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Archive for November, 2010

Life; The Decision – Lost Or Kept

30 Nov

John 12:25 – 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Wow. 

Matthew 10:39 – 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

Wow again.

Luke 14:26-27 – 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Wait a minute.  If the two most important commandments from Jesus have to do with love where does the hate come in?

Matthew 22:37-39 – 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

The Lord doesn’t want you to hate anyone and “no” there is not a contradiction here.  The Lord doesn’t want you to put anything or anyone else in front of Him.  That includes you.

We get in the way of the Lord when it comes to Him working through us.  People who love themselves more than God, don’t have room or time to do the things God wants him to do.  He has in mind those things that he wants to do for himself.

Simply put, we need to die to ourselves so He may be able to live and work though us.

Jesus not only is God, but He is man.  He revealed how we are supposed to submit to the Father and live.  If Jesus is our example while on earth, where was his big house?  Where’s the big boat?  Where’s the vacation home and retirement accounts?

What about Paul and the Disciples when they were living right for the Lord and spreading the Good News?  They gave it all up for the Lord and the future Kingdom.

We don’t have to hate anybody or our life in reality, because God is Love.  We do need to make him first and not let anything or anybody hinder that.

 
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Posted in Encouragement, Inspiration, Motivation

 

I Am The Good Shepherd

29 Nov

John 10:14 – 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—

Do you know Jesus?

If the answer is, “I sure hope so?”  There needs to be a concern.

My sheep know Me.

What do sheep do?  They follow.  Are you following Jesus?  Is He your Shepherd?  Do you know Jesus?  Do you know His voice?

John 10:16 – 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

Jesus is the Messiah that was to come and will come again.  He will lead the Jewish people just as God promised in the Old Testament and His promise to Abraham.  Who’s the other sheep He is referring to?  The Church. 

The Jews that didn’t listen to His voice, are they saved?  No.

To the people that have an opportunity to be part of the Church.  If they don’t know His voice or listen to it, will they be saved?  No.

He knows His sheep and His Sheep know Him. 

Get to know the Shepherd.  Get to know the Word.

Have you ever been in a car and someone says, follow me and I’ll get you there?

What happens if they take off and you decide to follow them for a block or so and you decide to get gas and you don’t tell them?  What if you are following them and you get sidetracked with some sightseeing?  Will you make it to your destination following like that?

That’s how most of us follow the Good Shepherd.

Matthew 10:38-39 – 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

Is Jesus as your Shepherd just sitting there telling you to do whatever you want and I’ll see you when your time is up?

If it was, the New Testament would consist of Four Gospels and no need for any other books.  Church wouldn’t have grown very big either since everybody is serving their own needs instead of spreading the Good News. 

It’s a good thing some sheep decided to follow His words and His voice.  As His sheep, shouldn’t we all?

 
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Pass It On

26 Nov

Today’s post is inspired by a campfire song that was popular in church camp growing up.

Pass It On – 1969 Bud John Songs, Inc -Words and Music by Kurt Kaiser

    It only takes a spark to get a fire going,
    And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing;
    That’s how it is with God’s Love,
    Once you’ve experienced it,
    Your spread the love to everyone
    You want to pass it on.     What a wonderous time is spring,
    When all the tress are budding
    The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming;
    That’s how it is with God’s love,
    Once you’ve experienced it.
    You want to sing, it’s fresh like spring,
    You want to pass it on.    I wish for you my friend
    This happiness that I’ve found;
    You can depend on God
    It matters not where you’re bound,
    I’ll shout it from the mountain top – PRAISE GOD!
    I want the world to know
    The Lord of love has come to me
    I want to pass it on.

    I’ll shout it from the mountain top – PRAISE GOD!
    I want the world to know
    The Lord of love has come to me
    I want to pass it on.

It does only take a spark, especially when that spark is Holy Spirit.  That spark not only works when it comes to reaching others, but in our own lives when we let the fire burn out.

Do you shout it from the mountain tops?  Do you want your world to know?  Are you letting your light shine or putting it under a bowl? 

PRAISE GOD!  I want the world to know.  God bless you and let your light shine.

 
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Posted in Quotes, Reflections

 

We Have Every Reason To Be Thankful

25 Nov

I can’t speak for everyone, but what a time to be alive on this planet.

Most of my strength and assurance regarding God’s Word comes from seeing the prophecies come together.

We’re living in a time period which more scripture is written about than any other time in the Bible.  It’s at your finger tips.  If you’re not seeing it or studying it, it’s a spiritual issue.

Give thanks to the Lord that you can freely read His Word and freely worship.  Much of the world does not have it like that.  If this so called peaceful Muslim religion has it its way, you won’t be doing that here either.

Your home is not this earth.

Philippians 3:20 – “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.” NLT

Praise God for all things and be ever so thankful.  Happy Thanksgiving.

 
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Your Life Is A Road Map

24 Nov

Your life is a road map.  It has left a trail of where it’s been.  I believe every second of every day of our lives has been recorded.  That was mind blowing not too long ago.

Today?

I just purchased a device for $15 that I can store 32,000 photos with 1MB each of memory.  That’s actually a lot of memory per photo.  The device is about the size of my pinky finger.

This device is manmade.  God’s going to have a lot better technology than that, you can count on it.

We need glorify and thank Him non-stop for sending His Son to die for our transgressions and allowing us to be able to have that forgiveness.

We also need to start walking on that narrow road of living for Him.

Matthew 7:13-14 – 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Is the Bible accurate?

I don’t know why anyone would waste their time living by it if they didn’t believe that.  The more you study it, the more you realize it is Divinely inspired and the Author is the Holy Spirit.

What does it say?  All roads lead to Rome and many will find it?  No.

The Bible is accurate and it says only a few find it.  Why?  Because only the elite can be good enough?  No.  Because you have to be a genius?  No. 

The reason only a few find it is because people choose their own way instead of God’s way.  Those who will be held accountable will have chosen their own way.

If you’re unsaved, I would imagine, the evidence will be played back for you and you will see the recordings of your life played in front of you.  Likewise when the believer stands at the Bema Seat (rewards) we will probably also get these glimpses.  I’m sure when you did something worthy in His name we may see it also.  This is just my guess, but I’m would be surprised if the facts weren’t played and put right in front of us.

We need to try and live our lives for the Lord and not dread or winch at what we did or didn’t do.  The recorded trail being left behind is the decisions you make today.

 
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We Were Loved First – A Familiar Model

23 Nov

God has given us a model in many things in our lives.  When we are children, we love our mother or father, or both.  Why?

In most cases it’s because you were nurtured and loved by them first.  It’s naturally easy to love someone back who has unconditionally loved you first.

1 John 4:19 – 19We love him, because he first loved us. NKJV 

What happens if you are not loved by someone when you’re a baby and continuing on through the infant and toddler stage?  Testing has shown that it really messes up people.  They have a hard time loving and being loved.  

This can happen, because those who are not obedient tend not to care about loving anyone but themselves first.  Then the trait gets passed on and usually won’t get broken unless someone finds the love of the Lord. 

We were made to love and be loved by our God. 

Jesus and God have loved us from the beginning.  They are right there.  Right There!

So the question now becomes, well if they are right there how come bad things happen?  I have a question for the question.  If people are not going to seek God at all when things are going great, why would they ever seek to love God?  Those tough times appear to draw us closer. 

When children rebel at home, punishment should follow encouraging them to make the right choices.  Yes, there is a right and wrong in this world and the authority is God.  When we are not living right or for God, things need to become a little uncomfortable for you as a reminder that it’s time to seek the one who loves you and created you.

Hebrew 12:5-6 – 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

The model is all around us.  The Lord has made finding Him and understanding Him relatively easy, as long as the sinner repents and seeks to get back to his God and Creator.

He loves every one of us and has died so that those who choose His sacrifice will be saved.  Who will you make as your Father?

 
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“God’s Word Is The Manufacturer’s Handbook”

22 Nov

Today’s post is inspired from a quote from Dave Hunt of the Berean Call. 

Search the Scriptures Daily Program #3701d.

The article isn’t based around the quote, it just happened to catch my eye and that’s how many posts are inspired. 

You are wonderfully manufactured.

What happens when an appliance or electronic goes haywire?  Do you throw it out?  Well you might but it doesn’t get fixed that way and if it’s really valuable and has a lot of worth you don’t throw it out.

All of us as God’s creation has so much worth, that while we were still sinners, He sent His Son, God in the flesh, to die for us.

Romans 5:8 – 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Why?

His Love!  It’s about Him loving us.  It’s not about us and how cute, adorable, and loveable we are, it’s about a loving God!

When you’re broken, haywire, and not functioning right, where should we be looking to get you fixed?

Some human study on psychological babble?  If we’re all haywire from sin, do we really expect to have someone else’s haywire ideas to fix us?  My guess is no and when I look around at what’s happening in today’s society, I’m sticking with no.

You need the Manufacturer’s Handbook!  It was inspired by the same Manufacturer that made you.  So now if the person helping you is getting his directions from the handbook, you now have a great chance of getting fixed.  The difference between a refrigerator and a human is that the human has to agree to accept the fixing. 

God’s Word is a Living Word.

Psalm 119:105 – 105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

The only one who can repair the malfunctioning creation, is the Creator.  He gave us His handbook.  That is how we get repaired.

Why is there so much disarray in the world?  Most people can’t even tell you the names of the first book in the bible, last book of the bible, or the four Gospels.  Never mind what the content says, they can’t even name the books.

 Jesus is the Word, Jesus is Life, and Jesus is the Light.

John 1:1-5 – 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

God has shared the Manufacturer’s Handbook with us.  The way we get repaired is by reading it and choosing to obey the directions.

Don’t stand in front of God someday and explain that you didn’t have time to read His love letter to us.  Make it your goal to read it from front to back as soon as you can.  The one year Bible is a great tool to get this done and read more than one segment a day so that you don’t quit before your done.

 
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Quote – Billy Graham

20 Nov

Give me five minutes with a person’s checkbook, and I will tell you where their heart is.
Billy Graham

Luke 12:34- 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

It works that way with your time too.

 
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What Happens To The Satanic Trinity?

19 Nov

This really is a continuation of yesterday’s post on the Little Horn, but they can stand on their own so I didn’t name them parts 1 and 2.  So If you haven’t read yesterday’s post please do so and preferably first. 

What happens to Satan and his personal mimic false trinity that he tries to copy God with?

Revelation 20:1-3 – 1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

Revelation 19:19-20 – 19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Daniel also has a verse that goes along the same lines concerning the little horn, beast, or antichrist (many names, same guy).

Daniel 7:11 – 11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.

John and Daniel both agree its fire for the man who decides to sell out to Satan.

What about Satan?  He is let out again at the end of the millennium.  I believe it’s to reveal that even after a thousand years of wonderful rule of Christ the King, man will rebel when given the opportunity.  Satan still gets what coming to him in the end.

Revelation 20:7-10 – 7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Shortly after that those who chose not to follow God and accept his grace through His Son Jesus, will follow into the same lake.

Don’t make the mistake of turning your back on God when He has given you the free gift of salvation to accept.  If you haven’t accepted Jesus as Lord, I have put a page over on the right hand side of the column.  If you need to know why you need Him I have wrote a page on that too.

 
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Posted in Bible Prophecy, End Time Prophecies, Salvation

 

The Little Horn – The Antichrist

18 Nov

In Daniel chapter 7, Daniel had a dream of four beasts.  These beasts also represent the four empires that were present and were still to come.  The first beast represented Babylon, the second the Medes and Persians, the third was Greece, and the fourth represents the Roman Empire.  It’s on this beast that we see the mention of the horns.

Daniel 7:7-8 –   7 “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns
 8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.

I wrote a postearlier on the ten hornsand my current take on it. 

It’s the little one that comes up from among them that is the focus here today.

Daniel was troubled and asked one who was there in the vision the meaning of the things he saw.  When he got to the fourth beast the scripture says:

Daniel 7:23-27 –   23 “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.

 26 “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. 27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’

In these verses we see that the fourth beast or revived Roman Empire devours the whole earth.  The other king is the little horn and he subdues or rips up three of the original ten kings.  This is also the second time in the chapter that Daniel indicates he is a boastful, proud individual and here he shows it by speaking against God.

I’ve heard Chuck Missler refer to him as Mr. Big Mouth.  I believe that is a very fitting name for the antichrist as he is going to be the world’s biggest politician and leader someday, which chooses to speak against God any chance he gets.

Tomorrow will be a part two but I didn’t name them that way because the two posts can stand on their own.

 
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Posted in Bible Prophecy, End Time Prophecies

 
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