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THE EASTERN GATE

1/30/2019

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                      The Eastern Gate
Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
 
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.  (Zechariah 14:3-4)

 
WE ARE OUTSIDE, LOOKING AT THE EASTERN (GOLDEN) GATE of old Jerusalem. If you are standing beside the photographer who took this picture, directly behind you is the Mount of Olives. That’s where Jesus will stand upon His return to earth. The Mount of Olives will split in half, running straight behind you, away from you, east-to-west, out of which will come a large stream of water. Some of the water will flow eastward to the Dead Sea and the rest of it will flow westward to the Mediterranean Sea.

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

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


EZEKIEL'S TEMPLE WILL BE USED DURING THE MILLENNIUM (THOUSAND YEARS). Ezekiel focuses on the Eastern Gate that is to be used by the King. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. 
It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.  (Ezekiel 44:2,3)
 

EZEKIEL SAW THE SPIRIT OF GOD LEAVING JERUSALEM through the Eastern Gate (Ezekiel 11:23) and later returning through the Eastern Gate to occupy the Temple (Ezekiel 43:2-4). In Jesus’ day, The Holy Spirit did not occupy the Temple. The Spirit had departed. Jesus was God in the Temple in His day. His turning over the money changers’ tables, wielding the scourge in His hand to cleanse the Temple and raising His voice was not appreciated. The people who were offended were in no spiritual condition to recognize their promised Messiah.
 
THE TWO STONE ARCHES IN THE PICTURE ABOVE are filled in with 16’ of cement and stone. The white stone structures covering the ground from the wall toward you, are the grave stones of people who wanted to be buried at the gate where the coming Messiah will enter the city. It was their hope to be resurrected from the dead when the Messiah walked from the Mount of Olives to enter the Temple.

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

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

“THE EASTERN GATE WAS SEALED SHUT in AD 1540–41 by order of Suleiman the Magnificent, a sultan of the Ottoman Empire. It’s believed that the reason for the closing of the Eastern Gate was to prevent the Jewish Messiah from gaining entrance to Jerusalem. Jewish tradition states that the Messiah will pass through the Eastern Gate when He comes to rule. The Muslim Suleiman was attempting to thwart the Messiah’s plans with sixteen feet of cement. The Eastern Gate has remained sealed for nearly the past 500 years.” (You will enjoy reading the full article above at:
https://www.gotquestions.org/eastern-gate-Jerusalem.html

 

TODAY, ALL GENUINE CHRISTIANS ARE INDWELT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT and our bodies are the Temple of the Spirit. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.  (1Corinthians 6:19-20) (All Christians are indwelt by the Spirit but all are not surrendered to the Holy Spirit and all are not endued with power from on high.)
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year 
JANUARY 31, 2019 - THURSDAY
 A.M. Exodus 25-26   P.M. Matthew 21:1-22
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verses to Memorize:
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  (John 14:2-3)
 
Song for Today: 
The Eastern Gate (3:10) (Gaither Group)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ayD6zxHJVU
 You may have to adjust the volume and/or delete an ad.
 
 

 
 

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hiding the word of god

1/29/2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Song for Today: 
Going Home (3:39) ( Gaither)  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ULJhI7ojBM                                                    
 (Wait several seconds. You may have to delete an ad.)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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in that day...

1/28/2019

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

Good Verses to Memorize:
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  (2Timothy 4:2-4)
 
Song for Today: 
The Holy City (5:14) (Orchestra-Choir)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BM9E1hEVrg
 You may have to adjust the volume and/or delete an ad.
 
 
 


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why so much prophecy?

1/27/2019

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              Why So Much 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) These are two of the heaviest verses in the Bible.
 
REMEMBER THE FORMER THINGS OF OLD. The readers are to recall: (1) all the past history of fulfilled prophecies, as well as (2) miraculous deliverances such as that from Egypt, and (3) providential blessings Israel has experienced. All of these are ample evidences that He alone is God.” (MacArthur)

“THE REBELS, PEOPLE OF BABYLON (cf. Isaiah 46:12), were to remember that God is the only God; He is unique (Isaiah 46:9; cf. Isaaiah 43:11; Isaiah 44:6; Isaiah 45:5-6, Isaiah 45:14, Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 45:21-22). Proofs of God’s uniqueness include His knowledge and control of the future (cf. Isaiah 45:21) and His abililty to bring Cyrus from the east (cf. Isaiah 41:2) like a quick bird of prey to accomplish His plans.” (Bible Knowledge Commentary)

I HAVE BEEN IN HE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SEVERAL TIMES (Pictured today). Google says: The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with more than 167 million items on approximately 838 miles of bookshelves. I like to go into the older, ornate building and just wander around. (I don’t know how they did 838 miles of bookshelves in the three buildings. I’m wondering if that is a typo.) There is only one book in this library that accurately predicts the future of the world: The Bible. Predicting the future is a big deal and it has been a big deal for thousands of years.
 
FINDING A BOOK OR A BRAIN that can predict the future has been a problem for a long time. In the 2nd year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (620 B.C.), he had dreams that troubled him. In Daniel 2, after one such night of dreams, he called in all his “magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans,” (his wise men) to extract from them what he had dreamed (without telling them) and the meaning of it. They were charlatans and quacks, but the king kept them on the government payroll, in case they might say something useful from time to time.

IN THIS SITUATION, HE REQUIRED OF THEM TO TELL HIM what he had dreamed! If they could tell him the dream, he might believe their interpretation of the dream and reward them handsomely. If they could not tell him the dream, they would be cut in pieces and their houses turned into a dung hill. They panicked! Their answer shows what the best of royal advisors thought about human ability to deal with hidden dreams and their inability to predict the future.

THE CHALDEANS ANSWERED BEFORE THE KING AND SAID, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.  (Daniel 2:10-11)
 
DANIEL WAS ONE OF HE OFFICIAL MEMBERS OF THIS ELITE TEAM of advisors to the king, although, he apparently was not present with them when the king first confronted the group. Daniel’s head was on the block with all the others. He called in his inner-circle three for a prayer meeting. God gave Daniel the dream and its interpretation. It was the same God who gave the dream to Nebuchadnezzar, so it was no problem. The execution of the team had been temporarily delayed. Daniel was rushed in and given audience with the king.
 
DANIEL ANSWERED IN THE PRESENCE OF THE KING, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;  But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;  (Daniel 2:27-28)
 
DANIEL THEN TOLD THE KING EXACTLY WHAT HE HAD DREAMED and what it meant. The conclusion of the story was: Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.  Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.  (Daniel 2:34-35)
 
THIS STONE IS NONE OTHER THAN THE KING OF KINGS, the resurrected Jesus Christ who will return to earth to establish His kingdom and to subdue all the kingdoms of the earth. Do your children know about this? It’s your duty and your privilege to open your Bible and teach them…to teach them thoroughly!
 
WE HAVE COME FROM HAGGAI AND ZECHARAIAH who claimed that the Word of the Lord came unto them. Here, Daniel is added to that list in a dramatic way. That is, the drama of the King’s Court is given to show exactly how the Lord’s Word was given and proven to be from God. The Bible is moral authority and not merely a set of platitudes and suggestions.
 
JESUS EXPLAINED WHY THE WORLD DIDN'T LIKE HIM: The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.  (John 7:7) …the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.  (John 8:29)

IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WE FIND THESE WORDS: And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.  (2Chronicles 15:1-2)
 
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, WE FIND THESE WORDS: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  (1John 2:15) Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.  (2Corinthians 6:17-18)
 
DO YOUR CHILDREN KNOW THESE THINGS? We should do the things God wants us to do and avoid doing the things He does NOT want us to do. And….this is NOT legalism.
 
WE HAVE LOST OUR BIBLE IN AMERICA. Our new generation of teens and young adults have not understood that the Bible comes packaged with the authority of Heaven all over it. The Bible is the one book of moral authority. The proof of this is that predicting the future is woven through its pages. There is no other book in school curriculums or the Library of Congress that can claim such and therefore no other book can claim the ultimate moral authority as does our Bible.
 
THE BIBLE IS STILL HE WORLD'S BEST-SELLING BOOK. It is also, perhaps, the least read of the many books of the world. Strange. It is the textbook of the Christian churches of America and yet it is kept in a closet while the writings of men come to the forefront to give us new definitions and new directions of life.
 
MODERN PASTORS ARE NOTORIOUS FOR AVOIDING THE BIBLE and preaching good-sounding things; feel good sermons. The Bible is the book God calls men to preach. I think the King James Bible is the most accurate. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  (2Timothy 4:2-4)
 
OUR SUPREME COURT dares to step in front of the Old Book and assert itself, dressed in its black robes of authority. We have arrived. We have lost our Bible in America. We have lost our North Star and our compass, and our ship is adrift with no reliable guidance. The Bible talks a lot about hireling shepherds and false prophets. We are there. Too many churches are preaching a no-Word, soft gospel. Preach the Word!
 
PARENTS: What do your children know about the Bible claims and proofs of prophecy?  You are to be commended for feeding and clothing your children. But your duty includes teaching the claims of the Bible to be the Word of God, Ω
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year 
JANUARY 28, 2019 - MONDAY
 A.M. Exodus 16-18   P.M. Matthew 19:16-30
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verses to Memorize:
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  (2Timothy 4:2-4)
 
Song for Today: 
Sing About Heaven (2:27) (Black Male Quartet)

https://www.facebook.com/Stevebabadesiree/videos/1650262118417320/
This takes a while to upload on Facebook but is worth it.                                                     
 
 

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O.T. treasury of end-time propheCy

1/25/2019

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O.T. Treasury of End-Time Prophecy

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.  (Zechaiah 9:9)
 
WIERSBE SAYS OF ZECHARIAH'S 12 CHAPTERS: the last half of his book, these six chapters, comprise one of the greatest concentrations of messianic truth found anywhere in Scripture, but the truth is always related to God’s purposes for his people Israel. Zechariah reveals Messiah as the humble King, the loving Shepherd, the mighty Warrior, the gracious Savior, and the righteous Ruler who will reign on earth as King and Priest.”
 
SOME BIBLE STUDENTS MAY QUESTION THAT STATEMENT.  Walvoord, a life-long student of end-time Scriptures, says in his classic commentary: “Daniel, the Key to Prophetic Revelation,” on page 7: “Among the great prophetic books of Scripture, none provides a more comprehensive and chronological prophetic view of the broad movement of history than the book of Daniel.” Walvoord says Daniel is a “comprehensive and chronological prophetic view.” Wiersbe says that Zechariah is a concentration of messianic truth.
 
THERE IS NO CONFLICT IN THE ESTIMATE OF THESE TWO BOOKS. Daniel approaches prophecy in a way that makes it the introduction to the New Testament book of The Revelation. Zechariah is broader and yet more compact. We’ll look at Daniel at another time, Lord willing. I love both books.
 
ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE BUILDING (520-516 B.C.) Zechariah gave four messages, three of which were preceded with “the Lord Almighty came to me.” The 2nd message was similar: “The Word of the Lord came again to Zechariah” (7:80). (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, edited by Walvoord.)
 
THE BIBLE "CLAIMS TO BE THE WORD OF GOD" and this claim is reinforced by statements like Zechariah’s claim. R. A. Torrey wrote: “The Bible claims to be the Word of God. It seems to be the Word of God. It proves to be the Word of God.” Thus, the Bible includes words that claim the Bible is the Word of God. Do your kids know this?
 
IF IT IS NOT THE WORD OF GOD, then it has no moral authority over our lives. The heavy proof of the authenticity of this claim is that the claims are most often of a prophetic nature and are proven by fulfilled prophecy.
 
WHEN JESUS PREACHED AND DID MIRACLES, He said: Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.  (John 14:11) Jesus is establishing the basis on which they (and we) can make a truthful judgment on the authenticity and authority of His message. In this context, it was not words of prophecy. It was something they could see: miracles. We were not there to observe His works, but we had reliable people witnessing His works in our place. In our courtrooms, our system of law relies heavily on sworn testimony.
 
WE HAVE FRONT-SEAT OBSERVERS IN THE FOUR GOSPELS who paid with their lives rather than deny what they preached and wrote. The fact that they chose death rather than deny what they wrote, is a strong indication that what they said was true. Thus, we have strong, reliable evidence for believing the miracles Jesus did.
 
THE OTHER STRONG EVIDENCE FOR THE CLAIM OF THE BIBLE to be the Word of God, is the fulfillment of prophecy, especially when its fulfillment is beyond the ability of the prophet to bring it to pass. In other words, not a self-fulfilling prophecy. Sometimes, the words of a prophet lay dormant for hundreds of years before its fulfillment. Several times in the Gospels, the writers say: “That it might be fulfilled….” Those are heavy words!
 
SO, IN ZECHARIAH, WE HAVE THE PREFACE WORDS: “the Lord Almighty came to me;” and “The Word of the Lord came again to Zechariah.”  These words are not just book padding. God is not a book peddler. He doesn’t pad His writings with filler words to make a nice impressive size that will sell better.

THESE ARE IMPORTANT WORDS and they should command our attention. The text is claiming that these words are from the mouth of God. Now, what do you say about it? If you don’t believe they are words from God, on what basis do you say that? What is your claim? You need to make up your mind once and for all and stick with it ‘till you die. I did that when I was nine years old one night in the bean market and I intend to die that way.

 
IF YOU AGREE WITH ZECHARIAH'S CLAIM, then it immediately has moral authority over you. Joshua confronted the people in his day: And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.  (Joshua 24:15) We have that fastened to our front door.
 
THE BIBLE'S CLAIM TO BE THE WORD OF GOD, goes back to the beginning of Genesis when the lying Satan said to Eve: “Yea, hath God said?” You see, this is at the root of our disadvantaged youth of today who have failed the test as badly as Eve did.
 
MANY KIDS BIRTHED AND RAISED IN BIBLE-PREACHING, Bible-teaching churches are leaving the churches by the time they finish high school, before they ever enter college or the work force. They were never taught the moral authority of the Bible. In many cases, they never saw it demonstrated that the adults were under the moral authority of the Bible. So, 60% of them are leaving the church. The Bible is not real to them, not relevant to them.
 
IT ALL COMES BACK TO THE WORDS IN BLUE, ABOVE. No need to look any further.  I’m making a big deal of it because it is a very big deal! Mama’s faith, Daddy’s faith has to be internalized in the heart of every child or it is no faith at all. They will wander like a ship with no north star as a reference point. If we see “church-based” youth acting strange today, it’s because they don’t have a North Star; No reference point; No compass. When that happens, they are in a lot of trouble. They are easy prey for the devil.
 
IF THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD, then it deserves a better place than “somewhere in the house.” It deserves to be in our lap, in our hands, in our hearts. Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year 
JANUARY 25, 2019 - FRIDAY
 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:
And he said to them all,
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  (Luke 9:23)
 
Song for Today: 
Jesus Is Coming (2:00) (Quartet – Sacred Music Services)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPPr5IJ40CY                                                                     
                                                     (You may have to adjust the volume and delete an ad.)
 
I searched an hour for a suitable performance of “Jesus Is Coming Again” without success. Everybody and his grandpa have done something with this grand old song I learned as a boy. Sometimes I’m too picky, too old, or something. I found this excellent performance by SMS (Sacred Music Service).  I have no idea who they are, but they can sing. I hope you get a blessing from it.
 
 


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what did the former prophets preach?

1/23/2019

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    What Did the Former Prophets Preach? 
Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?  (Zechariah 7:7)
 
LET'S REVIEW AGAIN. A remnant of Judah’s Jews returned from the 70-year Babylonian captivity, and began building a replacement for Solomon’s Temple that God destroyed by the hands of the army of Babylon. They were not “rebuilding” Solomon’s Temple. It was a much smaller temple. They finished the foundation of another, new temple and dedicated it with a ceremony.
 
SOME OF THE JEWISH CAPTIVES IN BABYLON had been fasting and feasting four times a year in Babylon, grieving over the destruction of Solomon’s temple and the city of Jerusalem. They were back home now. They had a question for the priests and prophets in Jerusalem. Since another temple was being built, should they discontinue their annual fasting for Solomon’s temple?
 
When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD, And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?  (Zechariah 7:2-3)
 
GOD HEARD THEIR QUESTION AND GAVE ZECHARIAH THE PROPHET an answer to their question through a rhetorical question. That was an established practice of the Jews in those days. Answer a question with a question that contains the answer. In summary, shouldn’t these returning Jews remember the preaching of the former prophets? Never mind your four annual fasting days you have invented. That’s not important at all.
 
WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT YOU COMPLETELY IGNORED WHAT I TOLD YOU while you were well off and the nation was prosperous and peaceful. God said to them, I told you back then through my prophets that you need to change some things and you completely ignored Me. That’s what we need to talk about. Repentance. This is a much bigger issue than the fact that they sort of enjoyed their fasting and feasting four times a year over the loss of their temple and city.
 
WELL, EXACTLY WHAT WERE GOD'S PROPHETS TELLING THEM that they ignored? When something is between us and God it’s always something between us and God or something between us and another human being.   When I read through the Old Testament and see what a big mess people got themselves into with God, I like to look at it good and see what they did to sign their own death warrant or some lighter chastisement.
 
SOMETIMES GOD WITHHELD RAIN FOR THEIR CROPS. Sometimes He sent insects to eat up their crops. Sometimes He closed the wombs of the women, so they did not bear children or their animals were disrupted in giving birth. Sometimes He sent their warring neighbors to haul them off as in the case of the northern ten tribes to Assyria and they vanished from sight. Judah was sent to Babylon for 70 years and reappeared to rebuild what had been destroyed.
 
HERE'S WHAT HEY WERE DOING. It’s spelled out by Zechariah who gave the solution. And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:  And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.  (Zechariah 7:8-10)
 
WHEN GOD REACHED OUT TO THEM TO CORRECT THEM, they wouldn’t have it; But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.  (Zechariah 7:11-12)
 
WELL, HOW DID THAT WORK FOR THEM? What did they gain by rebelling against God?
 
Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts: But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.  (Zechariah 7:13-14)  When the Jews were removed from their land, the land grew up with thorns and bushes and wild animals.
 
I'VE NEVER UNDERSTOOD HOW A LOST MAN THINKS HE HAS THE UPPER HAND ON GOD since God holds a man’s breath and his heartbeat in His hand. Lost man, do you really think you are in charge? Please listen to me; you are not in charge. You are fragile and pitiful and short-lived. You are no match for God. But He loves you and sent His Son to die for you and that’s the only shot you’ve got for anything good on a permanent basis.

IT'S ALWAYS THE HEART THING. God looks on our hearts (1Samuel 16:7). If we are going to be saved its: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (Romans 10:9-10)

ISAIAH COMPLAINED THAT THE PEOPLE were drawing near to God with their mouths and lips, but their hearts were far from Him. (Isaiah 29:13). Jesus quoted Isaiah: (Matthew 15:8-9) A perfumed pig with polished toenails is still a pig. He’ll look for a mud hole because he has the heart of a pig.  A suit of clothes and a haircut does not change the heart of a man. The prodigal son did not go home until he came to himself.

 
JESUS GAVE AWAY A BIG SECRET WHEN HE TALKED TO THE SAMARITAN WOMAN at the well: Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  (John 4:21-23)
 
THE FATHER IS LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH. If you’re not interested in what God thinks about it, you’re not there yet. That’s why I post on FaceBook: “Do you care what God thinks about it?” When I was studying counseling and psychology I learned some time-wasting things that I had to discard when I began talking to real people and real problems. Waiting around until lightening strikes the understanding of a stubborn, troubled soul is a waste of my time and their time. That was called “non-directive counseling.”  
 
THEN I CAME ACROSS JAY ADAMS' BOOK and it was “directive counseling.” The first thing to do is to find out if the troubled person will submit to the authority of God. If not, wait until they are in the hospital or prison or bankruptcy or at least until they have been reduced and humbled enough to accept God’s authority. Then you can talk. I  look for indications that God is big in their sight. If God is little in a man’s sight, you can’t help him/her. You can’t teach a man anything who already knows everything. You can’t fill a glass with water that’s already full of something else.
 
WHEN SATAN APPROACHED EVE IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN, his fatal blow to her was the question: “Yea, hath God said?” If Satan can get a man to elevate his opinion on the level with what God thinks about it, he has effectively destroyed him. Everything rises and falls on that one question.  
 
THAT WAS THE PROBLEM WITH THE JEWS who were trashing their fellow Jews and God was watching it all the time. They had cast aside God’s authority. At last, God said: “That’s enough. The Babylonians are coming with chains for you in the morning at nine o’clock.” And it took them 70 years to learn anything. Correction: Some of them hadn’t learned anything in 70 years. They were substituting religious fasting and feasting for God’s instructions to repent.
 
DO YOU THINK IT'S DIFFERENT TODAY? It is the same today. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. (Acts 16:31) It’s not merely, Jesus Christ. It’s the LORD JESUS CHRIST. If you are LORD then Christ is nothing and you are lost and facing eternity cursed of God. I can’t save you. You can’t save yourself. But, if you will believe God and repent of your independence from God, if you will stop trying to take God’s place, then you can do business with Him.
 
THE PROMISED CHRIST DIED FOR YOUR SINS ON THE CROSS as God planned it for you. That’s your only hope. If you will humble your heart and accept Christ as your Savior and Lord, then you have everything you need to get into Heaven. Anything short of that and you’re not going to that city. Heaven is for saved people, only.
 
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.  (Isaiah 57:15)

Read Through the Bible in a Year
JANUARY 24, 2019 - THURSDAY
 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:
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  (Psalm 91:1-2)
  
Song for Today: 
Keep on the Firing Line (2:39) (Men’s Ensemble – Cal. M.Church

https://www.facebook.com/100009410046480/videos/2448758382114473/
               Move the time line to the left to zero.                                                       
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doing religious things for the right reason

1/22/2019

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Doing Religious Things for the Right Reason

When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD, And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?  (Zechariah 7:2-3)
 
TO REVIEW: A remnant of Judah’s Jews returned from the 70-year Babylonian captivity, and began building a replacement for Solomon’s Temple that God destroyed by the hands of the army of Babylon. They were not “rebuilding” Solomon’s Temple. It was a much smaller temple. They finished the foundation of another, new temple and dedicated it with a ceremony.
 
IN CONTRAST TO SOLOMON'S TEMPLE, this temple was called Zerubbabal’s Temple because he was the Persian-appointed governor of Judah while the temple was being built. We say that the temple was rebuilt. Yes and no. It was the continuation of a system of worship that included a temple.
 
THE OLD MEN WHO REMEMBERED SOLOMON'S TEMPLE certainly didn’t think they were “rebuilding” Solomon’s Temple. They wailed and wept at the small size of the new temple. Zerubbaal (Jerubbaal) led the first group of 42,360 Jews from Babylon to Judah in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia. The date is approximately 538 and 520 BC. (My computer speller keeps insisting that Zerubbabal is Jerubbaal.)
 
UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYE OF ZERUBBABAL, the foundation of the new temple was laid. This temple was to replace Solomon’s temple that was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, 70 years earlier. Zerubbabal is always associated with the high priest, Joshua (Jeshua) son of Jozadak (Jehozadak). who returned with him to Jerusalem. Together, these two men led the first wave of Jewish reurnees from exile and began to rebuild the Temple. (Paraphrased from Wikipedia)
 
BUT THEY BECAME WEARY FROM WORKING and from the opposition that blew up in their faces by those who did not want the Temple rebuilt and did not want the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt. So, they quit God’s project of rebuilding the Temple and began building their own houses, some of them quite fancy. For sixteen years the Temple foundation lay there awaiting the walls and roof.  
 
MEANTIME, THERE HAD DEVELOPED A TRADITION OF THE JEWS of having four annual times of fasting to commemorate the destruction of Solomon’s Temple. This was their own doing. God had not instructed them to fast every year about the loss of Solomon’s Temple. “The law of Moses required the Jews to observe only one national fast, and that was on the annual day of Atonement. (Leviticus 23:16-32) Of course, individual Jews could fast from time to time as they felt led, but this wasn’t required of the entire nation.” (Wiersbe)
 
SO....TWO PEOPLE WERE SENT TO JERUSALEM to ask a serious religious question. Their names were: Sherezer and Regemmelech. They were Jews, but their names were Babylonian. The Jewish captives in Babylon had all been fasting and praying in commemoration of the loss of their Temple built by Solomon.
 
“TO COMMEMORATE EVENTS SURROUNDING the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, four new fasts had been added to the religious calendar by the Jewish exiles in Babylon (see Zechariah 8:19); one in the tenth month, when the Babylonians had begun he siege of the city; another in the fourth month, when the city walls had been broken through; one in the fifth month, when the temple was burned: and the fourth in the seventh month, when the Jewish governor Gedaliah had been assassinated (see Jeremiah 41) (Wiersbe p.1511 Bible Commentary).
 
OUT OF FOUR NEW FASTING DAYS ON THE JEWISH CALENDAR in Babylon, the two fasting Jews picked out only one: the one in the fifth month. Did they ask about the fifth month because that was when the temple was burned or because that was the fast that was coming up next?
 
IN RESPONSE TO THIS INQUIRY OF THE PRIESTS AND PROPHETS at the Temple construction site, the Lord sent a message to Zechariah. Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?  (Zecharaiah 7:5-7)
 
FOR 70 YEARS THEY FASTED and ate religious food and drink. But they would have nothing to do with the message of the older prophets who told them of God’s displeasure with their lifestyle. All these years of fasting over the loss of their Temple built by Solomon, and they still had not repented. Fasting, yes. Repentance, no.
 
GOD HAD LEFT THEM ALONE ALL THESE YEARS while they went through with this phony fasting. God is saying: “OK, now that you have brought this up, I will tell you what really needs to be done. You have asked the priests and the prophets the wrong question.”
 
IT MAKES US PAUSE AND THINK ABOUT RELIGIOUS THINGS WE DO and why we do them. Are we doing religious things to bring glory to God, or are we doing them because religious things entertain us? I don’t know if we can completely figure that out. I’ve always loved Bible stories and preaching with lots of stories in the sermons and have like gospel music.
 
I ESPECIALLY LIKE HYMNS ON A WELL-PLAYED GRAND PIANO. You notice that I often include How Great Thou Art played on a concert grand piano by Kim Collingsworth. Ted Smith, who played for Billy Graham, was one of the best. Rudy Atwood, Robert Harkness and others were gifted. I also like to hear a simple “Jesus Loves Me This I Know,” sung by children.  
 
I’VE OFTEN WONDERED HOW MANY CONCERT GRAND PIANOS there will be in Heaven. I’m sure thee will be great swelling choirs and orchestras in Heaven. Music is God’s idea, so there will be plenty of it in Heaven. I sure hope we enjoy the church services down here on earth. Also, I hope we praise the Lord and give Him glory and always LEAN toward giving God the glory for all the things we enjoy in Church services.

THE POINT GOD MADE IN HIS MESSAGE TO ZECHARIAH, was that their fasting and feasting was altogether for their own enjoyment and not to seek the face of God and be in submission to Him.
 Hearing good preaching is not as hard to figure out, although there is an element of entertainment in preaching. That’s what holds our attention.
 
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.  (Isaiah 57:15)
 
But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.  (Psalm 22:3) Ω


Read Through the Bible in a Year

 JANUARY 23, 2019 - WEDNESDAY
  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:
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  (Psalm 91:1-2)
 
 
Song for Today: 
Praise Him, Praise Him (3:48) (Orchestra -Wintley Phipps)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuyOyRtSWvo
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When I was twelve and began working on hymns, this one by Fanny Crosby (1869) became my favorite song. It has zip and substance. It’s still one of my favorites and I break out singing this song more than any other. My first hymns were in the key of G and simple. This one jumps up into four flats and has a lilting rhythm. Wintley Phipps blesses me with his singing. He does a special-good job on this. When I get through here, I’ve got to go play this a while. The message is right! God inhabits the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3)
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 

 


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WHAT MATTERS TO GOD

1/20/2019

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What Matters to God

And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;
 
When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD, And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?  (Zechariah 7:1-3)
 
THE BIBLE TELLS US HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN AND HOW TO LIVE ON THE WAY to Heaven. Living on the way to Heaven involves two things: Love God. Love each other. That’s it. What do those two things look like? In the New Testament we have many summary statements. If we want things spelled out through narrative and everyday living, we go to the four Gospels of the New Testament.
 
THE BOOK OF LUKE IS ONE OF THE RICHEST BOOKS of narrative and illustration. But the greatest trove of godly living and ungodly living is in the Old Testament. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.  (1Corinthians 10:11)
 
I KEEP HARPING ON THE IDEA THAT WE CANNOT IGNORE THE OLD TESTAMENT and get a firm grip on the meaning of the New Testament. In our slow study of the Old Testament, Barbara and I are in the book of Zechariah. A remnant of Jews from Jerusalem and Judah that had returned from the 70-year Babylonian captivity, were rebuilding Solomon’s Temple that God destroyed by the hands of the army of Babylon. They finished the foundation of the new Temple, which came to be called Jerubbaal’s Temple.
 
BUT THEY HAD BECOME WEARY AND THEY HAD EXPERIENCED OPPOSITION from those who did not want the Temple rebuilt and did not want the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt. So, they quit God’s project of rebuilding the Temple and began building their own houses, some of them quite fancy. For sixteen years the Temple foundation lay there.
 
MEANTIME, THERE HAD DEVELOPED A TRADITION OF THE JEWS of having an annual time of fasting to commemorate the destruction of Solomon’s Temple. This was their own doing. God had not instructed them to fast every year about the loss of Solomon’s Temple. “The law of Moses required the Jews to observe only one national fast, and that was on the annual day of Atonement. (Leviticus 23:16-32) Of course, individual Jews could fast from time to time as they felt led, but this wasn’t required of the entire nation.” (Wiersbe)
 
A DELEGATION WAS SENT FROM, POSSIBLY BETHEL (meaning: House of God) delegation was sent from, possibly Bethel (House of God) to find out from the priests and prophets in Jerusalem if they should continue to mourn and fast annually for the destruction of Solomon’s Temple since the construction of a new Temple was well on its way to being completed in another three years or so. (Zechariah 7) (Morris Study Bible)
 
THE NAMES OF THESE TWO PEOPLE SENT TO JERUSALEM to enquire for the others back home, indicate that they were part of the remnant that had returned from Babylon. Their names were: Sherezer and Regemmelech. These are Babylonian names, not Jewish names. We can assume that they had been born in Babylon or else their names had been changed from Jewish names. The Jews in Babylon had been fasting and praying also, in commemoration of the loss of their Temple built by Solomon.
 
IN RESPONSE TO THIS INQUIRY OF THE PRIESTS AND PROPHETS at the Temple construction site, the Lord sent a message to Zechariah. Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?  (Zecharaiah 7:5-7)
 
IT'S EASY TO SLIDE OVER THIS so we can hurry up and finish our daily Bible reading and get on with our day.  Watch it! Let’s not do what these shallow Jews were doing.
 
WE MUST LOOK CAREFULLY AT WHAT GOD IS TELLING THESE PEOPLE AND PRIESTS. For 70 years they went through the rituals of fasting and eating special food and drink of a religious nature. They were willing to fast and eat and drink. But they would have nothing to do with the message of the older prophets who told them of God’s displeasure with their lifestyle. All these years of fasting and special food and drink over the loss of their Temple built by Solomon, and they still had not repented. Fasting, yes. Repentance, no.
 
GOD HAD LEFT HEM ALONE ALL THESE YEARS while they went through with this phony fasting. God is saying: “OK, now that you have at last brought this up, I will tell you what really needs to be done. You have asked the priests and the prophets the wrong question.”
 
Please read the rest of Zechariah 7 and we will come back to the rest of the picture tomorrow.
 
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
  JANUARY 21, 2019 - MONDAY
  A.M. Genesis 49-50   P.M. Matthew 15-1:20
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
A Good Verse to Memorize:
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  (Psalm 91:1-2)
 
 
Song for Today: 
A How Great Thou Art (7:43) (Piano Solo - Kim Collingsworth)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO67xEESp1M&t=145s
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be strong and work

1/15/2019

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       Be Strong and Work
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Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? 
 
Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: (Haggai 2:3-4)
 
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.  (Zechariah 8:9)
 
THREE THINGS IN THIS TEXT: Be strong and work, and the importance of the Old Testament. Sometimes it’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. With football teams, so many times the outcome is determined by the dogged determination of the players. The text deals with exercise of the will. It’s not talking about medical conditions. It’s talking about the area that can be controlled by deciding to be strong.
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT IS THE FOUNDATION AND FLOOR of the New Testament. We do not build the walls of a house on soft, damp dirt. There must be a strong, solid foundation.
 
IN THE SAME WAY, we could not have a New Testament without the Old Testament. We cannot understand much of the New Testament without first understanding the Old Testament. We must not be content to know a few things out of the New Testament. America is in the grip of severe Bible ignorance. The Bible still sells the best of any book, but it is perhaps the least-read.
 
I HAVE READ THE BIBLE A GOOD BIT in my short earthly journey; not because I’m spiritual but because I am not spiritual. The Bible tells us how to get to Heaven and how to live on our way to Heaven. One reason I continue to read the Bible is because by the time I read it through, I have forgotten things I must remember and I need to go back and read it again. Pat Boone says he has read the Bible through every year for the last 30 years. I haven’t done that. Maybe half. I don’ know.
 
THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR READING THE BIBLE and studying it, memorizing it, meditating on it and obeying it. As I have mingled with people in their homes, in jails and hospitals, I have seen a lot of people who wouldn’t be having the problems they’re having if they had payed attention to the Bible. Most of the problems I have had in life are because I didn’t pay close enough attention to what the Bible says.  
 
BARBARA AND I HAVE BEEN SLOWLY WORKING OUR WAY through the Minor Prophets in our morning devotions. God has been working faithfully with His beloved twelve tribes of Israel that is now divided. The ten tribes in the north are called Israel. The two tribes in the south that include Jerusalem, are called Judah.
 
AFTER THE DEATH OF SOLOMON, the ten northern tribes split away from the southern two tribes and immediately plunged into idolatry. God patiently pleaded with them to return to Him. Elijah is the best-known prophet to the northern ten tribes, under whose ministry it did not rain for over three years.
 
THE CONTEST WITH THE FALSE PROPHETS OF AHAB AND JEZEBEL ended with Elijah calling down fire on Mount Carmel and the slaughter of 400 prophets of Baal. The fickle Jewish worshippers on Mount Carmel had their shallow moment of “revival” during which they cried out that Jehovah is God. (It was like America when the Islamic planes hit our Twin Towers in New York. America was patriotic and religious for a few weeks.) Israel might as well have been watching a movie. They never repented. They never changed their ways.
 
ISRAEL WAS JOINED TO IDOLATRY AT THE HIP and there was no cure. God gave up on them and brought down the Assyrians from the north. They deported the cream of the Jewish people into Assyria and scattered them all over the country. The Ten Tribes have not been heard of since. Of course, God knows where every one of them is today. 
 
IN 150 YEARS, JUDAH WAS AS IDOLATROUS AS HER NORTHERN SISTER. After sending prophets to plead with Judah, God brought the Babylonian army to Jerusalem. The army destroyed their city and Solomon’s Temple and led the cream of the city in chains to Babylon. After 70 years, Babylon had been conquered by the Medes and Persians and King Cyrus granted the Jews the freedom to return to their homeland. He gave them substantial sums of wealth with which to rebuild the Temple and the walls of the City of Jerusalem. This is called the Post Exilic period. (After the 70-year exile.)
 
MANY OF THE CAPTIVE JEWS HAD SETTLED DOWN IN BABYLON and preferred to die there rather than go back home and start all over again. So, a small remnant of Jews went home to claim their land and what was left of their houses and farms. They rebuilt the foundation of the Temple and had a ceremony. The old men wept and wailed loudly because the new Temple was as nothing compared to what Solomon’s Temple had been. They remembered well. The young men who had never seen Solomon’s Temple rejoiced and shouted aloud. The wailing in sorrow and the shouting in joy mixed together.  
 
THAT WAS IT. THEY STALLED OUT WHEN THE FOUNDATION WAS LAID and began building their own houses. Some of them built elaborate houses, fit for a king. “It doesn’t take long for zeal to cool and God’s people to grow apathetic, especially when opposition began an ominous growl that soon became a roar.
 
THE SHOUTING OF THE PEOPLE AWAKENED THE ENEMIES OF THE JEWS, aroused official opposition, and caused the work to stop. (Ezra 4:1-6, 24). The temple lay unfinished from 536 to 520 B.C. God sent Haggai, and Zechariah to encourage them to get back to work and finish rebuilding the temple.” (Warren Wiersbe) Haggai was an older prophet and Zechariah was younger.
 
WE'RE BACK TO OUR TEXT FOR TODAY: Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: (Haggai 2:3-4)
 
JUST TWO SIMPLE THINGS WERE NEED TO BUILD THE TEMPLE on its foundation that had laid there in the weather for sixteen years: Be strong and work. That’s it. That would build the Temple. They had an attitude problem. They didn’t have a medical problem. God was for them but that didn’t make any difference. They were not in sync with God.
 
THAT'S IT? BE STRONG AND WORK? That’s what the Bible says. But that’s in the Old Testament. We live in the New Testament days when it’s a lot different. OK. In the New Testament it says:
 
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  (Eph 6:10)
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high plac
ges.  (Ephesians 6:11-12)
 
BE STRONG. OLD TESTAMENT. NEW TESTAMENT. God’s people are to consider themselves to be strong. Nowhere in the Bible does it say for God’s people to go out and be weak. Just roll over and ignore what we ought to be doing. I heard Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. say: “I am not everyone, but I am one. I can’t do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do and by the grace of God I will do it.” That impressed me. It still impresses me. Be strong. Work. I need to keep these two words handy on the days my gung-ho is weak.
 
IN PART 2 WE'LL REVIEW THE NAMES of the prophets, priests, governors and kings involved in the rebuilding of Zerubbabel’s Temple. Christians need to be thoroughly familiar what it took to get it built. 

Read Through the Bible in a Year    
JANUARY 16, 2019 - WEDNESDAY

 A.M. Genesis 38-40   P.M. Matthew 12:22-50
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
A Good Verse to Memorize:
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  (Psalm 91:2) 
 
Song for Today: 
A Mighty Fortress is Our God (3:48) (Mixed Choir - Anonymous)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XUYZoguhEQ  
 (You may have to adjust the volume and delete an ad.)
 
 
  
 
 
 

 
 


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building a fire...

1/7/2019

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Building a Fire…
And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.  And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?  And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.  (Luke 24:30-34)
 
THE BIBLE SPEAKS A LOT ABOUT FIRE AND HEAT. God settled upon Mount Horeb in the wilderness in the presence of the Jews fresh-brought out of Egypt. He settled upon the mountain in fire and shaking of the mountain. In our day, that mountain (Mount Horeb) is scorched on top with melted stone. Intense heat has worked just on the top of the mountain. God expressed His presence to them through fire so that they understood there is but one true God who has awesome power!
 
PETER TELLS US: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.  (2Peter 3:9-10) That is the ultimate use of heat.
 
BUT GOD USES A MUCH MILDER FORM OF HEAT, to grow crops and nourish life on the earth, including the necessary heat for our bodies. It is amazing that God has created human beings and warm-blooded animals with a means of converting food into heat. The mitochondria in the cells of our bodies are like little heating stoves. There are billions of them. Working together, they keep our bodies at about 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.  David said: I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.  (Psalm 139:14)
 
GOD USES THE ABUNDANT PRESENCE OF PHYSICAL HEAT to teach us social and spiritual things. We speak among ourselves as being “cool” or “warm” toward each other, indicating that we don’t or we do want to be sociable. We speak of having “cold hearts” or “warm hearts” toward the Lord, indicating that we do or do not want interchange with Him.
 
IN THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST THAT GOD GAVE TO HIM, He said to the Laodiceans: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.  (Revelation 3:14-16)  “Lukewarm” is a state of double-mindedness. Indecisive.
 
IN OUR TEXT FOR TODAY, the two disciples that the resurrected Jesus met with on the road to Emmaus realized something about themselves after Jesus had vanished from their sight. Their hearts had warmed, had burned within them because of the presence of Jesus and His opening the Word of God to them. They had heard it all before, many times. They had been “Bible-resistant.” But this time was different. Their hearts “burned within them.”   
WE GET A GLIMPSE OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN OUR HEARTS BURN compared to what we do when our hearts DO NOT burn. Sometimes what we need more than anything else, is a holy heartburn! It isn’t a matter of knowing more, necessarily. It’s a matter of everything we have catching on fire!

FIFTY YEARS AGO, PASTOR TOM MALONE OF PONTIAC, MICHIGAN, was speaking in a Bible conference I was attending. He told what he did to keep his own heart warm. He said that he was so prone to cool off in his relationship to the Lord that for several years he had practiced reading the Bible every morning until his heart began to warm toward the Lord. I had never heard that before. I began church in my mother’s womb, but I had never heard that simple statement made.

AS I SAT IN THE MEETING AND THOUGHT ABOUT IT, I remembered that indeed there are times when it seems like God is a million miles away. And there are times when I read the Bible or read a hymn with Scripture in it, that my heart “warms” toward the Lord. I had never thought about intentionally “causing” it to happen by disciplining myself to read the Bible until my heart begins to warm.

I WENT FORWARD IN THAT MEETING AND TOOK PASTOR MALONE BY THE HAND and said something like: “That’s going to be my practice. I’m going to read the Bible until my heart is warm.” And then, later, I discovered that the reading of Bible-rich hymns or the singing of Bible-rich hymns will do the same thing. That was fifty-plus years ago and it is one of the most valuable things I ever learned in living the Christian life.

BEFORE THOSE TWO DISCIPLES HAD A MELTDOWN, they were sad and defeated. When their hearts began to burn, they got up and walked seven miles back to Jerusalem and told the others they had seen the resurrected Christ. It was the burning heart that moved their feet and moved their tongues. Is that what we need today? Do you need your heart to burn like it hasn’t burned in a while? Plug in to the Word of God and read until your heart burns. It may loosen your tongue. It may move your feet to look for someone to talk to about the Lord.

WHEN MY HEART GROWS COLD, I know what to do to fix it. That makes me responsible, doesn’t it? Yes, that makes me responsible. Now that you know what to do to warm your heart, you, too, are responsible to build a fire in your heart from the Word of God.

I HAVE BUILT AT LEAST A THOUSAND FIRES in stoves, fireplaces and camp sites. I know how to do it. I don’t build a fire every day, but I know what to do to build a fire. I know what will burn and what will not burn. There’s no magic to it. Start with waded up newspaper, add some dry pine cones, add some dry sticks or broken limbs, add two heavier pieces of dry wood. After the fire is burning good, add two heavy pieces of wood to burn. One piece will not do much burning by itself. It takes two pieces of wood against each other to keep a fire burning. One piece will will go out.

ONE VERSE OF SCRIPTURE MAY WARM YOUR HEART, but more than likely, it will take a chapter or two. Be generous with your reading. Don’t go lickety-split through the chapter to get it over with. Read slowly and shut out everything so you can think about it. Mark your Bible. Pay attention to Bible phrases.  Build a Bible fire in your heart. Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JANUARY 8, 2019 - TUESDAY
 A.M. Genesis 20-22   P.M. Matthew 7
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
And they said one to another,
Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?  (Luke 24:32)
 
Song for Today: 
Spirit of the Living God, Fall Fresh on Me (2:34) (Mixed Choir - Anonymous)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK-O5nfL1Mo
 (You may have to adjust the volume and 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 
    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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