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a prophet among them

6/29/2018

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          A Prophet Among Them 
And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted.
 
I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.  And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.  (Ezekiel  2:3-5)
 
WE HAVE BEEN READING EZEKIEL IN OUR DAILY BIBLE READING and the message of Ezekiel is compelling.
 
GOD DID NOT SEND EZEKIEL TO HE JEWISH EXILES OF ISRAEL TO CONVERT THEM. They were prisoners in Babylon. Ezekiel’s mission was to deliver God’s message to the rebellious nation. Both Ezekiel and the people, were captives inside the land of Babylon. They didn’t get it. They would not admit that their sins against God had put them in chains as slaves to the Babylonians. God would eventually restore them to their homeland if they would repent and turn to God.
 
BUT, THEY THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE BACK HOME IN A SHORT TIME. There were false prophets among them, urging them to cheer up and just continue as they had been before God sent judgment upon them. God sent Ezekiel among them and against their false prophets…. far away from home and far away from God.
 
EZEKIEL WAS SIMPLY TO BE A PROPHET AMONG THEM.  There is a strong message here for the rest of us who are on the Lord’s side. We can learn about ourselves from Ezekiel. We need to know that we are doing God’s will in our day of apostasy and corruption. Our nation is not yet destroyed, but it remains to be seen what is going to become of the United States that is racing toward the bottom of civilization. Much of America has covered its ears against hearing anything from God.
 
WHEN I WAS SIXEEN, I THOUGHT THAT A GENERATION young people might be able to “convert” America. Billy Graham was going like a house afire and everywhere we turned, we saw churches exploding in growth and missionaries going to foreign countries. I didn’t know about the roots of depravity that can sink a nation in two generations. I was used to the Great Generation that could overcome the Great Depression, fight, and win the greatest World War in history. I was used to that kind of “get it done!” mentality. It’s easy to think that way when you’re sitting on top of the pile and your brain is mostly enthusiasm.
 
MY PROBLEM WAS MY EXTREME SHALLOWNESS IN MY KNOWLEDGE OF THE BIBLE, American History and World History. Deep down, I was thinking that human will, and human ingenuity can do just about anything. If I had spent some nights with Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel, I would have known to be more cautious about “winning the world to Christ in one generation.”
 
PART OF MY SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS was forgetting that each generation gives birth to a great number of children who are born with their own little minds and wills. They’re so cute in the hospital nursery and in thirteen years their friends will tell them what to think.
 
ADD TO THAT THE MILLIONS OF HAND-HELD ELECTRONIC GADGETS indoctrinate and motivate the children they have taken captive and you have a recipe for moral isolation from family, history, and the Word of God. Yes, they can get Bible apps on their gadgets but we all know that’s not a favorite.
 
ADD TO THAT, THE HUMANISTIC INDOCRINATION OF THE PUBLIC-SCHOOL SYSTEM and you have a recipe for disaster. There are many fine Christian teachers working in the public-school system, but they teach from the textbooks handed them. If they don’t, they are fired.
 
WHEN YOU GET A NEW BABY AT YOUR HOUSE, you had better make God the priority before that child every day of its life. Your work is cut out for you. Money is important, but it’s not the priority. The soul and mind of your children are the priority. You have one very short shot at it. Teach and model God before your children.
 
GOD COMMANDED AND EMPHASIZED THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
 
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)
 
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; (Deuteronomy 4:9)
 
Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.  (Proverbs 19:27)
 
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  (Colossians 3:16)
 
And that from a child thou (Timothy) hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  (2Timothy 3:15)
 
EZEKIEL WAS SENT ON AN ALMOST HOPELESS MISSION to a rebellious nation that had ignored God’s instructions and they were now on the edge of total destruction. They were slaves in Babylon and it could get worse. God could kill them all and blot out their memory. God did not give Ezekiel much hope of success. What kind of a mission is this where even the God of Heaven does not encourage you to think about success? …whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.  
 
Ezekiel, you’re going down this mountain road and the brakes are out, and the bridge is out at the bottom of the mountain. But Ezekiel, see what you can do with them. The most I can promise you is that the rebellious people you are going to will know that they have had a prophet among them. So, how are we doing in America?
 
In America, a thousand mothers a day are signing a piece of paper that authorizes a doctor  to murder the baby in their wombs. Tomorrow, another thousand mothers will do the same thing. By the end of the month, thirty thousand different mothers will have signed a paper to pay a doctor to murder their baby. At the end of the year, over 360,000 different mothers will sign a paper giving a doctor permission to murder their babies. That’s a low figure. Since 1973, in 46 years, sixty million mothers have signed papers that authorized a doctor to murder their baby. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, is a landmark decision issued in 1973 by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of the constitutionality of laws that criminalized or restricted access to abortions. (Wikipedia)
 
And killing 60 million of the most helpless people among us is not the only rotten thing we are doing. We have a list of things we are doing because we have turned away from God and denied His authority over us. Our lips are our own. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?  (Psalm 12:3-4)
 
What would Ezekiel say to America if God should send him to preach to us? How close are we to being destroyed by the hand of God?  Ezekiel was carted off to Babylon as a captive teenager. His mission was to preach to those whom God had not yet killed for their wickedness. Such dumb sinners! They had seen blood and death of their own countrymen for their sins against God and they still would not repent and turn to their God. What would Ezekiel say to America?  He would obey the Lord: “…thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.” 
 
 
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
          JUNE 29, 2018 – FRIDAY
       A.M.  Job 16-18    P.M.  Acts 9:1-22
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.) If you are behind in reading, read the passage for today and then go back.
 ●Good Memory Verse: 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)
 (Write verses on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
●Song for Today: Standing on the Promises (1:50) (1st & 2nd Grades: Calvary Christian School)        
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOhhrDxc0HI&t=18s
●Health Hint: An apple a day will keep the doctor away. This old saying from Wales first appeared in America about 1860. There are three reasons raw apples are outstandingly good for our health. 1. They are high in potassium and we have a great need for a constant daily supply of potassium. 2. They are high in enzymes that digest themselves and cooked things in the stomach that have no enzymes. 3. Most apples are slightly sour, because of their malic acid. Thus, raw apples significantly shorten the time of our digestion All of this together (and more) make raw apples a winner in helping us stay healthy. Ω
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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you are called

6/28/2018

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            You Are Called          
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
 
But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: (2Timothy 1:9-10)

WE HAVE FINISHED THE BOOKS OF PETER AND JUDE and for a while will consider some free-standing themes, not connected directly to a book study. As I read in my own private reading, or as Barbara and I read together, and as I hear verses in sermons, I am often compelled to write the verses down on my little note pad and come back to them. This is one of those copied verses.

WHEN PAUL WAS GROOMING TIMOTHY FOR RESPONSIBILITY, he showed him important things. I don’t believe Paul would have taken the time to show Timothy a lot of useless trivia for his entertainment. Paul showed him important things for living the Christian life and equipping young Christians around him for living the Christian life.

TIMOTHY, WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS A HOLY CALLING and you tell the other Christians that what they are doing is a holy calling. We need to get that nailed down, so it stays put. Barnes comments and includes several verses that address our calling. “Romans 8:28, 30.  A calling which is in its own nature holy, and which leads to holiness; compare Ephesians 4:1;  Philippians 3:14  and Hebrews 3:1.”

WITH THE CHRISTIAN CONVERSATION OF TODAY, one might get the idea that God has primarily one calling and that is when He calls someone to preach. We usually think of the church pastor as the preacher. The pastor preaches. Yes, that is one important kind of preaching but that’s just one kind of preaching. In the opening days of the first church in Jerusalem, Christians were being persecuted and they were leaving Jerusalem. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.  (Acts 8:4) 

THEY WERE NOT ALLED OR GIFTED TO EXOUND AND EXPLAIN Scripture as a pastor would do. But, the portion of the Scriptures that they knew by heart, they were quoting these Scriptures to everyone who would listen. These were not the Apostles. These were the common people who worked at their trades to make a living and they also were a witness by quoting the Old Testament Scriptures. (That’s all they had for 30 years.)

WELL, THEN, IF THEY WERE NOT CALLED TO PASTOR A CHURCH or to expound the Scriptures as a pastor would do, what was their calling? They were called to salvation. You are called to salvation. It’s like God calling Adam after he and eve had sinned: “Adam, where art thou?” God called Adam. We are called to salvation and that calling is just as valid as the other callings God sends out to various individuals. You have been called to salvation. It is a holy calling. All of God’s callings are holy callings. Can you think of any calling of God that would be less than a holy calling?

 GOD TOLD THE ISRAELITES THAT HE HAD NOT BLESSED THEM BECAUSE THEY were bigger than others. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:  But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.  (Deuteronomy 7:7-8)

IN THE SAME WAY, IN THE SAME SENSE, GOD HAS NOT SAVED US BECAUSE WE have managed to think and act worthy of being saved. Our text for today tells us that our being saved and our being called was given to us before the world began. That’s big isn’t it? Isn’t that the biggest thing you ever heard? That before God made the earth, He had decided to extend to you a holy calling to salvation and service for Him? I stopped trying to take it all in a long time ago. Someone wrote a song about it: The Wonder of It All. I found a good copy of the song. I hope you enjoy it.

BACK THERE BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN, GOD'S PLAN FOR US was out of sight. But Paul says it was manifest, it became visible by the appearing of Jesus Christ. He came to a stable and went to His cross and His grave and came out of the grave victoriously and abolished death. Christ has brought life and immortality out in the open where it can be seen! Because He lives, we shall live also! Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year
  JUNE 28, 2018 – THURSDAY
  A.M.  Job 13-15    P.M.  Acts 8:26-40
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.) If you are behind in reading, read the passage for today and then go back.


 ●Good Memory Verse:
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)  (Write verses on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
●Song for Today:
The Wonder of It All (2:51) (Doug Oldham – Gaither Group)        
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSYzJZml_jA
                  
●Health Hint:
Digestion is harder as we age. We can help our digestion by drinking water a half-hour before we eat. This will help us to produce saliva for chewing. Drinking liquid at meal time weakens our digestive juices. Under the tongue, the saliva that is produced contains an enzyme that helps us digest starchy foods. We should chew our food well and not “wolf it down.” We should chew until that bite of food is a paste that will swallow easily without drinking anything with it. Whatever we drink can be sipped and enjoyed but will not be necessary for swallowing our food. This will improve digestion. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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jude: he is able to keep you

6/27/2018

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                 Jude – He is Able to Keep You 
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.  (Jude 1:25)
 
GOD IS ABLE TO KEEP US FROM STUMBLING. In the early days of the Bible, in Genesis, it says that Enoch walked with God. And, of course, Enoch hasn’t died yet and will come back to earth during the Tribulation Period and get his dying done.
 
HE WON'T STAY DEAD BUT THREE DAYS AND THEN GOD WILL RAISE HIM UP in his new body, along with Elijah. The point here is that Enoch walked with God. Our walk is very important. Mrs. Green, my speech teacher, had us to quote this verse every class period: The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.  (Psalm 37:23) The next verse says: Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. Notice that it is the Lord who does the holding: with His hand. It is not about us holding on to His hand. It’s about Him holding on to our hand.
 
JUDE IS NOT TALKING ABOUT FALLING FROM GRACE. He is talking about falling within grace. Messing up. Like King David messed up several times.  David fell into sin and God dealt with him about it. But, David never lost his salvation over it. I like this verse that I memorized 60 years ago: Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:  (Philippians 1:6)
 
IT IS CHRIST WHO SAVED ME. I DID NOT SAVE MYSELF. It is Christ who will keep me saved. I cannot keep myself saved. When He saved me, He began a good work in me.  And how long will He perform that good work in me? Until the day of Jesus Christ. When He comes again.
 
JESUS HAD A WORD TO SAY ABOUT THIS:  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.  (John 5:24)
 
IF YOU HAVE HEARD, (RECEIVED, EMBRACED) Jesus’ word and you have believed on the Father who sent Jesus, then based on that, you now have everlasting life and you will not in the future come under the condemnation of God because you have passed from death unto life.  If you have respect and acceptance of what the Father says, and you have respect and acceptance of what Jesus says: those two authorities….based on that, you now have everlasting life.
 
WHEN I WAS NINE YEARS OLD, I GOT SAVED IN THE BEAN MARKET where a revival meeting was going on. That was in October 1943. Then, when I was ten years old, I heard these verses and believed them: 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. I and my Father are one.  (John 10:27-30)
 
THE VERSE GIVES THE ESTABLISHED CHARACTERISTICS OF HIS SHEEP. They hear His voice. That’s what sheep do. Their ears are tuned to the voice of the shepherd. I heard a missionary tell of being in Israel in the sheep territory. Two shepherds, traveling in opposite directions met upon a bridge. They knew each other, so they stopped in the middle of the bridge and talked a while. The sheep had nothing else to do so they mingled among themselves and moved around on the bridge.
 
IT LOOKED LIKE THE SHEPHERDS WERE GOING TO HAVE A TERRIBLE TIME separating such a big bunch of sheep. In a few minutes, the shepherds bid each other good-bye and each continued in the direction they had been traveling. They both called to their sheep. The sheep raised their heads and started in the direction of their shepherd that owned them. Not one sheep was left behind.
 
NOT ONE SHEEP WENT THE WRONG WAY. They had blended together and just as quickly, they separated and continued after their shepherd. That was characteristic of them.  It is characteristic of the sheep who belong to Jesus to be attuned to His voice and they will follow Him. They do not follow Him in order to be saved. They follow Him because they are indeed, saved.
 
SHEEP BEHAVE LIKE SHEEP. They do not behave like a pig and wallow in the mud. A sheep may slip and fall down into the mud, but they won’t stay there long because it is not their nature. Now the pig is another piece of work. It’s his nature to enjoy the mud. I’m not making all this up. I got it from Jesus, in the Bible. If you’re happy to wallow with the pigs, it’s because you’re one of them and you’re not a sheep. It is quite simple. If you want some good Scripture to memorize and to hold on to, memorize the verses above. Write them on a piece of paper or tear a piece out of a brown paper sack and write them down. Put them in your pocket and carry the verses with you. You can count on those verses.
 
SO, IF YOU'RE ONE OF JESUS' SHEEP, if you stumble and fall down, Jesus is going to be after you. If He has to, He will hoist you up on His shoulder and carry you home and take care of you.
 
I HEARD OF A SHEPHERD WHO HAD A SHEEP that was a little on the independent side. The little sheep kept running off by himself. One day the shepherd picked up the sheep and carried him over to a big rock and laid his front leg on the rock. With another rock, he broke the front leg of the sheep. Then, he took two sticks and a strip of his robe and wrapped the cloth around the leg of the sheep. Then, the shepherd carried the sheep everywhere he went. After a few weeks the shepherd took the bandage off the leg of the sheep and he could walk again. But, the sheep never did strayed off again. He had become so attached to the shepherd that he preferred to be at his heels, everywhere the shepherd went.
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JUNE 27, 2018 – WEDNESDAY
 A.M.  Job 10-12    P.M.  Acts 7:44-60
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.) If you are behind in reading, read the passage for today and then go back.

●Good Memory Verse:
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)   (Write verses on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
●Song for Today:
Let the Rocks Cry Out (2:48) (Choir: Calvary Mem. Church)        
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RB339rbvNU
                      
●Health Hint:
When we sleep, a lot of things are taking place to restore the body. The cells and organs of our bodies work hard during the day and accumulate a load of toxins. Our chemistry becomes unbalanced. During sleep, the body works at detoxifying and restoring several systems in the body. Try to go to bed at the same time and early enough to allow at least seven hours of sleep. Drink enough water to prevent the urine from getting too strong. If you must, eat a couple of crackers or a half-piece of whole bread to relax the stomach. Pray before you go to sleep. Quote a few verses of Scripture, and sail off to sleep.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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jude-making a difference

6/26/2018

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      Jude – Making a Difference 
And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.  (Jude 1:22-23)
 
THE DEVIL HAS THE POWER TO SOW SEEDS of doubt and discord and to deceive people. Eve was his first victim. I’ve wondered which is the most damage; doubt or discouragement. Some have written that discouragement is the devil’s greatest tool. It is powerful. But doubt is also a powerful tool. The setting on “making a difference” has to do with those who have doubts. Be patient with folks who have doubts they are working through. You may have to explain the same verse a dozen times in as many weeks.

A LADY CALLED ME ALMOST EVERY WEEK FOR OVER A YEAR, worried about going to hell and what she could do to avoid hell. Then, one day she said: “I’ve got it settled! I’ve decided to just take God at His word and believe what He said." She was looking for some great sign from Heaven and God was patient with her until she finally decided to go by what the Bible said. She also had some chemical imbalance that needed to be fixed and that also helped her with her anxiety.

AGAIN, I AM BORROWING FROM McGEE. “There are a great many good, sincere folk today who are in doubt. They do have honest doubts, and we need to be patient with them. Being in the ministry I have had some difficulty in being patient with some folk. I remember a woman who came to our midweek Bible study in a church I served many years ago.
“Every week for six weeks she came to me with some question. I had the feeling that she was trying to trap me or trick me with her questions, and one night I answered her so sharply that she turned and walked out.

THE WOMAN WHO ALWAYS CAME WITH HER WAS A MEMBER OF MY CHURCH, and she came to me afterward and said, "Dr. McGee, be patient with her. She is a very brilliant woman. In fact, she is listed in Who's Who. But she has been in practically every cult here in Southern California, and she is really mixed up. Now she is trying to find her way out. Will you be patient with her?"

“WELL, KNOWING HER BACKGROUND, OF COURSE, I WAS PATIENT AFTER THAT and answered her questions the best I could. About three months later she accepted Christ as her Savior. I had a wonderful letter after she had returned to Ohio in which she told how the Lord was leading her.

“MY FRIEND, WE ARE LIVING IN DAYS WHERE THERE IS SO MUCH DOUBT cast upon the Word of God that those who really want to believe it have problems in doing so. We do well to be patient with them—they are honest doubters.” (McGee)
​
And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.  In God’s work, there definitely is not a “one size fits all” approach. It would make it a lot easier if we had one recipe that would fix everyone who had a problem. Warren Wiersbe makes some good comments about these folks who needed to be approached differently.

“THERE IS PROBABLY A REFERENCE HERE to Zechariah 3:2 and also Amos 4:11. In the Zechariah passage, the “brand” was the nation Israel brought back from the Babylonian Captivity and resettled in their land. God saw the people as a brand saved from the fire. In Amos 4:1-13, God was reproving the people for not heeding His warnings and judgments — poverty, poor crops, drought, pestilences, war, and even judgments like those that overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. They were as a brand plucked out of the fire, yet they did not appreciate God’s mercy.

THE PHRASE WITH FEAR MEANS 'WITH CAUTION." (Jude 1:23) In trying to help those who have erred, we must be careful not to be trapped ourselves! Many a would-be rescuer has been drowned himself. When an unstable believer has been captured by false doctrine, we must be very careful as we try to help him, for Satan can use him to defile us. In trying to save him, we may be stained or burned ourselves!

“HATING THE GARMENT SPOTTED BY THE FLESH" is probably a reference to dealing with the disease of leprosy. They had to be very careful when coming in contact with lepers. It was contagious and those who tried to help them had to be very, very careful not to get the disease themselves. Ω

 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
  JUNE 26, 2018 – TUESDAY
   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.) If you are behind in reading, read the passage for today and then go back.

 ●Good Memory Verse:
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)
 (Write verses on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
●Song for Today:
Are You Washed in the Blood: Medley (2:52) (Choir: Calvary Mem. Church)                              
https://www.facebook.com/100009410046480/videos/2229288077394839/

●Health Hint:
Go for the raw food, because it contains enzymes to help digest itself. Cooked food contains no enzymes and your body must carry the whole load of digestion. As we age, our digestion and elimination ability declines. We should increase our intake of fruits and vegetables and eat as much raw as possible. Grating, grinding, blending, and juicing can help us increase our intake of raw food. There’s nothing like good, juicy apples, peaches, grapes, bananas, or a ripe tomato sandwich. A stalk of celery loaded with peanut butter makes a good snack.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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jude-praying in the holy ghost

6/25/2018

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​Jude – Praying in the Holy Ghost 
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.  (Jude 1:20-21)
 
JUDE TELLS HIS READERS HOW TO LIVE during persecution and false teachers. When false teaching takes the place of truth, it is called apostasy. Apostate teaching, apostate teachers. The result is often an apostate church. If Christians are to avoid being sucked in by apostate teachers and apostate teaching, they must go after the Word of God with a passion. If you are lazy and careless about taking in the Word of God on a regular basis, you are meat for the buzzards. That’s just the way it is. A nice carpet and beautiful stained windows are not enough. You need a heavy diet of the Word of God.

WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO FOUR THINGS to keep ourselves strong: 1. Building up on THE most holy faith; 2. Praying in the Holy Spirit; 3. Keeping yourselves in the love of God; 4. Looking for the mercy of God. I’m going to quote McGee heavily today because I think he says it best.

 "BUILDING UP YOURSELVES ON YOUR MOST HOLY FAITH. What does he mean by that? Well, building up yourselves on your most holy faith means that you study the Word of God. It is my conviction that since God gave to us sixty-six books, He meant that we are to study all sixty-six of them—not just John 3 or John 14 and other favorite passages.

“OH, HOW MANY BIBLE CLASSES GO OVER AND OVER THE SAME BOOKS: John, Romans, maybe Ephesians, and they don't miss Revelation. Do not misunderstand me, all those books are very important, but what about the other sixty-two books? Why don't we study all of them? My friend, if you are going to build up yourself on your most holy faith, you must have the total Word of God. You cannot build a house without a foundation; then you will need to put up some timbers that will hold the roof; then you are going to need a roof on it and siding and plaster on the inside. And this is what the total Word of God will do for you. This is what we are to do in days of apostasy.

“BOTH PETER AND PAUL URGED BELIEVERS TO STUDY THE WORD OF GOD in days like these. Paul wrote in his swan song: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed …" (2Timothy 2:15). Then in the next chapter Paul said that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. My friend, the recourse that you and I have as children of God in these days is the Word of God.

“THE REASON MANY FOLK FALL BY THE WAYSIDE IS BECAUSE THE SEED (which is the Word of God) fell among stones. It didn't get deeply rooted. Unless you study all of the Word of God, get down in the good, rich soil, you are not going to become a sturdy, healthy plant. It won't be long until you will be stepped on and the sun will burn you out. You will not be able to stand in days like these.

“PETER IN HIS SECOND EPISTLE, WRITING OF APOSTASY, SAYS, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation" (2Peter 1:19-20). You cannot just pull out one or two little verses and think you have a good knowledge of the Bible. It is a tragedy to build a system of doctrine based on a few isolated verses drawn out of the Scriptures.

“MY FRIEND, CERTAINLY THERE ARE PARTS OF THE WORD OF GOD that youu will not enjoy reading. There are sections that will step on your toes, and you would like to avoid that. But today it is necessary to build up ourselves on our most holy faith because these are days of apostasy.

"YOUR MOST HOLY FAITH" does not refer to your own personal faith. Rather, it is the faith, the body of truth which has been given to us in the Word of God. When the church first came into existence, this was called the apostles' doctrine.

“PRAYING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT MEANS THAT WE PRAY BY MEANS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT; we are dependent upon Him. Paul wrote in Romans 8:26, "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." You and I actually do not know what to pray for. We are like little children.

“WHEN I TAKE MY LITTLE GRANDSON TO THE STORE, HE WANTS EVERYTHING HE SEES. He asks for things that he shouldn't even have because they would not be good for him. Then I think, That's just the way we pray. We are like little children: "Lord, I want this—Lord, give me that." God doesn't always give us what we want. Why doesn't He? Because when we pray like that, we are not praying in the Spirit. We need to learn to let the Holy Spirit make intercession for us." (McGee)

 WE END TO SHY AWAY FROM "PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT."  In fact, we tend to shy away from any kind of praying unless we need something from God really bad. But, if we have to learn everything we know about prayer in our time of desperation, we may come up short on the best way to go about it. We need to study a lot about prayer and do a lot of praying on a regular basis so that we are familiar with praying.

THE DISCIPLES CAME TO JESUS AND ASKED HIM to teach them how to pray like John taught his disciples to pray. And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.  (Luke 11:1)

SOMETIMES WHEN WE PRAY IT MAY BE HARD WORK. We struggle to get through. And sometimes, it seems like prayer just falls out of the ceiling and pushes us along. THAT is praying in the Spirit. We need to pray through the hard times of prayer until our hearts are warm and everything is out of the way that hinders us. Jude tells us to PRAY IN THE SPIRIT.

KEEPING OURSELVES IN THE LOVE OF GOD means that we are to keep ourselves in the area where God’s love is operational. God’s love is constant, but it is not manifested in every place and in every condition of our lives. If we are to keep ourselves in the love of God, we must seek Him, seek His will, and obey everything He shows us. THAT is keeping ourselves in the love of God. It is not a matter of persuading God to love us. He loves us at all times. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  (Romans 5:8)

WHEN GOD TOLD ELIJAH TO GO HIDE HIMSELF AT THE BROOK, CHERITH, he said the ravens would feed him there. If Elijah had decided to go to another brook that might suit him better, he would have been hungry soon. The ravens had been sent to a certain place and God’s provision for Elijah was going to be there and nowhere else.

ELIJAH KEPT HIMSELF IN THE PROVISION OF GOD BY OBEYING HIM. We keep ourselves in the love of God by obeying Him. Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.  And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.  (1Kings 17:3-4)

LOOKING FOR HE MERCY OF GOD UNTO, OR IN THE DIRECTION OF ETERNAL LIFE. False teachers are not very big about eternal life. Not when it gets right down to it. They don’t want anything to do with God in a personal way. Oh, they may lie to you about their walk with God and put on a big front. But, if they don’t love the Word of God, then they don’t love the God of the Word.

ETERNAL LIFE IS PRECIOUS TO THE TRUE BELIEVER IN THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST.  We are to stay active and vibrant in our looking for the mercy of God that ends up in the other room with God. Life is short. Life is troublesome. Life here is full of grief and pain. We are looking for the mercy of God that will usher us into His presence. Ω

Read Through the Bible in a Year
JUNE 25, 2018 – MONDAY       
A.M.  Job 4-6    P.M.  Acts 7:20-43
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.) If you are behind in reading, read the passage for today and then go back.

 ●Good Memory Verse:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  (Colossians 3:16)  (Write verses on scraps of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
●Song for Today:
Pray ‘Till the Light Breaks Through (3:08) – (Man & Woman With Accordion)                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9m975_J3Pg  You may need to delete an ad or turn off the song when finished to avoid something you do not want to hear.
 
●Health Hint: Do not use hydrogen peroxide in your mouth for a mouth wash. It will thin the skin in your mouth and make you susceptible to mouth sores. If you get a mouth sore, try applying a blob of Aloe Vera jell in the sore area and close your mouth for a few minutes. (I have had several people ask me about the Health Hint we did some time ago. Will try it again and keep it short. Will still mail occasional page-long Health Hint articles in separate mailings.)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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buttering up the prospects

6/22/2018

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 Jude – Buttering Up the Prospects 
    
These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. 
 
But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.  These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.  (Jude 1:16-19)
 
ALL THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD AND PROFITABLE. But all the Bible is not equally enjoyable.   Enoch and Jude had their work cut out for them. Jude said he had intended to write something about the “common salvation” but the Holy Spirit directed him to write about the apostate devils that would be invading the little bands of Christians scattered in villages beyond Jerusalem. The problem of apostates invading the churches would begin then and would continue throughout the church age. Every church house with a steeple and bell on the roof is not living and preaching the Gospel of Christ.
  
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SPIRIT-FILED MURMURER or a Spirit-filled complainer. God’s people complained and murmured in the wilderness after God had delivered them from their Egyptian slavery in the mud pits. That did not go well, and the Lord sent poisonous snakes among them and they bit many of them.

When they cried out to the Lord, God told Moses to make a serpent of brass and put it on a pole. (Numbers 21:4-9) All who turned their heads and looked upon the serpent of brass on the pole would be healed. Jesus reminded Nicodemus about that story as they talked at night. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.  (John 3:14-15)
 
JUDE'S POINT IS THAT FALSE TEACHERS, THE APOSTATES, would be whiners and complainers, and they would elevate themselves into influential positions by buttering up certain ones. In today’s lingo, they were snowflakes, hypocrites and manipulators. They were not hard workers and made their living by deceiving the people and drawing their sympathies toward them. They were scoundrels. Their tactic was to spot the people who had money and butter them up. …and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. 
 
IN TODAY'S LANGUAGE, WE WOULD SAY that they played favorites with those who had money and position and would cozy up to them and compliment them in public. Today, we call that “stroking the ego; buttering them up.” In the process of showing favoritism toward certain ones, it wounded the church and developed divisions in the church. Showing partiality is a wicked thing and is highly unproductive. It’s not a good thing in families, in churches, in places of work. In the work place, advancement and benefits should be awarded on merit.
 
FIFTY YEARS AGO, I READ A BIOGRAPHY of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. When he was appointed as the Allied Commander-in-Chief of the war in Europe, he knew he could not play favorites in assigning battle roles for the various generals. He could not play favorites among different armies in allocating fuel and war materials necessary for fighting effectively. The generals under him were human and very jealous. They learned that when they were children. Fairness is important and playing favorites in human endeavors is a no-no. In summer vacation Bible school, children are very sensitive about who gets to ring the bell, who is carrying the flags, etc. These apostates operated by playing favorites among those who could benefit them, personally.
 
JUDE REMINDS HIS READERS THAT THE APOSTLES of the Lord Jesus had already warned them of dangerous people who would elbow their way into positions of leadership. They would be there to satisfy their own lusts for prestige and for whatever was available to satisfy their selfish desires. These apostates did not believe the doctrines of the church. They mocked the Lord that died and rose from the dead and His promise to come back again.  They mocked the seriousness of standing before God to be judged.

We learn much about these mockers by reading Jude’s quotations of Enoch. We can also learn from reading the writings of the Apostle Peter, because these two men had much in common. The mockers would not like the old hymns of today that are so rich in Scripture. Ω
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JUNE 22, 2018 – FRIDAY
 A.M.  Esther 4-6     P.M.  Acts 5:17-42
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.) If you are behind in reading, read the passage for today and then go back.

 Good Memory Verse:
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.  (Psalm 34:18)  (Write verses on scraps of paper and put in your pocket to memorize like President Abraham Lincoln did. Or, write on a half 3x5 card. I like the bright green cards I got from Amazon. I cut them in half and write them by hand or on my daddy’s 1935 Royal typewriter.)
 
Song for Today:
There is a Fountain (4:13) – (Gaither Group & Vestal Goodman)                              
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PasK3ZFAOPE
 You may need to delete an ad or turn off the song when finished to avoid something you do not want to hear.
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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jude: enoch the prophet

6/21/2018

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          Jude –  Enoch the Prophet 
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince (convict) all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.  (Jude 1:14-16)

I CONTINUE TO BE AMAZED AT JUDE'S MESSAGE AND HIS STYLE OF WRITING. His descriptive words of the false teachers are like he was sacking groceries at the grocery store. He’s working to get everything packed into one sack. He borrows description and weight from old Enoch who was the great-grandfather of Noah. Enoch named his son: Methuselah (the oldest man in the Bible). Methuselah’s name means: “When he dies, it shall come.” And when Methuselah died, it wasn’t long until Noah had finished building the ark and the world-wide flood came as a judgment upon the whole earth.

WE DO NOT KNOW FOR SURE HOW JUDE KNEW ABOU ENOCH'S WORDS of preaching. Some prophets wrote and some prophets did not write. (A book is sold today, The Book of Enoch.)  Somehow, Jude knew, and he shared some of Enoch’s thunder with his readers. Enoch never had a pulpit or a building for his preaching. He was a street preacher. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.  (Hebrews 11:5)
 
McGEE MAKES THESE COMMENTS: "Now this prophecy of Enoch, and it is a great prophecy, deals with the judgment upon the organized church which will be in total apostasy after the Rapture. You see, the Rapture will rupture the church—the true believers will leave the earth, and the make-believers will remain and will be here when Christ comes to judge men in that day.”

“This prophecy of Enoch is not found in the Old Testament. In Genesis 5 we have the record of Enoch, but we are told nothing about his prophecy. Enoch is not a common name; so we may be sure that the man Jude mentions is Enoch of the antediluvian period, the man who walked with God and God took him.

McGEE CONTINUES: “Now let me quote what Dr. Wuest has written about this Book of Enoch: The quotation is from the apocryphal Book of Enoch. This book, known to the Church Fathers of the second century, lost for some centuries with the exception of a few fragments, was found in its entirety in a copy of the Ethiopic Bible in 1773 by Bruce. It consists of revelations purporting to have been given to Enoch and Noah. Its object is to vindicate the ways of divine providence, to set forth the retribution reserved for sinners, and so show that the world is under the immediate government of God.

“ENOCH PROPHESIED REGARDING THE FALSE TEACHERS OF THE LAST DAYS, and that is a remarkable thing! God apparently did not want the Book of Enoch in the canon of Scripture or it would be there—you may be sure of that. Godly men recognized that it was an apocryphal book, but here is one prophecy that God wanted put into His Holy Word. It is a prophecy concerning the coming of Christ with His saints.” (McGee)

JUDE HELPS US DETERMINE THE IMPORTANCE OF FALSE TEACHERS IN THE CHURCH, by injecting Enoch’s prophesy of  the Lord (Christ) coming to earth with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment and to convict sinners of their ungodliness. The seventh in the direct line of descent from Adam. (The line of descent is Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahaleel, Jared, Enoch.)
 
JUDE AND ENOCH, ARE LOOKING TO THE END OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD when the saints will come with Christ to execute a final judgment upon the rebels who are yet alive. Please note: if ten thousands of saints are coming back with the Lord to the earth, they had to have left the earth prior to this time. This is a pretty simple observation but it is exactly how Jude quotes Enoch.

SINCE ENOCH WAS ONLY THE SEVENTH FROM ADAM and people were living hundreds of years at that time, Enoch may have known Adam.  God’s judgment will be poured out upon the earth during the seven years of the Great Tribulation and it will be finalized by the Lord’s return with the saints to execute judgment upon the wicked who have managed to survive during the seven years of Tribulation. Among the wicked being judged will be the wicked church that has abandoned the Word of God.

BOTTOM LINE: WHEN YOU HEAR A SERMON OR SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON TODAY, check it out to see if it is in line with the Scriptures. Ω
  
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JUNE 21, 2018 – THURSDAY
 A.M.  Esther 1-3     P.M.  Acts 5:1-16
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.) If you are behind in reading, read the passage for today and then go back.

 Good Memory Verse:
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.  (Psalm 34:18)  (Write verses on scraps of paper and put in your pocket to memorize like President Abraham Lincoln did. Or, write on a half 3x5 card. I like the bright green cards I got from Amazon. I cut them in half and write them by hand or on my daddy’s 1935 Royal typewriter.)
 
Song for Today:
All Hail the Power (3:24) – (Blue Rock Mennonite Choir)                              
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyPT3lVSpmo
You may need to delete an ad or turn off the song when finished to avoid something   
you do not want to hear.
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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jude: how to fix it

6/20/2018

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                  Jude – How to Fix It? 
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
 
But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
 
These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.  (Jude 1:9-13)
 
JUDE, THE HALF-BROTHER OF JESUS SENT OUT A SHORT LETTER to be circulated among several new Jewish churches. Its message has been relevant through the centuries and remains relevant for us today, He was warning us about the problem of false teachers infiltrating and polluting the churches.
 
THIS LETTER MAY NOT BE THE BEST PIECE OF LITERATURE FOR A DEVOTIONAL before we leave home for work in the morning. Jude, himself, declared that when he began writing the letter, he had intended to write something more uplifting and helpful in their Christian walk. He had intended to write to them about the “common salvation.” But, the Holy Spirit interrupted his plan and prompted him to write about the danger of false teachers that would be coming their way.
 
DO YOU THINK WE HAVE OUTLIVED THE NEED TO BE AWARE OF THE DANGER of false teachers invading our churches? I don’t think so. America has changed drastically in the last 50 years and we need to stand firm in the faith once delivered to the Saints. Thinking can be hard work, but we need to think some about Jude’s letter. Peter talked about stirring up Christians in his day by way of remembrance. And here, Jude is picking up the trumpet and blasting out some of the same warnings about the corruption of our faith.
 
JUDE PAINTS MORE PICTURES OF THE ENEMIES OF OUR FAITH than any writer I know. Just look at all the bad people he brings up to get his point across. False teachers in the New Testament were as bad as the false prophets of the Old Testament. They were as bad as the worst he could lay his tongue to. It beats anything I remember reading in the Bible, anywhere.
 
THEY HAD CHURCH DINNERS AND THESE PHONY RASCALS were right there to stuff themselves with the food and to use the church meetings in every way they could to benefit themselves. How are they to deal with these charlatans?  Jude doesn’t want to engage in a fist fight in their church meetings. And yet, these evil people must be identified and resisted. His main weapon is to expose them in the worst terms possible.
 
JUDE BRINGS UP MICHAEL, THE ARCHANGEL. Only two angels are mentioned by name in the Bible, Michael and Gabriel and they are archangels, leaders of angels. When Michael was contending with the devil over the body of Moses, Michael did not rebuke the devil but said: “The Lord rebuke you.” One of the characteristics of the false teachers was their critical mouth. They would speak evil of anyone in a heartbeat. Jude brings this up. As a Christian, we are not to throw our weight around in a verbal boxing match. And yet, at the same time, these evil people who were sneaking into their congregations had to be exposed and resisted.
 
WE ARE REMINDED BY PAUL, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.  (Romans 12:19)

 BUT IN THIS SETTING OF OPPOSING FALSE TEACHERS, it’s not quite the same as going to battle over one’s private matters. Jesus went to the Temple in Jerusalem and turned over the moneychanger’s tables and publicly rebuked the offenders. He reminded them that the house of God was not a place of merchandise and making money nor a place of thieves. And, yes, He raised His voice.
 
JUDE WAS WRITING A LETTER AND WAS NOT IN THE PRESENCE of his readers. He identified the culprits that were to be resisted. In the days of the Old Testament Temple, there were door keepers who were responsible for crowd control and to protect the sanctity of the Temple. Jude’s people didn’t have that protection.  They met in houses and anyone could wander in and mingle among the little groups of people.
 
IN OUR DAY, WE HAVE NOT ONLY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF KEEPING OUT out false teachers, but it has become necessary for enough people to carry guns to church to shoot any would-be murderer who might come in to kill people. This is a shock to my system because I’m not used to churches being a killing ground for mentally deranged people. I wonder what Jude would say about this? We know that Jesus told His disciples to sell one of their garments and buy a sword to carry with them (Luke 22:36). They would need to depend on the Lord to protect them, but they also needed to protect themselves.
 
THE SHORT BOOKS BY PETER AND JUDE ARE GOOD WAKE-UP BOOKS to warn us to be alert as we meet together to worship God and to fellowship with one another. How to fix it? What were they to do to counter false teachers? We’ll see more about that tomorrow, but at this point, they were to be aware of the danger. Identify false teachers and deny them the dignity of a place of influence and leadership. They were not having encounters and squabbles with these false teachers. A key word in their problem is “unaware.”  They had sneaked in so quietly that the church people were unaware of it.
 
IT IS GENERALLY THE POLICY OF MOST CHURCHES to allow anyone to sit quietly in the church services and listen if they do not try to take over the service or disturb the peace.
 
WHEN WE PREACH THE WORD AND STAND FOR GOD, it can result in bad reactions. I used to do a good bit of street preaching and that was…different. In Chattanooga, on 9th Street, one night in a mission, as one of the preacher-boys was preaching, a crowd gathered outside the door and someone was stabbed. We lost our crowd. They charged out the door to see what had happened. The police and ambulance came. But, that is not the problem Jude was having.
 
THE APOSTLE PAUL TELLS OF HIS BEING STONED and left for dead and Stephen was stoned to death. But that was not the problem Jude’s people were having. There’s no need to allow false prophets take over a service or to worm their way into church and take over the church. I’ve been told by bee keepers that if a strange bee gets into the hive, a few bees will kill the intruder and carry him to the door and cast him out. But the great danger to the people Jude was writing to was not personal attacks.
 
THE PROBLEM JUDE WAS TALKING ABOUT INVOLVED SLICK-TONGUED religious people who could sway enough people to cause a problem. They wormed their way into the congregation and the people never knew what devils they were at the beginning. God did not include the book of Jude in the Bible to take up space. It’s there because it’s needed.
I’ll repeat what Warren Wiersbe said about these false teachers:  1. They reject Divine authority.  2. They resort to deliberate hypocrisy.  3. They will receive their due penalty.” Ω
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JUNE 20, 2018 – WEDNESDAY
 A.M.  Nehemiah 12-13     P.M.  Acts 4:23-37
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.) If you are behind in reading, read the passage for today and then go back.
 
Good Memory Verses:
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.  (Psalm 34:18)  (Write verses on scraps of paper and put in your pocket to memorize like President Abraham Lincoln did. Or, write on a half 3x5 card. I like the bright green cards I got from Amazon. I cut them in half and write them by hand or on my daddy’s 1935 Royal typewriter.)
 
Song for Today:
Praise Him, Praise Him (3:13) – (Choir & Orchestra)                              
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_nIRLD_5gE
   Great song and good performance!  You may need to delete an ad or turn off the song when finished to avoid something you do not want to hear.
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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jude: a catalog of evil doers

6/19/2018

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   Jude – A Catalog of Evil Doers
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
 
I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
 
Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.  (Jude 1:4-8)
​
THE WORLD WOULD LOVE TO HAVE AN ELEVATED BOOK OF POETRY that does not mention God’s disfavor with rebellious attitudes and degrading practices. But, alas, if we would like to know the whole truth about us and our Creator, we must have room for the sight of burning cities and water covering the tops of the mountains without the sound of a single bird.

JUDE TOLD US IN VERSE THREE THAT HE HAD PLANNED TO WRITE something about the common salvation; something that would be of value to all his readers who held the faith in common. But the Holy Spirit forbid him to write about that and he was directed to warn his readers about some men who were going to slip into their assemblies and corrupt their knowledge and faith. It is unpleasant to deal with people who smell bad, and even worse to deal with bad people who do not want to fit in to God’s order of things. But, that’s what Jude had to do.

YESTERDAY, McGEE MENTIONED: Apostasy was just a little cloud the size of a man's hand in Jude's day, but now it is a storm of hurricane force that fills the land.  Is that not the case today? A lot of moral rot in America today would be short-lived if the pulpits of our country were filled with thunder and a trumpet of “Thus saith the Lord!”

BUT, ALAS, SO MANY OF OUR HOUSES OF WORSHIP HAVE NO MESSAGE from the Lord and instead, are houses of accommodation to whatever sin will drop money in the offering plate. We are bent on helping people feel good about anything that crosses their minds and we have no message from God. The Bible is a closed book and the crosses on the stained-glass windows and front doors of our churches mean whatever the paying people want them to mean.

JUDE PROCEEDED TO TELL HIS READERS THAT HE WOULD PUT THEM in remembrance of the people who came out of Egypt with God’s strong arm, but among those who were delivered were those who went along for the ride and were, unbelievers. That picture is not about eternal life but about the way things played out on their earthly journey. They were not “saved” in an eternal sense. They were saved out of the tyranny and slavery of Egypt. It was an earthly thing. God saved them out of the mud pits used for making bricks.

BUT, THEY WERE NOT ABOUT TO SUBMITE TO THE ETERNAL GOD any more than Pharaoh. Jude reminded his readers that God destroyed those unbelievers who went along for the ride. Jude was preaching no new thing. Everybody knew about it. He says he was just helping them to remember what they already knew.

THE ANGELS THAT JOINED UP WITH LUCIFER AND REBELLED AGAINST GOD were mentioned as an example of the high cost of turning against the Almighty God. Many of these angels are already bound with chains to keep them in prison until their day of judgment. Rebelling against God is a serious thing regardless of who does it, including angels.
 
JUDE BRINGS UP THE CITIES OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH and the neighboring cites that had given themselves over to sexual sin. He mentions that in their practice of sexual sins, they went after strange flesh. No need to go into detail here. Paul deals with this in Romans and it was male going after male and female going after female.

THEN JUDE TELLS HIS READERS THAT AMONG THE FALSE TEACHERS who are on their way to infiltrate their ranks, that they were filthy dreamers. The word filthy is in italics, meaning it is not in the original manuscript. It was added to give the opinion of the translators who felt that they were filthy. McGee makes a good observation about the false teachers.  “They are dreamers—they live in an unreal world, a world that does not exist. My feeling is that the theological liberal has never dealt with reality. Liberalism is rather romantic. It sounds good on paper. It is nice to be able to solve all your problems by positive thinking, but there is a lot of power in negative thinking also. We need today to learn how to say no as well as to say yes. Liberals are dreamers in the sense that they will not face up to reality.”

BUT DON'T FORGET THAT THE TRANSLATORS INSERTED FILTHY INTO THE TEXT.  I think they got it right. Years ago, I remember how the Baptists prided themselves in the idea that the Catholics were having all the unmentionable problems with their priests misbehaving, “but we don’t do stuff like that!” And then we got a little honest with ourselves and it turns out that Baptists have their own version of misbehavior among the leaders of our churches.

JUDE SAYS THAT THE DREAMERS WHO WOULD COME IN AMONG THEM would defile the flesh. They would defile the flesh by leading the church people off into their misbehavior.  The context of this verse is emphasized by the word: likewise.  That is, they would be like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

WE ARE NOW HEARING A LOT ABOUT THE INCLUSIVE CHURCHES WHO ACCEPT people who are engaged in sexual misbehavior and they are honored as regular members of the church. In the name of “love,” the churches no longer tell them that they are to repent of their sins and do not even tell them that their behavior is sinful.

WHEN WE DIG INTO THE MESSGE OF JUDGE AND THE MESSAGE OF 2PETER, we can understand how these two books are so infuriating to a lot of people who say that Christianity is a “hindrance to progress.” In all of this spin-doctoring by the false teachers in the churches, God is not threatened. He is going to have the last word and His word will prevail when they stand before Him to be judged. Jude is very strong in his message of judgment upon these false teachers.

WARREN WIERSBE SUMMARIZES THE FALSE TEACHERS WITH THREE STATEMENTS: 1. They reject Divine authority.  2. They resort to deliberate hypocrisy.  3. They will receive their due penalty.” Ω
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
  JUNE 19, 2018 – TUESDAY
   A.M.  Nehemiah 9-11     P.M.  Acts 4:1-22
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.) If you are behind in reading, read the passage for today and then go back.

 Good Memory Verse:
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.  (Psalm 34:18)  (Write verses on scraps of paper and put in your pocket to memorize like President Abraham Lincoln did. Or, write on a half 3x5 card. I like the bright green cards I got from Amazon. I cut them in half and use them for rewriting all my memory verses. I write them by hand or on my daddy’s Royal typewriter.)
 
Song for Today:
There’s A Great Day Coming (2:30) – (The Nashville Singers)                              
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4X8EblMNUo
 A little heavy on the rhythm, but the message is good and very clear. You may need to delete an ad or turn off the song when finished to avoid something else you do not want to hear.
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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jude - a call to arms

6/18/2018

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            Jude – A Call to Arms     
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
 
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.  (Jude 1:1-3)
 
JUDE WAS THE BROTHER OF JAMES AND BOTH OF THEM WERE HALF-BROTHERS to Jesus. As they grew up in the home of Jesus, none of his brothers thought about their oldest brother, Jesus, being the Promised One that Moses said would come to Israel to be the King of Israel; And certainly not the sacrificial Lamb, slain before the foundation of the world. (For neither did his brethren believe in him.  (John 7:5) It took Jesus’ resurrection from the dead to convince His brothers that He was, indeed, the promised Savior and Jewish Messiah.

JAMES (NOT A DISCIPLE) WAS THE OLDEST OF JESUS' BROTHERS and was the author of the short, New Testament book that bears his name. In case you’re interested, there are five books in the Bible that have only one chapter. If we go by the number of words, they would be listed as: Third John (219 words) Second John (245 words) Philemon (335 words) Obadiah (440 words) Jude (461 words)  This information comes from www.overviewbible.com but it doesn’t say which Bible version was used to do the counting.

JUDE'S 25 VERSES ARE VERY CLOSELY RELATED TO 2nd PETER, especially the 2nd chapter.  While Jude makes no references to Peter or the people to whom he was writing, yet many believe that Jude wrote  his book to be circulated to the same people as Peter’s book. Since it was not addressed to anyone in particular, it is assumed that it was to be circulated. Jude was certainly on the same page with Peter and reinforced what he had to say. It has also been discussed if his book came before or after Peter’s book.

JUDE'S BOOK WAS DISCUSSED BY THE CHURCH FATHERS UNTIL, at last it was recognized as canon, that is, one of the books of the Bible. Jude was familiar with the book of Enoch, which is widely recognized but never counted as a book of the Bible. He mentions Enoch as being the 7th from Adam, which means that Enoch may have known Adam. Enoch was a preacher of righteousness, wrote a book and never died but was taken by God into Heaven (Genesis 5:24). Enoch, Peter, and Jude all have strong opinions about the obnoxious characteristics of false prophets.  This is in stark contrast to the cultural political correctness that prevails in America, where anything goes, except…the Bible and Christianity.
 
McGEE MAKES AN IMPORTANT POINT on “the common salvation.”  “Now, Jude says here that he was planning on writing on some facet of our salvation. It could have been on redemption, on the person of Christ, on sanctification, or any number of themes, but he didn't write on any of those themes because "it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." The thought here is that the Holy Spirit detoured Jude from writing on some theme of the faith in order that he might sound a warning concerning the impending apostasy.” (McGee)

WARREN WIERSBE ADDS TO THAT: “I must confess that I sympathize with Jude. In my own ministry, I would much rather encourage the saints than declare war on the apostates. But when the enemy is in the field, the watchmen dare not go to sleep. The Christian life is a battleground, not a playground.”(Wiersbe)

McGee CONTINUES: “The apostasy is a departure from the faith, that is, from the apostles' doctrine. Apostasy was just a little cloud the size of a man's hand in Jude's day, but now it is a storm of hurricane force that fills the land. As Jude writes about the apostasy that was coming on the earth, we can see that many of the things he mentions are already taking place in the world in our day. My friend, the apostasy is not something we are looking forward to; the apostasy is here. It is all about us today.” (McGee)

FOR THE PAST HUNDRED YEARS IN AMERICA, we have agreed on five fundamentals of the faith as being essential for Biblical agreement. We believe in: 1. The inspiration, preservation and authority of the Bible as the Word of God; 2. The virgin birth of Christ; 3. His sinless life and vicarious atonement upon the cross for the sins of the whole world. 4. His bodily resurrection from the dead. 5. His glorious return to earth to reign with His own.

WHILE WE MAY DISAGREE ON OTHER LESSER IMPORTANT POINTS OF FAITH, fundamental, Bible-believing Christians agree on these things and it is proper for us to be in fellowship with each other upon the common belief of these things. When we read Jude’s words of contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints, we believe that is what we are doing today.

WE MUST CONTEND FOR THE FAITH WITHOUT BEING CONTENTIOUS, ugly, and bone-headed. We are instructed by Paul: And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.  (2Timothy2:24-26)
 
WE CANNOT CONVERT ANYONE. That is not our job. We are witnesses, teachers, preachers, praying people. I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.  (1Corinthians 3:6-7) Ω
 
Read Through the Bible in a Year
          JUNE 18, 2018 – MONDAY
       A.M.  Nehemiah 7-8     P.M.  Acts 3
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.) If you are behind in reading, read the passage for today and then go back.

 Good Memory Verse:
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.  (Psalm 34:18)  (Write verses on scraps of paper and put in your pocket to memorize like President Abraham Lincoln did. Or, write on a half 3x5 card. I like the bright green cards I got from Amazon. I cut them in half and use them for rewriting all my memory verses. I write them by hand or on my daddy’s Royal typewriter.)
 
Song for Today:
Wonderful Words of Life (3:05) – (Gaither Group + Trio + Solo)                               
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q499q89HOpM
 You may need to delete an ad or turn off the song when finished to avoid something else you do not want to hear.
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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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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