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christmas is beautiful!

11/30/2017

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       Christmas is Beautiful!
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  (Isaiah 9:6)

And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.  (Psalm 90:17)


Christmas is beautiful! How else can we say it? In all the ways beauty can be generated by human beings, it is done the best and the most at Christmas time. It is celebration at its best! Money and time and labor are spent to express something in us that must be done. No law requires it. The government does not send out teams of enforcers to make sure everybody is supporting Christmas.

Christmas has a life of its own like trees that bud and bloom in the spring and brighten into a massive bouquet of color in the fall. It is predictable that it will occur this year and next year and on and on. One might think that people will tire of Christmas but so far, there’s no sign of Christmas growing tired. The best music is performed and played at Christmas time. The prettiest and most dazzling sights are portrayed at Christmas time. The most exciting kitchen aromas and delicious foods appear at Christmas time.

Of course, we are now thinking about the outward expressions of Christmas. This outward celebration that is caught every year by our massive population has amazed me ever since I was a child. Thousands of people who have no relationship with Jesus Christ fall into Christmas celebration. So many human things come out of us and merge during Christmas celebration. Business reporters tell us that many merchants sell one third of everything they sell at Christmas time. They depend on the mood of shoppers to turn loose of their money and put the merchants in the black.

There is something about the collective mood of millions of people, including unchurched people, that is absolutely astounding! Some early shoppers put up tents on the parking lots of shopping centers and stay there for days to be the first in line when the doors open on “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving. Fist fights may erupt over a wind-up toy or a special doll on sale. What happens to these people who are so intense on spending their money, even running up their charge cards in a buying frenzy?  Are we touched with insanity? Have we lost our minds? Or is there some deep-seated thing within us that is being acted out? I rather think there is something deep within the human spirit that is being acted out.

For many, it’s a brief relief from an impoverished soul that is crying out. Relief! For one week, one month, this celebration will get our minds off our trouble, grief, and sorrow. In 1943 we were in the middle of the hottest war in the history of world. It was uncertain which flag would be flying over our post office when it was over.

Bing Crosby sang: “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” in 1943 and it went off the charts. People bought it and played it over and over again. The radio stations played it. We couldn’t hear it enough. “I’ll be home for Christmas if only in my dreams.”  That’s it! Christmas is about the celebration of home for a brief time. Underneath it, under the pile somewhere was the faint memory of what Christmas was all about…oh yes! The birth of a special baby! But the baby takes a back seat to the celebration of home. Every year the suicide rate spikes upward. Thinking of home is more than some can bear and they are overwhelmed with despair and kill themselves.

The celebration of Christmas has come to mean “The Celebration of Christmas Celebration.” We are celebrating celebration. Celebration has taken on a life of its own. Time to get drunk. Time to buy a new car. This kind of celebration must always be capped off with a surprise downloading of snow. Can’t have with Christmas without snow. (My eight years in Florida taught me how to have Christmas without snow.

CHRISTIAN PEOPLE WHO TRULY KNOW THE LORD have a big advantage over those who celebrate for the sake of celebration. Yes, it’s about family and home. But foremost, it is about the babe in the manger, angels, shepherds, a mean Herod trying to kill the Christ child. It’s about Moses who said a messiah was coming. It’s about prophet after prophet who wrote: “He’s coming!” He who was coming as a babe in a manger would also come to carry his cross up Golgotha’s hill to his own place to be nailed to it. He would also rise from the dead and leave his mission in the hands of twelve very human men. Christmas is the story of stories for children.

When we celebrate Christmas with beautiful trees with lights and ornaments and pageants acting out the humble story, let’s be glad when many children are there for the celebration. Let them learn the story of Christmas well. Let us be glad when mothers bring their babies and toddlers in their arms and be glad when they cry and have to be carried out for a few minutes. The babies, the toddlers, remind us of that special baby in the manger and the toddler that rich wise men traveled many miles to see. Love the babies! Love the toddlers! Love the children who may leave candy and chewing gum wrappers in the pews and mess up the rest rooms.

We, who know the Lord, can quote Isaiah who said:  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  (Isaiah 9:6)

We can say with Moses, who wrote Psalm 90: And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.  (Psalm 90:17)

I like what McGee wrote about Moses, who wrote Psalm 90:17: “Oh, to do something in this life that will have value in eternity! My friend, Moses out there in the desert, pausing day after day in the wilderness march to bury someone, got a perspective on life that many of us do not have. What a beautiful and practical psalm this is!” (McGee)

(You remember that at this stage of the game, Moses was having to preside over thousands of people who had rebelled against God and were having to wander around in the wilderness until they died off. It is said that in that dying-off period, there was a corpse for every step they took until they were all dead. Then the younger generation could fight the long, up-coming war over the land they were going to take after they crossed the Jordan river.

That’s the time period when Moses wrote Psalm 90. He dared to talk about the beauty of the LORD being upon them and there was death everywhere he turned.)

Christmas is beautiful! Even if millions of Americans don’t understand what Christmas is about. There’s a beauty and power about it that filters down to them as pagans and unbelievers. The celebration of Jesus’ birth is beautiful! Ω

 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 DECEMBER 1, 2017 - FRIDAY
 A.M. Ezekiel 45-46      P.M 2 Peter 3
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

 
Song for Today: 
Hallelujah Chorus (Handel’s Messiah) (3:57) (Choir of King’s College, Cambridge – Boys’ Choir and Orchestra)  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3TUWU_yg4s                 
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living among the wicked

11/30/2017

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​Living Among the Wicked
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  (1John 2:15-16)

In today’s world, insofar as it is possible, we are to separate ourselves from wicked people and their practices. In America, allegiance to the nation trumps allegiance to God. And yet, it is possible to separate ourselves in our hearts from the world. We are in the world, but not of the world.

I’ve heard many Christians say: “I’d sure like to have a job in a church or Christian school where I could work among Christians and not have to put up with all the profanity and filth I have to listen to where I work. My hat’s off to the people who work on a church or Christian school staff. But the people who work there will tell you in a heartbeat that Satan has the key to the church and he causes a lot of trouble in those places. Jesus chose twelve disciples and one of them was a devil.

All the people in churches and Christian schools are not saved and they certainly are not all sanctified. But even if we work among Christians and play Christian music all day long, who is going to go into the streets and pagan places of work and be a witness to all those lost people? Jesus ate with sinners and mingled with the worst of them. The key is how we think and what we love.

Peter wrote about Lot’s experience among the sodomites and how bad it was on Noah before God sent the flood and destroyed the world.  The whole point of Peter’s story about Lot and Noah is that they both worked in a hell hole and God was able to deliver them from their temptations to evil and the hard trial it was to them.

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;  And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:  (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:  (2Peter 2:6-9)

Someday we’ll get to enjoy Heaven and there won’t be one unsaved sinner there to mess up your day. But until then, we are here on this earth on special assignment. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.  (2Corinthians 5:20)

Did you get that? We are here to speak to people in the place of Christ, pleading with people to be reconciled with God.  Yes, it actually says that.  We are to talk to lost people as though God Himself were beseeching and pleading with them to make things right with Him. When I found this verse years ago it jolted me. It’s one of those verses we stare at….we take it in….we agree with it….and then we try to do what it says.

We are in the world but we are not of the world. We are not to love the world or be one with the world. I like the old southern song I learned as a boy: “This world is not my home; I’m just a passin’ through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”

ONLY ONE LIFE, ‘TWILL SOON BE PASSED; ONLY WHAT’S DONE FOR CHRIST WILL LAST.

Living among the wicked is not for sissies. You must have a thick skin. If you have a short fuse you will have a hard time living among the wicked. There’s one mistake we do not want to make: Lot continually pitched his tent toward Sodom when he left his Uncle Abraham. He knew the Lord, but he was like many Christians today who pitch their tent toward Sodom and snuggle up to the world to keep warm by their fire.

At one time, before most of us were born, the U. S. Supreme Court declared that “This is a Christian nation.” No longer. We are a pagan nation. Half-way Christians will not do well in today’s world. It’s all or nothing. If you are going to be a Christian, then be a Bible Christian…a Godly Christian….a dedicated Christian.

If you do not commit your life to be a full-fledged Christian then you will be a miserable Christian. You will not have the blessing of God and you will have the scorn of the world. That’s the way it should be.

Another song says: “What you are speaks so loud that the world can’t hear what you say; They’re looking at your walk, not listening to your talk; They’re judging by your actions every day; Don’t believe you’ll deceive by claiming what you’ve never known; They’ll judge what they see and know you to be, they’ll judge by your life alone.” We live among the wicked. Let’s live for the Lord. Ω


 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - THURSDAY
 A.M Ezekiel 41-42   P.M 2 Peter 2
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

 
Song for Today: 
This World is Not my Home - Acapella (2:50) (Samonte)  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJP5XGFbcUQ   
                 

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christmas is coming

11/28/2017

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           Christmas is Coming!

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.  (Galatians 4:4-6)
 
God didn’t send His Son into the world when He had time to work it into His schedule. He sent His Son at a precise, exact time that fulfilled a plan He had before there were stars or planets. God’s plan for everything operates according to precision timing.  You were born at an exact time and place and the time of our departure will not catch God by surprise.
 
The movement of planets and electrons in their orbits all operate on precision schedules. Peter writes: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (1Peter 1:20)  God’s revelation to John refers to: …the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  (Revelation 13:8)
 

CHRISTMAS WAS ON ITS WAY from the time God foreordained the coming of Christ into the world as the perfect lamb to be slain for the sins of the world. We use “Christmas” as a figure of speech that designates Christ’s entrance into the world to redeem us from our sins.

“Christmas” is the combination of two words: Christ+Mass.  “Mass” has many meanings, the most common being that it is big or of a large number. Today, it includes special music sung by a choir and/or performed by several instruments. For many years, nothing special was done to celebrate the birth of Christ. Along the way, the idea took hold and grew. Then music was written for its celebration and drama was added to it.

It was only natural that special food, special recipes, candy and all manner of goodies swelled the celebration. Sharing the celebration of extra food with the poor increased until we began to share gifts with family and friends. No one stood up and made a motion that everyone in the world celebrate “Christmas.”

GOD MADE US WITH A WILL which enabled us to obey Him or rebel against Him. That’s the kind of man/woman God wanted to live with Him in His eternal kingdom. He provided a means of redeeming His creation made with a will of its own. We recognize the fulfillment of that plan in our celebration of Christmas. The babe in the manger came into the world to die for our sins. Yes, He was born to die. The result of the baby dying for our sins will be Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.  (Luke 2:14)

 McGee comments: “What they actually said was, "peace to men of good will," or "peace among men with whom He is pleased." The angels did not make the asinine statement that many men make today which goes, "Let's have peace, peace, peace." My friend, "There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked" (Isaiah 48:22). We live in a day when we need to beat our plowshares into swords—not the other way around. We live in a wicked world. We live in a Satan-dominated world, and therefore there is no peace.

“There is, however, peace to men of good will. If you are one of those who has come to Christ and taken him as Savior, you can know this peace of God. Romans 5:1 states: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." When Christ came the first time, this is the kind of peace He brought. At His second coming He will come as the Prince of Peace; At that time, He will put down unrighteousness and rebellion in the world. He will establish peace on the earth. But until He comes again, there will be no peace on this earth.” (McGee
)

Moses said: “He’s coming!” The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; (Deuteronomy 18:15)
 
Luke said of Moses: This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.  (Acts 7:37)
 

Isaiah said: “He’s coming!” For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.  (Isaiah 9:6-7)
 

The Psalmist said: “He’s coming!”  For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.  I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.  They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.  (Psalm 22:16-18)
 

Micah said: “He’s coming!” But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.  (Micah 5:2)
 

Daniel said: “He’s coming!”  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.  (Daniel 9:25)
 
Many other prophets said: “He’s coming!”
 
Paul said: “He has come… according to the Old Testament prophets and the Scriptures they wrote.” For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:  (1Corinthians 15:3-4)

 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 NOVEMBER 29, 2017 - WEDNESDAY
 A.M Ezekiel 41-42    P.M 2 Peter 1
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

 
Song for Today: 
Born to Die (2:54) (Calvary Tengah Bible Presbyterian Church)  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-RRZRLAcTg                    
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​

Please Note: I listened to about 20 different groups singing “Born to Die,” to find the clearest presentation of the words. None of them were completely clear. This group printed the words to go with their singing and I chose the song because of that. I have no idea where this church is. If someone knows, I would appreciate your letting me know. I would like to thank them for the use of their music. Thank you.
 
                   

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christmas in genesis2

11/27/2017

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             Christmas in Genesis

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.  (Genesis 3:15)

CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT MY SINS AND THE CROSS. The Calvary Adult Choir sings about Christmas and the cross in their Messiah Highlights. Follow their link at the bottom of this page to enjoy it.

THE LAMB WAS SLAIN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, in the mind of God. He was slain before the first Adam and before the first atom. Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;   But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:   Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,  (1Peter 1:18-20)

The theme begins in Genesis and talks about the seed, the Lord Jesus, who will born into the world.

CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT THE GREAT WAR BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN (Genesis 3:15). Satan will attack Jesus and all of God’s people like a serpent waiting along the path.

A woman in Tennessee told me about being bit on the foot while working in her garden. Every year about that time, the old scar would flare up and cause pain for several days. Another woman told me about being bit with a copper head on the foot while getting into her car. My Great-Grandfather Richards died from a rattlesnake bite. The feet are a common place for snakes to bite us. It is also true that if you want to kill a snake, you must crush its head.

When Jesus was on the cross, God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).  Satan bruised His heel. Satan was an indirect contributor to the wounds of Jesus. Jesus will one day deal a final blow in crushing the head of Satan and cast him into the lake of fire. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:  (Matthew 25:41)

Christmas in Genesis is in Genesis 3:15. Some call this verse the “first Gospel.”  After Satan had deceived Eve into sin and Adam knowingly followed her example, God came to visit them. They had hidden from God the best they could. God called them to account. Adam blamed his wife and Eve blamed the serpent. So, God cursed the serpent, pronounced sentence upon Eve and then pronounced sentence upon Adam.

God distinguished between two seeds: Satan’s seed (Satan and his followers) and “her seed.” (Christ, a descendant of Eve and those in Christ by faith. If you are in Christ, you are in that seed.)

Jesus called the devil and his followers, “the devil’s children” in John 8:44. The woman’s offspring is Christ who would bruise Satan’s head on the Cross. In bruising Satan’s head, Christ’s heel was to be bruised. He was wounded, even unto death but when He rose from the dead it proved that his wound was temporary. Thus, His heel was wounded.

“Paul, in a passage strongly reminiscent of chapter 3, encouraged the believers in Rome, "And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly" (Romans 16:20). Believers should recognize that they participate in the crushing of Satan because, along with the Savior and because of His finished work on the cross, they also are of the woman's seed. For more on the destruction of Satan, see Hebrews 2:14-15; Revelation 20:10.” (Bible Knowledge Commentary)

McGee makes these comments: “This verse reveals the fact that now there is to be a long struggle between good and evil. This is exactly what you will find in the rest of the Scriptures. The Lord Jesus made this statement in His day concerning this struggle: "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:44). "The devil" is Satan.

“The Lord Jesus Christ made the distinction between children of God and children of Satan. John again mentions this conflict in 1John 3:10: "In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." Thus we have brought before us the fact that here is a conflict, here is a struggle, and here are two seeds in the world. There will be the final victory—but the long-continued struggle is important to note. Every man must face temptation and must win his battle. What does it mean to be saved? It means to be in Christ.
“Man was one of three orders of creation: angels, man, and animals. Animals were given no choice, but man and angels were given a choice. Here you have, if you please, man's choice. He has made a decision, and he is held responsible for the decision that he has made.
Notice that it says "her seed." It does not say the man's seed. Here is at least the suggestion of the virgin birth of Christ. When God went into that garden looking for man, He said, "Where art thou?" Any anthology of religion tells the story of man's search for God. My friend, that is not the way God tells it. Let's tell it like it is: Salvation is God's search for man. Man ran away from Him, and God called to him, "Where art thou?" Dr. W. H. Griffith Thomas in his book, Genesis, A Devotional Commentary, makes the comment that "it is the call of Divine justice, which cannot overlook sin. It is the call of Divine sorrow, which grieves over the sinner. It is the call of Divine love, which offers redemption for sin." We have all of that in the verse before us—the promise of the coming of the Savior.
God's search for man is pictured all the way through Scripture. Paul wrote, "… there is none that seeketh after God" (Romans 3:11). The Lord Jesus said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you …" (John 15:16). And we can say with John, "We love him, because he first loved us" (1John 4:19). God seeks out man, and He offers man salvation, but there is going to be a long struggle that will take place.” (McGee)

This whole page is all about Christmas. It’s so much more than a tree and glitter and presents and Christmas carols. Christmas is about our sins and Jesus paying for them on the cross and rising from the dead in three days. Ω


Read Through the Bible in a Year
NOVEMBER 28, 2017 - TUESDAY
 A.M Ezekiel 40    P.M 1 Peter 5
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

A Good Verse to Memorize:
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them
in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.  (Luke 24:27)
 
Song for Today: 
Messiah Highlights (3:25) (Calvary Adult Choir – Sou. Pines, NC)  
 https://www.facebook.com/100009410046480/videos/2045006329156349/                    
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when the bucket runs dry

11/26/2017

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         When the Bucket Runs Dry

And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.  (Exodus 17:1)

In Medlock Hollow, when I turned 8, I was privileged to let down a bucket, much like this one, into a hand-dug well to bring up fresh water for drinking and cooking. The bucket had a 3” piece of pipe fastened at the top on one side so that when the bucket hit the water in the well, the bucket would turn over and fill with water. The bucket was drawn up with a windless rope and crank and emptied into another (nicer) bucket to be carried into the house.

When the house bucket went dry, we had to go to the well and refill it. Our well was dug before the Civil War. A big slab of sandstone had been dragged there with mules and a 36” round hole chiseled in the middle of it for accessing the well. The slab prevented surface water from running into the well and polluting it.

THE EMPTY BUCKET PICTURES OUR LIVES WHEN WE RUN DRY. We could always go to the well and refill the bucket because the well never ran dry, even in a time of drought. Even so, we need to be refilled with the Holy Spirit many times in our lives. We are baptized by the Spirit into the Body of Christ one time (1Corinthians 12:13), but filled with the Spirit many times (Ephesians 5:18).

THE OLD TESTAMENT IS THE LARGER HALF OF OUR BIBLE because it is the foundation of the New Testament and because we are to learn from it.  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples (examples) and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.  (1Corinthians 10:11)

THE BIBLE MENTIONS WATER 396 TIMES. After our need to breathe, our most intense need is water. God teaches us about our spiritual life by studying “water” in the Bible.
The people ran out of water while they were following the commandment of the Lord. (Exodus 17:1) There’s no mention of any sin or anything displeasing to the Lord. However, this experience was a trial of their faith and it resulted in their murmuring and complaining, which was a bad sin against God.
 

THIS IS IMPORTANT: At times, we may expect to experience a shortage of the most needed things while we are obeying the Lord. Our faith may be tried. How are we going to react to the trying of our faith? By running out of water, the intensity of their personal need was increased. It is hard for us to advance in faith in the midst of plenty. Paul said he had learned, by faith, to suffer need. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  (Philippians 4:12)

THEN PAUL INSERTS THAT FAMOUS VERSE THAT IS OFTEN QUOTED OUT OF CONTEXT:  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  (Philippians 4:13) Paul, what kind of things can you do through Christ? Paul said that through Christ he could be full, and he could be hungry, to abound and to suffer need. He could do ALL of those things through Christ.

It doesn’t seem like it would bring glory to God to claim that one could suffer need and be hungry “by the power of Christ.” But, that is exactly what he is saying. Christians in Africa and other countries have dug up roots and worms because there was no food. Some Christians have been locked up in their churches and burned up with the burning buildings. They died in faith.

And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:  (Hebrews 11:36-39)

When God is going to display His power, He sometimes will increase our difficulties before He moves His hand. He increased the difficulties of the Hebrew brick makers in Egypt before He delivered them from their hardships. No straw was provided for their bricks, but they still had to produce the same number of bricks per day. Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.  (Exodus 5:7)

Abraham sent Hagar and her son (also the son of Abraham) into the wilderness with a bottle of water. That was sufficient for the first part of her wandering. It was the best she could do. She had been sent away by the authority in her life: by Abraham. And in obedience to that authority, the water ran out.

And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.  And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.  (Gen 21:15-17)

Please study this carefully. Hagar seemed to be carrying the sole weight of their plight. The text records her words, her voice, her weeping. And yet, God heard the voice of the lad. No mention is made of God hearing the mother’s words. Though she lifted up her voice, she may not have lifted her voice to God. She may have wailed in despair without reaching out to God.
 
On the other hand, God heard the voice of the lad. The angel begins speaking to Hagar and says: “What aileth thee, Hagar?” There is no mention by the angel that Hagar had prayed to the Lord. The angel said to Hagar: “Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.”
 
Did the lad pray to God and his mother did not? It seems that may be the case. The wording of these three verses is tight with no explanation. We may be confident that the angel dealt with the first need of Hagar: “fear not.” Hagar was afraid her son was going to die there, and she removed herself the distance of a bowshot, or 200-300 yards.
 
Robert Browning Hamilton left us this famous poem.  “I walked a mile with Pleasure; She chatted all the way; But left me none the wiser for all she had to say.  I walked a mile with Sorrow; And ne’er a word said she; But, oh! The things I learned from her, When Sorrow walked with me.”

DIGGING DEEPER: (Optional Reading)
The Bible Knowledge Commentary has this to say: “This chapter records two additional provisions by God for His people: WATER (Exo_17:1-7) and VICTORY IN BATTLE (Exo_17:8-16). God was demonstrating that He is capable of nourishing and sustaining His own. Parched from their journey and finding no water in the oasis, the people again complained against Moses and blamed him for taking them out of Egypt (cf. Exo_16:3). This was worse than their murmurings of distrust at Marah (Exo_15:24) or in the Desert of Sin (Exo_16:2), for here they even quarreled with Moses (Exo_17:2) and were about to stone him (Exo_17:4). Such quarreling, Moses said, was putting the Lord to the test (Exo_17:2), that is, they were challenging the Lord or trying His patience (Exo_17:7) rather than trusting Him.
 
“But God was patient with His disobedient and grumbling people. He told Moses to take… the staff with which he had struck the Nile River (Exo_7:20) and to strike a rock at Horeb (Exo_17:6). This “staff of God” (Exo_4:20; Exo_17:9) was a symbol of power; holding it was a sign of dependence and trust in God. Though Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai, Israel did not camp at Sinai until later (Exo_19:1). However, “Horeb” can also mean the Sinai region.
 
“Rephidim was close to Sinai so that the mountain slopes reached there. In Moses’ striking the rock, the Lord was pleased to satiate His thirsty people with an abundant supply of water. So the Lord provided for them through another miracle. Because the people had tested the Lord there, Moses called the place by two names: Massah (“testing”) and Meribah (“quarreling”). (BKC)
 
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.  (Rev 21:6)
            

Read Through the Bible in a Year
 NOVEMBER 27, 2017 - MONDAY
  A.M Ezekiel 38-39    P.M 1 Peter 4
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verse to Memorize: 
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  (Psalm 100:4)


Song for Today: 
Tell Me the Story of Jesus (5:49) (Gaither Group)  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AghsSvQ_2B8
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“The Bible is a sufficient guide for faith and practice.”

 
 
 
 
 
 

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the uncivil men among us

11/24/2017

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     The Uncivil Men Among Us
Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.  (Proverbs 14:34) Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.  (Hebrews 13:4)

We wish the national sex scandals of late would just go away. It makes us uncomfortable. However, a lot of women, girls and children are being abused in this country and their story is covered up. It has not been “news” until recently. Breaking these stories is one of the greatest things that has happened in America in a long while, in my opinion. I agree with a Christian newscaster who said this week: “God has shined a light on the plight of these helpless women.”

Women and teenage girls have been long-time victims of powerful men in the news media, government, doctors’ offices, educational establishments, athletics, and wherever powerful men and their employees work. Men lean on helpless women and the women keep quiet to keep their jobs.

Fox News lost its president a few months ago and then Bill O’Reilly. New York Times, CBS, NBC, Politico, the leading and second-leading cable networks, the top public-radio network, have all confronted the same problem: A prominent figure accused of behaving inappropriately. (Politico). The problem is so big that once the boil had been lanced with Harvey Weinstein, women began to come forth with their stories and the powers that be are frantically trying to cover their bases. These power centers have known for years they had a problem, but no one was making any noise.

The current stories are not about adults having affairs between consenting adults. These stories go beyond that to men disrespecting women and treating them like they were owned objects for their own pleasure. That’s another sorry step in America’s downward plunge.

My good friend and attorney, William Ball, one of the nation’s leading constitutional attorneys, told the pastors in North Carolina in the 1980’s that the highest court in America is the “Court of Public Opinion.” I never forgot that. But, this court lacks the refined features of a court room. It has no printed rules of evidence; the witnesses cannot be cross-examined, and there are no penalties if witnesses in the drama lie and frame a victim. That’s simply part of the “Court of Public Opinion.”  Nevertheless, it is the highest court in the land. (William Ball was professor of Constitutional Law for twenty years at Notre Dame School Law School)

Another friend is Don Boys, Ph.D., Christian evangelist, and former member of the Indiana House of Representatives. He writes recently: “Steven Law, chief executive of the GOP Senate Leadership Fund declared, “There is no place in our party for sexual predators.” Well, that is not exactly true. I checked the record and was shocked and surprised by the sexual scandals I found since 1900. There have been 67 sexual scandals in the House and Senate, and the White House. It also includes a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.”

Dr. Boys states further: Of the 67 sexual scandals, 28 were Democrats and 43 were Republicans! I was shocked. So, the Republicans have made room for sexual predators such as…” and he names six prominent and recent members of the Republican Party. He also covers the short-comings of the Democrat Party and the shame brought on by one of its recent presidents.

We need to remember, though that the sordid behavior of men in the present news is just the tip of the iceberg. The powers that be can fix their exposed and shameful behavior by publicly disposing of the named sinners. It remains to be seen if any evil-doer politicians will be sent home. Excuses will be made, and they will wait it out until the cameras go away. That’s the easiest way to fix it. The voting public has short memories.

The larger segment of the abuse of women is somewhere else. The worst is the human trafficking, that involves the kidnapping or luring of girls and young women held against their will. Their bodies are sold in this country and in foreign countries where they are taken. It wouldn’t work if men with money would not buy them for their own lust. Some of them are photographed in their activity and the videos marketed in the porn industry.  That’s not in Africa or some primitive third world country. That’s in the United States. Even ten-year-old children are channeled into this market because there are men who will pay to get to rape a child.

The family setting is the greatest place for the abuse of women and children. It is not in some distant city; it is not confined to government and news offices and other work places. Joyce Meyer, one of the top TV evangelists, draws mostly women to her local meetings in the largest arenas. One of her strongest appeals that draw women to come to her meetings is the public knowledge that her own blood father raped her over 200 times in their home. This occurred while the mother was doing the weekly grocery shopping. Women, everywhere, are being abused in their homes. I once had a secretary who confided to me one day that she had been sexually abused by her own blood-father. The damage from this is deep and long-lasting.

Children in homes are being abused by family members.  Children in foster homes are sometimes abused. This problem cannot be fixed by passing more laws. When the influence of the Bible is reduced, the children and women are the first to pay the price. When men’s hearts are changed, they will love and respect their wives and children.

For many years, women have recognized their weakness in dealing with men and have tried to come up with schemes to turn the tables. It was attempted with the Equal Rights Amendment that almost became a Constitutional Amendment. But, it was discovered that the ERA in the long run was undefined and would make women responsible on a par with men. That would have been cruel.

Women cannot unload trucks or climb telephone poles as well as men. Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with
them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.  (1Peter 3:7)

Another side of the story is that all women do not tell the truth when accusing. When I was a senior in high school, a teenage girl became pregnant and spread the word in school that I was the father of the child. When my father confronted the girl’s father with a lawsuit for slander, the young lady signed a notarized statement that I was not the father of the child. Her older sister did not believe it and asked me to perform her wedding ceremony in a couple of years. Some women will lie.

Some teenage girls have lied in court about their fathers abusing them in order to get out of the home. When the court put their father in jail, they suddenly realized what they did and tried to fix it, but it’s a hard thing to fix.

Some women may willingly cheat on their husbands. In Tallahassee, Florida I visited a yard sale warehouse to talk with the owners, a husband and wife. The husband had fixed a corner of the warehouse with a stained-glass window from an old church and an organ. She played hymns on the organ that she had learned in child-hood. I sensed it was “window dressing” and was on the surface. One day I dropped by and the woman was there alone; her face was red but not from crying. She was mad!

She took one look at me and blurted out her story. “Reverend, I’m mad as h… at my husband and I went out this morning before breakfast and committed adultery to punish him!” I believed her. This was no time to try to fix anything. So, I got back into the school bus I was driving and went on my way. I’ve thought about that scene many times.

And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.  And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,  (Genesis 39:11-13) You remember that Joseph ended up in prison because of this woman’s false accusation.

This is a fallen world, and something is bad wrong with the human race. I’ve spent a lifetime of listening to sad stories about people being ugly to one another. Not too many years ago, families would not allow their daughter to go anywhere with a young man in a car without a chaperone being in the car with them. For a young woman to go to a man’s apartment or have a man come to her apartment was unthinkable. I think it’s still unthinkable.

Whenever possible, young people will do better to live at home and go to junior college rather than live in a school dormitory. This gives two years of practice at knowing what the school is like and how to be safer in their school experience.

 
There are uncivil men among us and the ladies will do well to be very careful in what they say and how they conduct themselves. If, after you have done your part at smart behavior and some clown leans on you, scream bloody murder at the top of your voice. Go to the boss’s office and pitch a striped fit. If it is the boss, then go to the chairman of the board. Otherwise, pick up your purse and go home and tell the Lord about it. He will help you find a job with men who are more civil.  Ω
 
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 NOVEMBER 24, 2017 - FRIDAY
 A.M Ezekiel 32-33    P.M 1 Peter 1
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verse to Memorize: 
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.  (John 8:12)

Song for Today: 
Rock of Ages (4:09) (Vestal Goodman & Gaither Group)  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmrvPPYLTDg
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a higher power

11/21/2017

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             A Higher Power…

Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  (Psalm 100:3)

I am thankful this Thanksgiving week that God has promised a bright and glorious future to those who love Him and have embraced His Son who died on the cross for our sins. I am thankful that those who believe in Him have eternal life and a promise of unity in His name.

I have long believed that man’s greatest need is to believe to the bone that there is a power higher than himself. If the God of the Bible is that higher power, then all that’s needed is to accept His Lordship. If man is the highest power, then man is the determiner of right and wrong.  In a world of 7.6 billion people, there is no unity because the world has not submitted itself to the Creator and Redeemer of the human race. “It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves.”

Jesus prayed in John 17:22 “…that they all may be one, even as we (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are one.”  That’s going to happen when the saints of God are raised from the dead and Jesus reigns on the Throne of David in Jerusalem to rule the world. There will be “Peace in the Valley.” That is, there will be peace among those who belong to Him.

The prophet, Amos, raised the subject of unity: Can two walk together, except they be agreed?  (Amos 3:3) There is no root or roof to the meaning of man and the whole of the universe if there is no God.

Throughout history, the three abiding questions that have dominated the human race are: 1. Where did we come from? 2. What is the purpose of our being here? 3. Where are we going when this life is over? The true answer to those three questions provides the basis of unity for the human race. The answer to these three questions will never be found in the halls of Congress. The answer is in a book, The Bible.

The most important thing I want to thank God for during our Thanksgiving season is the fact that we have an eternal future and a basis of unity of the human race in the God of the Bible. One day our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, will return to earth to administer His kingdom from the City of Jerusalem. I thank God that peace will one day come to Planet Earth. And beyond this, there will be a new heaven, and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.  (2Peter 3:13)

There is coming a great day when all of God’s children will be home. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.  (Revelation 21:4) Ω

 Read Through the Bible in a Year
  NOVEMBER 22, 2017 - WEDNESDAY
  A.M Ezekiel 27-28    P.M James 4
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verse to Memorize: 
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.  (John 8:12)

Song for Today: 
Peace in the Valley (2:12) (Tenn.Ernie Fordl)  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-QBG6W-6EI       
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thank you!

11/20/2017

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           Thank You!

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  (Philippians 4:6)

When your child receives a sucker or a stick of gum, teach him/her to say: "Thank you."


My friend, the late Paul Ferguson told me a story that I will never forget. (P.173 in Paul Ferguson the Fighter.) He was conducting a meeting in a church in Carthage, NC. He always took a bag of suckers with him to give to the children every night as they left the meeting. On the first night he stood at the door with the bag of suckers, the pastor’s only child, a son (7-8 years old) said to him: “I want five suckers and I want ‘em right now.”

Paul said to him, “I can’t give you five because I don’t know how many I will need to give to the other children.  I’ll give you one and if I have some left, I’ll give you four more.”  Preacher’s kid said: “If you don’t give me those suckers now, I’ll kick your old leg”. I said, “Well, you shouldn’t do that.” But he kicked me anyway. After the service Paul went by the preacher’s house a minute and gave the boy his four suckers.

The preacher’s kid demanded five suckers the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th nights and kicked Paul. Paul told the Lord that he(Paul) had to do something to stop that kid. On the 5th night after he gave the boy a sucker, the kid threatened to “kick his old leg.” Paul calmly told him: “Son if you kick me again, I’m going to kick the devil out of you. I’m going to kick you good.”

His mother, a good bit older than her husband, happened to be close by and heard it. She said: “You won’t kick my boy!” At the same time, the kid let Paul have it on the shin. But Paul reacted like lightning and kicked the boy on the shin and “brought the bark off his leg. I mean I broke his leg open. He went screaming through the office door to his daddy." His mother said, “I’ll bring my husband out here and he’ll beat you to death!” Paul replied, “If he steps out of that door I’m going to knock him cold.”

Paul told me, “I meant it. I was going to do it. But he never came out. I’d had all I could take. (Remember that Paul had been the welter-weight boxing champion of the Southeast United States for eleven years, (1939-1950) had never been knocked out and won most of his fights as knock-outs.)


“I stood there wondering if I’d made a mistake and should I have waited a day or two.”  Just then a man came up to me and said: “Brother, that’s the best thing I’ve ever seen happen around here and I want to give you something.” He stuck something in my coat pocket. As people came by, other people put money in my pocket and by the time it was over, there was something like $450 in my pocket. At that time, that was a lot of money.” I said later, “Well, I don’t know what ever happened to that boy but if he turned out all right, I get the credit for kicking part of the devil out of him.”

That’s a strange story and a bit on the crude side. But it illustrates what I have preached for years, that if you allow your child to receive a stick of gum without saying “Thank you,” you’re teaching him/her to be a criminal. Nothing handicaps a child more than for them to think they are entitled to whatever they want. A child needs to be loved dearly and they need to be taught to respect other people around them. One way to respect people is to say “Thank you” as often as it is appropriate.

Children desperately need to be taught to say: “Thank you” from the time they can say much of anything. If that simple act becomes a way of life, it will align them other human beings in a way that will be to their advantage their whole lifetime. We are not entitled to what other people have. When someone gives us something or does something for us, it is appropriate to say, “Thank you.” If it is appropriate to breathe, it is appropriate to say “Thank you.”

If you want to ruin your children in the shortest time possible, just teach them that they deserve everything they want from anybody around them and you will heap upon them much ill will and possibly an early grave. That’s my soapbox for today and I’m not giving it up because it is the truth.


America desperately needs God and He is the one who teaches us to say, “Thank you.” Saying “Thank you” won’t save your eternal soul, but it will make life a lot easier for you and everybody around you. If “Thank you!” is part of your makeup, it was either taught to you by someone or caught from someone.

It is one of the most powerful Christian graces that can adorn the life of a child or adult. No one will ever jump on you for thanking them. On the other hand, the lack of it may mark you as an ingrate in the mind of people. If we are in the habit of thanking God as we should, it will be a lot easier to thank people who are due a “thank you.” Let’s look at four verses about that. The King James Bible uses “Thanksgiving” 28 times and uses “thanks” 73 times. The word: “thankful” simply means full of thanks.


Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  (Romans 1:21)

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  (Psalm 100:4)

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.  (Colossians 3:15)

Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.  (Romans 13:7)

As we approach the Thanksgiving season, let’s do a little thinking about the importance of it and its great benefit that accrues to people who practice it. Ω

 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 NOVEMBER 21, 2017 - TUESDAY
 A.M Ezekiel 24-26    P.M James 3
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verse to Memorize: 
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.  (John 8:12)


Song for Today: 
​You’re Still Lord (4:59) (Janet Paschal)  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWBQ3Pgay50&list=RDf8q3TrW_4Ms&index=4                It moved the singer. It moved me. Listen carefully to understand the words.
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the feast of tabernacles

11/20/2017

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       The Feast of Tabernacles
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.  (Leviticus 23:2)


As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday (holy day), we are reminded of the deeper roots of a national day of Thanksgiving. We usually rehearse the American history that begins with the Pilgrim celebration of Thanksgiving that included eating with the local Indians who had befriended them in their early struggle for survival. Then, we read speeches by Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln regarding a special national day of Thanksgiving.

Rarely do we go to the older roots of our day of Thanksgiving, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. “The seventh and final feast given to Israel by the Lord is known as Sukkot or “The Feast of Tabernacles.”  It is the most joyful and festive of all Israel’s feasts. It is also the most prominent feast, mentioned more often in Scripture than any of the other feasts. This feast also sacred as the historical backdrop for the important teaching of the Messiah in John, chapters 7-9.” (The Feasts of the Lord, by Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal, Christian Jewish writers)

God ordained that all Jewish “of-age” males would make a pilgrimage three times a year to Jerusalem. They were to participate in the three clusters of feasts the Lord specified to be celebrated. That is, they made three trips and during the three trips they celebrated seven feasts. These were called: “the Pilgrim feasts” because most of the participants had to make a considerable pilgrimage on foot or on a donkey. MacArthur comments:

“Requiring all males to be present for three specified feasts at a central sanctuary would have had a socially and religiously uniting effect on the nation. The men must trust the Lord to protect their landholdings while on pilgrimage to the tabernacle (cf. Exo_34:23-24). All three feasts were joyful occasions, being a commemoration of the Exodus (the Feast of Unleavened Bread), an expression of gratitude to God for all the grain He had provided (the Feast of Harvest), and a thanksgiving for the final harvest (the Feast of Ingathering). Alternative names appear in the biblical record for the second and third feasts: the Feast of Weeks (Exo_34:22) or Firstfruits (Exo_34:22; Act_2:1), and the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths (Lev_23:33-36).”

Please arrange the time to look up the Scripture passages in your Bible or smart phone. You will also enjoy your personal copy of the book: “The Feasts of the Lord” by Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal. (Nelson) Check with Amazon Books for a used copy at a good price.

The Feast of Tabernacles was to be an annual reminder of God’s faithful provision during their forty years of wandering in the desert before they entered the Promised Land.  I mention again that these three groups of feasts were called the “Pilgrim Feasts.” “They came from every village within the nation and from many foreign countries, most often in large caravans for protections. It was a joyous trip with much singing and laughing along the way.” (Howard/Rosenthal)

After the thousands of people arrived in Jerusalem and its immediate outskirts, they quickly assembled their booths. “All of them were located within a Sabbath-day’s journey to the Temple, a little more than a half-mile.  At sundown, a priest blew a shofar (ram’s horn) at the Temple, which announced the arrival of the holiday (holy day). As darkness settled in, thousands of little fires were lit that studded the darkness. Well into the night, muffled laughter and cheery conversations could be heard drifting over the night breezes.” (H/R)
Two ceremonies took place each of the seven days/nights: In the morning, the Water-Libation Ceremony took place. In the evening, the celebration of the Water-Libation ceremony took place with The Temple Lighting Ceremony.

Each morning the High Priest carried a golden pitcher, a little more than a quart, to the Pool of Siloam. He dipped the container into the pool and brought it back to the southern gate of the Temple. Because of this ceremony, this gate became known as the “Water Gate.” “The High Priest continued to the stone altar in the Inner Court of the Temple. As he raised his hand to pour the water, the people shouted, “Raise your hand!” The high priest lifted his hand higher and poured. (This was not commanded by Moses but was a tradition that arose about 95 B.C.) When the water had been poured, there came three blasts by silver trumpets, signaling the start of Temple music. The people listened as a choir of Levites sang the Hallel (i.e., the praise Psalms, 113-118).
  

“At the proper time, the people waved their palm branches toward the altar and joined in singing: “Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity” (Psalm 118:25). The priests, with palm branches in hand, marched once around the altar. Psalm 118 was viewed as a messianic psalm and as such gave the feast a messianic emphasis. This is why Jesus was greeted by the crowds shouting Hosanna and waving palm branches on His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mt. 21:3-9; Lk.  19:38; Jn 12:13). They viewed Him as the Messiah King. The same imagery is in view in Revelation 7:9-10)” (H/R)

“At night, the celebration of the water pouring (as opposed to the ceremony) was observed during the evenings of the feast by an impressive light ceremony in the Temple. It was known as the Simchat Bet Hasho’ayva (“the Rejoicing of the House of [Water] Drawing”).
“In the outer court, stood four towering menorahs (lampstands). Their wicks were made from the worn-out linen garments of the priests. Each of the four menorahs had a long ladder leading up to the lamp. The lamps were periodically refilled by young priests carrying large pitchers of olive oil.”

“The Feast of Tabernacles began in the middle of the lunar month when the harvest moon was full and the autumn sky clear. The outline of the surrounding Judean hills was clearly visible in the soft moonlight. Against this backdrop, the light of the Temple celebration was breathtaking. The celebration was repeated every night from the second night until the final night as a prelude to the water drawing in the morning.” (H/R)

The Feast of Tabernacles was the final Thanksgiving week for the year when the people acknowledged God’s goodness to them in giving them rain for the abundant crops they had just harvested and put into storage. Also, the water ceremony in the morning was a prayer for God to give them rain (in just a few days) during the winter to recharge their water supply for sprouting seeds and raising crops the coming year. How foreign this is to our money-making Halloween celebration we have adopted in America when we use harvested pumpkins and corn shocks in honor of Satan. Before you classify me as a party-pooper, maybe you will want to think about the Feast of Tabernacles and its symbolism of Thanksgiving and prayer for winter rains.

“John recorded that it was the day after the Feast of Tabernacles  (the eighth day) which was considered a sabbath, when Jesus returned from the Mount of Olives to teach in the Temple (John 8:2;  7:2, 37)  As the Pharisees came to entrap Him, Jesus proclaimed, “I am the light of the world, He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life: (John 8:12). The Pharisees did not question the meaning of His statement. They knew that it was a messianic claim, for they immediately called Him a liar. That is, He was not the Messiah. They were familiar with the many titles in the Scripture which ascribe light to the Messiah. He is called the “Star out of Jacob,” the “light of Israel,” the “light of the nations (gentiles)” a “burning lamp,” and the “Sun of righteousness.”

“Later that day, the Messiah reinforced this same truth when He healed the blind man. As He did so, He repeated, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” John 9:5). The Pharisees were again angered at Jesus. This time, they chose to find fault that He had healed on the Sabbath. Although there were no Mosaic laws against the act of healing on the Sabbath, the traditions of the Pharisees classified it as work and therefore forbade it.” (H/R)

They had just celebrated the pouring of water and the light ceremonies and Jesus stood on top of those celebrations to claim that He was the Messiah and the Light of the World. It was at this same time, following the water procession from the Pool of Siloam and pouring a quart of water on the altar in the Temple that Jesus interrupted the ceremonial procession and boomed out for them to hear: … If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.  (John 7:37-38)

 An intense debate broke out among the people who were participating in the ceremony. Some believed he was the prophet that Moses had predicted would come (Deuteronomy 18:15) and others opposed that idea. The Feast of Tabernacles is, without doubt, the foundation of our Thanksgiving Day. Ω

 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 NOVEMBER 20, 2017 - MONDAY
  A.M Ezekiel 22-23    P.M James 2
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verse to Memorize: 
​Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.  (John 8:12)


Song for Today: 
​How Are Things at Home? (5:06) (Janet Paschal)  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi0FWkxOC64&list=RDf8q3TrW_4Ms&index=8
                         A very moving song.
       You may have to adjust the volume and delete Ad.
 
 
 

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them that honor me

11/16/2017

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                                         Them That Honor Me…

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

Eli was the Lord’s High Priest. He knew a lot about being the High Priest and knew a lot about the law of God. But he was an easy-going kind of man and this carried over into his relationship with his sons who were also in the priesthood. His sons were bad apples and Eli was a softie with their bad behavior.

Eli’s sons were demanding to cut themselves some choice meat before it was cooked and before the fat was burned off.  In verse 22 we learn that his sons were picking out women at the door of the Tabernacle to have sex with.  Eli knew about these things but did not restrain his sons. He should have put them out of the priesthood as an example to the rest of the priests. Finally, God’s patience ran out with Eli.

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

(The priests who received the offerings could take a small amount of the meat of the offerings for themselves, to feed their families. But they were to take it after the fat had burned off and after fire had thoroughly cooked the rest.)

Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?  (1Samuel 2:29) This is plain.

Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.  (1Samuel 2:30)

God didn’t change His mind about the promise made to Eli’s father. Eli had messed up so bad that he had dishonored his father and dishonored the Lord. God was going to have to do something about it.


That should have been enough to cause Eli to straighten up and take his sons in hand, but the warning fell on Eli’s deaf ears.  He did give them a little pep talk and reasoned with them. We do not negotiate with God. We obey Him!

We are not in Eli’s position. His sons were under him in employment. We cannot force grown children to obey the Lord. We can only pray for them and urge them to follow the Lord.

But, if children are under our roof, they are under our authority and under our rules; especially in the teen years. That can be a really tough time. Many hours of prayer, pleading, example and firm enforcement of the rules go into those years. Eli did not do his best. We are to do our best. Parents do not do their children a favor by trying to be buddies with them. You are not a buddy; you are an authority figure. Wear it.

Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  (1Samuel 2:22)

And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD'S people to transgress. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.  (1Samuel 2:22-25)

“….the Lord would slay them.”  God knows hearts. He knows when self-will is so set against God that a man is not going to change.  No need to talk to these young men any more. Their days were numbered.

Now we have the scenario with the child Samuel. 
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.  And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.  (1Samuel 3:19-20)

The end of the story is that God sent Eli’s sons into battle and they were killed. When Eli received the news that his sons were dead and that the Ark of God had been taken in battle, Eli went into shock, fell off his seat and broke his neck.

God is serious about people honoring Him and serious about people who despise Him and His word.  Eli didn’t lose his salvation. But he certainly lost his life. There is a sin unto death in the Old Testament and a sin unto death in the New Testament. The sin unto death can happen to a Christian. All sin is not the same. There is a sin unto death. Most sins are not unto death. Therefore, all sins are not the same in the sight of the Lord.  We should train ourselves to honor the Lord in everything we do. That will keep us from running into the trouble Eli got himself into. Ω

               ●This article is edited and reprinted from September 15, 2015

Read Through the Bible in a Year
 NOVEMBER 17, 2017 - FRIDAY
 A.M   Ezekiel 16    P.M Hebrews 12
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)

Good Verse to Memorize: 
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 

Song for Today: 
I Have Decided to Follow Jesus (2:39) (Gaither)  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehuBXUD5h8U
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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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