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them that honor me...

11/12/2018

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                      Them That Honor Me…                            
…them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.  (1Samuel 2:30)

ELI WAS THE LORD'S HIGH PRIEST. He knew a lot about being the High Priest and knew a lot about the law of God. But he was an easy-going kind of man and this carried over into his relationship with his sons who were also in the priesthood. His sons were bad apples and Eli was a softie with their bad behavior.

ELI'S SONS WERE CUTTING THEMSELVES SOME CHOICE RAW MEAT before the fat was burned off.  That violated God’s explicit commands.  In verse 22 we learn that his sons were picking out women at the door of the Tabernacle to have sex with.  Eli knew about these things but did not restrain his sons. He should have put them out of the priesthood as an example to the rest of the priests. Finally, God’s patience ran out with Eli.

And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?  And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?  (1Samuel 2:27-28)

● And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD'S.  (Leviticus 3:16)
 
THE PRIESTS WHO RECEIVED THE OFFERINGS could take a small amount of the meat of the offerings for themselves, to feed their families. But they were to take it after the fat had burned off. Eli’s sons argued with the people who came to sacrifice until the people despised the offering of the Lord. Eli’s sons were insisting on having raw meat before the fat was burned off. Below is a recorded conversation of the contention that went on. The people were wondering: “Why does God let this go on?”
 
Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.  (1Samuel 2:15-17)
 
●ELI IS REPRIMANDED. Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?  (1Samuel 2:29) This is plain.
Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.  (1Samuel 2:30)

GOD DIDN'T CHANGE HIS MIND ABOUT HIS INSTRUCTIONS to the priests, which included Eli’s father-priest. Eli had messed up so bad that he had dishonored his earthly father and disobeyed the Lord. God was going to have to do something about it.

THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH TO CAUSE ELI TO SRAIGHTEN UP and take his sons in hand, but the warning fell on Eli’s deaf ears.  He gave his wicked sons a little pep talk and reasoned with them. We do not negotiate with God──we obey Him! Eli’s sons were under him in employment. Parents cannot force grown children to obey the Lord. We can only pray for them and urge them to follow the Lord.

BUT, IF CHILDREN ARE UNDER OUR ROOF, they are under our authority and under our rules; especially in the teen years. That can be a tough time. Many hours of example, prayer, pleading, and firm enforcement of the rules go into those years. Eli did not do his best. We are to do our best. Parents do their children NO favor by trying to be buddies with them. You are not a buddy; you are an authority figure. Wear it. “Under my roof – under my rules.”  James Dobson called it: “Tough Love.” His book by that name is still available for as little as $1.00 through several outlets online.

I HAD TO PRACTICE THIS. I had to open the kitchen door and offer one of my sons a choice between my-roof-and-rules or the street outside. I meant it and after staring into the dark and the street for a minute or two, he decided my roof and rules were a better choice. It was never brought up again. Tough love is not easy.  Before I was married, I had talked with people on the streets, in jails and rescue missions and I saw what rebellion would do to young people. I knew that a loving but firm hand is a must.

WHEN I WAS 14, MY DAD BROUGHT A YOUNG MAN HOME WITH HIM from the sawmill. He worked on Saturday at putting in new fence posts for the pasture field. Sunday morning, he went to church with me in the big farm truck. After church, I couldn’t find him. He had hitchhiked to an old friend’s house who was in the army. His friend came home unexpectedly and found the young man I took to church, in bed with his wife. The soldier split his head with a double-bladed axe. I don’t know if this young man had ever experienced tough love from a loving father. All I knew was that he was dead, and it happened fast. Breakfast at our table and the funeral home that night.

BROTHER ROLOFF HAD A HEART FOR TRASHED TEENAGERS and broken homes and named his radio broadcast: Family Altar. Many of the rebellious kids in his homes were children of pastors. They knew Bible verses and Amazing Grace, but they were rebels. Pastor Kent Kelly and I ate breakfast with him in his home kitchen in Texas. He couldn’t eat for the phone ringing. He paced back and forth in the kitchen as he took a desperate call from Germany. Read the Bible and pray with your children. Live what you preach. Listen to them without chewing them out. Compliment them for what they do right. Hold them accountable for doing wrong. That’s part of your job.

Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  (1Samuel 2:22)
And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD'S people to transgress. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.  (1Samuel 2:22-25)

“….the Lord would slay them.”  God knows hearts. He knows when self-will is so set against God that a man is not going to change.  No need to talk to these young men any more. Their days are numbered. Now we have the scenario with the child Samuel.
 
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.  And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.  (1Samuel 3:19-20)

  ●This article is edited and reprinted from September 15, 2015 and November 17, 2017
 
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THE END OF THE STORY IS THAT GOD SENT ELI'S SONS INTO BATTLE and they were killed. When Eli received the news that his sons were dead and that the Ark of God had been taken in battle, Eli went into shock, fell off his seat and broke his neck.

GOD IS SERIOUS ABOUT PEOPLE HONORING HIM and serious about people who despise Him and His word.  Eli didn’t lose his salvation. But he lost his life. There is a sin unto death in the Old Testament and a sin unto death in the New Testament. The sin unto death can happen to a Christian. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.  (1John 5:16-17)
 
ALL SIN IS NOT THE SAME. THERE IS A SIN UNTO DEATH. Most sins are not unto death. Therefore, all sins are not the same in the sight of the Lord.  For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.  (1Corinthians 11:30-32)
 
WE MUST HONOR THE LORD IN EVERYTHING WE DO. That will keep us from running into the trouble Eli got himself into. Ω
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Read Through the Bible in a Year
 NOVEMBER 13, 2017 - TUESDAY
  A.M   Ezekiel 4-6    P.M Hebrews 10:1-23
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verse to Memorize: 
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)
 
Song for Today: 
I Have Decided to Follow Jesus (2:39) (Gaither)  
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehuBXUD5h8U
  You may have to adjust the volume and delete Ad.

I intended to let Brother Roloff sing this morning, but this one got to me. Let’s follow Jesus.
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going about doing good...

11/11/2018

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    Going About Doing Good

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.  (Acts 10:38)

WE REMEMBER THAT JOHN BUNYAN wrote “Pilgrim’s Progress” while he was locked up in the Bedford jail for twelve years because he was preaching without a license from the government. His thriving church dwindled and was boarded up. At length, the government relented, and he returned to preach in his church, although he spent much of his time in London.
 
IT WAS A DAY AND PLACE OF EXTREME POVERTY. By age 59 Bunyan was one of England's most famous writers. He carried out his pastoring duties and was nicknamed "Bishop Bunyan." In August 1688, he rode through heavy rain to reconcile a father and son, became ill, and died.
 
I DON' KNOW WHO DREW THE PICTURE of the pitiful, starving kitten leaning on a man’s shoe, but the caption supposedly was written by John Bunyan.  What was there about this man, Jesus, who has commanded the allegiance of so many millions of people over a period of two thousand years? Before His day of crucifixion, he preached like no other man before Him. But Peter shows us a snapshot of Jesus that drew people to hear Him and to give their lives for Him.
 
IN OUR TEXT FOR TODAY, PETER MENTIONS IN ONE LINE: “who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.” Here is one of those phrases (two phrases) that is powerful and commanding.  One might question: “What is so unusual about a man going about doing good?” It is unusual in that few men were going about doing good. It is still true today that not many men go around “doing good.” Men go around doing what they must do to get a dollar.
 
THE SECRET IN GOING ABOUT DOING GOOD is to do what God has enabled us to do for the people who need it the most. A lot of people were oppressed by the devil and Jesus had the power of God to deal with it. So, he did. This is a pattern of what we are to do as His disciples. Do what God has enabled you to do. Before Peter made the statement above, he had already said to a lame man:  Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.  (Acts 3:6)
 
THIS RECALLS THE PRACTICE OF A DEACON AT THE HIGHLAND PARK BAPTIST Church in Chattanooga, TN. The deacon owned a restaurant and when the restaurant was closed at the end of the day, he began his second job. He took the food that was left over and delivered it to a list of people in need. He was always by himself. He never told anyone about it. He was just observed doing it day after day.
 
HOW DO WE GO ABOUT DOING GOOD? Perhaps it would begin with a prayer at the beginning of the day, asking God to show us what we should do. We do not know who is going to cross our path, but God knows. I don’t own a restaurant, so I can’t do what the deacon did. Peter also said: As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.  (1Peter 4:10)
 
A BLACK CROW CAN'T SING LIKE A NIGHTINGALE because God made him to caw-caw-caw! Don’t worry about what other people are doing that you cannot do. But, you have a gift of some kind that can be a blessing to someone in need. Paul told us another part of going about doing good. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.  (2Corinthians 8:12)

WE MIGHT DO WELL TO BEGIN WITH A KIND WORD. How are you doing with kind words these days?  When we start our day, if we are in tune with going about doing good, we will recognize an opportunity. This is Bible. The organ won’t play, and the church bell won’t ring but the one who watches the sparrow that falls also watches His children to see if they’re behaving like His children.
 
JOSEPH SCRIVEN WAS ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED and the day before the wedding, his bride-to-be capsized on the lake and drowned. Joseph never married. He was a handyman who circulated in his community fixing things for people. When he died, someone found a folded paper in a drawer  with words in his handwriting. It was a poem: “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”  Charles Converse wrote the music and we sing it today as one of the most loved of gospel songs. Listen to Larry Ford sing it. Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year
NOVEMBER 12, 2018 – MONDAY
 A.M. Ezekiel 1-3   P.M. Hebrews 9
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:  
Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.  (Psalm 41:1)

Song for Today: 
What a Friend We Have in Jesus (3:37) (Larry Ford -Gaither Group)  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coO5Sl8Vnlw               
       (Wait several seconds. You may have to delete an ad.)

 I posted this article about a year ago and the message still holds. Let us do good.
 
 
 
 
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tHE MILK DIET...

11/8/2018

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                        The Milk Diet…

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:  If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious (1Peter 2:1-3)

GOD LIKENS NEW BELIEVERS TO NEWBORN BABES. When we are born again by the Spirit of God, we have new life, a new destiny, a new appetite…and new problems.

SOMETIMES NEW CHRISTIANS DON'T DO WELL; do not have the things that will cause them to grow. Some people have been saved 40 years that are still babes in Christ. That is not a slur but a fact. The milk of the Word contrasts with the meat of the Word (1Corinthians.3:2) Meat is suitable only for Christians that have grown in the Lord and are able to digest heavier food.

GOD PLACES SOMETHING BEFORE THE  milk of the word.  Before we can have success in Bible living, God lays out five things that must be shucked off like removing a jacket in a hot room. We are to lay aside malice, guile, hypocrisies, envies, and evil speaking.  Talk about going on a crash diet! Some of these things are as tasty as Snicker bars.

Malice is an evil-spirited attitude toward someone that’s just looking for an opportunity to snipe and growl. Guile is speaking something that sounds good but covers up something harmful underneath. Hypocrisy is playacting. Playing a character as in a play on a stage; not really that person.  Envy is a feeling of covetousness of another person's position or success.  Evil speaking is the habit of running people down, backbiting.

WE CAN IMMEDIATELY DETERMINE TO RID OURSELVES OF THESE THINGS. In practice, it may take time to change our habits; going back to the Lord repeatedly to ask for His forgiveness and strength to conquer these sins. We must do it if we want to grow from the milk of the Word.

SIXTY FIVE YEARS AGO, I memorized verses 2 and 3 as part of the Navigator’s course. For several years I never noticed verse 1. I reviewed and quoted verses 2 & 3 hundreds of times. One day when I was just reading that chapter and saw verse 1, it was sobering. Spiritually, it was like getting struck by lightning! I kept coming back to it and realized increasingly that without making the changes in verse 1, it was virtually impossible to make any progress in verses 2 and 3.

GOD SAVES US FEE OF CHARGE, but He wants us to eventually be like His Son. That process of growing is called: “Sanctification.” It goes on all of our earthly life.  He saves us in our sins, but He will not leave us in our sins. If we want to grow from the milk of the word of God, He requires a radical change in our lives. If we have laid aside the repulsive five garments and acquired a desire for the simple milk of the word of God, then we will have tasted that the Lord is gracious. The Lord, whose nature it is to be gracious in His dealings with us.

OUR TEXT FOLLOWS IMPORTANT VERSES IN CHAPTER ONE. Please read 1Peter 1 & 2. Take a journey through these verses right on through chapter two. You will be blessed greatly if you will take the time to read the first two chapters to review your relationship to the Lord and then you will be in good shape to move on to chapter 3, into human relationships. It is God’s will that we mature in our walk with the Lord.

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: (Ephesians 4:14-15) 
 
I’VE SPENT MUCH TIME LISTENING TO SAD TALES from hurting people. That’s part of what God called me to do. We pay a heavy price for trying to get through life on our own without getting the things in our text in order . We humans want other people to change their lives, so we won’t have to. We like anger and selfishness and being in charge and they are the very things that God wants to change in our lives. Nothing will help us as quickly as dying to self, humbling our hearts, and a daily diet of the Word of God. Today is a good day to start. Ω  
​(Photo at top is Callan Cofield, son of Justin & Kristina Cofield.)

Read Through the Bible in a Year
 NOVEMBER 8, 2018 - FRIDAY
 A.M.  Jeremiah 51-52  P.M. Hebrews 5
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
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)
 
Song for Today: 
Rock of Ages (4:03) (Vestal Goodman, The Martins and Gaither Group)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2W7Elmao3c
 (You may have to adjust the volume and delete an ad.
 
Note: I won’t be surprised to hear this song in Heaven! Who will sing it? 
 
 
 
 
 
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the stone....

11/6/2018

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The Stone…
To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ (1Peter 2:4-5).

(WE LOOKED AT THIS SEVERAL MONTHS AGO. Sometimes we need to connect with stones and rocks to help us feel secure. I’m sure that’s why God used them as figures of speech in His Word.)

TO BE A ROUGH, SMELLY FISHERMAN WITH NO PEDIGREE OR DIPLOMA of higher learning, Peter suddenly became an architect of the highest order. He’s a master of the Hebrew and Greek and a solemn authority. I suspect it’s because God was sitting beside him and whispering to him what to say.

THE BIBLE SOMETIMES USES FIGURES OF SPEECH to increase the reader’s understanding of a subject at hand. We must be careful in discerning if it is a figure of speech or a literal statement. Jesus said He was the door of the sheep (John 10:7,9). He did not mean that he was a wooden barricade or one of our doors today with hinges and a door knob. He simply meant that He was the one means of access.

HE CALLED US HIS SHEEP AND CALLED HIMSELF A SHEPHERD. This does not mean that saved people are all covered with wool and equipped with sheep-looking ears. It does mean that we are sheep-like in how dumb we are at times and how dependent we are on a caring and all-wise shepherd to take care of us These figures of speech are obvious.

IN OUR RELATIONSHIP TO HIM, we have been called sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.  Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.  (Galatiansl 4:6-7) This is not a figure of speech. We ARE the sons of God and the Spirit of God has cried through us to the Father, calling Him, Abba (Daddy!).

IN TODAY'S TEXT WE ARE COMING TO AN UNUSUAL STONE, a metaphor (figure of speech). It is a living (lively) stone. The living stone is Christ. It is in the context of a stone building. Christ is a stone and then the writer says: “ye also.” Christ is a living stone. We (also) are stones, built into a spiritual house. Jesus is flesh and blood, (Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.  (Luke 24:39)  And Jesus is a stone. We are flesh and blood, and we are stones. Our flesh and blood are literal. Our being stones and a living house is a figure of speech.

I DON'T WANT TO GO OVERBOARD ON EXPLAINING THIS, since the use of a figure of speech is to reduce the number of words as well as to increase the power of the phrase. However, I have observed much confusion among Christians who have not sorted out the use of figures of speech in the Bible. For example, the rich man in Hell (Luke 16) is considered by some as being a parable and not literal. You can get him out of Hell and keep from going to Hell yourself by simply making that into a parable instead of a literal reference to Hell. (That is not my subject today.)

THE BIBLE BURDENS ITSELF TO SHOW US THE STRENGTH, security, and permanence of who God is and our relationship to Him, now and in eternity. It is characteristic of the Bible to explain it one way and in case we missed the point, to explain it in different terms so we are sure to get it. God wants us to know things. We find this purposeful practice scattered throughout the Bible.

“A ;LIVING STONE - The allusion in this passage is to Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” (Isaiah 28:16) That is, the stone is so solid and secure that the one standing upon it will feel no dread or fear and no inward impulse to run someplace else for safety in the time of trouble. A prophecy of the coming Jewish Messiah.

We ARE ALSO DRAWN TO: “The stone which the builders disallowed is become the headstone of the corner.” Psalm 118:22 “The reference is to Christ as the foundation on which the church is reared. He occupies the same place as a foundation-stone does to the edifice that is reared upon it.” (Barnes) (It appears that the presence and properties of the foundation stone and the corner stone are run together here.)

JESUS CONTINUES THE REFERENCE TO THE STONE: Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.  (Matthew 7:24-25)

PAUL PICKS UP THE STONE LANGUAGE: As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed (Romans 9:33).

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; (Ephesians.2:19-20).
 
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians. 2:21-22).
 
A DIFFERENT KIND OF TEMPLE:  This is not a temple made of stone, overlaid with gold, enhanced with expensive timbers and impressive doors. It is a temple of redeemed people that is built to be inhabited by the Spirit of God. “…a habitation of God through the Spirit.”
It is awesome that the Spirit of God should dwell in our bodies! But that is exactly what these verses say. Not only so, but we are told that He gives us “living water” (John 4:10).

CHRIST IS THE FOUNDATION STONE, we are the upper stone structure of God’s Temple, and Christ imparts life to the whole spiritual temple. (The commentaries are word-rich about these verses because the Word of God is word-rich about the stone and the cornerstone rejected of men.) Are you part of God’s Temple?

THIS OLD HYMN IS APPROPRIATE HERE: “My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but firmly lean on Jesus’ name. (Chorus) On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.” (Edward Mote – 1834) Please play it below. Ω
 
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
  NOVEMBER 7, 2018 - WEDNESDAY
   A.M. Jeremiah 46-48   P.M. Hebrews 7
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; (1Timothy 2:1-3)
 
Song for Today:
The Solid Rock (4:04) (United Meth. Ch. Winfield, Iowa)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IdAZmwQ2xY (4:04)
This is the best version I could find of this great old hymn.
    (You may have to adjust the volume and delete an ad.
 
 
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Our newest great-grandson: Gianni. Son of Melody Carr and “Fox.”
 ​
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THE SUN WILL COME UP WEDNESDAY

11/4/2018

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The Sun Will Come Up Wednesday

​This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.  (Psalm 118:24) 
The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.  (Proverbs 21:1)
 
WEDNESDAY WILL BE THE DAY AFTER THE NATIONAL MID-TERM ELECTIONS IN AMERICA. The sun will come up as has been the custom. The God of Heaven does not run for office, does not depend on votes from humans or angels. He is still in charge of the universe. I say: “elections” because Tuesday is “election day,” a day of many elections in America. The turn-out of voters on the mid-term election day, is almost always half the number that turn out for the presidential election day.
 
WE WILL BE VOTING ON BEHALF OF THE UNBORN BABIES in the wombs of their mothers. These are the little people who have no voice. A thousand unborn babies are murdered every day in America. Every elective abortion stops a beating heart. So, we will be voting for them. But, if my side does not win, it won’t help anything to behave like the devil and make a lot of noise. For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength:….(Isaiah 30:15)
 
GOD CAN WORK WITH TORNADOES or He can work with a soft, gentle rain to make vast acreages of grain to grow and feed multitudes of people. Our God is an awesome God and He cares more about the murdering of babies than I can ever care. He cared about the children being passed through the fire in Bible times and He cares about the babies being torn apart in the wombs of their mothers today.
 
Our elected officials should be foremost in our daily prayers. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.  (Psalm 127:1)
 
ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER , 1941, JAPANESE WAR PLANES bombed ships of the American Navy that were anchored in Pearl Harbor. I had just turned 7 and remember standing behind the circle of my family as they listened to the battery-powered radio give out the news all afternoon. 2,335 Americans were killed, 1,143 wounded and 18 ships sunk or run aground. The sun came up the next day. World-wide, that war cost the lives of 60 million people. When it was over, the sun came up the next day.
 
TO SAY THAT THE SUN WILL COME UP, TOMOROW, is a way of saying that regardless of what happens, God is still there and is still in charge of the world and its people.
 
WHEN THINGS GO AGAINST US, we may wonder how it can ever be fixed, it is so bad. We leave a family member in the grave and it could not be worse. Dear friend, this old world is a hard place to be as well as a wonderful place to be. A day can really hurt bad. The telephone or the front door can almost destroy us with bad news.
 
WHEN IT COMES YOUR WAY, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHY some of the old songs are in the church hymnal. “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through…”  “What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see…” “Oh the land of an unclouded day…” “I care not today what the ‘morrow may bring, If shadow or sunshine or rain, The Lord I know ruleth o’er everything, And all of my worry is vain.”
 
JUST A WORD ABOUT THE DIVISION OF AMERICA: it didn’t begin in our lifetime. Right now, we are more divided than we have been for a while. It began a short time after America was founded. Our government began with a one-party system. It became two parties after we won the war with England. Thomas Jefferson became an American Ambassador to France (after Benjamin Franklin). France and England got into a war with each other and we wanted to trade with both countries. Thomas Jefferson strongly favored France and he is given credit for influencing a second party that would back an alliance with France.
 
WE WERE PRESSED TO TAKE SIDES WITH EITHER ENGLAND OR FRANCE. It divided our country and out of that came our two-party system. So, we have been a divided nation of two parties almost from the beginning. Each side has kept up with the dirt on the other party, so they can vote them out of office…which has been a good thing, in my opinion. “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” (Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.)
 
THIS EXPLANATION OF THE HISTORY OF OUR DIVIDED NATION may not suit some people, but I offer it as a beginning place to do your reading and research and come up with your own opinion. At times we have been more divided than at other times. On December 7, 1941, we unified as a nation in one day against the Japanese and then against Germany and Italy. In one generation, some students in the public schools did not want to salute the American flag. We divided over the Vietnam War.
 
WE DON'T YET HAVE A HANDLE ON HOW TO BE ONE NATION. It’s like being “one” with the arch enemy of your local high school in your county. It suits us better if we are “us” and “them.” We seem to be geared that way.
 
BUT,THEN WE RUN UP AGAINST THE BIBLE THAT SAYS: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.  (Galatians 3:28) And: …Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.  (Luke 11:17)
 
FROM OUR UNIVERSITIES, WE HAVE HAD AN UNHEALTHY AMOUNT OF INDOCTRINATION of students against the United States and it has continued to this day. But I notice that we have a lot of people trying to get into this country because it’s not too good back home where they’re coming from. The United States may not be the bad place some of the college professors would have our young people to believe.
 
IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THOUGH, THAT WE ARE A NATION OF LAWS and we do have borders just like we have locks on our doors and locks on our car, and keys. We don’t just invite strangers in to sleep on the couch and take whatever they want. Same way with our nation having doors. When people barge into our country, it strains the hospitals and schools and police departments to take care of them. All of that stuff is not free. Somebody must pay for it. America is the most generous and compassionate nation on earth. But, even America is not rich enough to feed and care for the whole world. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Somebody has to plant seed, harvest crops, operate stores.
 
THE CHRISTIAN WAY OF LIFE REQUIRES ORDER. Jesus said so. When He fed the multitudes he had them to sit down in little groups and to pick up the fragments of fish so that nothing was wasted.  When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. And when the seven (loaves) among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.  (Mark 8:19-20)
 
IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, YOUR BIBLE HAS TOLD YOU TO PRAY for those in authority over you regardless of which side wins. God will cause the sun to come up every day and you have your responsibilities laid out for you. Prayer is not a meaningless thing. Prayer is a powerful thing. I know, I know…it’s a lot easier to whine and complain than to pray. I understand that. But it doesn’t change what God has told us to do. Get into your Bible
 and get on your knees. The people in government on your behalf, need your earnest prayers. Good government is a very hard job.
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 NOVEMBER 5, 2018 – MONDAY
  A.M. Jeremiah 40-42   P.M.  Hebrews 2
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verses to Memorize:
 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; (1Timothy 2:1-3)
 
Song for Today: 
The Battle Hymn of the Republic (4:53) The U.S. Army Chorus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkkIUsV36f4
 You may have to adjust the volume or delete an ad.
 
                 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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be of good courage

11/1/2018

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Be of Good Courage
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.  (Joshua 1:9)
 
WHEN I WAS MEMORIZING THIS VERSE 60 years ago, it went deep, to the bone. One of the benefits of memorizing Scripture verses is that they must be repeated 4-5 times a day, written 4-5 times a day…for a month or so. Repeat and write a verse until it flows out of your mouth or from your pen without hesitation.  

THIS EXEERCISE HARNESSES THE MIND and forces it into meditation on what is being said. Ninety times, the Bible says: “Be of good courage.”  If you speak: “Be of good courage” five times a day and write “Be of good courage” five times a day, in a few days your inner being is going to get the idea that it is proper to “Be of good courage.” If you say and write: “fizzle and fail” five times for a month, that’s what you will do.
 
PEOPLE IN BIBLE TIMES WERE PEOPLE JUST LIKE WE ARE TODAY. If you cut them, they bled red blood. They got hungry and thirsty and sleepy…just like we do today. Joshua was the leader of an army commissioned by the God of Heaven and yet Joshua had to be encouraged to be strong, to be not afraid, to be not dismayed (down in the dumps). The biggest thing he was to remember was that God was with him everywhere he went. If Joshua needed to be reminded of that, do you think it strange that you don’t always feel like wrestling with a big black bear?  
 
ONE DAY AS I WAS ROUTINELY GOING OVER the above verse, it struck me forcefully that the Bible never says: “Go ye out and be ye weak.” The Bible never says: “Go ye out and fall flat on your face.” The Bible never says: “Go ye out and make a mess out of your life.” The Bible says 100 times: “shall not be ashamed.”  The Bible says 90 times: be of good courage. But, God is going to test your mettle! You will need to be encouraged. You will need someone to tell you the sun will come up in the morning!
 
IT'S GOOD TO HANG AROUND PEOPLE WHO THINK IT CAN BE DONE, who don’t mind stepping in mud. Stepping in mud can be good for you. When I was in my teens, twice a day I had to carry a bucket of slop through the gate and pour it into a trough in a muddy lot while 2-3 old grumpy, squealing, impatient, 180-pound hogs would rush up to me and would often run their nose under the bottom edge of the bucket and boot it up, filling my boot with slop. That’s a real character builder! After that, everything I did was easier than slopping hogs. I had to tell myself, “This won’t last forever.” Today, I have to thank the Lord for letting me slop the hogs. I found this verse: Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  (2Timothy 2:3)
 
IF YOU'RE HAVING A HARD TIME, GOD KNOWS ABOUT IT. LEAN ON HIM. Thank Him for the many good things you have, in spite of the tough things you don’t like.
 
WHEN GOD MAKES A MUSHROOM, IT ONLY TAKES A FEW DAYS and the mushroom will only last a few days. When God makes a big White Oak tree, it takes 40-50 years; longer than making a mushroom. We’ve got a sturdy White Oak rocking chair in our living room that’s probably 150 years old and still rocks good and looks nice. It will probably be in good shape when my grandchildren are as old as I am. Not a mushroom. God made you for a purpose and it may not be comfy some days. Winter will come several times. But your job is to bloom where you’re planted and bring glory to God by the way you show you belong to Him. God is watching and He will make the reward worthwhile. Ω
 
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 NOVEMBER 2, 2018 – FRIDAY
  A.M. Jeremiah 33-35   P.M.  Titus 3
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)
 
Song for Today: 
Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho (3:16) The Nathaniel Dett Acapella Chorale. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) Canada’s First Professional group dedicated to Afrocentric Music… The director, Moses Hogan, takes a minute of his time explaining what the choir is going to do. Then we have 2 minutes and 16 seconds of great music! This is barbershop-close harmony, true Negro Spiritual style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks7fLAwzVxY
 You may have to adjust the volume or delete an ad.

I LOOKED HARD TO FIND THE BEST GROUP TO SING: Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho. Some of the groups really mess it up and disrespect the song. Not acceptable. This was a favorite in the young men’s dorm at Tenn. Temple and before lights were out, sometimes a small group of fellows would put their heads together and sing this and other Negro Spirituals. It was uplifting and brings back a lot of memories. Dr. Roberson brought the Eureka Jubilee Singers, a black group, to Temple several times and they were one of the best-loved groups I remember. My three sons and I used to love singing some of the Negro Spirituals and keep time by snapping our fingers: Swing Lo, Sweet Chariot was our favorite.
 
                 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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loving you and protecting me

10/31/2018

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Loving You and Protecting Me
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.  (John 13:34-35) 
Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:18)
 
THE BIBLE IS MADE UP OF 1,189 CHAPTERS AND 31,173 VERSES (K. JAMES VERSION). Many men and women have given their lives to translate it, print it, preach it, distribute it and live by it. For hundreds of years it has been the best-selling book in the world. Why? What is so different and great about this book that so many men and women have given and continue to give their lives for it?
 
R.A. TORREY GAVE US THIS 100 YEARS AGO: “It claims to be the Word of God; it seems to be the Word of God; it proves to be the Word of God.” (Torrey) It is the only book that accurately tells the future. Its central theme is about the “Coming One,” and the “One Who Came,” and the “One Who Is Coming Again.”

THE BIBLE TELLS US HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN and how to live on the way to Heaven. It has the reputation for teaching and empowering men, women and children to bend themselves toward holy living and toward loving one another. It does not make us perfect, but it does a marvelous job of turning us toward perfection and in a new direction.

“THE STORY HAS OFTEN BEEN TOLD ABOUT THE MESSAGE the founder of the Salvation Army sent to their international convention. General William Booth was unable to attend personally because of ill health, so he cabled the delegates a message containing one word: “OTHERS!”

“IN THE POPULAR COMIC STRIP "PEANUTS," Lucy asks Charlie Brown, “Why are we here on earth?” He replies, “To make others happy.” She ponders this for a moment and then asks, “Then why are the others here?”

“ONE ANOTHER: IS ONE OF THE KEY PHRASES in the Christian’s vocabulary. “Love one another” is found at least a dozen times in the New Testament, along with “pray one for another” (James_5:16), “edify one another” (1Thessalonians_5:11), prefer one another (Romans_12:10), “use hospitality one to another” (1Peter_4:9), and many other like admonitions.

“IN THE SECTION BEFORE US, Paul adds another phrase: “Bear ye one another’s burdens” (Galatians_6:2). The Spirit-led Christian thinks of others and how he can minister to them.” (Warren Wiersbe)

“A NEW COMMANDMENT - This command he gave them as he was about to leave them, to be a badge of discipleship, by which they might be known as his friends and followers, and by which they might be distinguished from all others. It is called new, not because there was no command before which required people to love their fellow-man, for one great precept of the law was that they should love their neighbor as themselves Leviticus 19:18; but it was new because it had never before been made that by which any class or body of people had been known and distinguished. The Jew was known by his external rites, by his uniqueness of dress, etc.; the philosopher by some other mark of distinction; the military man by another, etc.

“IN NONE OF THESE CASES HAD LOVE FOR EACH OTHER been the distinguishing and special badge by which they were known. But in the case of Christians they were not to be known by distinctions of wealth, or learning, or fame; they were not to aspire to earthly honors; they were not to adopt any special style of dress or badge, but they were to be distinguished by tender and constant attachment to each other.

“THIS WAS TO SURMOUNT ALL DISTINCTION OF COUNTRY, OF COLOR, OF RANK, OF OFFICE, OF SECT.  Here they were to feel that they were on a level, that they had common wants, were redeemed by the same sacred blood, and were going to the same heaven. They were to befriend each other in trials; be careful of each other’s feelings and reputation; deny themselves to promote each other’s welfare. See 1John 3:23; 1Thessalonians 4:9; 1Peter 1:22; 2Thessalonians 1:3; Galatians 6:2; 2Peter 1:7.

“IN ALL THESE PLACES THE COMMAND OF JESUS IS REPEATED OR REFERRED TO, and it shows that the first disciples considered this indeed as the special law of Christ. This command or law was, moreover, new in regard to the extent to which this love was to be carried; for he immediately adds, “As I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” His love for them was strong, continued, unremitting, and he was now about to show his love for them in death. John 15:13; “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

“SO IN 1JOHN 3:16 IT IS SAID THAT “we ought also to lay down our lives for the brethren.” This was a new expression of love; and it showed the strength of attachment which we ought to have for Christians, and how ready we should be to endure hardships, to encounter dangers, and to practice self-denial, to benefit those for whom the Son of God laid down his life. (Barnes)

THE SHORT PART OF OUR THEME , TODAY: “Loving You and Protecting Me” is this: when should I protect myself from death instead of dying for His namesake?”  In Jesus’ day, the question for the disciples was: “What if someone tries to rob me at night while I’m sleeping under a tree and will probably kill me to keep me quiet?”
 
WARREN WIERSBE OFFES A REASONABLE EXPLANATION: And he that hath no sword – “There has been much difficulty in understanding why Jesus directed his disciples to arm themselves, as if it was his purpose to make a defense. It is certain that the spirit of his religion is against the use of the sword, and that it was not his purpose to defend himself against Judas. But it should be remembered that these directions about the purse, the scrip, and the sword were not made with reference to his “being taken” in the garden, but with reference “to their future life.”

“THE TIME OF THE TRIAL IN GETHSEMANE WAS JUST AT HAND; nor was there “time” then, if no other reason existed, to go and make the purchase. It altogether refers to their future life. They were going into the midst of dangers. The country was infested with robbers and wild beasts. It was customary to go armed. He tells them of those dangers - of the necessity of being prepared in the usual way to meet them.

“THIS, THEN, IS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED AS A SPECIFIC, POSITIVE "COMMAND" to procure a sword, but an intimation that great dangers were before them; that their manner of life would be changed, and that they would need the provisions “appropriate to that kind of life.” The “common” preparation for that manner of life consisted in money, provisions, and arms; and he foretells them of that manner of life by giving them directions commonly understood to be appropriate to it.

“IT AMOUNTS, THEN, TO A "PREDICTION" THAT THEY WOULD SOON LEAVE THE PLACES which they had been accustomed to, and go into scenes of poverty, want, and danger, where they would feel the necessity of money, provisions, and the means of defense. All, therefore, that the passage justifies is:

1.THAT IT IS PROPER FOR PEOPLE TO PROVIDE  for their wants, and for ministers and missionaries as well as any others.
2. THAT SELF-DEFENSE IS LAWFUL." (Warren Wiersbe)

Read Through the Bible in a Year
 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 – THURSDAY
  A.M. Jeremiah 31-32   P.M.  Titus 2
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)
 
Song for Today: 
Hallelujah Chorus (4:56)  (Flash Mob – Acapella -Food Court )
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE
 You may have to adjust the volume or delete an ad.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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inconvenient human life

10/29/2018

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       Inconvenient Human Life     
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.  (John 8:44)
 
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1Peter 5:8)
 
HOW IS IT POSSIBLE, TODAY, that a grown man with a fairly good education (as we think of education) will take a gun and shoot down a group of innocent people at the Tree of Life Jewish Synagogue in Philadelphia that he doesn’t know? Is he sick or evil or both? Millions of people in America, religious and not-so-religious go through life rubbing shoulders with each other without a thought of killing anyone.
 
IN MY OPINION, THE SURGE OF VIOLENCE WE ARE SEEING IN AMERICA comes straight out of the culture of death we have created in murdering 60-million innocent babies in the wombs of their mothers since 1973. Every baby that’s murdered, requires the signature of its mother on a form given her by the doctor or nurse. So, 60-million people have signed a death warrant for another human being in America since 1973.
 
THAT IS WIDE-SPREAD PARTICIPATION IN THE PRACTICE OF MURDERING PEOPLE as a convenience. If it’s ok to kill little, innocent people out of convenience, then there’s less problem in killing someone if you hate them or get mad at them. I also believe that the Devil (who is a real person and has awesome power) is driving many people to murder people.
 
THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT MAKE MOTHERS KILL THEIR BABIES. The government gives the mother of the child the freedom to murder her baby if she decides to have it done. We are killing inconvenient human life. Hitler’s people in NAZI Germany killed 300,000 “useless bread eaters” before they began killing Jews. The government sent vans to the houses to pick up people during the night. They got rid of sick and handicapped Germans who were no longer able to work. I just did a Google search and came up with this.

BREITBART NEWS AGENCY REPORTS: "Crime statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) show that more people were killed with hammers and clubs than with rifles of every kind in 2017. "According to the   Uniform Crime Report, (click on the link and see the report) 467 people were killed with “blunt objects (hammers, clubs, etc.),” while 403 were killed were rifles. The FBI report also reveals that 692 people were killed with “personal weapons” like “hands, fists, feet, etc..” and that is higher than the number of people killed with rifles and shotguns combined.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/09/26/fbi-people-killed-hammers-clubs-rifles-every-kind/
 
LET ME MAKE IT CLEAR that Breitbart is not my favorite news agency. I don’t carry water for them. But, neither is the New York Times, Washington Post, and Politico and others. But I still read/scan them. Some of the “fact finding” sites such as Snopes must be taken with a grain of salt. I scan several leading papers on both sides of the political spectrum as it fits my purpose for the day.
 
DURING ONE TRIP TO WASHINGTON I visited the Newseum that has the front page of 745 leading newspapers posted and you can get them online. http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/   I don’t have time to scan 745 newspapers, but I do like to keep up with the general trend of news by scanning a wee bit. For political opinion, I like the Jewish World Review which features about 90 leading political writers. I do miss Charles Krauthammer. You can research some things at the Congressional Library https://www.loc.gov/rr/main/research/ .
 
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN AMERICA OWN GUNS WHO DON'T SHOOT ANYONE. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2015 there were 320 million people in America and 265 million guns.  There are 112.6 guns per 100 residents. I must point out that, while the U. S. Census tries hard to count people and other things in the United States, it is at best an estimate. I do not believe everyone who has a gun is going to tell the U. S. Census Bureau that they have a gun. Americans simply do not trust their government that well.
 
IT IS GENERALLY AGREED THAT THERE ARE ABOUT 300 MILLION GUNS owned by law-abiding citizens. Some claim that the people own something like 40 trillion rounds of ammunition. The states and cities that have some of the most stringent gun control laws have the greatest rate of gun murders, such as Chicago.
 
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I WAS DOING SOME READING on the activities of the Japanese War Lords prior to World War II.  Yamamato, who was trained in the United States, had become one of the men in that circle. When they were planning to bomb the U. S. Naval Fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor, some of the Japanese war lords were suggesting that when they were through bombing Pearl Harbor, they should have troop ships ready on the shoreline of California and mount an invasion. That was in 1941.
 
YAMAMATO ADAMANTLY OPPOSED THE IDEA. He told them: “In America, there’s a gun behind every blade of grass and you don’t want to tangle with such a highly armed nation of people.” Today, there are more Americans and more guns.  
 
OK, I'VE STRAYED FROM MY SUBJECT. But I must make the point here that the hearts of people become wicked and they are willing to kill people out of hatred, guns or no guns. Hands, feet and fists kill more people than all the rifles and shotguns combined.  
 
ROAD RAGE TAKES A TOLL. “According to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety that examined police records nationally, there are more than 1,200 incidents of road rage on average reported per year in the United States, a number of which have ended with serious injuries or even fatalities.”
 
BOTTOM LINE: The devil urges: “If you get in the way of what I want, I will kill you!” Cain killed his brother Abel with his anger (Genesis 4:5,8). If a man is angry and has no regard for human life, he will kill you. Give the devil credit where credit is due: he works hard at driving people to kill each other.
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 OCTOBER 30, 2018 – TUESDAY
  A.M. Jeremiah 27-28   P.M.  2 Timothy 4
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)
 
Song for Today: 
Rock of Ages (2:26)  (Mennonite Acapello Choir )
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM7gt_cSxjw
 You may have to adjust the volume or delete an ad.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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the feast of tabernacles - summary

10/28/2018

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Feast of Tabernacles – Summary

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive:(in 50 days on Pentecost) for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)  (John 7:37-39)
 
JESUS CRIED OUT ON THE LAST DAY OF THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES, projecting Himself to be the water poured out during this Feast.  The Old Testament is full of types and shadows that portray future events and that give meaning to words and phrases in the Biblical texts. Readers who don’t know this feature of the Bible, miss out on a gold mine of meaning. Warren Wiersbe, author of The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (Old Testament), gives us some good facts and commentary on Leviticus 23 and a few other related Old Testament references.
 
“THE JEWS WORKED FROM SUNRISE TO SUNSET, counted the months by the phases of the moon, and watched the seasons come and go. God had promised them “seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat and summer and winter, and day and night” (Genesis 8:22), and they were content. Each day was a sacred gift from God.
 
“THE JEWISH CALENDAR “…was tied to the rhythm of the seasons and the history of the nation. It not only summarized what God had done for them in the past, but it also anticipated what God would do for them in the future. The salvation work of Jesus Christ, the founding of the church, and the future of the people of Israel are all illustrated in these seven feasts. (The church is not mentioned in the Old Testament, but it is included in the types and shadows.dc)
 
“THE WEEKLY SABBATH WASN'T ONE OF THE ANNUAL FEASTS (Exodus 20:8-11), but it was an important day for the Jewish people, and they were expected to honor it. To dishonor it meant death (Numbers 15:32-36).
 
“GOD GAVE THE SABBATH TO ISRAEL FOR SEVERAL REASONS. For one thing, it provided needed rest and refreshment for the people, the farm animals, and the land. (“Sabbath” comes from a Hebrew word that means “to rest, to cease from labor.”) Based on Genesis 2:1-3, the weekly Sabbath reminded the Jews that Jehovah God was the Creator and they were but stewards of His generous gifts The Lord also ordained Sabbath years and the Year of Jubilee to keep the Jews from exploiting the land and impoverishing it (Leviticus 25). God’s tender concern for His creation is seen in the Sabbath laws.
 
“THE SABBATH WAS ALSO A SPECIAL SIGN BETWEEN GOD AND HIS COVENANT PEOPLE (Exodus 31:12-17). Other peoples might work on the seventh day and treat it like any other day, but the Israelites rested on the seventh day and thereby gave witness that they belonged to the Lord (Nehemiah 13:15-22; Isaiah 58:13-14). Nehemiah made it clear that the Sabbath law wasn’t given to Israel until they arrived at Sinai (Nehemiah 9:13-14), while Psalm 147:19-20 indicates that the law was never given to the Gentile nations.

ALTHOUGH BELIEVERS TODAY AREN'T COMMANDED “remember the Sabbath Day” (Romans 14:1ff; Colossians 2:16-17), the principle of resting one day in seven is a good one.  “…the New Testament offered no support for transferring Sabbath practices or regulations to Sunday. It simply declared Sunday as the day the followers of Christ meet in honor of His resurrection.” https://questions.org/attq/do-the-sabbath-requirements-of-old-testament-law-carry-over-to-sunday-2/   
 
“THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES  is the last feast of the annual seven Feasts of the Lord. It was a seven-day feast that usually occurred in October. The Jews who observed this celebration, erected little “huts” or “booths” from bulrushes as a reminder of the temporary housing the traveling Jews erected after they came out of Egypt.” (A feast in this setting is not eating. It is a meeting. dc)
 
A BULRUSH WAS A TALL AQUATIC (IN WATER) PLANT in the Nile valley. Papyrus. The Egyptians cut it into strips to write on it. The traveling Jews used it to make little shelters for themselves as they traveled through that region.
 
THE CELEBRATION OF THE Feast of Tabernacles included hanging samples of the fall crop in their little booth to depict what they had to eat and to show that God faithfully provided food for them during their journey. Each day of the Feast was filled with important festivity.
 
(Following quotes are from “The Feasts of the Lord,” p.30-31, by Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal.)

“EACH DAY, THE HIGH PRIEST OF ISRAEL, in a great processional made up of priests and tens of thousands of worshipers, descended from the Temple Mount to pause briefly at he Pool of Siloam. A pitcher was filed with water, and the procession continued via a different route back to the Temple Mount. Here, in the midst of great ceremony, the High Priest poured the water out of the pitcher onto the altar.  

“IN ISRAEL, THE RAINS NORMALLY STOP IN MARCH, and there is no rain for almost seven months. If God does not provide the “early” rains in October and November, there will be no spring crop, and famine is at the doorstep. This ceremony, then, was intended to invoke God’s blessing on the nation so that He might provide life-giving water.
 
“IT IS IN CONNECTION WITH THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES that the Gospel of John records a fascinating event. John wrote: “on the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38). The Son of God was saying in the clearest possible way that He alone was the source of life and blessing – that He could meet every need of the human heart.
 
“THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES SPEAKS ELOQUENTLY of the messianic Kingdom—of a new beginning without the ravages of the curse of sin.  In that day, the earth will give her full bounty, all animals will be docile, armies will no longer march, every man will sit under his own fig tree, and righteousness will become a reality in the earth.
 
“FIFTEEN HUNDRED YEARS BEFORE THE BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH, the seven feasts foretold, in type, the major redemptive works of His life. The four spring feasts related to His first coming: His death was depicted in Passover; that His body would not decay in the grave is seen in Unleavened Bread; His resurrection is illustrated in Firstfruits; and the commencement of the Church and the New Covenant is typified in the Feast of Weeks.
 
“THE THREE FALL FEASTS PORTRAY EVENTS TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH his second coming. The Feast of Trumpets depicts the Rapture of the Church. The Day of Atonement points to a great host of people, Jews and Gentiles, who will be saved when they see Him coming and appropriate the benefits of His death. The Feast of Tabernacles speaks of the day when the Messiah Himself will tabernacle among men, wipe away every tear, and bring in the utopian age or golden age” of which men have dreamed since time immemorial.
 
“ONLY A GOD WHO IS OMNISCIENT COULD HAVE FORETOLD these astounding events. The fool denies His existence; the man of pride effuses to accept His gracious provision of life. Time is running out --- the trumpet blast will soon be heard around the world announcing His coming.”
 
I HOPE YOU WILL STUDY “The Feasts of the Lord” in more detail. We only have room here to introduce the subject and point to a much richer study. I never tire of studying the way the Old Testament is laid out in such simple but subtle ways, only to find it resurfacing in the New Testament in the writings of the gospel writers, the epistles and the Book of Revelation. “The New is in the Old contained; The Old is in the New explained.”
 
THE BIBLE, OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, was written by Jews and they were the caretakers of these writings. God put the Jew first in giving the Word of God to the world. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  (Romans 1:16) But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:  (Romans 2:10)

Read Through the Bible in a Year
 OCTOBER 29, 2018 – MONDAY
  A.M. Jeremiah 25-26   P.M.  2 Timothy 3
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)
 
Song for Today: 
When We All Get to Heaven (2:38)  (Mennonite Acapello Choir )
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qf1JSCiml0                 
 You may have to adjust the volume or delete an ad.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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sevens in scripture

10/26/2018

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   Sevens in Scripture…
 
So the people rested on the seventh day.  (Exodus 16:30)
 
THE NUMBER, "SEVEN," he number, “seven”, occurs in the King James Bible 463 times. “Seventh” occurs 120 times. If we notice the way the number is used in the Bible, it can teach us.  “Seven” is the biblical number for perfection and completion. After creating the world, God rested on the seventh day. He did not rest because of growing tired—omnipotence (all-powerfull) does not grow tired, and God is omnipotent.  Rather, God rested in the sense of completion and satisfaction. What God created was good and satisfying --- nothing else was needed. Therefore, He rested on the seventh day.
 
● “ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF THE WEEK, the children of Israel were to observe a Sabbath rest, patterned after God’s creation rest. They were to rest from all their labors (Exodus 16:23,30).
 
● “THE SEVENTH MONTH OF THE YEAR IS, according to the Scriptures, especially holy. In that month, all three fall feasts are observed (Leviticus 23:24, 27, 34).
 
● “THE NATION OF ISRAEL WAS COMMANDED TO REFRAIN FROM FARMING the ground every seventh year – to allow the soil to rest (Leviticus 25:4).
 
● “SEVENTY SEVENS OF YEARS WERE COUNTED (forty-nine years), and then the next year (the fiftieth) was to be the Jubilee year in which all debts were forgiven and all slaves set free (Leviticus 25:8-12).
 
● “SEVENTY SEVENS OF YEARS WERE "DETERMINED" upon the Jewish people during which time God would bring to perfection and completion His redemptive purposes (Daniel 9:24-27).
 
● “THE BOOK OF REVELATION RECORDS THE CONSUMMATION OF THIS AGE.  It uses the number seven more than fifty times. Significantly, the book revolves around seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls (Revelation 5:1,5; 6:8-9; 11:15-19; 15-16).
 
“THE SEVEN FEASTS OF THE LORD, then, are His “appointed times” during which He will meet with men for holy purposes. When completed, the seven holidays will bring this age to a triumphant end and usher in the “Golden Age: to follow.  During that age, every man will sit under his own fig tree (Micah 4:4). That concept is not intended to suggest boredom or a lack of creativity and activity, but completion and satisfaction.
 
“FOUR OF THE SEVEN HOLIDAYS OCCUR IN THE SPRING OF THE YEAR. The fulfillment of those feasts,…”are a done deal.” That is to say, the events which the four spring feasts of the Lord typify in the Hebrew Scriptures have been fulfilled in the Messiah. In that sense, one can look back at and examine them.  They are history.  They occurred almost two thousand years ago. Their spiritual benefits, however, continue forward to the present hour.
 
“THE FINAL THREE HOLIDAYS OCCUR IN THE FALL OF THE YEAR within a brief period in the Hebrew month of Tishri (September/October). As the first four holidays depict evens associated with Messiah’s first coming, these final three holidays depict specific events associated with His second coming. Although these events are still future in terms of literal fulfillment, biblical faith may lay hold of and live in he light of their future blessings today. These final feasts form the basis for what the Bible calls the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13).”  (This article is made up largely of quotes from the book: “The Feasts of the Lord,” by Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal)
 
THIS ARTICLE, "SEVENS IN SCRIPTURE," is in connection with the longer article: “The Feast of Tabernacles and More.” The Feast of Tabernacles was the seventh and last of the Lord’s Seven Feasts appointed for the Jewish nation of Israel.
 
STUDYING "THE FEASTS OF THE LORD" makes a strong statement in behalf of studying the whole Bible and not just a few books in the New Testament. We must realize that the nation of Israel and the Church are not the same thing, although they are intricately woven together by the mind and hand of God and are designed to endure forever.
 
OUR PURPOSE IN THIS ARTICLE IS NOT FOR THE BROAD SUBJECT OF NUMBERS in the Bible. But, numbers in the Bible are valuable tools of understanding. For example, seven is the number related to perfection. Six is the number for man. Five is the number for grace. Forty is the number of testing, etc.
 
STUDYING THE NUMBER "SEVEN" IN THE BIBLE and studying “The Feasts of the Lord” gives us strong reasons for studying the Old Testament along with the New Testament. The New Testament is NOT a complete Bible. The Old Testament makes strong statements of prophecy and the New Testament shows how the prophecies were fulfilled. My friend, we need all the Bible to have all of the Book of God. Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year
 OCTOBER 26, 2018 – FRIDAY
  A.M. Jeremiah 17-19   P.M.  1 Timothy 6
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.  (John 8:47)
 
Song for Today:
 My Hope Is Built (2:13)  (Calv. Mem.Church Choir)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk-wObUmSB0                                                
 You may have to adjust the volume 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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