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what is in your hand

6/24/2017

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What is In Your Hand? – (Corrected Article)
And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.  And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.  And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:  (Exo 4:2-4)

On May 15, 2017, I made a sincere but mistaken statement about the first verse above not being in the Bible.  I had made several attempts to find: “What is in thy/thine hand” and nothing would come up. My computer Bible program is fussy and unforgiving.  Someone sent me the verse and the article and this is a corrected version of the article. (Thanks to J.F. for his research.) “What is that in thine hand?” is certainly in the Bible and Exodus 4:2-4 must be the verses Dr. Bill Rice used for his text, 60 years ago.
 
Dr. Bill and Kathy Rice had a deaf daughter. Because of that, they built a Bible camp in Murfreesboro, TN: The Bill Rice Ranch to reach deaf young people with the Gospel. Dr. Rice preached in chapel at Tennessee Temple College, “What is In Your Hand?” It had a great influence on my life. For years, the question has run through my mind: “What is In Your Hand?” Several Bible stories illustrate the fact that God puts things into our hands to be used for Him.
 
And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.  (1Sa 17:49) (Read: 44-50)

​Children still love this story today and several children’s songs continue to be written about it. David could not use King Saul’s armor or his sword. But he was a soldier to be reckoned with when he used what God had put into his hands: the sling and stones on the ground.


This is another verse that should foremost in our thinking: For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?  (1Co 4:7)

The idea of this article is that God puts things into our hands and employs what is in our hands for His glory and purpose. God does not equip rabbits to fly and does not enable birds to run faster than a cat. So, what has God put into our hands? We may not see it at the beginning but as we look back, we see that God was there from the very beginning.
 
If we cannot discern the will of God, we should begin by looking at what is in our hands. God is not going to use a one-arm man to be a violinist. He does not use a tenor to sing bass. He is not going to use me as an artist to paint beautiful pictures or to run a big corporation or to be the President of the United States. But, there were some things God put into my hands. As a farm boy, I understood that one can only use a tool that is in one’s hands. So, what is in your hands?  What is in your heart? What drives you? In this article, I will not go into the importance of prayer and surrender to what God shows you, although that is uppermost for Christians.
 
The auto-biography of D.L. Moody (1837-1899) notes that he knew his strengths and his weaknesses and had due regard for both. Also, he emphasized using his strengths and spent less time trying to use his lesser talents. Good advice. Whatever we do, we ought to learn to do it with all the ability God gives us. I’m not your man for making a coconut cake.
 
Young David did not begin his use of the sling on the day he put down Goliath. God positioned David in the care of his father’s sheep so that he developed the use of the sling into a fine-tuned skill. David simply did not miss. Obviously, God had His eye on David in the womb of his mother and began shaping him long before he knew he was being shaped.
 
God endows babies with qualities not of their own making and watches over them to bring His plan to pass. Do we think Bill Gates figured out his computer ideas on his own?  I don’t think so. In the Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit gives gifts to people “as He will.” Though we are similar, we are not identical. None of David’s brothers were suitable for God’s purpose of providing a king for Israel. His sling and his poetic pen were to be his key of access to God’s appointed place. David used what was in his hand and he was good at it.

 I’ve already mentioned that the armor of Saul was not a fit tool for David, although it was a fine piece of armor. And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.  (1Sa 17:38-39) What is in thy hand?

I meet left-handed people of my generation whose teachers went to great lengths to rescue them from their left-handed handicap. The aim was to standardize the abilities of the students. My teachers in my 1st and 2nd grades were smarter and left my left hand alone.
Thomas A. Edison, who gets credit for perfecting the electric light bulb and the phonograph, was designated by his teacher as “the class dunce”. Einstein of Germany was considered by his teachers to be slow and unteachable.  Sometimes it seems that God’s sense of humor may be at work when He endows certain ones with hidden advantages that go unrecognized because they are substandard.

In some families, there is the smartest child and the slowest child. A parent may be worn out struggling with the slow child. One day it comes out in a burst of frustration: “Why can’t you be like your brother?” The slow one doesn’t know why he cannot be like his brother and he is hurt for life by an impatient parent who said the wrong thing and wounded the child. The problem is not the child. The problem is the parent who does not recognize that the Creator God appoints children with different things in their hands. Children have no obligation to be like each other. They have an obligation to use what God has put into their hands to the best of their ability.

When I was five years old in 1939, my daddy let me type my name on his 1935 Royal typewriter he had bought new. He used it to write letters to businesses to sell wood products from his sawmill. He took great pride in his typewriter and kept the cover over it to keep out the dust. I don’t know why he trusted a five-year-old to type on his machine with two fingers.
 
That typewriter sits on my desk and I use it occasionally. Mostly, it reminds me that the Lord put my hands on it when I was five years old. My hands are still free of arthritis. I’m not as good as many other writers, but that is what God has put into my hands.

My grandpa Richards finished the 3rd grade and was amazing with his hands in farming with mules. His funeral filled the church house to overflowing. His hands and his heart were a great influence on his community. My father and mother worked hard with their hands and were good at what they did. It was clear to me that whatever I did, I was not to sit on my hands. And I ask you: what is in your hands? God wants to use you and will use what He  has put in your hands. Ω

 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
JUNE 26, 2017 – MONDAY        
A.M.  Job 7-9   

P.M.  Acts
7:44-60
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Memory Verse This Month:
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.  (Luke 24:44)

Song for Today:
The Unclouded Day (3:32) (CMC- Sou. Pines, NC)                       

https://www.facebook.com/100009410046480/videos/1855726871417630/
       You may need to adjust your volume.
                                                   
 
 


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why we go to church

6/13/2017

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Why We Go to Church…
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.  (Heb 10:24-25)

I began “going to church” in this building, the Falling Springs Baptist Church in Overton County, Tennessee… in my mother’s womb. I attended church here until I was eight and World War II swept us 350 miles away to East Tennessee. My mother was saved in this church in her early teens when an itinerant woman preacher came through and got permission to use the building. That would have been about 1910.

Baptizing was done in the East Fork River during warm weather. After the corn was plowed the last time (laid by) after July 4, the big event in the community was a “protracted meeting” that met every night for 2-3 weeks. The baptizing took place after the meeting was over and after dinner on the ground; a high day of celebration.

My daddy’s family lived in a log house across the creek and he went to school here. He showed me where he ate his lunch on a big flat gravestone, about two feet high. He finished the eighth grade here, using the blue-back speller and McGuffey’s Reader. I don’t know how many of the seven children went to church or school there.

What is there in the minds and hearts of people that keep them attending houses of worship, year after year? Falling Springs Baptist Church has been there over two hundred years, through several generations. During the Depression, the paint was about gone and they couldn’t raise enough money to paint the building. You can see the building is still white.

Why do we go to church?  Somebody did the math a few years ago and concluded that in America, more people still attend church than attend sporting events. And that’s at a time when the church is in a decayed and weakened condition. Millions of people, even in an unsaved condition, recognize that there’s something bigger than them and they know they are going to be placed in a box and buried. My daddy’s daddy couldn’t be dragged to church with a team of mules. When he died, somebody saw to it that his grave is the closest grave to the church building.

When God brought the Jewish people out of Egypt with a strong hand and gave them a nation, there was one meeting place for the whole nation and that was in Jerusalem. That’s where He chose to put His name and they were to build a Temple. The people were to go to Jerusalem three times a year to observe seven Feasts of the Lord that were spread over those three visitations to Jerusalem. Some of the people traveled almost a hundred miles.
The teaching and worshiping of Jehovah God was done in the homes all-over the nation of Israel.

Moses commanded them:  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.  (Deu 6:6-7)

When Israel was led in captivity to Babylon for 70 years, the Jews began to form Synagogues. Ten adult males in an area could form a Synagogue. This system prevailed when Jesus came to Israel and continues to this day. When the Romans destroyed the Temple, the Jewish system of worship was destroyed and never restored.  There are Jewish Synagogues and Temples all over the world, but the sacrificing of animals is not done. A Jewish Temple will one day be rebuilt in Jerusalem.


When Jesus rose from the dead and commissioned His disciples to operate His church, there was an immediate emphasis of Christians meeting together to encourage and nourish one another in the Christian faith. Our text for today has been the effective framework of the church for two thousand years. We must continue emphasizing Christian homes and we must continue emphasizing meeting together to provoke one another to love, good works and encouragement.
​

We come to church to worship and praise God and to listen to the Word of God being explained and urged upon us. And we also come to church to provoke and encourage one another. It was important two thousand years ago and it is still important today. Jesus said He would build His church. He is doing just that. His church is made of thousands of local churches. All of them together make up His Body. Everything that calls itself a church is not necessarily a church.

A church is a group of saved, baptized believers who are committed to encouraging one another and to carry out the great commission Jesus laid upon His disciples. “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” Our obedience to God’s command to assemble together is a measure of our genuineness of love to the Lord. Some good things happen at church that cannot happen anywhere else.

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.  (Heb 10:24-25) Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year
JUNE 14, 2017 – WEDNESDAY
A.M.  Ezra 6-8   P.M.  John 21
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
Memory Verse This Month:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  (Hos 4:6)

Song for Today: 
Brethren We Have Met to… (3:34) (Grace Singing School)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9ezXgvQyyw
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jesus, the rock

6/13/2017

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Jesus, the Rock…
… they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.  (1Co 10:4-6)

God told the nation of Israel that He would send one like unto Moses and they should listen to Him. Then, as Moses and later prophets slowly wrote the Old Testament, there was woven into the text many things that pictured the one who was to come. Jesus is in every book of the Old Testament. The New Testament reveals and explains many of these pictures, such as our text for today.

When the nation of Israel was making their way through the desert, they ran out of water. God instructed Moses to strike a huge rock with his rod. When he did so, the rock broke open and water gushed out of the rock and met their need for water.

 God told Moses: Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?  (Exo 17:6-7)

The greater truth in this story goes beyond giving thirsty Israelites water in the desert. On this occasion, Moses was to strike the rock and water would come gushing out. This was a picture of God smiting the coming messiah on the cross. When the soldier thrust his spear into the side of Jesus on the cross to make sure He was dead, there gushed out of Him blood and water.

This reminds us of God taking Adam’s wife, Eve, from the side of Adam while Adam was asleep. While Jesus “slept” in death on the cross, redemption poured out of his side as blood and water gushed out and the church, the Bride of the Lamb (Rev. 21:9) was taken from His side, even as Eve was taken from the side of Adam. How fitting that God quenched the thirst of Israel by striking the rock and pouring forth life-saving water.


Later, there was another water crisis. But this time, he was not to strike the rock. He was to speak to the rock and there would come forth life-saving water. This was a picture of God’s plan to save the world by people speaking to the Rock. Moses disobeyed the Lord and struck the rock again. Moses ruined God’s picture of salvation. After Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He did not have to be put on the cross again. We have only to speak to the Rock, Christ Jesus, and the water of life will flow into the parched souls of repentant sinners who come to Him.

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.  And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.  And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
 

And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.  (Num 20:7-12)
 

Moses did not lose his eternal salvation. But he lost his opportunity to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. His next important assignment was to go to the mountain to die. God’s work is to be done in God’s way. Moses later appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John.

In Jesus’ day, He referred to Moses and explained the problem they had with unbelief. Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.   For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.   But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?  (John 5:45-47)

When Jesus preached, there was the crowd of scholars who loved to quote Moses to Him. This is Jesus’ answer to those proud hypocrites. They didn’t believe Jesus for the same reason they didn’t believe Moses. They were liars. They were religious on the surface but in their hearts, they did not want God to rule over them. Do you think we have gotten better about that today?

In Jesus’ day, there was a small remnant of people who knew and loved Jehovah God and therefore received Jesus as their promised Messiah. But, the clear majority of them accepted Him as an entertainer and ate his bread and fish. When it came down to the test, they voted to put Him to death. They rejected the Rock of their salvation. He was the rock the builders rejected. One day, Israel’s eyes will be opened and they will mourn what they did to their Promised Messiah.

Toplady wrote: “Rock of Ages, cleft for me; let me hide myself in Thee. Let the water and the blood from thy wounded side which flowed, be of sin the double cure; save from wrath and make me pure. 2. Could my tears forever flow, Could my zeal no languor know. These for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and thou alone; In my hand no price I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling. 3. While I draw this fleeting breath, When my eyes shall close in death, When I rise to worlds unkown, And behold Thee on Thy throne;  Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee. Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year
JUNE 13, 2017 – TUESDAY
A.M.  Ezra 3-5   P.M.  John 20
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
Memory Verse This Month:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  (Hos 4:6)

Song for Today: 
Rock of Ages (4:10) (Gaither Congregation)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmrvPPYLTDg&list=RDBmrvPPYLTDg&index=1
Be sure to hear Vestal Goodman sing the last verse…
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who are we trying to please

6/11/2017

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Who Are We Trying to Please?
…the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.  (Joh 8:29) How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?  (Joh 5:44)
​

In the English-speaking world, millions of books have been sold on the theme of how to have faith in God. Jesus revealed a big secret in saying that we get in our own way of believing God because we prefer honor from one another more than the honor that comes from God. Please! Couldn’t it be something else?

Paul urged young Christians to avoid marriage, if they could, because: …
he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.  (1Co 7:33) Paul was not applauded for that statement from everyone down through the centuries. Without marriage and children, Christianity would have come to a grinding halt. However, the institution of marriage does indeed bring with it its own list of priorities. The modern version of this is: “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody gonna be happy.” 


In God’s complete plan, He is honored if the wife is honored: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Eph 5:25) Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.  (Col 3:19)  There is no conflict between God’s order for husbands to love their wives and Jesus’ saying that honoring one another hinders our faith in God. We must rush to point out that this is not a license for the wife to root God out of the picture and take God’s place of priority to herself. That does happen a lot. We do not have to abandon common horse sense in getting these priorities straight.


Beyond the God-ordained family structure, there is a whole world of relationships that can hinder our faith in God. Business deals, occupational duties, social recognition, and political loyalties are some of the areas that fit what Jesus seems to be targeting. There is not room here to explore these areas but I believe the Scriptures will bear it out. The conclusion is very clear: honoring one another above honoring God will hinder and block our believing God and walking with Him.

The principle of putting God first is a summary way of dealing with it. When Jesus called their hand on the issue of honoring one another before honoring God, we can be assured that it did not set well with those He was addressing. He often got into trouble when He carried the Father’s will to the public at large. Jesus said to his brothers, The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.  (Joh 7:7) If we live and proclaim the Christian life and message, some people are going to think we are putting them down, that they are not a beautiful rose garden just like they are without Jesus as Savior and Lord.

On the other hand, in some Bible-preaching churches there is a surge of young people who think they are called to preach. in the sense that we use that term today. That has been going on all my life. Not to worry. It will work its way to a conclusion. Pray for them.  If they are called of God, their gifts will be obvious and they will endure the hardships they are going to go through.

Dr. Lee Roberson wrote in one of his books that when he presented himself as one whom God had called to preach, there were some nineteen young men who were saying the same thing. A few years later, he was the only one of the group who followed through and spent his life preaching as a pastor and evangelist.
 

When I was saved at age nine, I began witnessing the next day to the boys I had cussed with until they put me on the ground and made it clear they had heard enough. I was stirred even more at age seventeen and now at eighty-two I have never one time doubted the call from God to be a witness for Him as the first thing in my life. My job has always been to please Him first. When I aged out as a pastor, God assured me that I was to continue being a witness for Him and to encourage people in His word and to pray.

You don’t have to have a call from God to be a pastor-preacher to understand that honoring God first in your life is your priority. This applies to men, women, young people, boys and girls who know Him. Who are you trying to please? Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year
JUNE 12, 2017 – MONDAY
A.M.  Ezra 1-2 
P.M. 
John 19:23-42
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
Memory Verse This Month:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  (Hos 4:6)

Song for Today: 
He Giveth More Grace (3:07) (Gaither Congregation)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN9-Ri6qjZY&index=8&list=PLrQ_9CjH0M3DrNKFiJwWMcXeunA0lU-NB
 (Wait several seconds. You may have to delete an ad.)

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my sheep hear my voice (2)

6/8/2017

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My Sheep Hear My Voice…  (2)
…ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep,… My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand (Joh 10:26-29).
 

This is one of those emphatic scriptures. “My sheep hear my voice.” All of them. Their ears are connected to the voice of Savior who died for them. It does not say that Jesus’ sheep are perfect in behavior but that they hear His voice and they follow Him. In the Bible, we read several places about the proofs of people being saved.  Some will ask, “But what about this or that thing in my life or in the life of someone I know who claims to be saved?”

One preacher said, “There are a lot of churches spending a lot of time and energy trying to preserve results they’re not having.” Bob Jones, Sr. said: “You’ve got to do more than prop up a dead dog to prove he’s alive. He’s got to take off after an old tomcat on his own without your helping him.”  We should teach new converts but unless they’ve got the real thing, all the teaching in the world is not going to transform their lives.
“Ye must be born again!”


Jesus said: By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.  (John 13:35) This is how people looking on can know about people they are watching. Do they love one another? It’s not whether they are regular in church attendance. Attending church is a very good thing but it’s not a Bible sign that you are saved. A lot of religious people are not saved. You can go to church and hate everybody there. So, church attendance does not indicate that you are saved. The Bible standard in looking at other people for salvation is “do they love one another?”

Jesus was on Solomon’s porch in the Temple and some religious Jews gathered around Him in a heated conversation over whether or not He was the promised Messiah. They did not believe in Him (even as His own brothers did not believe in Him) and Jesus told them why they did not believe in Him. They were not His sheep.

Some people had no trouble believing Him and believing in Him. Old Simeon and Anna had no trouble believing in Him because they were in touch with God.  That’s the way it worked. The people who were in touch with God saw right away that He was the promised One. But those who had trouble submitting to Yahweh from the heart, also had trouble believing on Jesus.


Jesus said, “…ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep,…  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” This means that a lot of people in church attendance, maybe your church, maybe your family, are not Jesus’ sheep. I didn’t come up with that. Jesus said that. This connects with another thing Jesus said: 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.  (Mat 7:22-23)

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.  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.  (Mat 7:20-21) Is the last verse a hard verse to understand? It need not be.
We are not saved by works. But we are saved by a faith that works. Today, we’re talking about people hearing the voice of Jesus and following Him. That’s who the saved people are. How is your faith working for you in your life? We do not enter the kingdom of heaven by doing the will of the Father of Jesus, but if we are saved our sincere commitment is to be doing the will of Jesus’ Father. From the heart, we are traveling in that direction. Otherwise, we don’t have any real proof we are saved.

James, the half-brother of Jesus said: Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.  (Jas 2:17-18) Actually, every man shows his faith by his works. That’s just how it is. God can see the faith in our hearts and know if we are saved. But, we can’t see in the hearts of people. We can only show people who we are by what we do and how we talk.

The 10th chapter of John is the sheep chapter; the Good Shepherd chapter. Everyone in Israel knew a lot about sheep and shepherds, so He talked to them about something they understood and applied it to Himself. When He told them He and His Father were one, they, again, picked up stones to stone Him. His sheep made no attempt to stone Him; just His enemies. People who don’t like genuine “Jesus Talk,” don’t know Him.
 
J. Vernon McGee has some pointed things to say about this and I have borrowed him in abbreviated form. I think you’ll like his explanation of the “sheep in the pigpen.”
 
"His sheep hear His voice. And they follow Him. The brand of ownership on the sheep is obedience. Do you want to know whether a person is saved or not? Then see if he is obeying Christ. Our ears must be open to His voice. "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them" (Pro_20:12).

"I know them." I'm glad somebody knows me, aren't you? I am sometimes misunderstood, and I have to explain myself to people. However, I never need to explain anything to Him. He knows when I'm putting up an excuse; He knows when I am evading an issue; He understands me. He knows.

"And they follow me."​ I believe in the eternal security of the believer and in the insecurity of the make-believer. "They follow me"—it's just that simple. If the shepherd called his sheep one morning and started up the hill, and out of five hundred sheep in the sheepfold, one hundred came out and followed him, then I would conclude that those one hundred were his sheep. And I would also conclude that the other four hundred were not his sheep.
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish."

Friend, when He gives to them eternal life, that means they don't earn it and they don't work for it. He
gives it to them. Note that it is eternal life. It is forever. If it plays out in a week or in a year or until they sin, then it is not eternal life after all. They are not really His sheep if the life does not last forever. The sheep may be in danger, but the Shepherd will protect them. They may be scattered, but He will gather them up again. They shall never perish.

May they backslide? Yes. Will they perish? No. The sheep may get into a pigpen, but there has never yet been a sheep in a pigpen that stayed in a pigpen. Sheep and pigs do not live together. The sheep is always a sheep. No man can pluck that sheep out of the Savior's hand. No enemy, no man, no created being can pluck them out of His hand. This is wonderful! (McGee-Abbreviated) Ω (This is an edited reprint from early January 2017)

Read Through the Bible in a Year​
JUNE 9, 2017 – FRIDAY
A.M. 2Chron 30-31   P.M.  John 18:1-23
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
Memory Verse This Month:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  (Hos 4:6)

Song for Today: 
Acapella Congregational: 
At Calvary (3.32) (Gaither Congregation)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vvMPD0iwGk&list=PLrQ_9CjH0M3DrNKFiJwWMcXeunA0lU-NB&index=2
One of the Great Songs of the Christian Faith
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standing and state of believers

6/7/2017

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Standing and State of Believers…
UNTO THE CHURCH OF GOD which is at Corinth, to THEM that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  (1Co 1:1-9)

Nine verses acknowledge the STANDING these people had in Christ – But their STATE was a mess! They were true believers in Christ. They were sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, and rated alongside all other saved people who called upon the name of Jesus Christ. They were looking for the soon return of Jesus Christ. They were promised that they would be confirmed unto the end of their lives and would stand blameless in the day of Christ’s return. This is their standing and not their state.

How did they get such a standing with God?  The foundation goes back to the day God promised to make a nation of Abraham and he believed God. Abraham believed God and HE counted Abraham’s faith as righteousness. Let’s look at the summary.

And being not weak in faith, he (Abraham) considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.  (Rom 4:19-25)

Our situation is different from Abraham but the principle is the same. God is asking us to believe that His Son died on the cross for our sins, was buried and rose again from the dead. If we respond to God’s gift of salvation, He will count that response as perfect righteousness. He will impute (transfer) the righteousness of Christ to our account. Through this transaction, we have perfect standing with God. The Christians in Corinth had standing with God in the first nine verses of the first chapter.

And, dear friend, if you are a true believer in Christ, you too, have the righteousness of Christ imputed to you. (I am repeating.) You have perfect STANDING with God through Christ. Your standing is perfect in Christ because God has imputed the righteousness of Christ to your account. Christ’s righteousness is not faulty, not flawed. When we stand before God, we will not be wearing the ragged garment of self-effort. We will be wearing the royal robe of righteousness given to us through His death on the cross. Because we have that perfect robe of righteousness, we are to work daily at bringing our flawed state up to our perfect standing. And now we return to verse ten.

Suddenly, after the fanfare of their standing in Christ, they are belted with verse ten. Their STATE OF BEING before God is another matter altogether. Their behavior is far below their standing. They are on their way to heaven but they are not walking well. In fact, the rest of the book of 1Corinthians deals with the ragged, untaught state of the believers in Corinth. He opens with:

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.  (1Co 1:10) These saved people are behaving like little babies and toddlers.

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?  (1Co 3:1-4)

Notice, he does not suggest that they may not be saved. He does not accuse them of being in cahoots with the devil or beat them with a stick in a fit of anger. His words are carefully chosen to deal with the problem.

Paul mixes rebuke and teaching and pleading and urging. He is going to go visit them and talk to them face-to-face about their problems. In conclusion, after four chapters of deep plowing, he says: WHAT WILL YE? SHALL I COME UNTO YOU WITH A ROD, OR IN LOVE, and in the spirit of meekness?  (1Co 4:21)

 The Scofield Reference Bible makes this summary after the word: “them” in verse one:
 
…them (1Co_1:2-9); in contrast with 1 Corinthians 10-13, illustrate a distinction constantly made in the Epistles between the believer's position in Christ Jesus, in the family of God, and his walk, or actual state. Christian position in grace is the result of the work of Christ, and is fully entered the moment that Christ is received by faith; (Joh_1:12); (Joh_1:13); (Rom_8:1); (Rom_8:15-17); (1Co_1:2); (1Co_1:30); (1Co_12:12); (1Co_12:13); (Gal_3:26); (Eph_1:3-14); (Eph_2:4-9); (1Pe_2:9); (Rev_1:6); (Rev_5:9); (Rev_5:10).
 
The weakest, most ignorant, and fallible believer has precisely the same relationships in grace as the most illustrious saint. All the after work of God in his behalf, the application of the word to walk and conscience; (Joh_17:17); (Eph_5:26) the divine chastenings; (1Co_11:32); (Heb_12:10); the ministry of the Spirit (Eph_4:11); (Eph_4:12) the difficulties and trials of the path (1Pe_4:12); (1Pe_4:13) and the final transformation at the appearing of Christ (1Jo_3:2) have for their object to make the believer's character conform to his exalted position in Christ. He grows in grace, not into grace.
(Note: The Scofield Reference Notes are weak in the book of Genesis. D.C.) Ω
 


`Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JUNE 8, 2017 – THURSDAY         
 A.M.  2Chron 26-28   P.M. John 17
Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Memory Verse This Month:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  (Hos 4:6)

 Song for Today:
What A Friend We Have (4:04) (Acapella Quartet - Samonte)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XRmGEbH0qs&index=22&list=RDsQeIGbKqiw8           
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if we want to hear his voice...

6/5/2017

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Picture
If We Want to Hear His Voice…
For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: (Psa 95:7-8)
 

PLEASE NOTE: TODAY IS D-DAY – Follow the link  to Google at the bottom of the page for articles and pictures..... 

Some parts of the Bible we like better – We like the “uplifting” words that lift our spirits. There are days when we had rather hear from God than anything we know. That’s why the 23rd Psalm is the world’s favorite chapter in the Bible. But God is more than the lifter of our spirits. We are here because it was God’s idea and we are for God’s purpose. He did create happiness and sadness and equip us to experience various moods.

But, God’s purpose for us is greater than our viewpoint. It’s easy to imagine that we are the center of the universe and God is our celestial valet. God is good at providing things for us. We read: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (Jas 1:17).

If we want to hear His voice, there is a first thing to remember. Saved people can say “we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” And then God talks about hearing his voice.  Adam and Even didn’t want to hear the voice of God after they disobeyed him.

Today, everybody doesn’t want to hear the voice of God. He knows that and says: “if ye will hear his voice.” God knows everybody doesn’t want to listen to Him, so He says, “if you do,” “just in case you want to listen to me.” For those people who want to hear the voice of God the first requirement is to avoid hardening our hearts. That’s the key!  With God, attitude is everything.

In Exodus 17:6-7 the people of God got thirsty and instead of saying to God: “May we have some water, please?” they began to throw their weight around and said, “is the Lord among us or not.” They provoked God to anger against them by their sorry attitude.

To repeat: attitude is everything with God. It’s everything in the home, so why shouldn’t attitude be everything with God? In flying an airplane, the attitude controls the altitude. A bad attitude (bad angle against air flow) and you fly into the ground. A good attitude directs the plane upward above the clouds.

In these troubling days of uncertainty, we need to hear the voice of the Lord to comfort us and to guide us and at last to call us home. Let us not harden our hearts nor grieve the Holy Spirit who exercises the voice of God to us.

Read Through the Bible in a Year
JUNE 6, 2017 – TUESDAY         
A.M.  2Chron 20-22   P.M. John 16:1-15
Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

 Memory Verse This Month:  
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  (Hos 4:6)

 Song for Today:  
To God Be the Glory (3:35) (Royal Albert Hall -London)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-15v9iworAU             
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Suggestions for Memorizing: 
●Write the verse
on a 3x5 card to use several months.
 

●Say the verse
five times a day to yourself, reference before and after the verse.  
 

●Write the verse
several times a day on a card or paper carried in your pocket for that purpose.
 

●Say the verse
to a friend or family member once a day
 

●Repeat the verse
daily for several weeks until it pours out without effort. It takes 60 days to really memorize a verse. It takes a lifetime to obey and practice it.
 

 Link to D--Day Articles and Pictures:
 https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#safe=active&q=d-day   
 



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facing the bear

6/1/2017

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Facing the Bear…
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed;
for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will
help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right
hand of my righteousness (Isa 41:10).
 

The sun is good ointment – I once visited a man who was sitting on his back steps in the sun on a cool morning. The air was still and he was just sitting there. He had been injured and had removed the bandages and clothing that covered his wounds to allow the sun to do its work. He had not expected anyone to walk around his house to visit him at that hour nor to catch him sunning his wounds.

He kept right on sunning and told me how good it felt to be warmed by the sun. Hospitals use heat lamps to promote the healing of wounds. I have warmed myself many times by the words of Isaiah. In fact, there are many verses in the Bible that have awesome power to steady the mind and still the soul.
​

Much of the world lives in fear.  It’s not just the bear in the woods that strikes fear but also our tendency toward panic. The bear may not be hungry but in our minds all bears are hungry. David and his sling, the bear, and God is still one of the best stories (1Sam.17:37).
David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.  (1Sa 17:37)

The Word of God and prayer are good ointment and will help us at bear time. It will help us to understand how we can expect the Lord to be our shelter and protector. I have met a few people who had learned to turn things over to the Lord and live in peace. Most of the world does not live in peace. Unbelief generates fear. When we don’t believe God is around, we resort to the best we can do and that generates fear. The best we can do is sometimes not enough. I know this because I fight the same battles if the bear is a little bigger than usual.

In the verse above, we are urged not to fear because five times God himself is going to do something. Twice He says “I am.” Three times He says, “I will.”  It’s not about our being self-sufficient. Depending on God is a radical idea. If you want the strength from God’s word, you will have to take the time to dwell on it. It is not a fast hamburger. Let it simmer. God will do what He says He will do. But, we must do our part and embrace the Word of God as our under-garment that no one can see. He is our flak jacket.

Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.  (Psa 56:2-3)  These are great verses to write on cards and post around the house…the bathroom mirror….the computer. The best place to post verses like this is in the mind and heart. Quote it to yourself and tell the Lord you are depending on Him. “Lord, this is Fred: I’m afraid right now and I’ve decided to trust in you to take me through my fears and deliver me, O God.” Ω
`               
Read Through the Bible in a Year

JUNE 2, 2017 – FRIDAY         
A.M.  2Chron 7-9   P.M. John 13:1-17 
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Memory Verse This Month:
And he said unto them, These
are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.  (Luke 24:44)

Song for Today:
God of Our Fathers (1:50) (Gaither Group)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btN5_5TyLg4
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    Author

    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/
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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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