Happy new year 2014-01-01 11: 03
Reasonable expectations - 2014-01-09 10:59
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- Milford - 2014-01-09 17:00
- Bravado - 2014-01-10 12:04
- A jaunt through the fog - 2014-01-10 13:15
- Dont Read Only, Listen - 2014-01-11 09:14
- Two observations: - 2014-01-13 09:43
- Freedom of Confinement - 2014-01-19 07:40
- Cruise - 2014-01-19 07:52
- Self Plundered - 2014-01-22 07:12
- Set Your House in Order. - 2014-01-22 08:10
- Go Back! - 2014-01-23 15:17
- The Good Morning News - 2014-01-24 07:00
- There is No God - 2014-01-24 07:33
- Take Heart - 2014-01-24 08:07
- Appropriate, Not Interpretive. - 2014-01-24 09:46
- Lord! - 2014-01-24 11:59
- Urgency renewed - 2014-01-24 20:03
- Dementia from isolation - 2014-01-25 09:16
- The same message - 2014-01-25 09:46
| Reasonable expectations - 2014-01-09 10:59
It is possible that many people believe if they do not learn more about Christianity they will not be held responsible. But what does the nature of society teach us? Should a child in third grade refuse to read and learn anymore? And if he is allowed to choose this path what is the quality of his life? He is certainly destined to suffer loss. He will not be offered the rewards in life which is piers will consume. He has refused the reasonable and expected responsibility. We look forward to the rewards which come from the hand of the living God. How can such people expect reward for refusing the responsibility of their position in Christ. Remember the saying, "If you will not work you will not eat." And consider, there is a great banquet to attend. What more could I possibly say to jar them into acceptance of God's reasonable expectations? If there is more I will gladly say it. By His Grace Milford - 2014-01-09 17:00 He saw the group coming and knew their ritual. With a broad smile Bobby yelled out, "Hey Milford where you going when you die?" The rest of the group was on the edge of laughter. It didn't matter what Milford might reply. It was the gang's happy game to make fun of the Christian. "I'm going to heaven to live with my Lord Jesus forever" came the stern reply. Bobby was laughing so hard he couldn't contain the spit. "You hope" he blerted out. With a beautifully peaceful face and full of sincerity, Milford said, "No Bobby I know." The boys just let the laughter fade and walked away. You see, some Christians just don't play fair. While some may hold that knowledge with hope or a vague faith, some believe the Lord Jesus as if to a knowing. The faith of these is almost unshakable. By His Grace Bravado - 2014-01-10 12:04 I want to apologize to those who think what I write is offensive. I don't mean to pick at any one individual or even a group. I write about the stark and eternal difference between sin and the way of the Lord. I don't want folks to take offense. While I'm busy making fun of the things that once held me captive, I can't help the bravado. Having once been imprisoned by a heartless and unjust jailer, I now stand outside his walls. Those who have received the grace of God in Jesus understand. Those who are still captive, or who are in the process of release, may have some difficulty. By His Grace A jaunt through the fog - 2014-01-10 13:15 "Now we see as through a glass darkly." Only a fool drives fast in dense fog. Take special care to walk with the Lord while you are here. He is above the fog. He will guide us through turns and intersections. We should not presume to know the way. By His Grace Iggy - 2014-01-10 13:29 Isn't it a curiosity that ignore and ignorance are so similar? By His Grace Don't Read Only, Listen - 2014-01-11 09:14 I have learned that the Lord is willing to guide all men into obedience. But I did not learn that at first. Perhaps those who taught me didn't know. Perhaps I didn't phrase the question correctly. I don't know. But when He speaks to us, it is unmistakable. What He says is pointedly Right and to the moment. He guides actively, anyone who wills to listen and do. The reason I bring this up is that many (most) rely on the Bible as their guide. There's nothing wrong with that. Certainly we should know what the Bible says, from cover to cover. But to get stuck in that and think that reading is the sum of what God has to say is foolish. Look what the Lord said: 39 "You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life." (John 5) How can we rely on our own limited mind to know the Way of God? Even if we read it and understand, we rely on our tiny mind to remember and interpret His word each moment. We can't walk in His way by ourselves, no matter how intelligent we think we are. Therefore, He is willing and able to guide us directly. Maybe you read this and think I don't know what I'm talking about. Perhaps you've come a long way by reading the Bible only. I tell you a truth. You can go a lot farther if you come to the point where you can hear Him. I can't tell you how to get into a position that allows you to hear Him. I'm only telling you how it is. It would be like reading a book about a person and considering that you know him. Who would consider that reasonable? He has said this, "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." (Matthew 7) If only a few find it, shouldn't that raise a righteous fear within you? ]
Melanie (2014-01-11 18:33:37) Reblogged this on NC Prism. Two observations: - 2014-01-13 09:43 Let each man search for a love of wisdom on his own. Assess one another, that you may know how to speak. Do not waste time judging anyone. But busy yourself with observation; that you may know how to help with love. ___________ Once an act is done it can't be taken away. Sinful acts can be forgiven. But they remain. Righteous acts are a strength of their own. They remain forever. They need no other supplement but praise to the Righteous Father. By His Grace Freedom of Confinement? - 2014-01-19 07:40 It seems simply acceptable. What they call freedom is made of steel reinforced concrete. Bars of heat-treated platinum encase their hearts. And they perceive no evil. Men parade their pride. Even their humility is a prison. Acceptable is tempered with human understanding. Aspirations reach only the top hair on their head. And their feet plod in the mud of sins up to their knees. Women dress to entice. Yet they consider their attire necessary. Human beauty is the standard. But it is only a mask to hide a sickly soul. Where is freedom? It remains in Heaven. Who aspires to be free? Who yearns to shed this cell of acceptable human behavior? Let them show their desire. Let them stand out among the crowd of prisoners, If we must dress for social occasion, let us dress with our fellow-men and women in mind. If we must speak, let it be as if before the Holy Throne of God. The bars can be swung wide open. For many, the bars stand away from latching. Yet they remain inside. Who is free? Who can count moments in the Sun? Yet who counts the darkness of that cell as daylight? Cruise - 2014-01-19 07:52 I walked among the "beautiful". Bodies displayed in all their filthy radiance. Their shame covered by the tiniest of rags. As fully attractive to the eye of lust as they could muster, women danced to entice. I saw and heard things which would have brought the fire of Sodom in ages past. Yet they call it normal. Where is the familiar isolation I have come to thrive within? Where is my private altar of prayer and consideration of what is Holy? It is far away. I am caused to pray incognito. I am forced to lower my eyes to the floor or the heavens above. Yet I must endure the onslaught of sin present before me. I am caught in a whirlwind of man's rebellion gone wild. Propriety? Where is propriety? Where is restraint? Where is consideration of what we are doing? Where are thoughts of the Holy Angels? They are far from this place. He is faithful. He alone gives endurance. He was tested as are we, yet remains faithful to His Holy Father. He causes endurance by loving us to understanding. He reminds. He guides, and we overcome. I return to the familiar with little filth clinging. Yet there is filth upon me. "Forgive me, O God! I have seen and perceived the things men do before Your Holy eyes. Yet Your love embraces my yearning heart." To the work. Let my soul propel the flesh into the things more pleasing. I will search and listen with more ease now. For our God and Lord Jesus is faithful. By His Grace. Self Plundered - 2014-01-22 07:12 It is no great difficulty to parade as a Christian when times go rather well. Tiny set backs can be surmounted by the slightest reserve. And when our possessions are confiscated, we have little difficulty perceiving that we are being counted as one of His children. For we know that the world strives to retain what is rightfully theirs. We have heard and believed that we are counted as heirs of God's things. So joy can be found in persecution of various sorts. But what if we are the ones who have plundered our own treasures? What if our unwillingness to obey His commands has ripped our faith? What then? We are the thief. We are the murderer. We find ourselves in a prison of our own making. What then? How should it be different when we are set upon by ourselves? We are commanded to endure even such foolishness and treachery. Consider what the writer of Hebrews wrote: "Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward." (Heb. 10:35)I write this for the sake of encouragement. I know how devastating rebellion can be. Our faith wanes horribly; even to the point of unbelief. But our God is wise. He has known us from the beginning. He knows what reward He holds in His hand for all His people. We are commanded to obey. But we are also commanded to have faith. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
Set Your House in Order. - 2014-01-22 08:10 How many times in your life were you pretty sure you were about to die? Yet you're still here to read this. But what if the Lord came to warn you that your time was nearly finished here? What a great kindness. Who can testify that this has happened to them? I suspect a few have received such grace from Jesus. But where are they to ask? Hezekiah found out that the Lord's words are promise of surety. "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Set thy house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto Jehovah. . ." (Isaiah 38) What a blessing if we were living until we heard those words. We would have time to set things right. But that isn't the case, is it. Most of the time, death comes unannounced and unwelcome. What a blessing to encounter the end of this world prepared to enter eternity. I write this to praise the Lord's kindness. But I also write this to help others wake to the reality of this temporary place of testing.
Go Back! - 2014-01-23 15:17 "Do not say, 'Why were the old days better than these?' For it is not wise to ask such questions." (Ecclesiastes 7:10) Righteous does not belong to a day. It remains a timeless present. The disease of sin has tainted every day of man. Sickness abounds regardless the advances of technology. Poverty may be chased into a corner. But it remains a cancer among us. And the folly of man's greatest striving radiates a dark light. The day we pine for is not within our grasp. Even if it were possible to travel in time we would not find a day that is better than another. The very moment you have is best. For in that moment choices abound. In that moment we encounter possibilities. Attitude, placement, actions, and hope surround "The Moment" in which we currently live. Learn to cease complaining. Strive to accept. The moment passes and another takes its place. Good or bad, it is the only moment of time we are blessed to inhabit. Greed can be defined as a deep desire to contain what is not rightfully ours. There is no greed in holy righteousness. The Good Morning News - 2014-01-24 07:00 The chaos of the morning news is no place to seek the Lord of Life. On the other hand, such chaos might jar a wayward soul into looking up. If in that looking up, the wayward soul finds salvation, I guess we could give thanks for the absolute horror that is man. ". . . the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Matt 4: 16)
There is No God - 2014-01-24 07:33 Gossip abounds. Slander paves the roads of man. Lies are grease to financial prosperity. Power is wielded without tenderness. And order is kept at the point of a gun. The way of man appears before us gilded by violence. Little wonder many support the accusation that there is no God. What little peace a man might grasp jostles in his hand. In his clamor to attain, he will grasp at anything above him. Not caring whose skin he tears, his hands claw to find release. This is the way of man. All this he does while he broadcasts that he loves. But the love of man is thoroughly conditional. "I'm a nice guy till ya mess with me." Then, kind sir, you are no nice guy at all. God is Love. In His love He willingly reaches into this chaotic slime of man's "best". "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18) But who will endure His message? Hundreds and thousands of men (perhaps millions of millions) have shunned His offer. "His law is too high for us", they complain. So they turn again to their vicious clamoring. They do not realize that this law is God's personal law. He is subject to His own ways. If the law speaks of mercy, then God is merciful. If it speaks of righteous behavior, He is righteous. It is so curious to me that we tend to throw away His law because we realize we can't fulfill it. All the while we miss the fact that the law of God is perfection and love. Those who know the Father through the Son, soon realize that this law which condemns us is the very vehicle which saves us. How I desire to be able to speak plainly into the heart of man. "God is Love." Take Heart - 2014-01-24 08:07   What we experience in any one day is not the sum of God's creation. Take heart. What we experience in this fallen world is not the sum of God's creation.
Look to Jesus! He desires to love us into His Kingdom. He is love. Any who have found His tender embrace will testify the same. Appropriate, Not Interpretive. - 2014-01-24 09:46 We spend a whole lot of time encouraging Christians to act, live, and worship as Christians. And it is appropriate to do so.
It is also appropriate to hear such encouraging and strive to do it. Ignorance of the Christian life is not bliss. It is ignorance of wicked behavior that becomes a blessing. Learn to love God. He is love. As you learn of Him you will find yourself becoming like Him. Refrain from the folly of "interpretive religion". Such things are merely a mimicking of what is a true relationship with the Lord. Strive to develop your own relationship with the Living God. Read, pray, act out what you learn, then read, pray and act again; all the while listening to what is pure and good. Bottom line: If you call yourself a Christian, do the things that Christians do. Lord! - 2014-01-24 11:59 The astounding power of Christ. He who can hold up the universe with one hand. He who alone can fulfill the entire law of God. He who is willing to weep with those who weep. Yet he is humble in heart. The astounding power of Christ Jesus! Though the full measure of him is unspeakable. He has determined to share his holy and perfect work with We who are sinners. Lord Jesus, you are beautiful by every possible definition. Surely you will receive praise forever. By His Grace Urgency renewed - 2014-01-24 20:03 A startling understanding has lit up my mind. I ask you Lord, that it will not leave. It is impossible that I am the first man to rest upon this thought. But I do not recall reading it before. Creation as we know it is not the first of God's works. Countless ages preceded us. What was created, it is not possible to know. But the only ones of us who will walk among these creations of God are those who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. We arrive, in the timeline of God, at the moment when he is purging the ranks Eternity forever. Therefore it is not wise to think that God will allow any rebellion to gain eternal life. By this understanding my soul is sparked to strive toward holiness all the more. I pray it has the same effect on those who read this. By His Grace. By His Grace Dementia from isolation - 2014-01-25 09:16 God is the eternal measure of sanity. As long as we are near to him and listen we wrestle free of our fleshly dementia. But what happens to a man if he never turns to the sanity of God? Simply read the news today. By His Grace The same message - 2014-01-25 09:46 When the last day of this creation appears there will never be another. We have been warned from the beginning that this is the case. It is an old message according to man's calendar. And through the years, even to today, it is a joke to most. Didn't the Lord warn us that's such would be the case in the last day? I am not ashamed to write this. Because this message is more sure than all the verbage man has ever spoken between themselves. Regardless the reaction of people who read this, God will move. And everyone will be sealed as they are at that moment. Some may say to me, "I can't stand the stress of that message. Please don't write it anymore." The message remains. And I am happy to be considered a fool for writing it. If you spend more time receiving God's salvation, this message begins to hold joyful promise. God's people are busy watching the sky anticipating that last day. All the while, the world is busy avoiding that message. By His Grace Directory: 2014 2014 -> For want of a nail 2014 -> The Global Warming that Wasn’t 2014 -> Assembly, No. 3901 state of new jersey 216th legislature 2014 -> Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act of 2014 2014 -> Ihbb asian Championships 2014 middle school bowl Round 4 First Quarter 2014 -> Unit: Automotive and Auto Body 2014 -> Ihbb european Championships 2014 Bowl Round 4 First Quarter 2014 -> International History Bee and Bowl 2013-14 Asian Division Question Set Bowl Round Six 2014 -> United states patent and trademark office 2014 -> Walnut creek, ca branch executive committee meeting minutes Download 2.54 Mb. Share with your friends:
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