good God had been to me and 

it was almost more than I could take.

You see, back probably the last week of July in 2014

I ended up in the Emergency room at the local hospital.

The cause was my body had quit making blood.  A man

is suppose to have a blood count of 15.  But my blood 

count was only 5.  Try working with only 1/3 of the blood

you need and you will understand my problem.

From that day until October 25, 2015 I have been in 

one hospital or another four times.  And of course a time

or two a week hooked up to a machine living on other 

peoples blood.

This is not the point here.  But for a year I lived on other

peoples blood.  And it calls to mind another principle.

If we are going to avoid the fires of and eternal hell, 

we need to appropriate the blood of Jesus Christ for 

our selves and have the life of God himself instilled

in us.

Back to my point.

I am throughly convinced that all the serums and things

that the doctors gave me are not what healed me.

But that is was the answer of prayer to God almighty.

And God leading me in a different direction than the 

doctors were taking me.  I have proven this to myself

several times.

But what ever the cause I want to,

Praise God.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Take delight in the LORD,

and he will give you your heart's desires."

(Psalms 37:4 NLT)

SHINING FOREVER.

Do you feel like a "nobody"?

I sure do.

In fact I cannot even make "a has been".  I am a

"never been", a no body.  But while browsing around

in the book of Philippians I find an encouraging thought.

"... Work hard to show the results of your salvation,

obeying God with deep reverence and fear.  For God

is working in you, giving you the desire and the power

to do what pleases him."

(Philippians 2:12b, 13 NLT)

Now some translations say it this way;

"... work out your own salvation with

fear and trembling."

That makes it sound like we have to work to

be saved.  That of course is not the case.

The apostle Paul the writer of the book of

Philippians is also the author of the book

of Ephesians where he said;

"God saved you by his grace when you believed.

And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift

from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the 

good things we have done, so none of us can

boast about it.  For we are God's masterpiece.

He created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can

do the good things he planned for us long ago."  

(Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)

But back to the point at hand.

If I am a true Christian, a child of God he is saying;

God is working in me.  God is giving me the desire

and power to live in a pleasing way to him.

As a child of God, I may be a NOTHING the way

the people of the world look at things.  But God

is working in me and I am to;

"Do everything without complaining and arguing,

so that no one can criticize you.  Live clean, 

innocent lives as children of God, shining like

bright lights in a world full of crooked and 

perverse people."  

(Philippians 2:14,15 NLT)

Did you catch that?

If we do nothing more than live the way God

wants us to, i.e, a good "Christian" life we really

are like "... shining bright lights ..." in this old

dirty sinful world.  Now that is far better than 

being a "movie star" or some celebrity.

Further, our day is still to come in the near 

future.  The prophet Daniel when speaking of

the time in which we live says there is coming

a time when;

"Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried

will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to

shame and everlasting disgrace.  Those who are

wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who

lead many to righteousness will shine like the 

stars forever."  

(Daniel 12:2,3 NLT)

TODAY'S QUOTE

"Those who testify to a genuine deeper encounter
with God all experience this brokenness and 
humility that result from submission."

- K.P. Yohannan
Touching Godliness Through Submission
p.145

A DISCIPLE OF CHRIST'S ATTITUDE

We are living in a world that is suffering from an 

overdose of self-esteem.  The pride of mankind

is damaging our relationships with each other.

Admittedly, as we watch these proud peacocks

running around trying to portray the image of;

an important business man or an intellectual

or a super model or a big bad biker or just

a good old boy or even a super saint - we 

scoff at them - to ourselves.  And might even

laugh out loud when they trip and fall.

God tells us that there will be a time when this

will all be brought down.  I confess, I'm looking

forward to it.

"Human pride will be brought down,

and human arrogance will be 

humbled.

Only the LORD will be exalted

on that day of judgment."

(Isaiah 2:11 NLT)

But as a Christian or a disciple of Jesus Christ 

what is to be my attitude?

The apostle Paul tells us;

"You must have the same attitude that Christ

Jesus had.

Though he was God,

he did not think of equality with God

as something to cling to.

Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;

he took the humble position of a slave

and was born as a human being.

When he appeared in human form

he humbled himself in obedience to God

and died a criminal's death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of

highest honor

and gave him the name above all other

names,

that at the name of Jesus every knee 

should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under

the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ

is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father." 

(Philippians 2:5 - 11 NLT)

Notice, 

the very creator of the universe, Jesus Christ

himself;

1. Voluntarily humbled himself.

2. He suffered for it.

3. And is now be exalted for it.

We are to have the same attitude.

Look how the apostle Peter addresses

the issue;

"So humble yourselves under the mighty power

of God, and at the right time he will lift you up

in honor.  Give all your worries and cares to 

God, for he care about you."   

(1Peter 5:6,7 NLT)

I love that.
If I humble myself,
at the right time God will lift me up in honor
and in the meantime - I am to give him ALL
of my worries and cares.

WE ARE ON ACTIVE DUTY

We live in an age when many "professing"

Christians do not even know what a true

Christian is.  They "profess" but do not

"possess".

We covered this in an earlier post when I

ask - do you know him, or only about 

him.  That is Jesus Christ.

Bear in mind that the apostle Paul is writing

to the "Christians" here.  Not just God's creatures.

Even a snake is one of God's creatures.

But if we are true believers in Jesus Christ and

have submitted to him making Jesus our Lord,

look at the encouragement below.

First we are citizens of heaven.  This earth is not

our final abode.  We are only passing through.  And

in the passage below Paul in essence is telling us to

live like it.

"Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven,

conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of

the Good News about Christ.  Then, whether

I come and see you again or only hear about

you, I will know that you ae standing together

with one spirit and one purpose, fighting to-

gather for the faith, which is the Good News.

Don't be intimidate in any way by your 

enemies.  This will be a sign to them that they

are going to be destroyed, but that you are go-

ing to be saved, even by God himself.  For you

have been given not only the privilege of trust-

ing in Christ but also the privilege of suffering

for him.  We are in this struggle together.  You

have seen my struggle in the past, and you

know that I am still in the midst of it."  

(Philippians 1:27 - 30 NLT)

Notice that if there is the Spirit of God living

in us we will have to stand up and fight.  After

all, while here on earth we are living behind

the enemies line, i.e. in the Devil's territory.  And

that struggle will often cause us to suffer for Christ.

But notice how the early apostles took their 

suffering for Christ after being imprisoned an

beaten because they stood up for Christ.

"The apostles left the high council rejoicing

that God had counted them worthy to suffer

disgrace for the name of Jesus."   

(Acts 5:41 NLT)

Even the apostle Peter sounds a similar alarm;

"Dear friends, I warn you as "temporary

residents and foreigners" to keep away from

worldly desires that wage war against your

very souls.  Be careful to live properly among

your unbelieving neighbors.  Then even if they

accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your

honorable behavior, and they will give honor

to God when he judges the world."  

(1 Peter 2:11, 12 NLT)

Heaven is to be our final destination, but it

will come with a fight.  But Oh!, the reward that

will be ours then.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"So humble yourselves under the mighty power

of God, and at the right time he will lift you up

in honor.  Give all your worries and cares to 

God, for he cares about you."

(1Peter 5:6,7 NLT)

REAPING WHAT YOU SOW

You may recall from an earlier post that the Apostle

Paul wrote the Philippians Epistle around A.D. 61.

while in prison at Rome.

As you can imagine scholars do not agree on Pauls

age at death.  But it is estimated that he was about

60 to 68 years old when he died.

So we have Paul in prison at Rome as an old man

probably facing his execution when he writes;

"For to me, living means living for Christ,

and dying is even better.  But if I live, I can

do more fruitful work for Christ.  So I

really don't know which is better.  I'm torn

between two desires: I long to go and be

with Christ,  which would  be far better for

me.  But for your sakes, it is better that I

continue to live."  

(Philippians 1:21 - 23 NLT)

Why would he "long to go and be with Christ,

which would be far better for me."?

Real simple.

Paul knows that we do not receive our rewards for

serving Christ until we die and leave this old world.

However,

he also knows that the longer he serves Christ here

on earth, the greater the reward.  You know, the 

more service, the more reward.  

Even Jesus Christ himself said;

"And if you give even a cup of cold water to

one of the least of my followers, you will surely

be rewarded."  

(Matthew 10:42 NLT)

Two other references Paul makes about this thing

of serving Christ.  One from his Epistle to the 

Churches of Galatia and the other from the Epistle

to the Church at Corinth.

"Don't be misled - you cannot mock the 

justice of God.  You will always harvest what

you plant.  Those who live only to satisfy their

own sinful nature will harvest decay and death

from that sinful nature.  But those who live to

please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life

from the Spirit."   

(Galatians 6:7,8 NLT)

And

"So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong

and immovable.  Always work enthusiastically

for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do

for the Lord is ever useless."  

(1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT). 

2. 
   

TODAY'S QUOTE

"Bible records and church history reveal to us

that many of God's servants have at times

handed God their resignation."

Erwin W. Lutzer in

Failure The back Door to Success

WATCH OUT FOR PREACHERS

In my last post I pointed out how the Apostle Paul being in

prison for Christ in Rome actually encouraged others to 

share the message of Christ.

But Paul continues;

"It is true that some are preaching out of jealousy

and rivalry.  But others preach about Christ with

pure motives."  

&

"Those others do not have pure motives as they 

preach about Christ.  They preach with selfish 

ambition, not sincerely, ..."  

(Philippians 1: 15 & 17 NLT). 

I thank God that I grew up among a group of people

who were hard working, honest, God fearing people -

including their preachers.   But as I lived in this old

world I learned that is not true of everyone, including

preachers.  Like those in Rome that Paul mentioned,

some today "preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely,".

Lets just say it this way.  It could be revealing to get

a look at their bank account even if they might be a

"big name preacher".

Remember, Jesus Christ himself told us in advance;

"For false messiahs and false prophets will rise

up and perform great signs and wonders so as 

to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones.

See, I have warned you about this ahead of time."

(Matthew 24, 25 NLT)

Another thing to consider about any preacher.

My father was one of those honest hardworking,

God fearing preachers.  He would not have done

anything in the world to mislead someone.  As we

say, "He was as honest as the day is long." and

truthful all the way.

But as time went along I have learned that some of 

the things even my father had been taught were 

incorrect.  Consequently, though he was teaching

with all honesty on his part.  He still was preaching

and teaching some errors.

So, what is the answer?

How do we know the truth about life, heaven and 

hell and everything related to us?

I know.  

I have shared this picture before.

But I love it.

That picture has the total essence

of how to get the truth.

CORONAVIRUS

CORONAVIRUS

The whole world is in a panic over coronavirus -
what ever that is.  There is a whole lot of hype
over this virus.  Only God himself truly knows
how serious it is.  Whether it is man made or
something else.

Never the less the panic is being used for
political purposes and probably for monetary
gain for those in powerful places.

But what has that got to do with you and me.
It could be a matter of life or death - yes.
So how do I protect myself?

Vitamins may be a help.  Clean hands will help.
Isolation can help.  Medicine may help.  And
even doctors can help.  And in this area people
are going nuts over toilet paper.

BUT THE ONLY TRUE PROTECTION IS
IN GODHIMSELF.

As a very, very old man who has outlived
most of my contemporaries, and should have
been dead years ago because my body
quit working properly, I want to share where
my help has come from.
GOD. 

And this is one of the main passages of
Scripture that I cling to and has kept me
going thus far.

"Those who live in the shelter of

the Most High

will find rest in the shadow of the

Almighty.

This I declare about the LORD:

He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;

he is my God, and I trust him.

For he will rescue you from every trap

and protect you from deadly disease.

He will cover you with his feathers.

He will shelter you with his wings.

His faithful promises are your armor

and protection.

Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,

nor the arrow that flies in the day.

Do not dread the disease that stalks

in darkness,

nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

Though a thousand fall at your side,

though ten thousand are dying

around you,

these evils will not touch you.

Just open your eyes,

and see how the wicked are punished.

If you make the LORD your refuge

if you make the Most High your shelter

no evil will conquer you;

no plague will come near your home.

For he will order his angels

to protect you wherever you go.

They will hold you up with their hands

so you won't even hurt your foot on

a stone.

You will trample upon lions and cobras,

you will crush fierce lions and serpents 

under your feet!

The LORD says, 'I will rescue those who

love me.

I will protect those who trust in my name.

When they call on me, I will answer;

I will be with them in trouble.

I will rescue and honor them.

I will reward them with long life

and give them my salvation.' "

(Psalms chapter 91 NLT)

WHEN GOING TO JAIL IS GOOD.

WHEN GOING TO JAIL IS GOOD,

OR

BAD THINGS CAN BE GOOD.

Approximately A.D. 57 the Apostle Paul wrote

to the Church in Rome;

"One of the things I always pray for is the 

opportunity, God willing, to come at last to

see you.  For I long to visit you so I can bring

you some spiritual gift that will help you grow

strong in the Lord.  When we get together, I

want to encourage you in your faith, but I also

want to be encouraged by yours."

(Romans 1:10-12 NLT)

And in the same Epistle a few chapters later

Paul said:

"And we know that God causes everything

to work together for the good of those who 

love God and are called according to his

purpose for them."  

(Romans 8:28 NLT)

 Paul soon had the opportunity to both

see the Christians at Rome and prove the

truth of the above verse.

Just not the way he would have planed.

Paul was arrested in Jerusalem by the Jews

and ended up being sent to Rome as a prisoner.

In approximately A.D. 61 Paul, as a prisoner

in Rome wrote;

"And I want you to know, my dear brothers and 

sisters, that everything that has happened to me

here has helped to spread the Good News.  For

every one here, including the whole palace

guard, knows that I am in chains because of

Christ.  And because of my imprisonment, 

most of the believers here have gained confidence

and boldly speak God's message with out fear."

(Philippians 1:12-14 NLT)

approx. A.D. 61

God used Paul's imprisonment to actually

allow him to go to Rome "on a free trip"

[Pun intended.] and to be able to strengthen

the Church there just as he wanted to.

Remember above Paul wrote about every

thing working for good to those who love God.

Well loving God will put you at odds with the

rest of the world.  But look at what Jesus Christ

the very creator of the world said;

"God blesses you when people mock you 

and persecute you and lie about you and say

all sorts of evil things agains you because you 

are my followers.  Be happy about it!  Be very

glad!  For a great reward awaits you in heaven.

And remember, the ancient prophets were

persecuted in the same way.

(Matthew 5:11,12 NLT)

I prefer to have God's reward over being 

recognized by the world or any reward

it may have to offer.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me.

He freed me from all my fears.

Those who look to him for help will be

radiant with joy;

no shadow of shame will darken their

faces."  

(Psalms 34:4,5 NLT). 

AMAZING GRACE

AMAZING GRACE.

What is that?

The more I consider the word "grace" the fonder of it I 

become.  I realize that it is only by the "grace" of God 

that I am alive today.

One of my favorite books of the Bible is the book of 

Philippians.  The Apostle uses the word grace several

times.  He starts using it in Chp. 1:2; "Grace to you..."

and verse 7, "...you are all partakers of grace with me."

All together he uses the word grace three times in this 

short epistle.

This got me curious, Paul seems to use the word grace 

a lot so I counted the times Paul use the word grace in 

his epistles.  Now I rarely us the King James Version

anymore.  But it was easiest for me to fine out how many

times he used the word grace in that version.  If I counted

correctly, Paul use the word grace in his various epistles

89 times.  WOW!  He must like it too.

But what is grace?

James Strong tells us that the Greek word is "charis"

meaning "... benefit, favor, gift, ..."  Or as Webster 

says it; "1. Favor, kindness, mercy ..."  Do you get 

the picture?

Is it any wonder then the Paul in one of his other

books says;

"God saved you by his grace when you believed.

And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift

from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the 

good things we have done, so none of us can

boast about it.  For we are God's masterpiece.

He created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can

do the good things he planned for us long ago."

(Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)

"Amazing grace! How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

Was blind, but now I see."

TODAY'S QUOTE

"But I have found that following Christ is not a matter

of whether we enjoy doing something, but rather a

deliberate decision of consistent, constant obedience.

That's where the victory is won where the fruit will follow."

- K.P. Yohannan

in

Reflecting His Image

DO YOU KNOW HIM?

Do you know him, or just about him.  

I have a son-in-law who is a brilliant man.  Smart,

educated and a good all around man.  This man is

a history buff or enthusiast.  You can ask him about

almost any past historical figure and he can tell you

all about them.  It is like he knows everything about

any of these people.  BUT, HE DOES NOT KNOW 

THEM.  He knows about them.

My best friend I have known for about thirty years.

We spend quite a bit of time together visiting and

doing things together.  But, I don't know how tall

he is.  He is short'a short.  I don't know how much

he weights.  I do not know when he got married.

I can drive to his house, but I don't know the 

address.  I don't know what his favorite food is.

In fact there are a lot of facts about his life that

I do not know.  BUT I KNOW HIM.

Now more to the point.

There are multitudes of people who profess to 

be "Christians" or followers of Christ.  But do

they KNOW Him?

The scariest Scripture I know of is in what we

call Jesus' so called sermon on the mount.

"Not every who calls out to me, 'Lord !

Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Only

those who actually do the will of my Father in

heaven will enter.  On Judgment day many

will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in

your name and cast out demons in your name

and performed many miracles in your name.'

But I will reply, 'I never knew you.  Get away

from me, you who break God's laws.'" 

(Matthew 7:21 - 23 NLT )

Did you see that point?

These people have done all kinds of good things

for God.  Or at least that was their intent.

But Jesus will tell them "I never knew you.

Get away from me,"

Down thought history the men of God;

Enoch, Noah, Abraham, David, were 

all men who walked with God.  Or 

had fellowship with God, or were called

a friend of God, or a man after God's

own heart.  God knew them, they spent

time together.

Jesus said;

"And this is the way to have eternal life -

to KNOW you, the only true God, and

Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth."

(John 17:3 NLT)

Do you know God and his son Jesus Christ,

or only about them?

If we expect to keep our selves out of the 

Devil's hell we had better begin living with

Jesus Christ and Father God daily.  Get to 

know them more intimately than our family,

ANOTHER DESPERATE PRAYER ANSWERED

My problem was with a motorcycle.  No, not the one above.

That one is a Honda made into a "cafe racer".  The one I got

into trouble with was an old Kawasaki from the same era as

the Honda above.

I had bought the Kawasaki in a non running condition from

a friend.  It was a shaft drive [Not chain like the one above.]

I wanted to make  it into a cross country motorcycle that I 

would not have to spend all my time lubing the chain.

My trouble began with my pride.  Where my friend had not 

been able to get it started, I wanted to be able to tell him I got

 it started with no trouble.  The Scriptures tell us, "Pride goes 

before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall."  

and I was about to fall.

My mistake was trying to cheat using too much starting 

fluid.  It back fired catching number one carb. on fire.

[That would be the carb. the closest in the photo above.]

So there I was with the carb. on fire and flames going 

up around the gas tank that was half full of gas.

I could not see my fire extinguisher so I tried blowing 

it out.  I have used that trick in the past, but this time

it only singed my eye brows.  Then I took an old rag

and started trying to beat out the flames while looking

for my fire extinguisher.

I finally spotted my fire extinguisher.   I pulled the pin

and squeezed the trigger.  NOTHING.  It had been in 

the shop too long and lost it's charge.

Back to trying to beat the fire out, but it was not working.

By this time I was ready to push the motorcycle out 

the door and let it burn up.

The problem there was my car was just outside the door

and if I pushed it further it would go down the hill 

next to the house.   By now I was getting really, really

 tired trying to beat the fire away from the tank.

In desperation I simply cried out,

"Jesus help me." 

The fire went out in an instant.