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such a nation as this...

2/18/2019

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      Such a Nation as This…    
How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. 
 
They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife.  Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?  (Jeremiah 5:7-9)
 
WHEN A GOD-FAVORED NATION REJECTS GOD, the first two things to go wrong are sex and abuse of children. At some point the power of its economy and the integrity of its money will be sacrificed. Its military power shrinks because there’s no money to pay for it. It becomes a third world country. The nation sinks into poverty. Irresponsible sex produces divorce, which produces poverty. Women and children suffer the most when the family breaks apart. God knows a lot about making things and He knows a lot about the advantages of a thriving family. The family was God’s idea.
 
ISRAEL DRIFTED AWAY FROM GOD THROUGH IDOLATRY, plunged into sexual corruption and then began sacrificing their children to idols. Such a nation as this covers all the nations of the world, including the United States of America. God made the world, owns the world, and holds it responsible to Him. The Roman Empire did not fall for lack of politicians. Some historians believe that Rome slowly rotted from within and fell in on itself.  
 
THE ASSYRIANS, THE BABYLONIANS, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans all rose to great power and fell. How did they rise to power and why did they fall? Why did world power shift from Europe to America? Is there not a God in Heaven who presides over the rise and fall of nations? Benjamin Franklin thought so (and he was no angel) and persuaded his fellow politicians to establish prayer before congressional meetings and that practice continues to this day.
 
AMERICA HAS DRIFTED AWAY FROM GOD FOR SEVERAL REASONS, but the core reason is that we have indoctrinated several generations of children and young people with the religion of evolution, posing as science. When we went through our last presidential election, we got out the hatchets and started bloodying one another over who gets to sit in the chair. There were no perfect candidates, so we set out to vote for as little evil as possible. That doesn’t set well with some people. But I’m an old dog and I stand by it.
 
THIS IS THE NATION THAT HAS SLAUGHTERED 60 MILLION INNOCENT BABIES in the womb and has adopted into public policy what God has called an abomination. Before that, we buried the Bible so we can do anything imaginable without troubling our conscience. I posted a similar article twice before and such a nation as this continues to bother me. God will have the last word, just you wait and see.
 
ISAIAH GIVES A SOBERING THOUGHT: And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.  (Isaiah 3:4) I have long believed that the easiest way for God to bring America down is for Him to remove His protecting hand and let us destroy ourselves.
 
I SPENT SEVERAL WEEKS READING IN JEREMIAH, renewing my mind of why God was going to destroy the southern section of Israel known as Judah (Judah and Benjamin) of which Jerusalem was the capital. After the death of Solomon, the 12 tribes of Israel split into the 10 tribes of the north and the two tribes of the south. The northern King set up idols for those people to worship so they would no longer make the three trips a year to Jerusalem.
 
IN SO DOING, THE PEOPLE ACCELERATED THEIR RATE OF DEPARTURE FROM GOD so that after sending prophets, especially Elijah, God wrote them off and brought upon them the army of Syria and led them into captivity. The Syrians scattered them throughout the empire and we never hear from the ten tribes again. God knows where they are be we don’t know.  A few of them stole away and made it back to Jerusalem and they are mixed into the Jewish bloodline.
 
THE IDOLATROUS KINGS OF ISRAEL AND THE PEOPLE WHO TRUSTED THEM, had thought the game was simply to rule through political power and give the people some kind of religious symbolism to satisfy their religious cravings. We know their type better as we think about Ahab and Jezebel and Elijah whom God sent as His last effort to reach their hearts. Elijah tried, warned Ahab, brought on a horrific drought and showed up to call down fire on the altar he built. Surely the people had changed as they said: “He is God!” The fire fell and burned up the sacrifice, the water and even the stones.
 
Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.  (1Kings 18:38) Then came a gully washer of a rain that prompted Elijah to outrun Ahab’s chariot and washed the 400 dead prophets of Baal out into the Mediterranean Sea.  But sometimes the spectacular does not change hearts. The people said the right thing, but their hearts never turned to God. They became slaves and disappeared.
 
A HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS PASSED, and the southern kingdom had descended into the same debauchery as the northern kingdom. God sent Jeremiah to tell the king and the people that their time had come: repent or be hauled off to Babylon (Iraq) as slaves for 70 years and lose their precious Temple. God put it off as long as His mercy could endure. Through Jeremiah He said: Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?  (Jer 9:9) Three times Jeremiah the prophet of God used these exact words. (Jeremiah 5:9; Jeremiah 5:29;  Jeremiah 9:9)
 
Please notice that God does not limit His message to the people of Judah. The immediate message is for Judah but it extends far out to all the nations of the world and for every century that was to follow: “such a nation as this.”  Is it not wise to ask ourselves if America is included in His warning: “such a nation as this?”  In devotionals we are accustomed to a message that encourages us for the day. But there comes a time when our greatest need is not to be encouraged for the day but to tremble before the God of Heaven who has weighed us in the balance and found us wanting.
 
IF GOD KNOWS HOW TO MAKE NEBUCHADNEZAR OF BABYLON EAT WITH THE COWS for seven years until he comes to his senses (Daniel 4:31-37), then we should not think it is too radical to assume that God is weighing America in his scale and measuring the rebellion and wickedness of America the Beautiful.
 
IT IS TIME TO PRAY. IT IS TIME TO SEARCH OUR HEARTS for what God may be about to unleash upon us for our wickedness. Do we think God has not noticed that 60 million murdered babies have shown up in Heaven ahead of schedule?  Has God not noticed that America has at last officially embraced the pride and perversion of Sodom?  Do we think our open borders to the south are admitting no terrorists?
 
THE BIBLE SAYS: Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.  (Proverbs 30:20) And: Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!  (Isaiah 5:20-21) A man’s pride gives him permission to commit all manner of sin. A nation’s pride gives itself permission to commit all manner of sin. What is God going to do with America?
 
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  (2Chronicles 7:14)
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
FEBRUARY 19, 2019 – TUESDAY         
A.M.  Numbers 1-2   P.M.  Mark 3:1-21
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.  (Psalm 55:17)
 
Song for Today:
Battle Hymn of the Republic (5:18) (U.S. Army Field Band)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy6AOGRsR80
 (Wait several seconds. You may have to delete an ad.)

Health Tip: 
Liquids. Tablets. Capsules. Jells. Shots. IV’s. Salves. Drops. Foot soaks. These are most of the various ways we get medicines into our bodies. Most patient-administered medicines are tablets and capsules. It you are taking vitamins and minerals, I suggest you lean toward capsules and be careful about attempting to swallow things too big for your esophagus/throat. A few tablets are designed to dissolve when only slightly moistened. Most tablets are not soft, and some may never dissolve but pass on through the body. I’ve read the testimony of the caretakers of porta-toilets who say that they flush out an impressive collection of undissolved vitamin/mineral tablets.

The down-side of capsules is that when they begin to dissolve, they may be sticky and stick to the throat. Tablets or capsules should not be swallowed unless you have a full glass of water at hand. If a capsule lodges in the throat, don’t take anything on top of it. Maybe crackers or bread will move it, maybe not. I trust a good shot of water more than anything.  It’s almost like getting a fishbone stuck in your throat. Milk or orange juice may dislodge it easier than water. A teaspoon of flax or chia seed plus a bit of water will create mucous that may help.

If you are using water for swallowing pills/capsules, it should be room temperature and not iced tea or ice water. The cold will contract the throat. Some things like aspirin or ibuprofen will burn your stomach. Hold an ibuprofen in your mouth a few seconds and you will see why you want to drink plenty of water with it. It’s a good rule to have some food in your stomach when you take medicine, to “pad the floor.”  If you have had acid reflux for a while, your esophagus may be shrunk because of scar tissue. Some people have a surgeon to stretch their esophagus to make swallowing easier.  Ω  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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i will pray

2/17/2019

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                 I Will Pray…    
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.  (Psalm 5:2)
 
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.  (Psalm 55:17)(David)
 
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.  (Daniel 6:10)
 
TWICE THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF PRAYING THREE TIMES A DAY. (Daniel 6:10; Psalm 55:17)    The Bible does not mention that Jesus or His disciples, John the Baptist or his disciples, or any of the other prophets prayed three times a day. I wonder if both David and Daniel prayed three times a day out of special needs they were experiencing at the time. The Bible does not say that, but the Bible does catalog turbulent threat around both men.

TROUBLE AND PAIN HAVE DONE MORE TO DRIVE ME TO PRAYER than my “spirituality.”  Before I was afflicted, I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.  (Psalm 119:67;71)
 
WHEN I GOT SAVED IN THE FOURTH GRADE, October 1943, Presbyterian preacher Dan Graham gave us an olive-green pocket New Testament with a cloth cover if we would memorize ten verses. It was a standard pocket Testament that was being given to army soldiers going overseas during WW2. I don’t know how he got them, but he had a box of them. I wanted one of those Testaments, so I memorized ten verses in one week and got my olive-green New Testament. My second-grade teacher, Miss Vaughn, had already “branded” her students (including me) with John 3:16 the first semester and John 3:17, the second semester (four-month semesters).
 
THE PSALMIST SAYS THAT LEARNING GOD'S STATUTES IS SO IMPORTANT that it was worth affliction to cause it to happen in his life. In Psalm 55:17, we find David talking about praying three times a day. It took me a long time to realize it, but I should tell you that I don’t know of any prayer warriors who became prayer warriors apart from a strong dose of the Word of God. Oftentimes, suffering must be added to that. If we can do everything for ourselves and never get in over our heads, we are unlikely to do much walking with God. That is not being judgmental. That is what I have been seeing all my life and I continue to see it today. I’m included in what I have been seeing.
 
SO, HOW IS IT GOING WITH YOU AND GOD THESE DAYS? Are you walking with Him or are you just sort of mildly religious? Not fussing. Just asking.   
 
DANIEL APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN MORE IN THE HABIT THAN DAVID. It is believed that David wrote Psalm 55:17 during the time his son, Absalom had usurped the kingdom from him. David was leaving Jerusalem with his governing staff to regroup. He was always writing something. He, supposedly, wrote this when he and the people with him were in great danger. A little three-sentence whispered prayer once a day was not enough.
 
DAVID DECLARED THAT HE WOULD PRAY AND CRY ALOUD. It doesn’t say here that he was in the habit of praying three times a day. But Daniel was already in the habit of praying three times a day. It doesn’t say how long Daniel prayed. We can only surmise. We do know that he prayed on his knees. This seems like a good thing to do if our bodies will permit it. But the thief on the cross prayed effectively without being on his knees. People in hospital beds can pray without being on their knees. I can’t always stay on my knees. My legs cramp and lock up and I have to roll over and smooth out the cramp. But, there’s no substitute for getting on your knees to pray if you can do it.
 
THE BIBLE DOESN'T SAY WHEN DANIEL PICKED UP THE HABIT of praying three times a day on his knees. Neither the law of Moses or Jewish tradition commanded it or commended it. It was not expected of Jewish boys or young men. Perhaps he began the practice in his teen years when he had been fingered for execution along with all the “wise men” of Babylon. On that occasion, prayer preserved his life and the life of his three friends when Nebuchadnezzar gave the order to execute all his advisers who could not tell him his dreams nor the interpretation of them.
 
DANIEL DID MORE THAN TO PRAY BRIEFLY THREE TIMES A DAY. On one special occasion, Gabriel came to tell him something: At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.  (Daniel 9:23) Barnes and Wiersbe believe that Daniel may have begun praying early in the morning and continued until he was interrupted by Gabriel. The occasion of this long prayer is found earlier in the chapter: And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: (Daniel 9:3)
 
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TIME HE BEGAN PRAYING, but according to verse 21, he was still praying at the time of the evening sacrifice, which would have been at 3:00 p.m. Daniel was in Babylon, but his mind was in Jerusalem. The angel told Daniel that at the very beginning of his praying, the commandment came forth (from God to the angel) to go tell Daniel. We don’t know if the delay in the command to the angel and the angel touching Daniel was due to the distance the angel had to travel or if he was hindered by demonic forces.
 
IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, CHAPTER TEN, an angel comes to Daniel after three weeks. His prayer was heard from the beginning, but the angel, Michael, (a different angel) was hindered by the demonic force of Persia. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
 
Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.  (Daniel 10:10-13)
 
DANIEL HAD RISEN FROM PRISON TO BE AT THE TOP OF THE POLITICAL HEAP that ruled the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar. No one wants to even guess how many provinces there were in the Empire. Years ago, somebody was suggesting that maybe there were as many as 120 provinces. But, none of my books or Google locations know how many provinces there were. However many there were, Daniel was at the top of the heap and his three friends were close behind him.
 
DANIEL HAD ENEMIES WHO WERE AFTER HIM IN ENDLESS SCHEMES AND PLOTS to bring him down. After praying in the morning, Daniel couldn’t wait all day to pray again, so he prayed at noon. At the end of the day, he couldn’t wait until tomorrow to pray again, so he prayed at the end of the day. This is my speculation, but it may not be far off-base.

JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES PRAYED but they didn’t pray three times a day. When Jesus was under such great pressure that he prayed drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, it was by far more intense that Daniel’s praying. But it was not three times a day. I’m sure God was pleased with Daniel’s habit of praying three times a day. Two different angels (Gabriel and Michael) told Daniel that he was “greatly beloved.”
 
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT WE HAVE THIS SHORT, ONE-VERSE INSTRUCTION about extended prayer. Pray without ceasing.  (1Thessalonians 5:17) Christians are instructed to: “Pray without ceasing” does not mean we must always be mumbling prayers. The word means “constantly recurring,” not continuously occurring. We are to “keep the receiver off the hook” and be in touch with God so that our praying is part of a long conversation that is not broken. God knows the desires of the heart (Psalm 37:4), and He responds to those desires even when our voice is silent. See Psalm 10:17; Psalm 21:2. (Wiersbe)

JESUS PRAYED: And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.  (Mark 1:35) And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;  (Luke 6:12-13)
 
And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, and said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.  (Luke 22:44-46) 
 
THE KING JAMES STUDY BIBLE GIVES THIS EXCELLENT SUMMARY about prayer in the Bible, based on this verse: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: (Matthew 7:7) This means to keep on asking, seeking and knocking.
 
“BOTH JESUS (LUKE 18:1) AND PAUL (1TIMOTHY 2:1) emphasized the importance of prayer, noting that people ought always to pray. Prayer includes asking and getting answers from God. But it is more than just asking; it is confession, adoration, thanksgiving, and fellowship with God. By its nature, prayer is talking with God.  It is the basis of the successful Christian life, and is so important that not praying is considered a sin (1 Samuel 12:23). 

“WHEN WE PRAY, WE SHOULD FOLLOW THE MODEL PRAYER Jesus gave His disciples and address it to our heavenly Father—beginning with adoration, including thanksgiving and confession of sins, making reconciliation with others, praying for our needs and the needs of others, and concluding in Jesus’ name (Matthew 6:9-15; John 14:14) Jesus pointed out that God heard the prayer of a humble publican rather than that of a proud Pharisee (Luke 18:14).

“GOD WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYER WHEN WE OBEY HIM (1John 3:22), confess sin (Psalm 66:18) abide in Christ (John 15:7), ask according to the will of God (1 John 5:14), ask in faith (Mark 11:24), have pure motives (James 4:3) and live peaceably with our mate (1 Peter 3:7). Reference, Genesis 3:8-13; Matthew 7:7 and 1 John 5:14,15.” (King James Study Bible, p. 1425).Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year
FEBRUARY 18, 2019 – MONDAY         
A.M.  Leviticus 26-27   P.M.  Mark 2
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.  (Psalm 55:17)
  
Song for Today:

Health Tip: 
Every drug store in America is loaded with remedies for digestion and elimination. It’s good to know that help is around the corner if we need it. Let’s help ourselves. Chew your food until it’s an easy-to-swallow paste and swallow without needing to wash it down. If we didn’t drink enough water before eating, we can’t make enough saliva for chewing and swallowing. Drink a glass of water a half-hour before eating. Having to wash our food down indicates it wasn’t chewed well enough. If the drink is ice cold, it will remain in the stomach until its warm enough to leave. Not good.

Eat something raw with every meal. Some raw things will only digest themselves, other things like apples and pineapple will digest themselves plus part of the cooked food. Enzyme capsules taken with cooked food will help digest it. I use enzymes that work in the stomach and another kind that only works beyond the stomach. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Very old adage. It’s probably because raw apples (not cooked) aid digestion and because they are rich in potassium.
​
My mother often drank a warm cup of water before breakfast. If she needed more than that, she relied on Cascara Sagrada, a favorite herbal laxative of today. Fifty years later Barbara and I attended a health seminar and first thing out of the M.D.’s mouth: “First thing in the morning, drink a glass of water to help flush the toxins out of your blood that have been accumulating all night.” I worked on that until it became a habit. The water will be in your blood in 15 minutes, while you are getting breakfast ready. This will also boost elimination. Ω
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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The bloody galileans and the tower of siloam

2/14/2019

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   The Bloody Galileans and the Tower in Siloam
    
There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.  (Luke 13:1-3)
 
“THAT IS, WHILE THEY WERE SACRIFICING at Jerusalem, Pilate came suddenly upon them and killed them, and “their” blood was mingled with the blood of the animals that they were slaying for sacrifice. It does not mean that Pilate “offered” their blood in sacrifice, but only that as they were sacrificing he killed them. The fact is not mentioned by Josephus, and nothing more is known of it than what is here recorded.” (Barnes)
 
THE GALILEANS WERE GENERALLY LESS CIVIL, less cultured and less educated than the more refined Jews living closer to Jerusalem. The High Priest in Jerusalem was a vassal of Rome and was on a Roman leash in doing his work. A hundred Roman soldiers lived in special quarters that towered above the Temple. These soldiers were the “first responders” of Rome to quell any uprising that might occur against Rome. Galileans would be more likely to buck Rome than citizens of Jerusalem.
 
A DISTURBANCE CAME ABOUT AT THE TEMPLE while some Galileans were there to offer their animal sacrifices. Roman soldiers who lived only a few yards away, immediately moved in and killed some of the Galileans. That’s what Jesus was referring to. As Jews mingled and discussed the blood bath of the Galileans, some concluded that the Galileans were worse sinners than most and God let this happen to them because of it. Jesus countered that by telling them that they were in as much need of repentance as the Galileans Pilate killed at the Temple.
 
JESUS DID NOT SAY HERE THAT ALL SINS IN THE WORLD are of the same weight. Obviously, killing someone is not on the same level of sin as stealing a lawn mower. Our law system addresses different levels of transgression such as misdemeanor, felony, manslaughter, 2nd degree murder, 1st degree murder, etc. The Bible talks about “righteous judgment.” That is what God is looking for. Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.  (John 7:24)  
 
THE BIBLE USES "ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS" twenty-three times. The reason for that is that all the works of men are not the same. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  (Revelation 20:12)
 
IN OUR TEXT TODAY, JESUS WAS NOT IMPLYING THAT ALL SINS ARE ALIKE, of the same weight or of the same consequence. He was pointing out that a public calamity does not prove that God was pouring out judgment on them. He was saying that everybody needs to repent of their sins and walk in the light of God’s word and under the control of the Holy Spirit.
 
THERE WAS A STRONG BELIEF AMONG JEWS THAT GREAT CALAMITIES were a sure sign of great sin among the victims of disaster. After all, Jewish literature and custom informed the Jewish people of Noah’s flood and of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Jews also knew that they did not get their land until the “wickedness of the Amorites was full” and God destroyed them in order to give the land to Abraham’s seed. (Genesis 15:16)

JESUS CONTINUED AND GAVE ANOTHER ILLUSTRATION to put down the gossip judgments of the Jews. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.  (Luke 13:4-5)

APPARENTLY, THE TRAGEDY OF THE TOWER IN SILOAM was a recent calamity that everyone knew about and had thoroughly discussed among themselves. Siloam had to do with water. There was the Pool of Siloam and there was also the system that brought water to the pool.  The reason for a tower in connection with a water supply is interesting. A tower foundation has been found that is circular in shape and about 18’ across. It is believed by some scholars to be the foundation of a second tower that replaced another tower that fell.

WHETHER THE TOWER WAS FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSTING GUARDS or if it was functional in supporting a water conduit is not known for sure. Husband and wife writers of Bible fiction books, Thoene (Toe-nay?) who do a lot of research about Israel, write of the tower as being part of a water system coming into Jerusalem. This part of the system was above ground and thus the need for the tower to support the weight. It was being constructed and was not stable when it fell. Workers were all around it, so it killed 18 of the workers. Josephus, the Jewish historian mentions Siloam several times in connection with a water supply coming into Jerusalem.

THE DISCIPLES ENCOUNTERED A MAN WHO HAD BEEN BLIND FROM BIRTH.  And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?  Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.  (John 9:2-3)  
 
THE DISCIPLES VOICED A COMMON BELIEF OF THE DAY that babies could sin in the womb and bring calamity upon themselves.  But this man was born blind in order that he might be healed by the hands of Jesus and help to establish Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. 

WE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM TODAY. When there’s a storm or a shooting or a tragic fire, invariably there will be the claim that God is judging those people who were the victims. I cringe when I hear that kind of talk. If it is the judgment of God, it will be in such a way that very little will have to be said about it.

TODAY, IT IS OBVIOUS THAT AMERICA IS GOING TO HELL ON A TOBOGGIN SLED. A thousand babies a day are being slaughtered in the womb and an industry of financing it siphons money from the tax payers. It’s cheaper to kill babies than to raise them. An old N.C. senator told me that when I was a lobbyist. We are a very sinful nation and one day God will have enough. We have a variety of sex sins and violence everywhere going on that will surely bring down the hand of God. The iniquity of America will be full, and we will be judged for our stubborn, willful sins.
 
BUT WE MUST REMEMBER THAT GOD'S JUDGMENT DOES NOT BEGIN with homosexuals or murderers. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?  (1Peter 4:17-18)
 
GOD LOVES ALL SINNERS. He loves them enough that if they will repent of their sins and receive Christ as their Savior and Lord, He will gladly receive them as His own. We have a list of unsaved people that we pray for often by name because we believe they need the Lord.  This is the day of shacking up together and ignoring God’s order of living. From these lifestyles of disobedience comes a torrent of sorrow and instability heaped upon themselves and upon their children.

I’VE SPENT A LIFETIME OF COUNSELING WITH TROUBLED PEOPLE who have wrecked their lives and at last would like some relief and would like to fix things as best as they can. We serve a big God who has promised: Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.  (Hebrews 7:25)
 
WHATEVER YOU HAVE DONE, IF YOU ARE STILL BREATHING, GOD CAN FIX YOU. He loves you and paid for your sins on the cross of His only begotten Son and you can be saved. Call upon Him today, regardless of what kind of sinner you are. Don’t let the devil deceive you. You don’t owe him anything. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  (Rom 10:13) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.  (John 5:24)
 
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.  I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear (confess).  (Isaiah 45:22-23)  See also: (Rom. 14:11 and Phil. 2:10)
                                                               
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
FEBRUARY 15, 2019 – FRIDAY         
A.M.  Leviticus 20-21   P.M.  Matthew 28
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it (Hebrews 4:2).
 
Song for Today:
The Blood of Jesus (4:24) (Collingsworth Family(6) and Gaithers)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU7DSCkEdY0
 (Wait several seconds. You may have to delete an ad.) This is so good, I’m leaving it up again today.
 
Health Tip: 
During cold weather, the air is dry, and we need added moisture in the air in our home. This is very important. Dry air will dry out the air passages in our nose and throat. Bacteria thrives on dry air passages. We need moist air passages so bacteria and be moved off with mucous and prevented from attaching to the soft membranes of our air passages. A one-gallon capacity plastic vaporizer by VICKS or some other reliable brand, may be enough for your home. We have used a vaporizer in winter for many years. Some central heating systems have vaporizers built in. Ours does not. We use about a gallon of water a day.
 
 
 
 
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the big cover-up

2/13/2019

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                The Big Cover-up
And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.  Use hospitality one to another without grudging (1Peter 4:8-9).
 
Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins (Proverbs 10:12).

SO,LOVE IS THE BIG COVER-UP. A man who loves his wife will not go around telling everyone what a sorry cook she is. A woman who loves her husband will not go around telling everyone her husband has bad breath. Love is the lubrication that helps us through the rough times of life. Love welcomes new babies from the womb and assures them a place in the family. The heart has been the symbol for love for a long time.
 
TODAY IS ST. VALENTINE'S DAY.  From early childhood we learn that giving cards and candy, (especially chocolate candy) is a special way of saying: “You’re special, and I love you!”  We may even think of flowers, especially red roses.  Wikipedia Encyclopedia tells us: “Valentine is the name of several martyred saints of ancient Rome. Of the Saint Valentine whose feast is on February 14, nothing is known except his name and that he was buried at the Via Flaminia north of Rome on February 14.” (You have several links above you can follow to pursue this celebration if you care.)
 
BETTER THAN THE INTERNET IS THE "UPPER-NET"  that tells us much more about love.
 
LOVE IS GOD'S IDEA. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him (1John 4:7-9).

“LOVE FOR THE BRETHREN HAS BEEN SHOWN AS PROOF of fellowship with God (1John 2:7-11); then it has been presented as proof of sonship (1John 3:10-14). In the earlier passage, love for the brethren is a matter of light or darkness; in the second it is a matter of life or death.

“BUT IN 1JOHN 4:7-16, WE GET DOWN TO THE VERY FOUNDATION of the matter. Here we discover why love is such an important part of the life that is real. Love is a valid test of our fellowship and our sonship because “God is love.” Love is part of the very being and nature of God. If we are united to God through faith in Christ, we share His nature. And since His nature is love, love is the test of the reality of our spiritual life.” (Wiersbe)

GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE (John 3:16).  
 
FERVENT LOVE COVERS THE MULTITUDE OF SINS. God knows we are sinners and even though we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit if we are truly saved, we still carry around the old sin nature that just keeps on sinning. Sometimes we sin against each other and unless we have a lot of love for that person, we may carry an axe around to chop off their toes. It has always been that way and it will be that way until we have new, glorified bodies that do not contain the sin nature. 
 
If we have fervent love, we are not going to be shouting the sins of the saints to the house top. It’s the big cover up! We are to cover up the sins of others in the sense that we don’t go around gossiping and tattling every little morsel of wrong doing we can find. A favorite (and despicable) tactic is to ask prayer for so and so and go into all the tantalizing little details of how much this weak Christian needs our prayers. Stop it! We are cover-up agents. Keep it a secret even if it gives you a headache.
 
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal (1Corinthians 13:1).
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
FEBRUARY 14, 2019 – WEDNESDAY         
A.M.  Leviticus 18-19   P.M.  Matthew 27:32-66
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it (Hebrews 4:2).
 
Song for Today:
The Blood of Jesus (4:24) (Collingsworth Family(6) and Gaithers)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU7DSCkEdY0
 (Wait several seconds. You may have to delete an ad.)

Health Tip: 
Eat enough fat in your diet. There was a time when so many people were in a state of panic over fat that they worked hard at cutting fat to zero in their diet. Some died of their mistake. We must have fat in our diet to live, along with protein and carbohydrates and minerals and water. Fat is a good servant and a bad master.

Fats that can be heated some without damage are Olive oil, coconut oil, peanut oil, butter, and hog lard. Nothing else. (Dr. Ted Rozema) Foods can be cooked in these fats. All other fats should not be heated until scientific proof is presented to the contrary. Oils for salads can be polyunsaturated fats if they are not heated and they are not rancid. Oxygen molecules bond with unsaturated links in these fats and it is like a bull in a china shop in your body.

Flax seed oil is a winner if kept refrigerated, in the dark, and sealed away from oxygen. Buy in small, black bottles and keep refrigerated. (8 oz). CANOLA oil is a made-up name (Canadian Oil) and is made from Rape seeds, which have a connection with cancer. I eat a tiny bit of this oil in Nabisco Whole Wheat crackers (Hint of Salt) but in nothing else. There are a few other polyunsaturated oils, such as safflower, that are good on salads if the oils are not processed. I mainly use extra-virgin Olive oil and some coconut oil. Occasionally I use a bit of butter on a baked potato.
​
 Some fat in a meal will slow down digestion and help your carbohydrates to give off a slow stream of sugar for fuel. Farmers liked to have a breakfast heavy in hog fat to promote energy until lunch time. Without the fat in the meal, you will be hungry in two hours and in some people will experience a drop in blood sugar will give them the weak trembles. Fat in the diet will also help the gallbladder empty and this helps to prevent the formation of gallstones.
 
 
 
 

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GROWING IN GRACE...

2/13/2019

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        Growing in Grace
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.  (2Peter 3:18)

YOU GOTTA HEAR THIS AT LEAST ONE MORE TIME because it follows me around.  When I got saved in the bean market in October, 1943, I knew about “being born again” but I had never heard of “growing in grace” as a Christian. I thought a sinner gets saved and gets the whole load all at one time and that was it!
 
I BEGAN HOUNDING MY SCHOOL MATES ABOUT GOING TO THE REVIVAL MEETING  until they had had enough. When they got me on the ground during morning recess and taunted me to pray, I saw there was no way out. So, I began to pray. I prayed, “Dear Lord, please get this S.O.B. off of me, Amen!” They didn’t know anything about praying and that was good enough for them. So, the guy on top of me let me up.
 
THEY WENT ON ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS and when I got up, I stood there, stunned. That didn’t sound right. I had been one of the best cussers around those rough boys and though I did not say one of the “heavy duty” things I could have said, I had said too much, and I was ashamed of myself. I knew in my heart that Christians didn’t talk like that. I was saved, and yet here I was talking ugly. I didn’t question if I was saved, but I felt twisted out of shape.
 
I DIDN'T THINK I WOULD EVER SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN. I had heard my mother say the s… word a few times and she was a praying, singing Christian. But that was when she was really mad about something, like my daddy coming home with “three sheets in the wind.” She didn’t talk that way all the time. I didn’t know how I was going to do better. I had asked God to save me and I had accepted Jesus as my Savior and I intended to live that way the rest of my life. Somehow, I would do better, but I didn’t know how to do much of anything in the Christian life.
 
I HAD NEVER HEARD THAT NEW CHRISTIANS ARE BABES in Christ and needed to grow as new Christians. It would be several years before I would learn about those things in living the Christian life. In later years, I began to find books written in the 1800’s about “How to Live the Christian Life.” Books by D. L. Moody and R. A. Torrey. When I read the titles on living the Christian life, I realized that people had been wondering how to live the Christian life for over a hundred years. I had not yet realized that Peter had written about it two thousand years ago in the Bible. Peter wrote:
 
Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,   As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:  (1Peter 2:1-2)  So, God knew about this two thousand years ago and He wrote how to do it.

MAKE AN HONEST EFFORT TOWARD CLEANING UP YOUR LIFE and get into the simple parts of the Bible and eat it as your spiritual diet. In that same place, Peter warned new Christians: Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.  (2Peter 3:17)

“BEWARE..." LEST YOU BE LED AWAY WITH THE ERROR OF THE WICKED and fall from your own stedfastness. So, if I’m going to grow as a Christian, I will have to maintain a defense  against being led away by the influence of wicked people. That would lead me into falling from my own stedfastness. It wouldn’t cause me to lose my salvation or my relationship with the Lord, but it would cause me to be unsteady in my walk and it might affect my fellowship with the Lord.

I REMEMBERED THAT AT HOME CERTAIN THINGS were expected of me. I never worried about being expelled from home, but I did worry at times about my fellowship with my mother and father. They were not overbearing or hard taskmasters. However, when they said to be home by a certain time, I had better be there. I knew to get my school assignments and if I had jobs to do, I knew to do them on time and to do them well. That kept me in good fellowship with my parents.

I KNEW I WAS GROWING AND THAT MEANT DOING MORE THINGS that grown-up boys did at home. Gathering eggs and feeding the chickens was a worthy job. Then, leading the horses to water was a big deal!  Finally, I was milking the family cow and the goats! There came the day when I was responsible to get the ten acres of hay into the barn. I was growing! God also expects us to grow in the Christian life.

PETER WROTE ANOTHER BOOK and in it he said: But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.  (2Peter 3:18)

“THIS IS NOT JUST ANY KNOWLEDGE: it is knowledge about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (cf. 2Peter 1:1-2, 2Peter1:11; 2Peter_2:20). The verb “grow”… could be rendered “be continually growing.” Believers are to grow “in grace,” that is, in the sphere of God’s unmerited favor, and in the exercise of spiritual graces which Peter spoke of in 2Peter 1:5-7.” (Bible Knowledge Commentary) (I hope you will look up these verses.)

IF YOU DO NOT FEED ON THE WORD OF GOD AND OBEY WHAT HE SHOWS YOU, you will not grow in your Christian life. God has designed it that way.

Read Through the Bible in a Year
FEBRUARY 13, 2017 – TUESDAY         
A.M.  Leviticus 18-19   P.M.  Matthew 27:32-66
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Memory Verse:
 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.  (Hosea 4:6-7)

Song for Today:
Vestal Goodman & Group (4:39) : There Is a Fountain (Gaither Group)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PasK3ZFAOPE&list=RDglDV6j-uZCY&index=27
 (Wait several seconds. You may have to delete an ad.)

Health Tip:  To drink a little more water each day, place two bottles of water beside your bed, by the chair where you read, and beside your computer.  When one bottle is emptied, you have another bottle of water and can conveniently fill the empty bottle. This makes a difference in the amount of water I drink. (I’ve had several requests to resume the Health Tip feature.)
 
 
 
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do moral laws exist?

2/6/2019

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       Do Moral Laws Exist?
For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.  (Isaiah 45:18)
 
WE ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE LAW OF GRAVITY because we have hit the ground and skinned our knees. Ladders and the top of the house are great teachers on the power of gravity. Oh yes, and when we hit the ground, we encounter the law of impenetrability: “two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time.”

If I can remember from Fed Wiley’s physics class at Homestead High School, there are also the laws of hydraulics, inertia, magnetic-electric, thermo-dynamics, and several other unbreakable laws.

WHEN I TRAVEL, I TAKE NOTE OF THE BRIDGES we go under and note how they are built and how they are supported. Every bridge we cross is a community of engineering. But are there moral laws that are as exact as the physical laws? I believe so. There’s even a book that describes them with warnings about the consequences of ignoring them.

MORAL LAWS REQUIRE AN AUTHOR AND AN ABIDING AUTHORITY for the execution of these laws. This author-authority figure calls Himself God, Jehovah, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Father, and several other names. When Moses asked Him His name, He said, “say that I AM hath sent you;” The ever-present one who has no beginning and no ending. He is the everlasting Father. I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.  (Isaiah 45:5-6)
 
MORAL LAWS RADIATE FROM THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF GOD and have always existed. When God created the heavens and the earth, they immediately began communicating that there is an Almighty Designer. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power [authority] and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:  (Romans 1:20)  

THE PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION SAYS: We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness….”
 
The infrastructure of Western Civilization is built around the laws given to us by Almighty God. We ignore these laws to our own peril. Things are right because God says they are right. Things are wrong because God says they are wrong. There is a penalty for violation of what God has shown us. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  (Romans 6:23)  
 
WHEN I WAS WORKING AS A LOBBYIST  in the N.C. Legislature, the CEO of the N.C. Association of Churches came to me and said: “You can’t have a religious reason for a political position.” I was stunned and handed it back to him: “You may not have a religious reason for a political position, but I do!”
 
I REMINDED HIM THAT NONE OF THE 170 MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE came to Raleigh to pass bills into law that had nothing to do with what they believed in. They worked at passing bills that reflected their deepest-held beliefs. All laws are passed because people believe what they vote for or else they vote for it because it is the lesser of two evils before them.
 
WE SEE THIS STUPIDITY REFLECTED BY SOME WHO WANT to avoid the appearance of being religious in defending the right-to-life of the unborn. If the thinking of mere men governs the right to life, then the thinking of men has an equal right to put the unborn to death.
 
A NORTH CAROLINA SENATOR, an old farmer, closed the door of his office one day and told me in hushed tone: “if we don’t kill these illegitimate babies, we will have to sell our farms to pay the cost of raising and educating them.”  He was a long-time leader in his church in his home town and out of his mouth was coming the vile values of atheism.
 
IF THERE IS NO MORAL AUTHORITY, then it’s ok for me to shoot you and take your cow and it’s ok for you to shoot me. If my life is safe only because of politicians, then I may not be safe for very long. Some political group may decide that my kind is worthy of death.

ADOLF HITLER NAZI GERMANY called old people “useless bread eaters” and upon that idea they invaded the homes of thousands of old people during the night and hauled them off to be put to death: over 300,000 of them…Germans.  This was before they got around to killing six million Jews. If there is no moral authority, Hitler was his own moral authority and who could tell him he was wrong? No, the authority must be higher than a legislative body or a wild-eyed dictator.
 
WE SEE THE AUDACITY OF PEOPLE WHO DEFY THE LIVING GOD in restructuring marriage laws to include sodomy. God warns us about this through the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;  And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;  And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;  (2Peter 2:4-6)
 
GOD SAID TO JEREMIAH: Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?  (Jeremiah 9:9)  Here is the principle of God’s moral authority over nations. Someone said: ”The wheels of God’s justice grind slowly but they grind exceedingly fine.” 

THE ISSUE IS NOT WHICH SIN WILL GET YOU INTO TROUBLE WITH GOD. If it doesn’t matter to you what God thinks about it, regardless of what it is that you know is wrong, you are in trouble with Him.
 
BE ASSURED THAT MORAL LAWS EXIST FROM THE HAND OF GOD and that He presides over individuals and nations in holding us accountable. The good news is:
 
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  (John 3:16)
 
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year 
FEBRUARY 7, 2019 - THURSDAY
 A.M. Leviticus 1-3   P.M. Matthew 24:23-51
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verses to Memorize:
And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.  (Luke 19:40)
 
Song for Today: 
Come Thou Almighty King (2:13) (Coral Ridge Hour)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEeoIRXFM9Y&list=RDHEeoIRXFM9Y&start_radio=1&t=2
  You may have to adjust the volume and/or delete an ad.
 
Health Tip: Today I scanned several pages in the Merck Manual, the standard reference book among hospital nurses for several years. I was looking for “Gall stones; Gall bladders.” Several months ago, a surgeon had my gall bladder photographed and it was about 1/3 full. He wanted to take it out, but it was one of the “silent” gallbladders, so I told him to please take good care of himself in case I should need him to remove my gall bladder on his day off.
 
Four out of a thousand gall bladder surgeries result in death. Not very high but, like lightening striking, commands respect. In days past, the doctors with a strong connection to herbs had their patients drink Dandelion Root Tea. Some doctors still do. There’s a list of known things that will dissolve gallstones. If they hang up in the outgoing tube, it can be painful…and worse. I have visited a lot of “gall stones” in the hospital.
 
Merck and other books acknowledge that many people never know they have gallstones. When Americans went on the low-fat and no-fat binge, the gallbladder problem went through the ceiling! The liver bile that is stored in he gallbladder is intended to squirt itself into the tube when fat comes through. Bile is a heavy-duty detergent. If there’s no fat, then the bile stays in the gallbladder, thickens, and forms stones. There may be other factors but that seems to be the biggie.
 
Instead of coffee, I recently went online and found me a pound of ground Dandelion root and make a quart of tea every morning. Not bad. I drink half of it at breakfast and the rest during the day or at night. A tsp of honey stirred in while it’s hot makes a nice sweet hint without going overboard. Two handy books: Merck’s Manual for the Home, and The Herb Book by John Lust. Sell your shoes and use the money to buy these books. Drink lot’s of water, gallstones or no gallstones. Your gut and kidneys will thank you.
 
 
 

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praying god's words

2/3/2019

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​      Praying God’s Words
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.  My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.  (Psalm 5:2-3)
 
THE BIBLE COMMENDS AND COMMANDS us to pray and affords us many examples of people who prayed. The Psalms are a prayer book. When Peter was about to go under the waves, he did a nice spontaneous prayer. But prayers don’t have to be spontaneous, without forethought to be authentic. The disciples came to Jesus and said: And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.  (Luke 11:1)
 
THEN, THERE MUST BE MORE TO EFFECTIVE PRAYING than meets the eye. John…taught….his disciples about prayer. (Some of Jesus’ disciples were former disciples of John.) Don’t we all know that prayer is simply talking to God? Yes, that is one way of thinking about prayer and most people probably think of it that way. But some prayers are better prayers than other prayers. That’s why the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
 
I HAVE A SHELF FULL OF BOOKS ON PRAYER. I have read all of them and several of them many times. I like the book, Elijah, by Arthur Pink. I try to read it every year. I like to read about, learn about prayer. I figure we can get more from our time spent if we read after people who have traveled the road themselves before they wrote a book about it. Books on prayer do two things: 1. They inform us.  2. They inspire us (motivate us). I have seen some things happen in answer to prayer.
 
I BELIEVE THAT EQUIPPING OURSELVES FOR REGULAR, serious prayer is the heart of living the Christian life. I’ve liked books since I was six years old but reading books about prayer is not prayer. Reading Bible verses about prayer is not prayer. It can be. But, just reading Bible verses about prayer is not prayer. 

READING AND LISTENING IS EATING. Praying is breathing. We can go longer without eating than we can go without breathing. That’s why the Bible tells us to: Pray without ceasing.  (1Thessalonians 5:17) We’re told that “without ceasing” here means like “an intermittent cough.”  We cough a bit. In a few minutes, we have to cough again. That’s coughing without ceasing. Praying without ceasing is like that. Not on our knees. Not in a church.
 
WE COULDN'T PRAY WITHOUT CEASING IF WE HAD TO BE ON OUR KNEES to pray or if we had to move our lips to pray. (Although it’s a very good thing to pray on our knees if we can and to move our lips if we can.)  We can pray while driving, working, taking a test in the classroom, lying in a hospital bed, lying in bed in a sick room. We can pray when we can’t say a word. We can pray when we cannot be heard. We can pray when it’s cloudy or fair. We can pray, any time, anywhere.
 
TODAY, I WANT TO LEAVE TWELVE VERSES ON PRAYER for you to memorize and incorporate into your praying. Please write these verses on cards and carry them with you. Read them over several times during the day. Then, select three of them to concentrate on to memorize. Quote these three verses as you pray. Include a verse or two in your very next time of meeting with God to pray. Believe God. Cast yourself upon Him and expect Him to meet with you. He may show you something that needs to be done, something that needs to change.
 
FOR EXAMPLE: “Dear God, your word says, Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you. I believe that. It’s in my heart today to draw nigh to you. Please show me what I need to do to draw closer to you today. I expect You to draw near to me. I know You will keep Your word, and so I wait before You today, to draw near to You and for You to draw near to me.”

AS YOU WAIT BEFORE HIM, you may find yourself borne along by the Holy Spirit as though He is praying through you. That is what happens when we pray in the Spirit. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;  (Ephesians 6:18)
 
GOD WANTS YOU TO WORSHIP HIM, to come into His presence, to talk with Him. Jesus told the woman at the well: But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  (John 4:23)  God is waiting, is looking for us to come to Him. Can you believe this? Can you lay hold of this? Will you let this lay hold of you? It will change your life!
 
THERE ARE MORE THAN A HUNDRED VERSES we can repeat back to the Lord in our praying. I’m compiling a larger list and will soon mail it out. You can copy the pages on your printer, fold and keep one page folded in your Bible. Set your printer to print on “Draft” quality. That uses the smallest amount of ink and it will prevent bleeding through the paper.
 
YOU WILL PRINT BOTH SIDES OF THE PAPER and you don’t want it to bleed through. The verses will use ½” margins to get the most we can on each page. You may have to give your computer permission to print on ½’ margins. On average, that will give us 15-16 verses per side, or about thirty verses per sheet of paper. You can print these for yourself, your family, Sunday school or hand out in church, or wherever you have an opportunity.
 
FOUR PAGES WILL HOLD ROUGHLY 100 VERSES if printed this way. Use standard printing paper which is usually 20-pound weight. If you don’t have a printer you can copy the file on a little “finger file” and take to your local printer. Or, you can send by email to a close-by friend whose printer is operating.
 
YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE THESE VERSES and print them on paper, if you like. I believe they will fit on 8 ½ x 11 paper. I don’t know if you can do it from your smart phone. It all depends on how you are set up.
 
●Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.  (Jeremiah 33:3)
 
●Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.  My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee and will look up.  (Psalm 5:2-3)
 
●And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.  (Mark 1:35)
 
●And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  (Luke 6:12)
 
●Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.  (Psalm 55:17)
 
●Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.  (Daniel 6:10)
 
●Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.  (James 4:8)
 
●Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  (Psalm 139:23-24)
 
●He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  (Psalm 91:1-2)
 
●…Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us (our trespasses), as we forgive  (those who trespass against us). And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.  (Matthew 6:9-13)
 
●And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.  (1John 5:14-15)
 
●Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.  (Isaiah 41:10)
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year 
FEBRUARY 4, 2019 - MONDAY
 A.M. Exodus 34-36   P.M. Matthew 23:1-22
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verses to Memorize:
And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.  (Luke 19:40) 
 
Song for Today:
 Let the Rocks Cry Out (2:48) (Calvary Memorial Church)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RB339rbvNU
         You may have to adjust the volume and/or delete an ad.
 
Health Tip(s): Slowly, but surely, the wheel of settled wisdom is turning toward a few simple things we all can do toward having the best health possible. Every day, drink at least a quart of water plus other drinks. Green tea is a plus, and a bit of coffee if your stomach will allow it. Chew your food until it is an easy-to-swallow paste without washing it down. Lean heavily toward a plant-based diet. Get enough healthy fat in our diets. (Olive and coconut oils are premium). Your heat-stable fats are: olive/coconut oil, peanut oil, butter and…hog lard. Do all your cooking with these fats. Add other fats after cooking. Your gall bladder must have fat passing through your gut to empty your gall bladder and prevent gall stones.
 
Keep the sugar intake low, very low. Nix the no-sugar sweeteners. They make you fat and mess up your chemistry.  Prefer wild, cold-water fish as your meat, with some free-range chicken. Avoid farm fish and commercial chicken that has fed on anti-biotics and growth hormones. When company comes, fill them up on bacon, sausage, eggs, gravy and biscuits but quickly get over it.  Avoid the white sisters: white flour (in all forms), white rice and white sugar.
 
While moving our fingers is good, moving the whole body is even better. Forget about jogging. Fast walking is preferred because it does not pound our knees and move us toward knee replacement. Next to walking, the jumping rebounders are outstanding exercisers. We may not need breakfast if we can do without it, to give our bodies more fasting time after yesterday’s last meal. First thing in the morning: drink a pint of slightly warmed water to help our body flush out toxins accumulated during the night. Get enough sleep.
 
Fiber at mid-morning and mid-afternoon with plenty of water. (Psyllium whole husk) Animal products have zero fiber. Digestion and elimination are central and something we can do ourselves. Nobody gets out of this world alive (except Enoch and Elijah) so just make yourself comfy and enjoy the ride. Fight as little as possible. Do something nice for somebody every day. Ω
 
 
 

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THE EASTERN GATE

1/30/2019

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Picture
                      The Eastern Gate
Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
 
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.  (Zechariah 14:3-4)
 
WE ARE OUTSIDE, LOOKING AT THE EASTERN (GOLDEN) GATE of old Jerusalem. If you are standing beside the photographer who took this picture, directly behind you is the Mount of Olives. That’s where Jesus will stand upon His return to earth. The Mount of Olives will split in half, running straight behind you, away from you, east-to-west, out of which will come a large stream of water. Some of the water will flow eastward to the Dead Sea and the rest of it will flow westward to the Mediterranean Sea.

THE MOUNT OF OLIVES WILL DIVIDE TO THE NORTH AND TO THE SOUTH, leaving a valley from east to west. The Mount of Olives is beyond the little Kidron valley, and about 2,000 cubits (a little over a half-mile) from the Temple. That’s the same distance the people were to keep themselves from the Ark when they when they crossed over the Jordan river.

THE EASTERN GATE OF JERUSALEM is part of the scene the Prophet Zechariah wrote about in our text for today. Jesus will not remain upon the Mount of Olives after it divides. He will enter the Eastern Gate and enter Ezekiel’s Temple.

EZEKIEL'S TEMPLE WILL BE USED DURING THE MILLENNIUM (THOUSAND YEARS). Ezekiel focuses on the Eastern Gate that is to be used by the King. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. 
It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.  (Ezekiel 44:2,3)
 
EZEKIEL SAW THE SPIRIT OF GOD LEAVING JERUSALEM through the Eastern Gate (Ezekiel 11:23) and later returning through the Eastern Gate to occupy the Temple (Ezekiel 43:2-4). In Jesus’ day, The Holy Spirit did not occupy the Temple. The Spirit had departed. Jesus was God in the Temple in His day. His turning over the money changers’ tables, wielding the scourge in His hand to cleanse the Temple and raising His voice was not appreciated. The people who were offended were in no spiritual condition to recognize their promised Messiah.
 
THE TWO STONE ARCHES IN THE PICTURE ABOVE are filled in with 16’ of cement and stone. The white stone structures covering the ground from the wall toward you, are the grave stones of people who wanted to be buried at the gate where the coming Messiah will enter the city. It was their hope to be resurrected from the dead when the Messiah walked from the Mount of Olives to enter the Temple.

OUR SONG TODAY, Just Inside the Eastern Gate, has been around at least since I was a boy. It was a favorite and still is today. It shares the hope of those buried outside the Eastern Gate. However, the song speaks of meeting you “just inside the eastern gate,” not “outside the gate.” Being buried “outside the gate” was as close as the people in the picture could get to the gate.
 
THERE ARE EIGHT GATES IN THE STONE WALLS OF JERUSALEM, but the eastern gate commands the most attention. It is NOT the same eastern gate Jesus and the Apostles walked through. That gate is below this gate, covered over. The following comments are helpful.

“THE EASTERN GATE OF JERUSALEM is also called the Golden Gate or the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:2). In Hebrew, it is Sha'ar Harahamim, the “Gate of Mercy.” It is currently the oldest gate in the Old City, having been constructed in the 6th or 7th century AD. Also, it is the gate that gives the most direct access to the temple mount—if a person could pass through the arches of the Eastern Gate, he would be very close to where the Jewish temple used to stand. When Jesus entered Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives in Matthew 21, He used a gate in the same location as the current Eastern or Golden Gate.

“THE EASTERN GATE WAS SEALED SHUT in AD 1540–41 by order of Suleiman the Magnificent, a sultan of the Ottoman Empire. It’s believed that the reason for the closing of the Eastern Gate was to prevent the Jewish Messiah from gaining entrance to Jerusalem. Jewish tradition states that the Messiah will pass through the Eastern Gate when He comes to rule. The Muslim Suleiman was attempting to thwart the Messiah’s plans with sixteen feet of cement. The Eastern Gate has remained sealed for nearly the past 500 years.” (You will enjoy reading the full article above at: https://www.gotquestions.org/eastern-gate-Jerusalem.html
 
TODAY, ALL GENUINE CHRISTIANS ARE INDWELT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT and our bodies are the Temple of the Spirit. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.  (1Corinthians 6:19-20) (All Christians are indwelt by the Spirit but all are not surrendered to the Holy Spirit and all are not endued with power from on high.)
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year 
JANUARY 31, 2019 - THURSDAY
 A.M. Exodus 25-26   P.M. Matthew 21:1-22
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verses to Memorize:
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  (John 14:2-3)
 
Song for Today: 
The Eastern Gate (3:10) (Gaither Group)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ayD6zxHJVU
 You may have to adjust the volume and/or delete an ad.
 
 
 
 
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hiding the word of god

1/29/2019

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Picture

                Hiding the Word of God    
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.  (Psalm 119:9,11)

THE WORD OF GOD SHOULD BE the dominant influence in our lives. There is an Institutional Christianity that is big on buildings, ceremony and religious schedule but lacking in heart commitment to God and His Word. It’s like Mother Hubbard’s big hoop skirt that covered everything and touched nothing. This kind of Christianity is spreading throughout the world, including the churches that say they are Bible churches.

R.A. TORREY WAS A COMPANION PREACHER OF D. L. MOODY and held meetings in Moody’s place in England. One of his books gave me this outstanding thought when I was about to leave my teens: “The Bible will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the Bible.”  That is big!

THE LAST TIME I HEARD DR. LEE ROBERSON PREACH, he was in his 90’s and used this passage. He dwelt on it for a while, emphasizing the importance of memorizing the Word of God. He could have preached about a lot of things, but he had chosen to urge us to hide the Word of God in our hearts. He had lived long and knew what it took for people to be successful at living the Christian life.

MY MOTHER CARRIED ME IN HER WOMB TO FALLING SPRINGS BAPTIST CHURCH. I've been going to church ever since. I remember some of the revival meetings when I was 5-8 years old. I didn’t understand much of what was preached but I understood they believed what they were preaching. One country preacher, in his mid-thirties, conducted the annual revival meeting after the corn crop was laid by and people could stay up at night for 2-3 weeks of meetings.

THIS PREACHER QUOTED SCRIPTURE BY THE YARD as he walked up and down the aisle between the pulpit and the back door. He held the Bible in his hand and waved it in the air occasionally as he walked and quoted it. He brought the Bible stories to life. I was spell-bound by it. No lost time; no wandering off course as he drove his points home like a crew building a ship. No wonder the power of God was so strong in those meetings. I watched people come under conviction by the power of the Holy Spirit and saw the tears on the old wood floor and watched them shake the backs of the benches resisting the Spirit until they gave up.

THOSE MEETINGS WERE SEALED IN MY MEMORY FOR A LIFETIME. The preacher, no doubt, had spent many hours walking with a Bible in his hands, reading and memorizing the Word of God. I imagine he quoted a lot of Bible to his mule as he plowed his corn field. What a blessing it was! The effect of the Word of God is not always that dramatic. Sometimes it is like a gentle rain that moves in at dusk and continues all night, putting everybody to sleep as it falls steadily on the roof. It soaks into the ground and causes things to grow. The Bible can be thunder or gentle rain.

THE WORD OF GOD IS LIGHT, FIRE, AND A HAMMER, and more. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.  (Psalm 119:130) Jeremiah tells us: Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?  (Jeremiah 23:29)

JESUS' PREACHING WAS HEAVY WITH THE WORD OF GOD. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.  (Matthew 4:4) (Quoted from Deut.8:3) He quoted from Moses, the prophets and the Psalms. He quoted most from the book of Deuteronomy. 

HE SAID: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.  (Matthew 24:35) If His words are going to outlast Heaven and earth, shouldn’t we pay attention to what He said?

IN THIS LIFE WE OBSERVE MEN AND WOMEN ASSERTING THEMSELVES, not realizing how short this life is. Their speech and thinking are without the Word of God, as though God has said nothing. We may be the greatest danger to ourselves. Someone has said that the most dangerous thing in the world is the human will that God has not bridled or restrained. I have no problem believing that. So, if life is short and we are a great danger to ourselves, there is nothing like hiding the Word of God in our hearts to save us from ourselves.
 
I BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS A SUFFICIENT GUIDE FOR FAITH AND PRACTICE. It does not need to be re-written; just needs to be re-read. The only English Bible we have that has survived 400 years is the King James translation. It served as the foundation for writing the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution and was the Bible that was preached during the revivals that occurred in our country.
 
WE CAN MAKE BIG MISTAKES WHEN WE ASSUME THAT GOD'S BOOK IS OUTDATED. It is more profitable to acknowledge that it is God who knows a lot and it is God who is in charge. He is truth. Jesus said: …I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  (John 14:6)

THIS SHORT ARTICLE IS ABOUT THE NEED to hide the Word of God in our hearts. It is more than merely memorizing. It includes chewing and understanding and submitting to everything God shows us. I’m not smart enough to manage my life. If you think you are smart enough to manage yourself, you’re taking on a big load and you may need someone to help you with picking up the mess. I’ve seen a lot of messes and some of them were mine. I need the Word of God to manage my life.
 
IF YOU WANT TO HIDE THE WORD IN YOUR HEART, you can do it. You can memorize verses right out of your Bible or you can write a verse or two with the reference on half a 3x5 card. Read through it five times a day and start quoting back to yourself, a family member or a friend….or a stranger. Until you get the hang of it, you may want to set a goal of memorizing no more than 1-2 verses a month.
 
DON'T TRY TO SET THE WOODS ON FIRE. A slow, steady pace will deliver the goods and in a year’s time you will have twelve verses working at shaping your life. If that’s more than you’ve been doing, it’s progress, is it not? If you want to do more than that, you can always step it up. But, do good solid work when you are memorizing. Be tough on yourself and get it right. Surrender to everything God shows you. We post a few verses on MORNING MINUTE. You may want to memorize some of those verses. Or you may want to pick out your own verses that are the most meaningful to you. Ω
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
JANUARY 30, 2019 – WEDNESDAY
 A.M. Exodus 22-24   P.M. Matthew 20:17-34
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verses to Memorize:
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  (Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Song for Today: 
Going Home (3:39) ( Gaither)  
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ULJhI7ojBM                                                    
 (Wait several seconds. You may have to delete an ad.)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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in that day...

1/28/2019

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                     In That Day…
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
 
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.  (Zechariah 12:2-3)
 
IS JERUSALEM THE CENTER OF THE WORLD? Type that statement into Google and enjoy hours of reading. Study Jerusalem! For centuries, some of the leading minds of the world have been saying that Jerusalem is the center of the world. It appears to be the geographical center. Today, it is the center of controversy in the United Nations and is, thus, the political center. It is the religious center in that it is the center of Judaism, birthplace of Christianity, and one of the most sacred sites of Islam.
 
DURING ITS LONG HISTORY, Jerusalem has been attacked 52 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, besieged 23 times, and destroyed twice. The oldest part of the city was settled in the 4th millennium BCE, making Jerusalem one of the oldest cities in the world. (Google)
 
ONE OF THE STRONGEST REASONS FOR BELIEVING THE BIBLE IS TRUE is true and relevant for today is its prophetic focus on the Jew and the city of Jerusalem. Repeatedly, God said He was going to bless, or judge Israel and it happened. The exercise of prophecy seems to be most prevalent toward Israel, the apple of God’s eye. No other race of people has been scattered throughout the world and yet retained its racial identity. But the Jewish people have been scattered over the world more than once and yet they maintain their racial identity. Why? The experts don’t know why. The Bible tells us why.
 
THE BIBLE IS NOT ORDINARY BOOK. It records God’s spoken messages, and actions. God keeps His Word. In summary, the Bible is a treasure house of written and fulfilled prophecies. Many prophecies are yet to be fulfilled. Because prophecies of the past have been fulfilled, we have faith to believe that those prophecies not yet fulfilled, will be fulfilled in God’s own time in keeping with His purpose and plan.  
 
MUCH OF WHAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT JERUSALEM has been fulfilled. We are now in the beginning of the End Times. On May 14, 1948, Israel proclaimed itself to be a nation and was recognized as a nation by President Harry Truman on behalf of the United States on the same day. The fight was on. The wheels began turning. God’s plan began unfolding for Israel as a nation in the End Time.
 
BARBARA AND I ARE READING IN THE LAST THREE CHAPTERS OF ZECHARIAH: chapters 12-14, in our daily Bible reading. Warren Wiersbe comments: “Zechariah takes us to the end times. He describes the Gentile nations attacking Jerusalem, the Jews experiencing severe trials (“the time of Jacob’s trouble”), and then the Lord returning in power and great glory to deliver His people and establish the promised kingdom. What an exciting scenario it is! But it isn’t fiction: it’s God’s own Word, and it will come to pass.
 
“AS YOU STUDY THESE THREE CHAPTERS, note the repetition of the phrase “in that day,” which is found sixteen times. “That day” is “the day of he Lord,” the day of wrath and judgment that the prophets wrote about (Joel 3:9-16; Zephaniah 1) and that Jesus described in Matthew 24:4-31 and John in Revelation 6-19.” (Wiersbe)
 
“JERUSALEM IS MENTIONED FIFTY-TWO TIMES in the book of Zechariah. Twenty-two of these references is in the final three chapters. In the first chapter of his prophecy, Zechariah told us that God was “jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy” (1:14). This statement reveals the yearning heart of a loving Father for His firstborn (Exodus 4:22) and the desire of a faithful Husband for His unfaithful bride (Jeremiah 2:2; 3:2) God’s timing isn’t always what we would have planned, but He is wiser than we are and will keep His promises to Israel. The Lord will deliver Jerusalem (12:1-9; 14:1-7) “
 
 TODAY, WE SEE THE NEWS STORIES OF THE WORLD KICKING ISRAEL in the teeth every time they can. The United Nations has nothing good to say about Israel. The rockets continue to pour in, killing as many as they can. Recently, Israel’s enemies have been sending in kites with burning torches attached to them, to burn the fields and crops. The United States has helped Israel since their birthday in 1948. The rockets get more sophisticated and deadlier. Still, the incoming jet airlines continue to bring in hundreds of Jews who are “coming home” from all over the world. They know it’s dangerous. But it’s also dangerous in some of the places they’re coming from.
 
IN "THAT DAY" it’s going to be bad when the nations of the world gather around Jerusalem with the intent of destroying them. We will learn more as we continue in Zechariah. We can learn also from reading Ezekiel 39 about what God is going to do in that day. There will not always be a problem with Islam. The Jewish temple will be built in Jerusalem on Mount Zion but built in unbelief. Israel will make a covenant with the anti-Christ but after 3 ½ years the covenant will be broken, and the anti-Christ will proclaim himself to be God and the Jews will have to flee their beloved land. They will be hunted down to be killed. It will be “Jacob’s Trouble.” But, there will be a great awakening during that time. Thousands and thousands of Jews as well as gentiles will turn to Christ as Savior and Lord. Ω
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year 
JANUARY 29, 2019 - TUESDAY
 A.M. Exodus 19-21   P.M. Matthew 20:1-16
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verses to Memorize:
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  (2Timothy 4:2-4)
 
Song for Today: 
The Holy City (5:14) (Orchestra-Choir)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BM9E1hEVrg
 You may have to adjust the volume and/or delete an ad.
 
 
 
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    Dan Carr is a "retired" pastor, writer, teacher and continues to write at this website. This blog and other articles are e-mailed free to anyone who wants them. Go to: 
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    Dan and Barbara live 
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    We enjoy gardening, reading, church, family and friends.

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