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loving god and getting along with people

1/31/2018

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Loving God and Getting Along with People

Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king (1Peter 2:17).
 
We want to look at this verse again today, even though we have looked at the first and fourth sentences yesterday. (“Honor all men.” and “Honor the king.”)
 
FOUR SENTENCES; FOUR COMMANDS. Honor in this verse means to respect; respecting what God has made and loves. The born and the unborn.  Re- means again. Spect means to look at. Respect: to look at again. My mother taught me about this when I was eight. A rather tall black lady lived alone in an unpainted house on the corner a half-block from us. Her name was Aunt Mandy.
 
I HAD NEVER SEEN A BLACK PERSON BEFORE.  My play mates were a little disrespectful of her. They made up stories and told me about how strange she was. My mother and I talked about Aunt Mandy. She told me that God made Aunt Mandy like she was, and that God made me like I was and that I should be nice to Aunt Mandy. OK. Got it!

Soon after my talk with my mother, I went up to Aunt Mandy’s open door one morning and spoke to her.  She had just swept her house, and everything was neat and in place. Her house smelled clean. She invited me in and we had the best talk about things I saw in her house. We had many talks after that. She was a Christian lady. I’ve thought about her many times through the years. What if my mother had not had that little talk with me and taught me in a few minutes how to think about Aunt Mandy? She would never have been my friend. That was my introduction to “Honor all men.”

WHEN I LATER LEARNED THAT BOYS AND MEN SHOULD HOLD THE DOOR OPEN and let girls and women enter first, I knew that included girls and women like Aunt Mandy. I also knew years later when I was 19 and operated a Shell station on the midnight shift that when people like Aunt Mandy bought gasoline, they needed to use the rest rooms like everyone else. Against the rules, I risked my job and unlocked the restrooms for them (before the Civil Rights Act was passed).
 
It’s amazing what mothers can teach their children in one day. It all came out of that one little, short talk I had with my mother. She was my moral compass and whatever she said was gospel. My daddy would have agreed, I think, but he was away from home running a sawmill.

LOVE THE BROTHERHOOD. This includes all the members of the body of Christ who have been born of the Spirit of God. 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) This is a new application of the old command of Moses. JFB writes:
 
“This was the new feature of it. Christ’s love to His people in giving His life a ransom for them was altogether new, and consequently as a Model and Standard for theirs to one another. It is not, however, something transcending the great moral law, which is “the old commandment” (1John 2:7, and see on Mark 12:28-33), but that law in a new and peculiar form. Hence it is said to be both new and old (1John 2:7, 1John 2:8).” (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary)
 
I memorized John 13:34,35, 60 years ago and took it to heart. It’s tough preaching. Sometimes the preacher inside of us is more powerful than the preacher in the pulpit. That’s why memorizing Scripture is so importatnt. Jesus said these words define His followers. I don’t know how we’re doing at this. In a lot of churches, people are loving each other pretty good. Others have enough cat fights to disgrace the name of the Lord.

How we get along at home counts too. Talk is cheap and sometimes talk cripples someone for life. Love is powerful enough to tame the tongue if it’s really love. Of course, if you’ve got a tack in your shoe, you may be unduly grumpy. Fix your shoe. Make sure your tongue is speaking the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15)
 
ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, I know of no human organization that does as much bonding and exercising of good human relationships as do church groups. If you must get cancer, you’ll do a lot better if you are part of a loving, praying church. Pastors do more marriage counseling than all professional counselors put together. They don’t have all the answers but it’s the place more people feel like going when they have a problem. The bar room doesn’t always have time for tears or give hope beyond the grave.
 
THERE'S NO SUBSTITUTE FOR LOVE, for somebody to listen to you when your heart is aching and you want to die. Love is more than that, but that’s when it really counts. Sometimes the most eloquent thing you can say to someone is to show up and give a hug and let them say what they want to say to you. We are to “honor all men,” respect them as God’s creatures. But, we are to “love the brotherhood.”
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 FEBRUARY 1, 2018 – THURSDAY
  A.M. Exodus 27-28   P.M. Matthew 21:23-46
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:  
Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king (1Peter 2:17).
 
Song for Today: 
The Father’s Love (3:22)  (Josef Francis – Calvary Mem. Chur.)
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su8hb2Tv_Lc
  You may have to adjust the volume or delete an ad.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Honor all men...

1/31/2018

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        Honor All Men…

Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.   (1Peter 2:17).
 
HONOR ALL MEN. How can this be? Are we to honor men who abuse women and children and break into houses? Don’t think so. As a child I heard it said “You can prove anything by the Bible.” For years I didn’t know what they meant. Then I understood that if you lift phrases out of the Bible you can make the phrase say anything you want it to say. Cults and weird behavior comes from doing that. What does he mean: “Honor all men?”
 
PAUL THOUGHT IT WISE TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO to tell his readers that he was a straight-shooter with the truth. He said: But [we] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully….(2Corinthians 4:2a).
 
IF A MAN LOSES HIS INTEGRITY, HE HAS LOST HIS GREATEST POSSESSION. “Honor all men” means at least that every man is due a kind word and a sincere Good Morning!
 
The Bible tells us what kind of men we are to honor. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor [is due] (Romans 13:7). Here, our duty appears to be more the honoring of the one who bears an office rather than someone who has won a race or rescued someone from a burning building.
 
GOD HAS EQUIPPED HUMAN BEINGS WITH CERTAIN ABILITIES so that He can talk to us in simple terms. Who is due honor? God doesn’t find it necessary to tell us who to honor because we are endowed by Him with the ability to decide that. That’s also true in His charge to select certain people in the church as leaders.  Moreover he [candidate for bishop] must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil (1Timothy 3:7). A good report among those outside the church.
 
In the book of Acts, a Roman soldier was singled out. And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by a holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee (Acts 10:22). Generally, we honor and respect those who care about others.
 
OUR TEXT CROSSES THE LINE OF ORDINARY PEOPLE AND INCLUDES HONORING THE KING. Not just good kings, but the king. While our Caesar is the Constitution, the chief administrator of the Constitution is our president. He should be honored for the office he holds. He may dip snuff or do worse things, but we are to honor him because he occupies the office. We are to pray for our president and all those in authority over us, not just those favorites who make us proud. In fact, the leader who is a mess of a human being may need a lot more prayer because he or she is in a position to do a lot of damage.
 
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 (1Timothy 2:1-2).

 believe if we would pray more for our leaders, we would sin less with our tongues. If we think we can elect a perfect president or marry a perfect husband or a perfect wife there is something bad wrong with our thinking. We are to pray for others, including our political leaders, because they are not adequate to do what is expected of them.
 
Our president is going to be as full of flaws as a yard dog full of fleas. Government officials put their shoes on one at a time just like we do and have to brush their teeth and take a bath. He (or she) will need our earnest prayers every day. God tells us to HONOR those that are due to be honored. Even the family dog likes a pat on the head. We might remember that we can’t get the family dog to come to us by beating him with a stick.
 
LET'S READ THE BIBLE THIS YEAR. Let’s get our minds set toward reading the Word of God every day. A pocket New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs is a handy tool for getting in more Bible reading. Work on the habit of carrying it to work or school and read it. The Old Testament can be read every day at home. Or, you can read from Morning Minute and have it read to you if you like.

Or, if you have a smart phone you can install a good Bible app and read it there. The people who were most influential in building America were Bible readers and that’s a fact. If you want to be a good student, read the Bible. If you want to be a good family member, read the Bible. If you want to do anything in life that’s worth anything, read your Bible. Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JANUARY 31, 2018 – WEDNESDAY
  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.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:  
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest  forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.  (Jeremiah 1:5)
 
Song for Today: 
Just When I Need Him Most (2:46)  (Dr. Lee Roberson & Ladies Trio)
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDauEBXfVoU&app=desktop 
      You may have to adjust the volume or delete an ad.
 
 
 
 
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Christ and the caesars

1/30/2018

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        Christ and the Caesars…

And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.  When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.  (Matthew 22:19-22)

THE BATTLE OVER WHAT BELONGS TO GOD AND WHAT BELONGS TO GOVERNMENT has been raging from the time God established government. God established the family as the first level of government. As families quickly grew into a burgeoning population, God ordained a larger human government to subdue excessive evil and to establish order among the population.

THEN CAME MULTIPLE GOVERNMENTS that struggled for dominance until we had world governments, or empires. We had the Assyrians the Babylonians Medo-Persia, Greek and then the Roman Empire. The young prophet, Daniel, explained all of this to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3. I believe the Roman Empire still exists in its dormant state in the European governments today. It will one day revive into world domination and be ruled by the anti-Christ. Governments have more power to assert human sovereignty over God’s sovereignty than do individuals.
 
Man has struggled with God from the beginning. Isaiah said it this way: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:6)

WE, AS CHRISTIANS, MUST CONSIDER OUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD and government. We are to obey God and we are to obey government. This was portrayed when Jesus’ enemies asked Him if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. If He said not to pay their taxes, then He would incur the death penalty from Caesar.  If He said they should pay taxes to Caesar, then he would lose the support of the people. But Jesus simply said to pay Caesar what you owe him and pay God what you owe Him. Jesus always bested his  attackers.

JERUSALEM WAS A HOT SPOT FOR THE ROMANS. The Jews had proven themselves to be feisty and rebellious. The Romans sent only battled-hardened soldiers to Jerusalem. In Jesus’ time, the Romans had built a tower that looked down on the Temple and that was the headquarters and barracks for a hundred soldiers. They could surround the Temple in two minutes to squelch a rebellion of the priests. Its presence reminded all Jews: “Don’t try anything!”

They had also built a huge coliseum for entertaining the masses. Its ruins remain today and remind us of the great skills of their architects and engineers. It also reminds us of the Roman civilians'  thirst for blood and death.

THE JEWISH GOVERNMENT WAS MADE UP MOSTLY of the Sanhedrin and the High Priest. Under Rome, it was the buffer between Rome and the Jewish nation. After Jesus rose from the dead and the Christian sect began to multiply, Rome assumed that the Jewish Christians were just a maverick splinter of Judaism. But when Rome saw that the Jewish leadership was at odds with the Christians, the Romans had a clever way of dealing with the Christians to make sure they were in submission to Rome.

The Romans had a little ritual they went through to publicly establish loyalty to Rome. Caesar would hand a censor of burning incense to the candidate. The candidate was to accept the censor and wave it back and forth as a symbol of loyalty to Caesar. It was called: “giving licit to Caesar.” “Licit” is a Latin word from which we get our word: “license.”

IT HAS BEEN 30 YEARS SINCE I READ IT, but I believe the following is an account I read in the book: “Christ and the Caesars” that I borrowed from Wake Forrest University Library. If it was not from this book, then I don’t remember the source.

“A group of Christian families were brought into the crowded coliseum, Hungry lions were caged in the basement under the arena floor. Caesar approached the Christians with a censor in his hands. He asked them to wave the censor and give licit to Caesar. A spokesman said: “Jesus is our Lord.” Caesar told them, “you can say that Jesus is Lord if you say that Caesar gives you permission to say that Jesus is Lord. The Christian said: “Jesus gives Caesar his breath.”

Caesar then ordered soldiers to take the women and children to the center of the arena. There was hushed silence as suddenly several lions ran toward the women and children and began attacking them, going for their throats, snapping bones. In just a minute or two there was only silence except for the sound of snapping bones. The crowd watched as the lions consumed the bodies of the women and children until there was nothing left but a big red splotch on the ground and skulls.

Caesar rushed over to the sobbing men who had witnessed the devouring of their families and said to them: “Now, do you see what you have made me do!? You have caused this needless killing of your families. Now, will you give licit to Caesar?” Sobbing and choking and trembling with grief, one of the men replied: “Jesus is still Lord…” And with this, Caesar ordered the men to be given to another pride of hungry lions. Those Christians understood that Jesus was Lord and that the Roman government could never be Lord.”

ONE OF THE CAESARS IS FAMOUS FOR THROWING A GARDEN PARTY and to provide light for his guests to enter the property, Christians were impaled on crosses; their bodies were covered in tar and set on fire. They burned for a long time to give light to the merriment of Caesar’s party. Christians were despised because they said, "Jesus is Lord."

ANOTHER WRITER OF THIS PERIOD TELLS OF ONE OF THE CAESARS proclaiming on a special day: “I am Caesar, and by me all men shall be saved and without me no man can be saved.”  When Peter was called into the Jewish Council to be reprimanded for his preaching Christ, Peter said: …for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.  (Acts 4:12)

Some have wondered if Peter had the words of the Roman Caesar in mind when he proclaimed Christ to the Jewish council. We cannot know for sure, but the wording is so strikingly similar that it has caused some to ponder the possibility. Shakespeare was enamored with Julius Caesar and many quotes come forth declaring the high esteem Caesar had for himself. We can at least say this much: the Caesars thought highly of themselves and Peter would have had no trouble declaring Christ to be Lord above Caesar.
We must remember that the Philippian jailer was told: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved…. (Acts 16:31).

WHEN OUR FOUNDING FATHERS WROTE THE FOUNDING DOCUMENTS of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, they were well-aware of this centuries-old conflict of what belongs to God and what belongs to government. They knew that the conscience of human beings can never belong to government; that government cannot under any guise claim God’s place over mankind. We are having to decide that again in these days.
 
WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT OUR GOVERNMENT LEADERS have to put on their shoes one at a time, like the rest of us and that every last one of them is going to be buried in about the same-size grave. Our government leaders should be respected but it should end there. They are not God. Jesus is Lord! When men line up in orange suits and kneel before Isis to have their heads cut off….it is because Jesus is Lord! Ω
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JANUARY 30, 2018 – TUESDAY
  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.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:  
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest  forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.  (Jeremiah 1:5)
 
Song for Today: 
All Hail the Power (3:23)  (Samonte – Youth Mennonite Choir)
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyPT3lVSpmo
 
   You may have to adjust the volume or delete an ad.
 
 
 

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Christians and government

1/28/2018

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        Christians and Government

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.  For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:  As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God (1Peter 2:13-16).   (Photo from Microsoft Clip Art)

GOD IS THE AUTHOR OF HUMAN GOVERNMENT. The most basic unit of government is the family and that is God’s doing. The family controls children and property and after that primary unit of government, all other laws and units of government are constructed. Government is helpless to birth children and it is ill-equipped to raise them. Someone wrote this maxim: “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the nation.” Maybe we should rewrite that maxim to say: “The hand that rocks the cradle has a big influence on the nation.

TOTALITARIAN GOVERNMENTS KNOW THAT TO BE IN CONTROL, they must separate the children from the influence of the parents. The Communists knew that. Hitler of NAZI Germany knew that. We must never forget that mothers and fathers cannot be replaced. Never!

I READ THIS STORY MANY YEARS AGO. In the early days of the Russian Revolution (1917), women were forced out of their homes and put to work alongside men in factories and the streets. State nurseries were quickly set up to take care of the children.  No adequate provision was made for the proper care of thousands of small children. The state-owned nurseries were in chaos.
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In many cases, new-born and infant-size babies were sent home at night with “some mother” and not necessarily with their own mothers. When exhausted mothers came to the nursery for their babies they were often horrified that they had the wrong baby. The exhausted nursery attendants rebuffed them with: “Take this baby and go home! Maybe you will have your baby back tomorrow! What does it matter? You have a baby. Someone will take care of your baby tonight.”

Buildings were filled with rows of baby beds and attendants were assigned to walk between the rows and attend to the babies as they could. Babies were never held or rocked to sleep. There was no mother to sing to the babies. They began to die…by the hundreds. The babies would not eat but withered and died. You won’t find much written about this sad chapter in Russia. Babies need to be held and touched and talked to and loved.

The Communist Party worked hard at correcting the situation. By 1930 (thirteen years later) they had refined their approach with the idea that their nurseries must be a bastion of good treatment and indoctrination of the children into communism. In later years, state governments in the United States began to send committees to Russia to study “the fine models of child rearing” performed by the Russian system.

STRANGE THAT OUR "EXPERTS" WOULD TRY TO LEARN FROM RUSSIAN SOCIALISTS  how to raise children. Unless…our "experts" are interested in importing Russian socialism into our country. We are left with the question today: “Who owns the children? The parents or the state?” Remember this: “The family is the basic form and building block of government.” President Abraham Lincoln knew this: The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next."

BUT STILL, WE HAVE HAD THIS IDIOM FOR CENTURIES: “Bad government is better than no government.” This is said on the assumption that “no government” is the “worst state of chaos” imaginable. It’s even worse than communism.

SUBMIT YOURSELVES TO EVERY ORDINANCE OF MAN -- For centuries this has been a troubling passage. It need not trouble us if we acknowledge that it assumes the government official is God’s servant, God’s minister who punishes evildoers as God defines them and praises those who do well as God defines those who do well.

Sometimes we may think we have the most incompetent government in the world with all the corruption and incompetence.  The president may feel like he lives with a congress and senate of drugstore cowboys. In fact, we may get the idea that our government officials are nothing more than men and women much like ourselves who rule in our place. And that would be correct. In America our Caesar is the Constitution and not the President. We are a republic (we elect others to make government decisions for us) and it is very human and sometimes incompetent.

IN AMERICA OUR CONSTITUTION IS THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND. The president is not the supreme law of the land, nor the congress nor the courts. The ultimate power of law in America rests in the people who elect officials and rests in the power of the jury to convict or to set men free. Beyond the people is the hand of the Almighty God from whom flows liberty and power and wealth.

We are a nation of law. Bastiat wrote a book: The Law which declared “the law is king.” That was opposite to “the king is law.” That’s why our Republic (we are NOT a democracy) was called by its founders “the great experiment,” a test to see if common people can possibly rule themselves by electing leaders to run their public affairs. It had never been done before. Ben Franklin said to the people in Philadelphia: “You have a republic if you can keep it.”
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A DEMOCRACY IS A SITUATION WHERE EVERYONE VOTES ON EVERY PUBLIC ISSUE  and the simple majority wins. That is the worst kind of government because it is subject to the passion of the moment and is very unstable. A majority could vote to sell the property of the minority and the minority would be helpless to vote against it.

A CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC IS A SITUTATION WHERE EVERYONE WHO WILL VOTE, elects others to represent them for a period of time and to make decisions on their behalf. We have a constitution that governs how laws may or may not be written. Then we have the laws that govern not only the citizens but also govern those elected officials who make our laws and those who enforce the laws. Finally, we have the courts that make endless judgments about all kinds of things to settle disputes. We have: a republic.

TODAY'S TEXT PRESIDES OVER THE GOVERNMENT OF ANY AGE AND ANY TYPE of government. If we think our government is crazy and unfair, we might pause to consider how bad it would be if we lived under anarchy where there were no laws and no order resulting from the people submitting to government authority. Bad government is almost always better than no government. God instituted government to control the depraved nature of man that is willing to rob and kill others. God knew what He was doing.

IN AMERICA, IF WE THINK THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT RIGHT, we have a God-given duty to participate in our government which is “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

GOD REQUIRES US TO SUBMIT TO GOVERNMENT "FOR THE LORD'S SAKE."  Does God give kings and governors the right to make up their own laws and command people to go against the law of God? Not at all. God’s law is supreme above all government officials and all the laws of men. America’s Declaration of Independence holds that men ought to obey laws as long as they can but there may come a time when rulers are so repressive that people have a right to resist them.

But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.  But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard (Act 4:17-20).  See also: Romans 13:1-7.”

FOR THE LORD'S SAKE -- Because he has required it and has entrusted this power to civil rulers.  See: Romans 13:5. Ephesians 6:7.  John 19:15.  Acts 17:7.

AS SUPREME - Not supreme in the sense of being superior to God, or not being subject to him, but in the sense of being over all obedient to God and God’s law. God never gives a King the authority write laws contrary to God’s laws. The King is God’s servant.

This is why we have the words “punishment of evil doers” in our text, and praise of them that do well. These words require that someone define “evil” and “them that do well.” God always defines good and evil; not the king. So then, God’s people always look to the law of God, the word of God as supreme and we look for the laws of men to track those laws.

Our judges may not know why they wear black robes. It’s because in earlier years they were considered on the level of God’s priests who had a God-connection. They judge for God, in God's place. Not merely a nice, formal attire, but dressed as God’s ministers. Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JANUARY 29, 2018 – MONDAY
  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.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest  forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.  (Jeremiah 1:5)
 
Song for Today: 
Battle Hymn of the Republic (5:18)  (The United States Army Field Band)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy6AOGRsR80 
  You may have to adjust the volume or delete an ad.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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living before evildoers

1/25/2018

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    Living Before Evildoers
Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation (1Peter 2:12).
(Photo from BiblePictureGallery.com)
 
IT IS EASIER TO STUDY ABOUT GOD'S BLESSING UPON US than to study God’s appointed responsibilities. These verses of late from 1Peter are clearly what God wants us to be and do.  It’s more sobering than a singing convention where we clap our hands and brush away the tears.

THE HOUR I SPEND TINKERING WITH WORDS CAN BE READ IN 3-4 MINUTES, but I get the biggest end of the blessing. The hard part is when we (all of us) consider what God is saying to us and accept the responsibility of practicing it in our lives. As God gives us understanding and ability, we set out to live for His glory. Reading and thinking about Peter’s instruction is hard work. I’ve borrowed heavily from Barnes because he says it best, I think. His style is stiff and scholarly but a good style for helping earnest thinkers who want to live for God.

HAVING YOUR CONVERSATION HONEST - Our conduct, how we live. Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; (Philippians 1:27).  

LIVING FOR GOD IS AN INDIVIDUAL MATTER, AND ALSO A TEAM EFFORT. The word “striving” indicates that it involves some focus and output on our part. The Spirit of God lives in us and works through us, but we are laborers together with God (1Corinthians 3:9).

LABORERS! Let me be bold as a lion: Lazy people are not going to be fruitful Christians. Part of living the Christian life involves work. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philipppians 4:8).

THINK... DOES IT SURPRISE YOU THAT TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO Christians were being asked to think? I once read of a leading American iron manufacturer who said he could hire a man to do almost anything but think. Thinking can be hard work. Christians should think.

AMONG THE GENTILES - The unsaved people who surround us are watching every move and listening to every word we say. They hope we will stumble so our troubling life will hold no power over them. Again we are reminded:  “That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without” (1Thessalonians 4:12).

GOD IS SERIOUS ABOUT THIS;  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying (Romans 13:13). If we are His children, He has a right to expect us to conduct ourselves as His children. The world intuitively expects us to live like we are His children. Some are glad when we fail.. They know when we are not living like the children of God. Yes, they know.

THAT, WHEREAS THEY SPEAK AGAINST YOU AS EVIL DOERS -– “they may be silenced by seeing your upright lives. It should be true that at the very time when the enemies of religion reproach us, they should see that we are guided by Christian principles, and that in the very matter for which we are reproached we are conscientious and honest.”

THEY MAY, BY YOUR GOOD WORKS, WHICH THEY SHALL BEHOLD –“ It is to be remembered that the pagans were very little acquainted with the nature of Christianity; and it is known that in the early ages they charged on Christians the most abominable vices, and even accused them of practices at which human nature revolts. The truth taught here is, “that our conduct as Christians should be such as to bear the strictest scrutiny; such that the closest examination will lead our enemies to the conviction that we are upright and honest.” (Barnes-abbrev.)

GLORIFY GOD - Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).
 
IN THE DAY OF VISITATION – “Many different opinions have been entertained of the meaning of this phrase, some referring it to the Day of Judgment; some to times of persecution; some to the destruction of Jerusalem; and some to the time when the gospel was preached among the Gentiles, as a period when God visited them with mercy. (Barnes-abbrev.)  

God displayed His light through Jesus. God seeks to display His light through His children who walk in this crooked world. Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JANUARY 26, 2018 – FRIDAY
  A.M. Exodus 11-12   P.M.  Matthew 18:21-35
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:  
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)
 
Song for Today: 
Joy Comes in the Morning (3:56)  (Joy Gardner – Gaither Group)
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_yUd7f_S2c
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strangers and pilgrims

1/24/2018

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      Strangers and Pilgrims

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; (1Peter 2:11).

THE BIBLE IS THE MOST WONDERFUL BOOK. It tells us where we came from, what we’re doing here and where we’re going when we leave this world. It tells us how to get to Heaven and how to live in this world until we get to Heaven. God does some things for us that we have nothing to do with. Which of us had anything to do with our being born into this world? We woke up one day and here we were, hungry and in need of a change.

IT IS GOD WHO MDE US AND NOT WE OURSELVES. We are told: Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  (Psalm 100:3)

IN THE SAME WAY, IT IS GOD WHO SAVES US AND NOT WE OURSSELVES. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.  (Ephesians 2:8-9)

BUT, WHO DOES GOD SAVE?  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  (Romans 10:13) This is a quote from Joel 2:32: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered (saved). 

FOR A LONG TIME, GOD HAS BEEN SAVING PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BE SAVED and will call upon Him. I called on him in a bean market one night in October 1943 when I was nine years old.The place was full of people. The old rough lumber altar was full of people on their knees and there was no one available to talk to a nine-year-old boy who was desperate to be saved. That was no problem.

GOD DID HE SAVING WITHOUT ANYONE EXPLAINING THE DETAILS. Been saved ever since! Then came the learning of how to live the Christian life. Still learning. Peter wrote to help people live the Christian life.

STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS. That may not be who you want to be, but that’s who you are if you are a genuine Christian. After the world wears you out, you may think that’s a pretty good idea. Getting our eyes on where we’re going and who we are sometimes takes a while. Many people have labored for years to accumulate lots of toys and one day in their emptiness ask the classic question: “Is this all there is?” People listen to God better when they get tired of their toys.

ABSTAIN FROM FLESHLY LUSTS - Such desires and passions as the carnal appetites prompt to.  A sojourner in a land, or a pilgrim, does not give himself up to the indulgence of sensual appetites, or to the soft pleasures of the soul. All these would hinder his progress and turn him off from his great design. Compare Romans 13:4; Galatians 5:24; 2Timothy 2:22; Titus 2:12; 1Peter 1:14.” (Barnes)

AT THE RISK OF BEING LABELED "DEVISIVE" the Christian in heart is faced with commands of the Lord that may be summarized in the verse above and the verses that follow. It is not enough to be “Good Americans” as wonderful as that is. There’s no other nation like America. But the Christian’s inner life is much higher than being a “Good American.” We are rather to be “Good Christians.” 

PART OF THAT ROLE HAS TO DO WITH WHAT WE ARE TO ABSTAIN FROM. That's just one side of it, but it does exist and it is not legalism. We don’t do these things in order to be saved. We are to do these things because we are saved, and God desires us to become like His Son. That is God’s ultimate goal for every child of God. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  (Romans 8:29) That is, that Jesus might have many like Himself in love and purity of soul.

 WHAT WILL PEOPLE THINK OF US IF WE ARE UNWILLING TO LIVE LIKE EVERYONE around us?  The Bible acknowledged that question two thousand years ago:  Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: (1Peter 4:4). And what does God think of those who think you are “strange?” God has declared the future of those people: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick [living] and the dead (1Peter 4:5).

ONE OF THE LEADING CONSTITUTIONAL ATTORNEYS IN AMERICA once told a group of us: ‘You are radicals.” He meant that he was convinced we were a genuine article and not a fake. We were about to go to court against the State of NC and he did not want to waste his time trying to defend the rights of phony Christians. “Radical includes “deep-seated, thorough, far-reaching, sweeping, major.”

A FOOTBALL THAT LOOKS LIKE AND BEHAVES LIKE A FOOTBALL...IS RADICAL. A Bible Christian is radical because he/she believes the Bible and acts like it.  On TV, a radical is one who is unreasonable and dangerous.  But, that’s not the dictionary primary definition. Millions of people claim to be Christians who are Christian in name only. A Christian may fall on his face into the pig pen, but he won’t stay there and make himself comfortable with the hogs.

JESUS TALKED ABOUT BEING THE REAL THING ONE DAY: Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:21-23).

WE ARE NOT SAVED BY DOING. WE ARE SAVED BY WHAT WE HAVE BECOME: a child of God through the new birth. A thing does what it is. An animal does what it is. A bird builds the kind of nest it’s programmed to build. A born-again Christian has the Spirit of God dwelling in Him and if surrendered to the Spirit, will live like a Christian and abstain from fleshly lusts.

GOD HAS A RIGHT TO MANAGE US.  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; (Ephesians 2:19).  Our job is not to fit in with those who exercise no restraint upon themselves. They are like those of old: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?  (Psalm 12:4)

WE ARE PILGRIMS AND STRANGERS ON THIS EARTH. When you become a Christian, you won’t fit in anymore. You are of the household of God and you look for a city whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews.11:10). In your heart of hearts, you know that’s who you have become: a traveler, a wanderer. Your permanent home is not here. Your citizenship is not here.  Therefore, your real home and your real treasure is “up yonder.” Ω
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JANUARY 25, 2018 – THURSDAY
  A.M. Exodus 9-10   P.M.  Matthew 18:1-20
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:  
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.  (Jeremiah 1:5)
 
Song for Today: 
When Jesus Comes to Stay (2:41)  ( Lester Roloff)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zCxPcpMsyY                              

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a royal priesthood

1/24/2018

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          A Royal Priesthood
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar (unusual) people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: (1Peter 2:9).
 
THIS IS HEAVY AND REQUIRES OUR FULL ATTENTION. I was not able to take this in for several years because I was not willing to dig with an open mind. Four titles of standing and purpose had been given to the Israelites as they were brought out of their mud holes of brick making in Egypt and ushered by Moses toward the promised land of Canaan.

WE, IN CHRIST'S BODY, ARE GIVEN THE SAME TITLES as the Israelites. We have this standing by His grace through the finished work of Christ on the Cross and our sincere acceptance of His sacrifice for our sins. Israel is the old and good olive tree and we, the gentile newcomers, are grafted into the old and good olive tree. The church is grafted into spiritual, genuine Israel.

TODAY, THE CHURCH IS WORLD-WIDE and is separate from the nation of Israel. The church has NOT replaced Israel. The church has no land. Israel has land. But, one day, Israel and the church will be brought together as one. I have a few questions I would like answers to, which I cannot know until God tells us more to make it plain. Right now, I am content to know what He has chosen to tell us. We have this outstanding verse, and I’m content with it.

FOR IF THOU WERT CUT OUT OF THE OLIVE TREE which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?  (Romans 11:24) 

PRESENTLY, ISRAEL, AS A NATION IS OUT OF FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. As a nation, they are having to stand in the corner until their blind rebellion against God has ceased.

IN THE PARAGRAPHS THAT FOLLOW, you will notice they are in quotation marks. Adam Clarke (1760-1832) wrote this; a British Methodist Theologian. I shortened some of his quotes and formatted it for easy reading. Notice that he died in 1832, at age 72, almost 200 years ago.
 
“YE ARE A CHOSEN GENERATION - The titles formerly given to… all the Israelites without exception, all who were in the covenant of God by circumcision, whether they were holy persons or not, are here given to Christians in general in the same way; i.e. to all who believed in Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles, and who received baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
 
“THE ISRAELITES WERE A CHOSEN OR ELECTED RACE, to be a special people unto the Lord their God, above all people that were upon the face of the earth, For thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth (Deuteronomy 7:6).
 
“THEY WERE ALSO A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, OR WHAT MOSES CALLS a kingdom of priests. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel (Exodus 19:6). For all were called to sacrifice to God; and he is represented to be the King of that people, and Father of those of whom he was king; therefore they were all royal.
 
“THEY WERE A HOLY NATION, (Exodus 19:6 is here repeated); And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel (Exo 19:6). For they were separated from all the people of the earth, that they might worship the one only true God, and abstain from the abominations that were in the heathen world.
 
“THEY WERE ALSO A PECULIAR PEOPLE,...A PURCHASED PEOPLE; ... a private property, belonging to God Almighty, For thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth (Deuteronomy 7:6).
 
 “ALL THESE THINGS THE APOSTLE APPLIES TO THE CHRISTIANS, to whom indeed they belong, in their spirit and essence, in such a way as they could not belong to the Hebrews of old. But they were called to this state of salvation out of darkness - idolatry, superstition, and ungodliness, into his marvellous light - the Gospel dispensation, which, in reference to the discoveries it had made of God, his nature, will, and gracious promises towards mankind, differed as much from the preceding dispensation of the Jews, as the light of the meridian sun from the faint twinkling of a star. And they [the Christians] had these privileges that they might show forth the praises of Him who had thus called them;…. These they were to exhibit in a holy and useful life, being transformed into the image of God, and walking as Christ himself walked. (Clarke-Abbreviated with emphasis added. Scriptures added.)
 
SO, THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, a lot more than a little dab of religious cologne. This is God’s doing and not our own doing. We have not taken it on ourselves but have received it as a heavenly mission when we received God’s Christ as our Savior and Lord. What a wonderful thing God has chosen to do through His people in this day. God’s people are a bother to many others and that goes with the job of belonging to Him.
 
LET PEOPLE HATE US FOR OUR POSITION AND NOT FOR OUR DISPOSITION. If you tell people that Christ is God’s appointed, only Savior, they are not going to like it. But when they are staring at the ceiling in a hospital room with the doctor’s bad news ringing in their ears, you may be the very one they will want to see. The party people can’t comfort a dying man and the dying man knows it. Jesus said: If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you (John 15:18). We need to decide which side we are on and stick with it if we are on the Lord’s side. We are trees, not Morning Glories that wilt in the morning sun. Ω (Photo of inside a Synagogue at Capernaum from BiblePictureGallery.com).
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JANUARY 24, 2018 – WEDNESDAY
  A.M. Exodus 7-8   P.M.  Matthew 17
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:  
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.  (Jeremiah 1:5)
 
Song for Today: 
I’ll Meet You in the Morning (3:31)  ( Old Singers – Gaither Group)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYeAtTyGgrM

I was raised on this old Southern Gospel song. I don’t have much hair left and Guy Penrod’s got enough hair to be Elijah’s song leader. I guess he and the Lord have this worked out.
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the rock of offense

1/22/2018

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      The Rock of Offense
Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed (1Peter 2:7-8).

THOSE WHO BELIEVE. Tell me what you think of Christ, what you REALLY think of Christ deep down, and I will know a lot about who you are. Are you deep-down ashamed to pass his name from your lips in your circle? When you are somehow forced to utter his name in public, does it embarrass you? More devastating words were never spoken than these words that fell from the lips of Jesus and Paul:
 
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels (Mark 8:38).
 
Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost (1Corinthians 12:3). (That is, cannot in sincerity call Jesus “Lord.”)
 
“HE THAT IS NOT WITH ME IS AGAINST ME - In vain do men seek for methods to reconcile God and mammon. There is no middle of the road between loving the Lord and being his enemy - between belonging to Christ or to Satan. If we be on the side of the devil, we must expect to go to the devil’s hell; if we be on the side of Christ, we may expect to go to his heaven. When Christ, his truth, and his servants are assaulted, he who does not espouse their cause is not on Christ’s side, but incurs the guilt of deserting and betraying him. There are many, (it is to be feared), in the world who are really against Christ, and scatter abroad, who flatter themselves that they are workers together with him, and of the number of his friends!” (Clarke) We have these verses to show us what is at stake:
 
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philipppians 2:10-11).
 
THIS IS ABOUT GOD'S AUTHORITY. I have witnessed to hundreds of men who have said “No” to Christ who know the gospel of Christ as well as I do. They have known from childhood that Christ died for them on the cross, rose from the grave, and will one day return to earth to gather His own and to sit in judgment upon those who have rejected him.

OF THOSE MEN, IT WAS NOT A MATTER OF KNOWING ANY MORE DETAILS about Christ and the gospel. They did not want God to be in charge. They wanted to take God’s place as ruler of their lives. “I will decide what is good and bad. I will tell God what to do. I will be saved when I’m ready and not in God’s time.” Those were the issues. They stubbornly sidestepped the ultimate thing we all must face:
 
And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder (Mat 21:44).
 
GOD IS NOT CALLLING US TO BE MISERABLE AND DEPRIVED, but to accept what He has provided for us at the cross through the death of His Only Son…eternal life! But God is a gentleman and will force no man to humble his heart before Him. He created us with a will of our own and we can accept God’s offer, or we can trample it in the dust and wait our turn to stand before Him.  Which reminds me, when you stand before Him on that day what will you tell Him? Will you tell Him the stone offended you and you ignored it or will you tell Him that you willingly fell upon the stone to be broken?
 
I WILL HAVE TO STAND BEFORE HIM ONE DAY AND GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF MYSELF, not at the great White Throne Judgment, (Revelation 20:11-15) but at the Judgment Seat of Christ (II Corinthians. 5:10). My best and shortest statement will be to quote John 3:16. If He asks for a song, I might sing:
 
There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins; And sinners plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains. Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains; And sinnners plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.
 
IT WILL BE A GOOD TIME TO REMEMBER ISRAEL OF ANCIENT DAYS: And [they] did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ (1Corinthians 10:4).
 
GOD AT FIRST TOLD MOSES TO STRIKE THE ROCK THAT THEY MIGHT GET WATER in the desert. (Exodus.17:6) And on the second occasion when they were thirsty, God told Moses to speak to the rock. (Numbers.20:7-12).  The rock was God’s portrait of His Christ who was to come and be struck on the cross that out of him might gush the water of life. He will not be crucified again.
 
WE ARE NOW TO SPEAK TO THE ROCK FOR THE WATER OF SALVATION. If you have not done so, please speak to The Rock today and call upon Him to save you and accept you as His very own child forever.  Tell Him that it’s your intention to obey Him as your Heavenly Lord…forever. Ω
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JANUARY 23, 2018 – TUESDAY
 A.M. Exodus 4-6   P.M.  Matthew 16
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:  
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.  (Jeremiah 1:5)
 
Song for Today: 
There is a Fountain (4:39)  (Vestel Goodman – Gaither Group)
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PasK3ZFAOPE
    You may have to adjust the volume or delete an ad.
 
 The picture for today is of the ruins of the synagogue at Capernaum.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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getting more from your bible reading

1/21/2018

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    Getting More from Your Bible Reading
And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.  (Habakkuk  2:2-3)

THE BIBLE IS STILL THE WORLD'S BEST-SELLING  book. According to Guinness World Records, the Bible is the best-selling book of all time with over 5 billion copies sold and distributed. www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/best-selling-book-of-non-fiction/  Guinness says: “Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the Bible is the world's best-selling and most widely distributed book.”  Wikipedia quotes Guinness.

SO, THE BIBLE IS STILL THE BEST-SELLER OF ALL BOOKS! But it is not a “page turner” from beginning to end. The Bible does not read like a modern, paper-back novel. Our motive for Bible reading is found elsewhere, in its greater purpose rather than in its immediate contact. Daily Bible reading is a discipline and must be pursued like other books of great worth. The King James Bible is divided into 1,189 chapters and 31,173 verses.

IF WE READ 4 CHAPTERS A DAY, WE CAN READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR. Bible reading is not Bible study. While you are reading your Bible, mark the places you want to come back later and study.  Straight reading of the Bible can be called: Bulk Reading.  There is great value in this. You will pick up phrases as you read that will stick with you. It will give you perspective as you read. It will cause you to visualize in your mind some of the stories.

IF YOU ARE A DAILY BIBLE READER, I commend you. If not, I encourage you to begin today. You may want to follow the daily guide at the bottom of each MORNING MINUTE. Or, you may want to read from your smart phone. You may prefer to read from a paper Bible. Our Bible reading schedule is taken from “Through the Bible in a Year,” a tract published by Good News Publishers. If you follow the plan at the bottom of MORNING MINUTE, you can listen to it as well as read it. Look for the speaker icon near the top of the page on the right side of the page.

THE FIRST THING TO DO TO GET MORE OUT OF YOUR BIBLE READING, is to read it faithfully! Not easy. It is well established that to change a human habit, we must do the new thing for twenty-one days. To become a habitual Bible reader, you will have to commit yourself to doing it. It will not run over you! What time of day are you going to read your Bible? Where are you going to read your Bible? Settle those two things and you are on your way to success.

USE LITTLE CHUNKS OF TIME FOR BIBLE READING. I listen to the MORNING MINUTE plan if I’m at the computer when it’s time to read. If not, I may read/listen on my iPhone. I purchased some clip-on ear phones from Amazon that use Blue Tooth. If I’m walking, lying down, or sitting in my Lazy Boy, I can turn it on and stick it in my pocket. When I’m out and about I often wear my ear phone cord around my neck.

IF I'M IN AN OFFICE AND IT'S ALLOWED, I may listen a few minutes or just read off the screen. I like to close my eyes and listen. Before my smart phone days, I used to carry a Gideon’s pocket New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs for reading while waiting. Some of the later-model cars and trucks can pick up Blue Tooth signals and play them over the vehicle’s speakers. There are many ways we can use little pieces of time for Bible reading.

THE BEST SHORT ARTICLE I'VE SEEN ON GETTING MORE OUT OF YOUR BIBLE is a tract written by Warren Wiersbe in 1957. Through a mutual friend, I got his permission to post this booklet (slightly abridged) on biblewalking.com. Here is the link. http://www.biblewalking.com/how-to-get-more-out-of-your-bible---wiersbe.html I heard Dr. Wiersbe several times during Bible conferences at the Highland Park Baptist Church and Tenn. Temple Schools. Wiersbe’s article goes beyond Bible reading but I deem it worth your reading and keeping handy.

I MUST CONFESS THAT WHEN I GET INTO THE THICKET OF NAMES AND PLACES, my natural interest in the text bottoms out. What is the purpose and value of putting all those names and places in the Bible? Obviously, it is is not for the immediate blessing to the reader. I think it’s because it is important to God, the writer. It displays God’s interest in every one of the individuals that has been born. The Bible gives us a small collection of individuals who have been put on display to show that God pays attention to the names of individuals.  People with names are born. People with names live. People with names die. Names are written in the Book of Life.

GOD DOES NOT USE A NUMBERING SYSTEM FOR IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUALS as governments do. God dignifies us and values us by giving us names. Little children are sensitive to their names. Call a child by the wrong name and see the reaction you get. I love to play a guessing game with children. “Is your name Sallie? Ruth? Betty?” They immediately engage in the guessing game, waiting for their rightful name to be called. It is as natural with a child as breathing to want you to get their name right and they do not want to be called a bemeaning or denigrating name.

WHEN I WAS ABOUT FIVE, one of my uncles stayed with us and loved to call me Boone (after Daniel Boone), which I hated. He kept it up. One day while he was working at my dad’s sawmill and I was still too young for school, I spotted his riding pants hanging on the door. I got a chair and with a big yellow crayon used for marking logs and lumber, I marked as hard as I could all over his dark green riding pants. He was not pleased, but the name calling stopped. Little kids don’t like to be called bad names nor hear their parents called bad names. We had a lot of school yard fights over that.

GOD HAS HIS REASONS FOR PUTTING ALL THOSE NAMES IN THE BIBLE. We can try to pronounce them or skip over them and go on with our reading. Some study Bibles feature a self-pronouncing text. My mother’s Bible is like that. It was worn out and I had it recovered. I use it for looking up the pronunciation of names.

IN CHANGING JACOB'S NAME TO ISRAEL, THE NATION'S NAME WAS ESTABLISHED. “Israel” occurs 2,576 times in the Bible. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.  (Genesis 32:28)  While Israel was still living, his children became known as “the children of Israel.” And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.  (Genesis 36:31) Names of people, places, and nations are important to God.

NAMES HAD MEANINGS AND PORTRAYED CERTAIN TRAITS OF INDIVIDUALS. When Jacob blessed his sons on his death bed, he called them one by one and pronounced their dominant characteristics. 

WHEN THE BABYLONIANS CONQUERED THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM OF JUDAH, they singled out the royal seed and assigned them a place and a food diet at the king’s table. He wanted these top brains to serve in advisory and administration positions. Not only so, but the Babylonians changed the names of these four young men. The Hebrew names were after the name of the Hebrew God. The Babylonians gave them new names after the gods of the Babylonians.

Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego. (Daniel 1:6-7)

TODAY WE ARE MOST FAMILIAR WITH THE NAMES THAT BEGIN OR END WITH "EL." Israel, Elijah, Daniel, Elkanah, etc. My name, Daniel, means “God is my judge.” The female form is Daniele and means the same. Rachel, Ethel, Hazel; how many female names can you come up with that include “el?” Two of he Hebrew names above are: Daniel and Mishael. The other two are Hananiah and Azariah.

THIS SHORT REVIEW OF A FEW HEBREW NAMES MAY HELP TO ILLUSTRATE why there are so many names of people and places in the Old Testament. There are names in the New Testament also, especially in Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38. God has honored us that we should be given names and He knows all of our names. He even calls the stars by name: He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.  (Psalm 147:4)

ONE MORE REASON FOR NAMES IN THE BIBLE IS THAT THEY SERVE as historical markers. What’s so important about historical markers? Just this: Our strongest reason for believing that the Old Testament is from the hand of God is the proclamation and fulfillment of prophecy. Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:  (Isaiah 46:9-10) The measuring  points of prophecy are usually names of people, places and kingdoms.   Ω
 
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JANUARY 22, 2018 – MONDAY
 A.M. Exodus 1-3   P.M.  Matthew 15:21-39
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:  
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.  (Jeremiah 1:5)
 
Song for Today: 
Rock of Ages (4:13)  (Vestel Goodman – Gaither Group)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2W7Elmao3c
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Yes, we can do better

1/18/2018

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Picture

    Yes, We Can Do Better
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.  (Phil 3:14)

JANUARY IS A SOUL-SEARCHING MONTH when we take stock of how things went last year and things we may want to change for the better during the coming months. I wrote this article last year and I need to look at it again. I see the bear hasn’t yet caught the man in the picture. I’ve been posting thoughts on Bible themes for ten years now and I like to go back review some of the articles to see how they look today.

I’VE READ THAT SOME OF THE BETTER-KNOWN magazine writers are never satisfied with what they write. It’s good to know that when they pull off their shoes and socks they always come to their bare feet. One of my best how-to books on writing says there are three main rules of writing: 1. Rewrite 2. Rewrite and 3. Rewrite.

THAT STATEMENT GIVES ME PERMISSION TO GO BACK AND READ MY STUFF AGAIN and see if a year of simmering on the back burner has made it any better…or ten years. Some of it looks scrappy, like it shouldn’t have been sent to anyone. And some of it, feeds my soul even if I did write it. Our long-time readers may see it as an old friend and our new readers haven’t seen it before. I hope you’ll find it worth reading again.

THE APOSTLE PAUL, SOMEHOW FOUND TIME TO WRITE THINGS DOWN, even if he had to do it in jail. He passed on and the people he preached to passed on and all that was left was what he wrote down for people to read. Well, that and the influence he had poured into those who listened to him and who decided they would die with him if need be.

PAT BOONE WAS THE ONLY SERIOUS THREAT TO ELVIS PRESSLEY in his early days. Last year he was interviewed on CBN. Early in his career, he let it be known that he embraced the Christian faith. For many years he has encouraged people to visit Israel and has taken groups of people there and acted as their guide. He mentioned that he has read the Bible through every year for the last thirty years. I must confess that his statement caused me to pause and stare at the wall. “Dan, did you hear that?”

I HAVE READ THE BIBLE A GOOD BIT AND MEMORIZED A FEW HUNDRED VERSES. But, I have not read the Bible through every year for thirty years. I can do better. We can read the Bible through in a year by reading four chapters a day.  Barbara and I have read the Bible through, together, 10 or 11 times. Part of that time was when we were comparing six of the most popular modern translations with the King James Bible. We compared them verse-by-verse. The King James Bible best meets our needs.

WE CAN DO BETTER. It is not enough just to zip through a chapter, so we can say we have read it. It’s good to underscore words and make notes in the margins, and to read the commentaries. We use the King James Study Bible and the Defender’s Bible by Henry Morris. We scan commentaries by John MacArthur and the Bible Knowledge Commentary published by the Dallas Seminary. But, if you do not have time to mark and read commentaries and make notes, then read or listen to the Bible being read.

I HAVE HEARD BASKETBALL COACHES SAY THAT A TEAM MUST ALWAYS KEEP the fundamentals in good shape. (Does that ring your bell?) So, in warm-ups, they have the team doing the fundamentals of dribbling, passing, laying up, etc. They are always pressing to overcome laziness and slackness. The attitude is always: “We can do better.” The fellow trying to outrun the bear in our picture today…. had better do better. (I  think he and the bear are good friends, but they demonstrate the need to do better if you’ve got a bear after you.)

A BIOGRAPHY OF JIMMY STEWART INCLUDED HIS SERVICE AS A B-24 bomber pilot. (I love to read his biography over and over.) He first trained on the B-17 and then moved up to its bigger brother, the B-24. His outfit moved to England as the base of bombing operations over Germany. They promoted him as a wing commander, and put him in charge of a squadron of planes (12-24 planes).  A big problem with our Air Force in England was the weather that grounded the planes.
 
STEWART KNEW THAT THE SAFETY OF HIS MEN (9-11 men per plane) depended a lot on their keeping a keen edge on flying. So, he watched the weather like a hawk and when there was a break in the weather, he had his crews in the air flying in formation and going through routine maneuvers. Some of the men resented this, since they noticed other squadrons remained on the ground while they were required to be in the air. The bomber interiors were very cold at high altitudes, and the men were cold even though they had heaters built into their flight outfits.

A SERIOUS PART OF BOMBER MISSIONS WAS COUNTING THE PLANES as they returned to base. (I’ve read that the casualty rate was about 50% on airmen and that they lost as many men in total as the marines.) When the planes returned to base after a mission, there was always a group of ambulances waiting to remove the wounded and dead from the planes.

ONE DAY, STEWART'S MEN NOTICED THAT MORE OF HIS PLANES were returning home with fewer casualties than the other squadrons. Word got around and soon men from some of the other squadrons began asking to be transferred to Stewart’s squadron when there was an opening. The point of the story is that Stewart was committed to the idea that “we can do better.” And that we “must do better.”

I HAVE TRAVELED AND MIXED WITH CHURCHS AND INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIANS enough to know that American Christianity is weak. The reason for this is that we are great at buying Bibles and giving Bibles to our children and couples getting married and that’s the end of it. We are not good at reading those Bibles. We can do better.

I HAVE LONG BELIEVED THAT THE LACK OF PRAYER IS RELATED TO THE LACK  OF BIBLE READING. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  (Romans 10:17)  There are literally tons and tons of books written and sold about Bible themes and Bible-related Christian fiction, etc. Many of these books are good and worth their price. But the Bible itself must not play second-fiddle to all the other books on the market.

I BELIEVE BIBLE READING AND BIBLE LIVING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT  THING in the moral structure of America: from the cradle to the grave! I continue to feature: Read Through the Bible in a Year in Morning Minute and try to make sure it’s mailed out on weekends too. I realize that only a small percentage of our readers use that feature. We are busy and there’s only so much time in the day. But some do read that feature. May I encourage you to read the daily Bible readings.  We can do better. Ω
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JANUARY 19, 2018 – FRIDAY
 A.M. Genesis 44-45      P.M.  Matthew 14:1-21
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Do you know Lester Roloff? We have a song by his singers today. He often held up his Bible while he was preaching. He’s in Heaven and I miss him. I played for him to sing several times in various meetings. I talked with him by phone and was in his home on one occasion in Corpus Christi, TX. He was a straight shooter.  In 1982, at 20,000 feet a storm ripped the wing off his plane and he plunged to the earth. They found him, face down, clutching his King James Bible. He had several girl singers with him. They all died in the crash.

A Good Verse to Memorize:
For whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Romans 14:23b

Song for Today: 
Through it All (3:29) (Lester Roloff- Mixed Quartet)     
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP6HzrmugNY    
  Wait ten seconds for the song to come up.  
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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: 
    http://www.biblewalking.com/
    contact-us.html.  

    Dan and Barbara live 
    at Flat Rock, AL between Chattanooga, TN and Huntsville, AL. on Sand Mtn.
    We enjoy gardening, reading, church, family and friends.

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