Monday, December 31, 2018

12/31/18 LIFT HIS NAME, AVOID THE SHAME

12/31/18 LIFT HIS NAME, AVOID THE SHAME

GOD gave us light to lighten our path and to enlighten those groping in darkness.

1 Corinthians 15:33-34
33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

12/31/18 LET IT SHINE, LET IT SHINE, LET IT SHINE

12/31/18 LET IT SHINE, LET IT SHINE, LET IT SHINE

Be determined to shine your light until you are caught up into the Light.

Matthew 5:14-16
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

2 Corinthians 4:1-6
1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

12/31/18 WE ARE SAVED BY FAITH

12/31/18 WE ARE SAVED BY FAITH

Your faithfulness may not win the world, but it will keep you from losing your own soul.


Matthew 10:32-33
32  Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33  But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.


2 Timothy 2:10-13
10  Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
11  It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
13  If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

12/31/18 TAUNTING IS HARDLY TRIBULATION

12/31/18 TAUNTING IS HARDLY TRIBULATION

If you can't stand against scorn and ridicule, then forget real trouble and trial.

You have already failed the lost and the LORD.

12/31/18 BACK TO SUCCESS

12/31/18 BACK TO SUCCESS

Go ahead, lead the way back to decency. Back to decency and the Bible is the only way to successful family and society.

12/31/18 NOW THE CAMEL IS IN

12/31/18 NOW THE CAMEL IS IN

I remember when, "Cancer," "Divorce," "Pregnant" were not said in social settings.

Now women and children use the filthiest words.

12/31/18 RIPTIDE OF "PROGRESS"

12/31/18 RIPTIDE OF "PROGRESS"

TIME not only MARCHES ON, it sometimes tramples us UNDER.

Don't get caught in the RIPTIDE of "PROGRESS."

12/31/18 THIS CAME FROM THE END OF 2012

12/31/18 THIS CAME FROM THE END OF 2012
I hope you enjoy and that you can use this with others.

NOT EVERYONE SEES IT RIGHT AWAY
Do you see the supposed "image of Christ" in this picture?


This picture started circulating in the 1950's. I first saw it in the 1960's. I won't tell the story behind the picture, but the image of Jesus can be perceived in the shadowy image.

Obviously it is just a perceived image of Christ, at least as He is usually depicted in Christian art. Don't worry about the accuracy. That is not the point of this post.

I have asked individuals and groups if they could see the image. Some people see it immediately, while some see it eventually, and some never see it. I use this as an object lesson. Even though the same information is made available to a group of people, different people respond to the picture in various ways, just as different people respond to the true revelation of the true Christ.

I have posted it on a chalk board at the front of the sanctuary, then asked if anyone could see the image. Since some folks do not see the image immediately, I proceed to bring a gospel message and point out that some people take more time to come to spiritual insight, just as it takes more time for some people to come to visual comprehension of this picture. I tell the people in the congregation to raise their hands or speak out when they finally see the image, even if I am preaching.

As I have preached, people throughout the congregation begin to see the image and they excitedly respond, some to the point of jumping up and shouting it out. Those who do not see it become frustrated and some even deny that there is an image to be seen. They accuse those who claim to see it, of pranking them. Some people actually become agitated.

This is just a picture, which I use as a tool. Obviously spiritual understanding is not attained or obtained in the same way as "seeing" this picture. But people respond to the idea of faith in a similar way. If they cannot see it, they deny it, for themselves and everyone else.

Once I saw the image, I could always see the image from that point on. There are several good lessons in this presentation.

12/31/18 IT COULD HAVE BEEN TODAY

12/31/18 IT COULD HAVE BEEN TODAY

In keeping with other post I made today and taken from my post, New Years Eve, 2014, it is still true tonight.

"It will be a good year to be a New Creature, walking in Newness of Life, serving God in Newness of Spirit, having put on the New Man, walking in a New and Living Way, aligned with the New Covenant (Testament), fulfilling the New Commandment, having a New Name and singing a New Song, looking for the New Heaven, New Earth and New Jerusalem, where God makes All Things New."

12/31/18 NOT AUTOMATONS

12/31/18 NOT AUTOMATONS

We are not robots or high end, computerized machines with limitless artificial intelligence.

We are free moral agents, by design.

12/31/18 A NEW HEART

12/31/18 A NEW HEART

A NEW HEART. God promised a NEW HEART to His people (Jews and Gentiles).

These two passages are Old Testament prophecies given to Israel. Israel had failed God and brought reproach to His Name, yet God was not finished with Israel. He would continue to bless and use them for His Own purposes, but this would require a new relationship, made possible by God giving them a NEW HEART.

As we read about God's plan to restore fallen men to Himself, we see that the restoration and renewal of Israel was the beginning of His salvation, but it would also include the nations, the Gentiles. The promises made to Israel in these two passages also have broader application in the New Testament, when God created His Church, and made believers His chosen vessels.

As with other prophecy, there is immediate and ultimate fulfillment. The immediate is applicable to Israel and the ultimate includes Israel and The Church.

TWO PASSAGES with a CLOSER LOOK
FIRST PASSAGE
Ezekiel 18:31-32

31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
(New Spirit is in this passage, but I will address NEW SPIRIT later).

NEW HEART INSTEAD OF TRANSGRESSIONS
God promises a NEW HEART (a new or renewed inner man), to anyone who recognizes and turns from their transgressions (rebellion, disobedience) against God. We cannot hold to our transgressions and receive a NEW HEART at the same time.

MAKE OURSELVES A NEW HEART
While the miracle of a NEW HEART resides in God alone, He requires our willing response and cooperation. Even in the Old Testament God required the Israelites to Cast Away (renounce, repudiate, repent of) their sins. God also tells them to "make you a new heart..." Though it takes Divine action and power to make a NEW HEART, human response and cooperation are essential to the plan of God

NEW HEART OR DIE (be cast off from God)
God appealed to human reason by asking, "Why will you die?" Either cast away transgressions or be cast away because of your transgressions. Remember, God said, in another place, "Come now, let us reason together," and God described total commitment as "Reasonable (spiritual) service."

TURN OR BURN
We will either be separated from our sin or our sin will separate us from God (death is separation from God). The rational decision is to cast away our transgressions, rather than be cast away from God.

GOD'S WILL IS A NEW HEART
God has no pleasure in people being cast away, being separated, being dead in their sins and trespasses. God takes no pleasure in the lost being lost forever. It is not the will of God that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

GOD SAVES THOSE WHO TURN
God invites and requires the sinner to find, receive and live in His salvation. READ CAREFULLY
Isaiah 55:1-9

1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

SECOND PASSAGE
Ezekiel 36:23-28

23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

GOD DEMANDS DIGNITY
God declared Himself to be a jealous God, and God has commanded that His Name should not be profaned or shamed. Israel claimed all of the benefits and honors of God, but they had not lived in a way that was worthy of His Name. Still, God had a plan for them.

GOD'S PROVISION
God called them back to a living and loving relationship. God promised His presence and power to them. God was going to glorify Himself through His people.

God promised to establish His people in their own land and lift them up before the heathen. God promised to wash His people with clean water, cleansing them from all their filthiness, from all their idols. God promised to take away their cold, hard, dead heart of stone and promised to give them a heart of flesh, a tender heart, a living heart.

God promised that His Spirit would enter their heart, and cause them to walk in God statutes, following His leading and doing His will.

God promised to make them His people and to be their God.

Though I could give corresponding verses in the New Testament, I will just give one passage. God gives to New Testament believers a NEW HEART and establishes us in this NEW RELATIONSHIP.
2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

12/31/18 DAILY FAITH

12/31/18 DAILY FAITH

DON'T PRESUME. Be thankful for every blessing. Trouble and suffering will come. Be established in Him.

STAND FIRM

Martha cuts my hair, and we have been threatening to take care of it for the past several days. When she got ready to leave this morning, Martha told me to be ready to get my haircut when she gets home today.

I thought about something when she said it, but did not make reply. I thought, how confident we are that she will make it home today, that I will be home, that no tragedy will intervene. Of course we should not worry or fret or be negative about life, but the fact is that life is fragile and tenuous at best.

HOPE IN FACE OF TROUBLES

Though we should not be pessimistic or fatalistic, neither should we be presumptive and unrealistic. I am hoping that all goes well today and that I see Martha this afternoon, that I am well and able to be home this afternoon, that my family and church folks will be able to get together for fellowship tonight. I want the good things of life to continue.

But reality says that difficult times and hardship and heartache will enter into every life at some point. Life is life, with all of the good, and not so good. But God is God, regardless of how faithful we are.

GOD HELP ME

God help me to live my life in thanksgiving and praise. Help me to recognize and utilize my blessings for Your honor and glory. Help me be a blessing to others, as long as you give me the opportunity. Fill my heart and life with Your presence, so that when darkness and storms come my way, I am still faithful and thankful.

12/31/18 "NEW" LIST

12/31/18 "NEW" LIST

"NEW": Heart; Song; Things; Wine; Cloth; Life; Man; Name; Way; Spirit; Testament; Creature; Commandment; Heaven, Earth Jerusalem.

12/31/18 MUCH MORE IS NEW THAN THE YEAR

12/31/18 MUCH MORE IS NEW THAN THE YEAR

God gives us MUCH MORE than just a New Year. I will address several of these "NEW" benefits in upcoming posts.

NEW
Over a period of time I should post several articles about these fourteen (+) areas of NEWness in salvation: Heart; Song; Things; Wine; Cloth; Life; Man; Name; Way; Spirit; Testament; Creature; Commandment; Heaven, Earth Jerusalem.

Sunday, December 30, 2018

12/30/18 WAITING LONGER MAKES SIN STRONGER

12/30/18 WAITING LONGER MAKES SIN STRONGER

The longer we wait, the more it will cost and the less likely we are to make the choice.

TURN to Christ now.

12/31/18 LIFT HIS NAME, AVOID THE SHAME