CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS

FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN, UNTO US A SON IS GIVEN...

Dear Friends, the day is upon us. The Day which Christ decided to physically intervene in the course of our lives. The Christmas season has always been a busy one and its that busyness that has muffled the true meaning of Christmas. I am guilty of it as much as any of us. It used to be that folks would crowd the now nearly extinct 7 or 8 story Department Stores downtown to find their wishes, now its declining but we hit the malls, but now more than ever, Christmas is becoming a cyber thing. Online shopping has stretched its arms around the populous to try to make our lives easier this time of the year. Not then nor now has life been easier, but Christ came not to make life easy but to make it better.

A better life is not a life of stuff or popularity, its a life that enjoys the blessings of Eternal Life by knowing Christ as Saviour and letting Him direct us. We make most of our own misery. The better life lets Christ make the decisions. The greatest decision that can be made has been made at Christmas, to allow you to come to Him with no stings attached. Have you made room in your heart for Him? Does Christ still bear the top priority with you?

As the world increases its commercialism what its really trying to do is cover over the gloom that exists. When Christ came to this world, His announcement came with great glory as the windows of Heaven were opened. Just as this physical expression shown light into a dark world, so to does the Saviour when He comes to live in the human heart. A heart that has hurt can be helped and a soul that searches needs no more tiring journeys of searching anymore.

This Christmas, wherever you are, remember the Greatest Gift, and remember that it has your name on it. Share that Gift with others if you should so have the opportunity. Please reflect this in your heart, "The Reason For The Season" is often forgot by us, but the Reason never once has forgotten us.

Christmas Blessings to you and I trust the New Year will find you well...and maybe this will be the year when we are received up into Glory to see and live with Him that bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, Who loves us to the End.

Merry Christmas
Jon Browning
Hebrews 13:20-21

The Last Outpost

Scripture Reading: Jude 20-23 20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire

Recently I purchased some old episodes of a forgotten 50s TV show called "Sir Lancelot." On the first DVD there was an episode called the "Roman Wall." In this episode our story takes place in England about the time of 800 AD - 1000 AD. No one knows the exact time as the stories were but legends. Anyway, Sir Lancelot is summoned by a regional king to a mysterious wall in the North of England where the king's daughter was taken captive by Roman soldiers. This seemed humorous at first as the Roman empire had collapsed nearly 400 years before. Yet the north most of England nearly to Scotland was the extreme border of the once powerful empire. There was an outpost of descendants of the Roman regime who to this day were still living and practicing Roman life, not knowing that their country had long since vanished. So Lancelot of course accomplishes his mission and brings great tales back to the modern kings of England.

Of course this is all fictional, but thinking about that remote outpost, still living as though life in Rome were still going on, reminds me of our position in the world as Christians. You see, we as believers are "garrisoned" here in a foreign land much like soldiers were of Rome. The only difference is that our homeland has not been vanquished and laid to ruin. As a matter of fact, our Kingdom is growing and is coming soon.

Christians however live as though we are the last outpost and we are to huddle in fear inside of its walls. How and why is this? Here are some examples:

1. We huddle in our churches as if they had battlements to safely shoot arrows at the world from.
2. We disassociate ourselves with needy sinners lest some of them contaminate us.
3. We hide behind walls of legalisms that only cause problems in our own ranks.
4. We close in ourselves even away from our own King and Lord by our sinful practices

All these things happen when a group of people stayed enclosed in a fortress or structure for their entire lives. The constant enclosure breeds problems, and especially in Christian circles, problems that the Lord never intended.

One of the tenants of the Great Commission is to Go. The reason is straightforward. We need to Go because the people are out there and needy. BUT it is also an Inward command, so that we are not to become stagnant and hysterical, damaging the only hope bearing messenger force God left in the world--us.

At the end of the TV episode, the outside of the fortress is seen as the old gate is pounded and pounded from within and finally knocked open. Then all the inhabitants saw the outside world and breathed new air and it was liberating. This similarity needs to exist in the Christian world today. This is NOT to say we need to go plunge headlong into worldly practice to add variety to our lives, no, but we need to get out more and expose others to the message of Christ.

The largest drawback to the solution mentioned, is Fear. Fear of rejection and persecution most notably. There will be both of these things present that is true, but in the end we will find it better than stagnation.

In America, Christians have it easy, somewhat. That era when freedom of religious speech having been enjoyed for so long is coming to an end. So all the more necessary it becomes to share while we can.

Then comes the King of Kings! Our Divine Liberator who will most assuredly take us Home to be with Him in the Rapture. The Rapture is a true event, never before seen, but nonetheless true. When we are gone and our outpost abandoned, the world will wallow in a sea of evil the likes they haven't even imagined.

Our Last Outpost, the church, is the only barrier between man and the onslaught of unspeakable evil. So then, let us rally to invite men and women to the safety of Christ in His walls, and yet not be so stuck inside them that we don't ever venture out to give and outstretched hand to the needy sinner. We must plead with the sinner to come inside while he or she can, the decision is theirs, but the job of telling them is ours.

In the Scripture reading, Jude gives us instructions to build or strengthen ourselves, we do this in the outpost of the church by building up each other, then he exhorts to go out and have compassion and pull those from the fire. Our Last Outpost is a joyous one, and its soon to be an Eternal one. While we enjoy the fellowship lets not neglect the mission outside its walls. Go out into the world and bid men come before the Master comes and shuts the door to the world.

Lord, help me to cower in the walls of the church or in fear of whatever. Help me to witness to others in my town, my street, my workplace, wherever you put me today. In Your Name, Amen.

Panning For Gold

Scripture Reading:
John 8:32, "And you shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free."

In the 1840s, America experienced what was called "The California Gold Rush." Thousands of "prospectors" stormed over the Rocky Mountains into California. Any stream they could find they started mining near and they would dredge the streams for gold. With a sieve they would shake a large group of gravel substance. The sediment would fall through the sieve leaving the gold behind. The only problem was that many sites did not reveal gold. In fact most of the mines in the early days turned out to be flops. The hype was that there was gold everywhere, which there was not. Men spent their lives and fortunes digging constantly for something that, where they were located, never existed.

In life, people are panning for "gold." Gold in this sense is not the physical metal, but its answers to life's questions. They take a bunch of opinions and philosophies and shake and shake till whatever is left over must be the answer they are looking for. Gold to a searching person comes in the form of truth. Truth sets us free as we find in the words of Christ in our Scripture reference reading.

As believers in Christ we do not have to "pan" for Truths. Truth in the Scripture is not obscure and hidden, but is very plainly seen. The Bible was written for us to mine out Scriptural gold to live by. At first reading though you may seem to find yourself wondering about how to prospect this truth from the pages of Scripture. Here are some helps to either get you started or keep you going.

1. Most Bibles have reference sections and sections that deal with issues that we face and list references to find passages that deal with them.
2. Study guides are available that shows you the Scripture and explains the passage to help your understanding. NOTE, understand, these are men's opinions, most of them are good, but prayer and asking the Holy Spirit to help you discern the Truth is the only way to know.
3. Search out other Scriptures by cross references. These are simply a related passage of Scripture reference found in the margin or center of many Bibles.
4. Good Online Bible study software can be found, many of them for free or a nominal price. These are invaluable for looking up things and cross referencing.

Now with these in mind, there are some hindrances that some believers face when looking for Scriptural Truth. These are with their remedies:

1. The Bible is such a big book, how can I even be sure where to start? Answer: Start in John's Gospel to learn about the Saviour Christ. Start in the book of Psalms to know more about the heart of man towards God. Read the books of Ephesians and Romans to find out about Godly Christian life.

2. What if I have trouble understanding what I read? Answer: The only way to understand anything in the Scriptures is to ask God for revelation. Even the most seasoned student of the Bible must do this. God's Word is not a puzzle for the believer, so ask Him in prayer for the understanding. Like Philip in the New Testament book of Acts, God will send someone your way to help you understand.

3. There are so many versions of the Bible out there, which one do I choose? Answer: In my neck of the woods, preachers will tell you to "stick with the original King James Version." That is not bad advice, but there are other good translations. The New King James and the English Standard Version are excellent choices with up to date language usage. I personally discourage the popular "The Message." It is a paraphrase version of the Bible which takes extreme liberties with the Scripture where there can be no room for such actions. I could elaborate more but what we find is people get their feelings hurt when their version is not listed. This is a shame. But the ones I have listed are great translations of Inspired Scripture. The word of God is inspired by God, not any translation though. Again prayer is the key for guidance.

4. What if I read Scripture that I don't agree with? Answer: There is no variance here. Our validation of Scripture is not at issue. We either believe it or not, we either receive it or not. The Scripture does not change. What we need to do is ask God to humble us and submit to His Word as the authority for our lives, no matter what we agree with or not.

5. Is it okay to ask for human help in understanding Scripture? Answer: Absolutely. In fact a Bible study group really helps grow a person. You need to find a group of like minded believers. Your church has one I am sure. People vary on their opinions of things in the Bible, but, the concrete foundations must be agreed on. Sometimes the best outlet is a good friend who has had more years of study than you, who would be glad to help you in your study.

God does not want us to be ignorant of His Word. God has not given us a desire to know Him and then left us on our own to find Him. We don't have to be like those early gold miners, hoping to find Truth somewhere someday. We have access to God right now, as sure and certain for every believer no matter who they are or where they are.

Start mining the truths today. One thing for sure, no matter where you read in the Bible, you will always know God better. from it.

Lord, take Your Word and place it in our hearts, so that we may know You and serve You more abundantly and with cheer. Thank You for being open to us and graciously provide what we so much need. In Your Name, Amen.

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Your Life in Pictures

Scripture Reading: Mt 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Did you ever want to be a movie star? Lots of kids after seeing their first movie, aspire to be one. They will get out in the backyard and act out some story they make up. Sometimes the stories are good, but most times they make no sense. I remember trying to make a short movie when video first came about, it didn't make sense. Actually I am older than video and remember loading and 8mm camera, to give it a go, to no avail. However that attention people give to actors/actresses does something for the human ego. Being in front of the camera makes some folks feel important, while others it makes nervous.

Making movies is what I studied in school. I can tell you to professionally make a film involves a lot of hard work. One of the more time consuming job is the editing process. You spend long hours going over and over footage to get it trimmed to the right length. When you think you have it right, it needs more! You see a lot of pictures this way. In fact, for every second the camera is on, it takes either 24 or 30 pictures per second! Each one of these pictures is called a frame. Frames added together make movies, after all, a movie is only a whole lot of still pictures hurriedly shown together one after another. Its nice to have a smooth running film with none of the frames damaged or have any marks on them. Yet, with so many frames there are bound to be a few that are undesirable. Such as it is in our lives. Every moment of every day we present a picture or frame to someone, hopefully those frames are good ones, sometimes we would rather edit out the bad ones.

Our lives compose of stuff and events that all compacts together to make us who we are and who others see us to be. In the old days of film editing, we would have a rack of small reels, which would contain clips of different stuff. You would label that clip and then run it through a viewer to see how it fit with whatever subject or story you would show in your film. It is true that most of a film's footage never gets seen for either it was shot wrong or just didn't help support the topic. How many times in our lives have we said of done something that does not really support who we are in Christ? Wouldn't it be nice to pull off the shelf that bad statement, thought, action, etc and toss it? This is what Christ does when He forgives us. Our bad parts are taken out completely never to be reviewed by anyone.

Physical cutting of film is something necessary to produce a good film. Likewise there are things in life we must physically cut out of our lives or abstain from altogether. Things that seem to fit or seem to be okay, just not our best, are just the things that can be the most harmful. We all would agree that drugs and alcohol is bad for us and certainly hurts our bodies as well as our testimony, it is the seemingly Innocent things that do more damage. The innocent matters of life when compiled stifle our spiritual walk. So many times we get caught up in the temporal that we forget the eternal. This is when we know its time to cut out certain habits, favorites, etc. When God gets lost in the stuff of our lives then the picture we present to others isn't very clear. Its hard to tell a story when you go off on rabbit trails from the main subject. Its hard to show a film that has a lot of extraneous content and tell a story with it. Such it is with your life and showing Christ.

Handling a film with gloves is necessary to prevent scratching and other marring influences. In life we need to handle ourselves carefully according to God's Word. The "Gloves" of the Word protect us from all sorts of failure, fears, doubts, ideas, bad habits, etc. Gloves also clean off dirt that lays on the surface of the film. The Word of God likewise helps us identify and clean areas of our lives that become soiled with sin. The problem is we don't always like to wear gloves. We like to think we can do things pretty well on our own. Some Christians believe themselves to be so spiritually strong that they can look out for themselves. Tragically, when we don't wear the gloves of the Word we end up in bad shape and bring others down with us. Without the correction and protection of the Word, our lives become so dirty that they become unusable, just like film that is not cleaned. A dirty film does not project well. It misses and jumps in the projector and does not show a clear image. Dirt builds up and shows in the projected image as well. So it is with our lives. We don't take the time to clean spiritual selves, we present a poor quality picture to the world around us.

Did you ever think yourself to be in "pictures?" Whether you want to be or not, we are. The good news is that it is God who is doing the editing, if we let Him. He alone makes a finished picture of our lives a masterpiece and a great story of His redemption. It is so important we take aim not to present anything to the all watching world as a deterrent from them seeing Christ projected.

When people see a compelling and clear projected film, it changes some part of them. When people see us, how do they visualize Christ? How clear is our life and example of what others should desire for themselves?

Lord, how guilty we often are of not showing our best of what You have done in us for others to see. Help us Lord to examine our lives and project the best example and testimony we can to win others to you and for others to be an encouragement. Thank You for taking an interest in us to be involved with our lives. We praise You and love You Lord. In Your Name, Amen.

Reunion Grounds

Scripture Reading: Acts 16:26-28a
And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being;

Mid to late summer in America, particularly in the South, is usually the time for family reunions. Family reunions as well as community or church reunions are always well populated if the interest is kept alive. I can remember going to reunions at the "reunion grounds" usually out in the country. Reunion grounds was sort of a privately owned place that a family owned but let other families gather to get together and renew acquaintances.

I can remember several reunions as a small boy. I can remember lots of folks coming down the dusty roads. Kids pulling out bikes to ride around. Men would gather to throw horseshoes. People would surround themselves with too much food. Of course the familiar scene would be old folks who were the "patriarchs" of the family. You would hear them tell of their lives and describe their past and get a connection with places and faces long gone.

The eeriest part though is when everyone packed up to go home and the reunion grounds became desolate and silent. No more was there the joyous noises of folks together or the clanging of horseshoes or laughter. If the reunion grounds were near a churchyard all the remainders was the loved ones buried in the ground. Its too bad reunions aren't more frequent.

That being said we turn our attention to the real matter at hand, our relationship with Jesus Christ. How often do we meet with Him? How often do we find ourselves reuniting our hearts and spirit with Him?

Christians today often treat the Master as they treat earthly family, they see each other or talk to each other seldom. They of course desire to get together more often, but it doesn't happen as planned. A person who has little or no relationship with Christ is the same way. We desire to be close to Him, but our desires vs. our actions don't align. We forget how much that He wants us to draw near to Him, and in turn we forget how much we need to draw near to Him, that is, until something bad happens to us.

Walking and reuniting with Christ is the following things:

1. A daily desire and action put into practice
2. A time set aside to shut out all else and draw near in prayer and reading the Word
3. A time of introspect and desire to change our lives in line with His
4. A time of praise and worship in song and in meditation of how great God is and how smallwe are.
5. A time when we bring our needs before Him and depend on Him
6. A time spent just talking as we would to an earthly parent of friend

In summary, walking with Christ really isn't a annual or weekly thing, but a daily exercise, and not one out of obligation but of desire.

Unfortunately, some have it in mind that the reunion with ourselves and Christ occur in the walls of the church on Sunday. While this is certainly the highlight of our week it is not meant to be the total time we spend with Him. Daily walk is key. Some Christians treat church as a reunion ground cemetery. They come to visit with God, but as soon as the Amen is said, they "leave" Him in the pew, on the wall, or anywhere on the church site while we go our own way. "Oh we will be back!" Yet many don't even come to the evening service they full well know their church is having because it interferes with their plans.

You're not going to like this.... If we do not attend on a regular basis, our church services both morning and evening, plus midweek because of whatever reason except for work hours or ill-health, or the few times we need to be away, what we are really saying is that Christ is getting in the way of our lives and our plans, taking more time than He should. Such is the case when God is left at the Reunion Grounds.

Are any of us perfected in our time spent with God? No. Should I personally be spending more time with God? Yes. He spends every minute with us. Of course we cannot read our Bibles all the time, but we can always talk to Him and include Him in our plans, our purchases, our decisions, our future goals, etc. After all, He is in charge of all the previous matters of life, so we should spend time with Him, for these reasons, but moreover out of love and appreciation for His Love to us.

Make sure this week that you take on spending more time with God. Don't leave God at the Reunion Grounds while you spiritually "drive off" to come again one of these days.

The old hymn says, "Take the Name of Jesus with you, child of sorrow and of woe. It will joy and comfort give you, take it then where e'er you go."

Lord, help us to make a regular desiring practice of spending time with You. Amidst our busy life and schedules help us to remember that You need to be in the center and before all things. Forgive us as we fail to do this so often. May this week be one of change towards devotion to You this week we pray, Amen.

Pieces Of The Old Dream

Scripture Reading:
Phil. 2;21
For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.

Back in the late 80s, country artist and WV native Kathy Matea wrote a very popular song entitled, "Eighteen Wheels and A Dozen Roses." The song chronicles the last few hours of a truck driver who is about to retire after 30 years on the road. The driver is headed home on the last leg of his four day journey. Both he and his wife are looking anxiously forward to finally spending time together after such long periods of absence. Kathy sings, "they'll buy a Winnebago, set out to find America, and do a little catching up a little at a time. With pieces of the old dream, they're going to light the old flame..." Such words evoke fondness in us all.

The title of this article is a phrase from this song. There is something about this phrase that has always stuck in my mind. I believe the reason comes because all of us has had a dream or plans that have been interrupted by something or someone. Even though after many years have passed and our old desire has faded, we still reflect fondly on whatever it was and wish things had gone differently.

Many folks teach that we should never lose sight of our dreams. If those dreams measure up to what God desires for us that is good advice, however, if your dreams are not being fulfilled, it could be a good indication they are not in line with God's best.

Here are some ways to measure our dreams in light of God's desires:
1. Does this goal have any possibility to supersede godly devotion?
2. Does this goal truly have God in the center to glorify Him?
3. Does this dream or goal help us grow in our Christian walk?
4. Does this dream conflict any of God's standards even in the slightest?

Now I realize that these are some steep stipulations, but God's best for us is a high goal.

Many Christians walk around with no or little concept of eternity. We all get into a mindset that this life and the pursuit of pleasure in it is all that will ever matter. God on the other hand is wanting us to see beyond this life and see what will last for eternity not just the here and now.

This does not mean that every goal that doesn't meet everyone of these criteria God will not grant. In fact Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33 that if the Kingdom is sought first then the other things we desire that are proper for us to have will be met.
Being desirous of the Kingdom will affect our desires. In fact God uses a right heart to filter out wrong desires and replace them with right ones. We find as we put the kingdom first, many worldly things that once seemed important, fade away.

Our one foe that blocks a desire to have whatever God wants, rather than what we do, is the flesh. Selfishness as stated in our text looks only for the immediate. The flesh reasons and rationalizes us into a sinful stupor and can hinder godly wisdom and judgement. Don't let the seeming "wisdom" detract you from God's desire.

God desires His best to be our best. Are there old dreams that may not have been met on account of wrong desires? Are there old dreams that have not been fulfilled that were rightful desires? Only God knows our hearts. Be assured though that no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. We can only see the temporary, He sees the outcome of every decision and dream we have and knows how to bless us by either granting it, or, canceling it. When He cancels, He is not being mean, rather though it may not appear so at first, He has a better plan for you.

Measure what you value according to God's standards and He will bring to light in due time what He desires for you.


Father, help us to want what You want and to trust You for all our needs. Help us not to be so consumed with worldly things that we lose sight of You. Help us to keep our minds on what really counts. In Your Name, Amen.

God's Positioning System Part 2 of 2

Scripture Reading: I Peter 3:4-6
And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

The word to use for this discussion is "Intersection." The word means "a point in which two directions cross one another."

In last weeks discussion, we talked about how God knows where we are and that we are not out of His sight. This week we continue on to see how God positions us in someones life to bring glory to God and a blessing to others.

There are so many examples in the Bible where God positioned people to meet. The example that is readily coming to my mind is in our text. Peter and John were walking in the temple. As they were preparing to go to the temple, God was preparing a man who had been crippled most if not all of his life to be at the same part of the temple that Peter and John would be at. As the two groups set out on their journeys, the hand of God moved the cripple into position where he normally sat, and then guided along Peter and John to go right to the spot where he was, so, that the man may be healed.

When we think of our lives and with whom our paths cross, do we stop and think whom God might put in our paths to be a blessing to? I am not talking about preplanned trips say to a hospital where you know the person you are to minister to, but unplanned occurrences. I will be the first person to admit that I don't like surprises. Most of my life a surprise was seldom (though not always) a good thing. I am not a snob or stand offish, but I am not a person who likes crowds, except in a church or other religious gathering, nor do I really do well at personal one on one contact. I am a small intimate group type. However, there are those whom the Lord puts in my path to be a blessing to. Many times God puts people and opportunities in our path to test us, and that I know is what happens to me.

Nevertheless, God puts people and situations in our paths to benefit His Kingdom of whose servants we are. So what are some inward issues that need to be addressed if we are to serve the Lord by those He positions in our path??

First, we must have an open heart.
Peter and John may have not known what was about to take place in the Temple, but they were open to the Lord's leading. They frequented a place where they knew were needs. They were at the temple. Today most Christians agree that Christianity is kept inside the walls of the church. I agree it is and has been. However, there are people in church who have genuine needs of encouragement or help. Such was the case here in the text. Notice that the man was begging alms as he had no other means of support. Now we may not have people begging right in our foyers, but there are beggars in other senses. There are people whom you casually speak to that have a heavy burden on their heart, you may be the one the Lord uses to help bear or relieve them of it. They key is to be open wherever you are to seeing needs around you. I have to pray about this a lot as I am going about. This puts us out of our comfort zone. Most of us get too busy for others, or we don't feel as if they deserve our valuable time. This is a desperate trap we fall into. We need to have a heart that is willing to seek. Of course there are times and places we can't just wander into looking for needs, but as Peter and John found out, the time and place often finds us.

Second, we need to have a ready message.
Peter would go on later to write in his epistles, "always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within you" (1 Peter 3:15). Perhaps as he wrote this he thought back to the beggar incident. One thing is for sure, we can all do kind deeds for folks, we can listen to them, we can help them, but unless we have shared the Word of God with them, then we have failed them. Not every situation will warrant a sermon on whatever, but share a verse and/or offer to pray with them will be a tremendous help. Sometimes like me, I don't know how to approach the situation and start a conversation tying needs into the Gospel. In those times, we need to pray for God to give us utterance and direction. Sometimes the person you speak to may not give a chance for the Gospel message. In that case, you can still pray for them later. Peter and John saw the man in his pitiful state. The cripple needed worldly means, but the followers of God saw that he had a greater need. Unless we see that need then the message of Hope will not come forth. Such deliverance of the message need to be committed to memory. By that I mean you must familiarize yourself with helpful passages of scripture both in mind and in your Bible. In such cases you will be ready to help.
An old preacher I heard many years ago once said, "A dry well has no attraction to a thirsty man." Don't go out without the Word prepared in you.

Third, we need to look for and ask for opportunities.
Being tied to the flesh, we do not automatically desire to look out for others needs. Rather we look for our own needs and wants. There are ways to do personal witness right and wrong. For example, just going up to a perfect stranger and telling them point blank they need Jesus is not going to work effectively in most cases even though the case be true. However, you can ask the Lord to bring people across your path to intersect with them and to help them. Most usually you will find someone who needs what you have to say. God has a unique way of bringing them to you. The question is, are we courageous enough to seize the opportunities? In a hospital, you may be going to visit a patient in bed 1, but you also need to pay attention to the person in bed 2. The family in a waiting room, or others there may need the Light you have too. When we ask God to help us do good for others for His glory and not our own attention, then He can work with us. The whole ministry of Peter and John was to help bring the Jewish people to Christ. When the man was healed, this gave Peter the opportunity to preach to many of who Christ is. Though you may not have a multitude of listeners, God is interested in the individuals needs.

Has God positioned those in your path for your ministering? Pray for opportunities towards non believers and believers too. God's positioning system is calibrated for effect in the lives of others, but also to you. We receive a blessing for having blessed others in His name.

Father, help us to be of willing minds and hearts to look for those who need your Message and help. May we not be fearful or prideful to do the work You desire. Remind us what our lives are to be about we pray, in Your Name, Amen.


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God's Positioning System

Scripture Reading:
2Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars."

It is getting to be a common device in America and around parts of the world, A GPS unit, or "Global Positioning System." Such a system receives signals from an orbiting satellite and then computes in the device, according to the map installed, exactly where you are on the planet and where you need to turn next. If you are in a large city, or have never been to a certain location, a GPS is so handy, it knows the way. In addition to car model GPS units, there are widely available hand held units for backpackers, hunters, etc. These units shows compass directions as well as Latitude/Longitude coordinates. It is these coordinates that can identify your precise location. What a great thing to have if your lost huh???

Another function of a GPS is found in cell phones. Some parents take advantage of this as they wonder where their kids are. They can turn on this function and find the whereabouts of the phone and likely the teen or kid, who in this day and age, will not be found without the phone.

Well, God has the same idea for such a system. His positioning system however uses no handheld electronic devices, nor do the batteries run down, nor do we stick it to a windshield. God uses His Word, the Bible. It is more sophisticated, more durable, and more effective. The reason God has such a system in place is not to keep us under surveillance, but to help us navigate this life towards the life to come. Here are the differences and advantages of a Godly Positioning System.

The Bible differs from a GPS in that it is always ready and on.
My GPS has to be constantly plugged into the 12volt receptacle of the car to be effective for a long time. Worldly philosophies are like this, they only work for a short space of time. When the time runs out, the person listening and following is usually worse off than before. God's Word is however and open Book with no certain times to read it or limitations to seeking God's wisdom. If we ask God to show us something that will challenge and inspire us, even when we do not know where to turn, He will find a Scripture for us, many times just but us opening to a "random" page in the Scriptures. The Word of God does not wear out in its effectiveness as it has stood the test of time. God spoke His words that do not fade away or are affected by time. The same principles in the Bible that were effective in the first century and before are still effective in 2009 and beyond. The book of Proverbs is particularly a good place to find age old wisdom that doesn't know failure, regret, or ineptness.

The Bible acts in a dual mode, Physical and Spiritual.
Sensory technology of today is dependent on certain bands or wavelengths. Remember the old CB radios (citizen band) operated on a different signal than short wave radios or even the 2 Way Radios today. The Bible is not just a book aimed at the Spiritual needs primarily (although that is its main goal), it also addresses the way we are to live and prosper in the Physical world. As mentioned earlier, the book of Proverbs has a lot to say about our physical lives. If you are looking for matters of finances, relationships, practical living, desires, marriage and so on, its all in there. In fact, many of our Founding Fathers, some who were not believers in Christ, saw the Bible for its great moral and social values as the foundation for which the United States should be built upon. Spiritually of course, the Bible is the only key, the only source of knowledge by which a man or woman can be certain of their eternal lives. The Bible is an evangelistic book bound together by the red thread of Christ's blood shed for our sins on the cross. The Bible is a pointer to things yet to come. It tells us what will happen when we die. It assures us Christ will return and not one of His promises ever are empty ones. The Bible tells us how we can have peace and security. The Bible tells us about the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and the guidance He brings. The Bible tells us where to turn and what to seek that is truly valuable and necessary.
The Bible not only reminds us when we are off course, but shows us the ONLY route to take.
A car GPS will tell you when you are off the planned route. Usually most models will keep saying, "Recalculating" or, "please turn around." When we get off track spiritually, the Holy Spirit reminds the Christian of it. Then He will bring to mind a particular Scripture that speaks to the need of the heart. The main difference in God's way and the world's way of regaining your correct direction is that the world will offer you many many options, none of them truly work no matter how much sense it seems to make. God plainly and simply reminds us that by coming back to Him is the only way to be on track. The reason He prescribes this only method is because only He knows the right path and He desires us to walk WITH Him in that path. All routes we take that is not based on God's directives can for sure end in ruin, because man is blind spiritually. If you desire to know where you are and where you need to be spiritually, ask God as you read His Word to show you what needs to be done and the steps to do it.

The Bible makes getting directions spoken to us in a personal manner through the Holy Spirit
When you ask a person who tends to be "religious," do you believe the Bible? Yes, they reply. Do you know who God is? Again, the reply maybe Yes. But when you ask them, "what does God say to you on any given day?" That is when you lose the connection with them. You see for a religious person not knowing the Saviour, the concept of the presence of the Holy Spirit actively talking and guiding us in our lives is so foreign. The mark of the true believer in Christ is the presence of the Holy Spirit. For lack of better illustration, when your car GPS tells you, "Turn left at....." it is speaking to you. The Holy Spirit in the same manner personally speaks to us. He is much more personable than a machine. He has feelings, wisdom, compassion, intellect (off the scale) and more. All a machine can do is tell you what it is programmed to say. There is no personage involved. With God, there is more than just a person or a voice involved, it is He Himself, the same person who died for us, now cares enough to reside with us. God's Spirit is usually not abrupt, but is kind, says more than just the plain facts, and encourages us with more than what we ask for.

Wherever you are in life, God has His eye on you. He knows where you are. He knows where you are in relation to His will and the Scriptures. He also knows how to let us know all these things through His Word the Bible. It is God's Positioning System.

A GPS works two ways, it tells us where we are and it tells us where to go. Next time we will discuss God's role in positioning ourselves for service to Him and for blessing someone, even ourselves.

Take heart that God truly cares and loves us this much.

Dear Lord, Thank You that you do not leave us alone, but are very interested in our lives. Help us to remember this when we feel lonely or neglected by others. Help us to keep focused on You and give us a renewed trust in Your position in our lives. We thank You in Your Name. Amen.


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Check # 666

Scripture Reading:
Eph 1:12-13 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
In whom ye also trusted, [Christ] after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Whenever you hear the numerals in continuity "666" the mind of man goes in all directions. It actually proves the fact that there can be no denial of God in the mind of man. Mankind fears this unlucky number. They fear it with intense superstition. They will do strange things like never buy anything that amounts to $6.66, or write a check that has the number "666." They don't know why intrinsically, but the world does know it has some evil to it. To acknowledge that, they must acknowledge the Bible and its truths. And of course as we know perfectly well as believers, if the Bible is true in one point, then it is true in all points.

The number 666 is spoken of the in the book of Revelation as the number of a man, particularly the Anti-Christ, or, the man of sin. It is referenced by many theologians as the numeral portion of the condemning mark of the Beast. The number itself is shrouded in mystery to some, but for those of us who know Christ, there is not much mystery, and it is NOTHING we need to fear or side step in our Christian lives. We do not need to give in to superstitions regarding this number. Let me say that this number is Literal and is factual in the Scripture, but it has nothing to do with the believer in Christ or should superstition cause us to fear.

Superstition is a tool of the devil to further blind the minds of the blind and deafen their ears to the glorious hope of the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Superstition can also be used to prey on the Christian who has an at best shallow knowledge of the Scripture. The role superstition plays is that the evil world takes a true principal or idea and twists it to make the Christian fear. Now let me say that the Devil is a real person, with real power, and our most formidable enemy. He is nothing to be laughed at or make light of. It is only by the shear protection of Jesus Christ that we are not devoured of the Devil. However, when we know the Scripture, Jesus said in John 8:32, the TRUTH is what sets us free. Free from what? Free from fear of misunderstanding is one point. I see a lot of Christians who look at the number 666 as bad luck or something to withdraw from. I just shake my head. Not because I am judging them, its because they need not fear it. Here are some reasons why...

This number is not for us because we have a BETTER seal of Redemption.
Quite simply believer, when we receive Jesus Christ in our hearts, we get a "mark" if you will. The mark is not of a beast but of the Blessed One that will not take it away. The seal of Christ as Paul mentions is ours until the day of Redemption. The Devil cannot steal you away nor can you become somehow corrupted beyond forgiveness. Remember it is Christ's finished work on Calvary in which we have this surety. The Devil cannot have us unto condemnation, because his hand has no power over the Authority of Jesus Christ. When you are sealed with that kind of power, by the Person of the Son of God, moreover, by I AM, who can take it away? Take heart.

We have the Spirit of TRUTH living in us as our GUARANTEE.
There are times I get discouraged and even to the point of wondering if I am truly redeemed. Its because I forget the awesome power that binds me to Christ. Let me share with you one of the most powerful Truths and verses to back it up. Simply, the Lord does not speak to the heart of a unredeemed sinner with the exception of convicting them of their need of Him. Moreover He does not talk to them with encouragement, He does not reveal Scripture to them, He does not give understanding to a sinner until they repent and ask Him in their heart. He does this for me because I am redeemed by His Grace. The work I speak of is by the Holy Spirit and the verse He showed me is

2 Corinthians 1:22 (New King James Version)

²² who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

The old King James Version uses the word "earnest." This word for the above reminds me that the presence of the Spirit in our lives is likened unto a the crowning jewel on a Royal seal. The seal is there, but the Spirit is that defining mark that takes precedence above ALL else.
If you have Christ in your heart, you have HIM!

Because Jesus tells us plainly that in His presence we have nothing to fear of condemnation. If you have never memorized Romans 8:1 which says, "There is no condemnation to those who are IN Christ Jesus," please do so. This is a freeing verse. Paul later goes on under inspiration to write that nothing, nothing, can separate us from the Love of God IN Christ Jesus. One day, all the world will stand before the Lord of Glory. Those who do not have Christ at this point forever will not have Him. They will stand in fear for He who wished to be their Saviour is now required by Holiness to be their Judge. But for the Christian whom the number 666 has no power He welcomes us with open arms when we meet Him. Recall in Revelation 1, the glorified Christ that John the Divine saw. What a awesome yet terribly fearful sight that caused Him to be so scared and afraid that John fell as though he were dead. Yet this awesome and terribly fearful Figure did something remarkable. Jesus Christ laid His right hand, don't miss that, the hand of Power and Authority. He laid His right hand on John's shoulder without harshness and said to John, "Do not be afraid." WOW! The literal fulfillment of Romans 8:1 that belongs to EVERY believer was made manifest in John and will be to us!

There are many fearful things in this world. However, do not let the ignorance of the Word of God fuel those fears, especially the contrast between being Christ's and being caught in the condemnation of the evil "666."

By the way, the title, "Check # 666" was the number in my Grandma's check ledger of her next check. She wrote that check to our local church, and guess what, that night we had a record offering from the people of God!!!

Thank You Lord for not allowing us to be eternally entangled in something that will play a role in condemning the unbelieving world. Help us not to place any fear but trust in YOUR seal of the Holy Spirit and point others to Christ for the same seal made available by Your most precious blood. Amen.

Divided We Fall

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 1:10 "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."

In all the world, with its immense woes and tribulations, its shortcomings and uncertainties, one would think that the church of Jesus Christ would be a forever sure and stable place to be.

Well it isn't, at least not all the time and for some not much of the time. Notice I said "the church" not its Author and Leader! Make that abundantly clear before reading on.

I haven't been writing much lately because I have been busy with things that I should put aside and being tired a lot from the inside as well as out. A lot is on my mind. I am not very encouraged when I look at the American church today. What's happening is that when we get tired and sometimes very discouraged we form "cracks" in our lives that affect the lives of others. Small sins creep in that erode us.  Now for the speculative, I am not confessing to some great moral failure to the praise and grace of God it has not happened to me, and I pray it will not.  The problem is that the wearied stress marks of the things we think are negligible such as grumbling, disputing, mistrust, selfishness, murmurings, and a host of  others affect us all.  We as individuals affect the church because guess what, we as individuals make up the church. So when we get off track its like we begin to pull others down with us.

When we let ourselves become the objects of self rather than the heart committed servants of God we wreak inward turmoil in the body of Christ. This turmoil is like any on of us coming to church with a sharp two head woodsman axe. We pick a corner or wall of our nice building that took so very long and hard to build and start chopping away! We become unknowingly bent on self mutilation that our senses fail us. The literal thought of any of us doing such a thing would never occur to us, but spiritually that is what we do when we let someone, something, or some emotion that is not from God rule our hearts and divide our brethren.
Oh that we WAKE up and see that we are hurting each other to say nothing of how much we grieve the LORD and entertain Satan.

You know I enjoy a good cheeseburger, my favorite bought burger comes from Burger King, it can't be beat! Only thing is, Burger King came up with a slogan over two decades ago, "Have it Your Way." Now that is great when choosing a cheeseburger, but its disastrous when we apply that principle to our Christian life which eeks out into the corporate Christian church.
This church is the LORD"S CHURCH and all of our attitudes and self centered actions and anything you can think of that does not glorify Him, that does not put HIM FIRST says "Lord go and stand over in the corner while I have it my way." The concept of ME church must end in America. "Me Church" is that growth which we have brought in that has hushed the preaching of the penetrating Word of God for a feel good sermon. The same has reduced our once heart felt following of Christ to a bureaucracy of legalisms. Worst of all, "Me Church" divides a united body into factions.

We should never spar about matters that have their roots in what WE want rather than what God wants. The Hymn writer reminds us that "we are not divided, all one body we, one in hope and brotherhood, one in charity." So often we say in our hearts, "I want this to be so, or, I think that 'our' way is best." We say we include God, but He is so eclipsed from our own voice we deceive ourselves and mock His Name.

But when God's people are divided, there is even a greater problem than the internal turmoil...we turn away the lost. Do you know the sinful world watches the church with a sharper eye than the hawk? They may not come out and say it, but I tell you most assuredly that the world wants fulfillment in life and they hear we have it, but want to see it for themselves in action from us. When they hear stories and see the church of Christ have divisions and disputes among us, all one remark is echoed in their hearts: "You see, the Christian has no better hope than we do, why should we give our lives over to this Jesus?"
The message of Eternal Hope cannot be effectively delivered if we are not living in it and applying it in this world.

Folks, the time is short. I know preachers have been saying that all your life, but its true nonetheless. Before our Lord comes we MUST endeavor to have unity in Christ and one another for our sakes, the lost sake (which is our commission to win them) but most of all for Christ's Sake.

The readers of this blog is wide based over the United States and in parts of Europe to the praise of My Lord, but I say this because the divisions are everywhere. They are in your church, they are in my church. To the smallest degree and to the largest degree, Satan wants us divided so our mission in the world will be stained.  What can we do when we see the Unity of the brotherhood in Christ begin to deteriorate????
1. Pray for peace and forgiveness, individually and corporately.

2. Pray that God would cause us to remember that the church is not to be run by factions, but by the Master.

3. Examine. We cannot be the church God intended if we skip our own problems. We must vitally and wholeheartedly look at our lives and see what does not add up to the Word of God and be willing to ADMIT it. Don't pretend to be innocent and everyone else wrong.

4. Surrender, a word by default we don't like. Surrender ourselves to a committed life that ONLY glorifies Christ and not us indirectly or directly.

5. Heal. If we have something against another or a group, ask forgiveness.

6. UNIFY. This simply means everyone get back in line and look towards Christ and not to ourselves, thereby we are helping ourselves and bring glory to Christ.


A divided church is likened unto cancer in the body. Don't let it overtake us as individuals or as a corporate body, there is too much at stake and so little time left in the world.

Lord, our lives, our work, our church is to be about you. Please help us to be unified in You and not placate the flesh as it is so easy. Help me to do my part in making the body of Christ a shining example of what You alone can do in the life of a person and a church. Help us Lord. Amen.

Through The Personal Knowledge

Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 1:1-2

It happens all the time. We take on reading a book or section of the Bible and we are so intense on getting to the meat of the passage that we often run through profound truths....usually contained in the opening of a book. Such is today's example passage. At first glance the greeting is the typical salutation made to the writer's audience. Notice though that Peter or any other writer of the Bible is not writing under their own influence. No word of Scripture is put in for filler or it was just something nice to say with no real meaning. Often times we speak verbosely about nothing with great swelling words, we talk much and say little. This is not the case here. Let's look a the whole passage here below, I have highlighted in blue the "important" parts.

1 ¶ Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

Now the whole passage is important, but notice how Peter greets us. This we will look at this week and see how powerful God's Word is, though not always verbose and long winded.

The KEY to all this in the passage is the phrase Through the Knowledge of God. If it is not for our knowledge of Him we have no basis or hope in anything about Him, or about us in Him. Let's examine,

Through the Knowledge of God that ultimately brings about our redemption to those who trust in Christ, we have....Like Precious Faith.

Peter was writing about a Common Faith, or, the same faith he has is the same that all his readers had. Truly there is only one Faith Ephesians 4:5) in the Lord and that is essential. Think how confusing it would be to follow and keep track of a whole string of gods for every detail of life. Pagans had to appease the god of harvest, fertility, hearth and home, the sun, the rain, the soil, the harvest, etc. We have ONE God who is over all. How comforting that is. Now, you may think that Christianity is a convoluted confusion of different sects and teachings. Some interpret one way while others another, so who is right? Those that hold truly to exactly what the Word teaches and not try to throw their own spin from traditionalism or modern thoughts into the mix. Peter not only describes it as the same faith we share but it is precious. In other words the Faith in Christ is to be valued as the rarest gemstone or the most expensive rare antique we can think of. It is precious to us because it is unique, for there is no salvation in any other. The faith is precious on the individual scale for it brings hope, relationship, freedom, and fellowship. The precious part is the benefits which we can have in Christ, freely. There has been no other anything that did so much and cost US nothing. We have never been benefacted so much at so great an expense like we have in Jesus Christ. This makes it precious. Yet the key again, is the knowledge of Christ. He puts within us to know Him personally and thus we find out more and more about Him and the Faith in Him we commit our lives to.

Then there is the second phrase, Grace and Peace, be multiplied unto you. This may sound at first like a nice compliment to make on writing a letter. In fact how many times do we carelessly say, God bless you? Again the words spoken have root and meaning. When Peter announced he wished Grace (unmerited favor of God to Hell bound sinners like me) PLUS peace knowing that through Christ the penalty of sin is taken away, he meant this to comfort them deeply in the soul as it is meant for us. Notice that this state of Grace AND Peace is found only by the knowledge of Christ and God. These two states are not something we can derive for ourselves on our own. These must come from God and none else. These two states are eternal, that is, if we know Christ as Saviour we will always posses these because He possesses us! Mankind can say these words over one another but they are empty unless there is the Spirit of God in the recipient working it in them. Another thing to notice is that we cannot have this Grace and Peace by simply knowing ABOUT God. Peter is not backing a supposition for head knowledge. No the language is intimate and of the heart. It is so dangerous for one to think himself a Christian because he or she has heard the stories in Sunday School or has been under preaching, or has read a book once long ago. To know about Christ is fine, but it should spur us on to know Christ in person and Lordship that makes the difference and the blessing bestowed here in the passage.

Lastly, the Knowledge of Christ is to be multiplied. This simply means it is a growing reproducing state within us. This Knowledge is foundational and builds us to be stronger and more resilient to the world's philosophy and to the evil temptations. Multiplying knowledge is growing us in our remembrance of Christ's atonement for us, lest we soon forget. Also multipying knowledge is to be contagious among its hearers. We need to share it with our brothers in Christ to edify and exhort them when they are going through the rough times. It is also to be shared with the unsaved in the hopes it will draw them to desire to know the Saviour. When something multiplies, it spreads out and covers. This is precisely what Peter hoped to do as his audience was being persecuted sorely.

Final thought: Does the knowledge of God and Christ impact or do anything specific for you? Knowing Christ liberates the soul. The whole sum of our relationship with Christ is based on our knowledge of Christ, NOT just knowing the facts, but knowing the PERSON. If we do not know the Person of Christ we cannot know anything of Christianity. Meaningless prayers, words, liturgies, events, without the proper relational knowledge these have no value.

"Through the personal knowledge," is our conduit or artery that allows us to be all of what a Christian is, without it, we have no faith or hope.

Take time this week to study the openers to books of the Bible, find these key statements that set the whole stage for what we know and who we are in Christ, "Through the Knowledge."

Help us Lord to bask in Your knowledge and to desire to know You better every day. Amen.

Image courtesy of freefoto.com

Alone In The Field

Scripture Reading: I Kings 19:4-18

Do you ever feel as if you are the only Christian on the planet? Maybe at times you may feel as if you're the only Christian still committed to the Faith while others are making tragic compromises. We all make allusions to what it is like to be a Christian or a servant of the Lord. I have likened the life of service as a Christian in most cases as a soldier, possibly a Knight or one of the "mighty men" as described about in the Bible. Paul used this allusion when he wrote to Timothy, "endure harness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." So oftne we get caught up in the battle of trying to maintain our lives in the present evil world while balancing a life that should witness for Christ, that we feel discouraged as a soldier does when he or she feels cut off.
The picture above sort of illustrates this feeling we have from time to time. The other day I was parking my car in the work lot as usual. While getting out and going to the office door I spied what I thought was a little green army man. I had to do a double take to make sure. Sure enough, there this little soldier all of 3/4 inch tall was laying on his side in what was to his scale a massive territory of asphalt. All alone he was holding up his gun looking around for the enemy (ok not really) but you get the idea. So I picked him up and he now sits on my desk.
Many times in a battle, a squad or company of soldiers will fan out to take charge of an area. Many times though they can stray too far away from the others and not visibly see or be seen by their comrades. They fear the worst. "I am alone to fight as the rest of my comrades have already fallen."

Seeing that little guy reminds me of how it can look to us in life. There is this huge seemingly endless world of evil and we are the tiny speck of Christ's Light. We should be on the offensive, but we cower in fear most times on the defensive. We huddle in our Spiritual fox holes as the enemy is all around us. Should this be our viewpoint? Certainly not.

You will recall the time the prophet Elijah had won a tremendous victory over the Devil and his hosts at Mt. Carmel. God had just sent fire down and consumed a burnt offering and the altar it was on. Later, Elijsh ran from the wicked Queen Jezabel and hid himself in a cave. He feared for his life, he feared it was over, but God had a different asnwer. He told Elijah there was yet 7,000 faithful followers of God that had not gone over to Baal. In facing stern worldly opposition, what can we learn by this "lone soldier's" account to put into practice in our lives today.
First, God is mightier than the hosts of evil.
Elijah saw something on Mt. Carmel that none had seen before. The awesome display of God's power over puny mortal idol worshippers was astounding. The Enemy, Satan, is strong and cannot be defeated by ourselves. Yet the Scriptures say that demons tremble in fear (greatly afraid) of the same God who is on OUR side. The reason for the apparent increase of evil in our day and time is that Satan knows his time is short to afflict the Church. Yet in all this we can boldly say because of Jesus Christ, "Greater is He that is within me, than he that is in the world." If you have any doubts that evil will seize the day, read the book of Revelation, it graphically spells out the horrible doom of all those who oppose Christ and His Church. Martin Luther said in his famous hymn, "the prince of darkness grimm, we tremble not at him, his rage we can endure, for lo his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him."
Second, God will not be without a faithful remnant.
No matter what time period or event that takes place in the Bible, God is never completely destitute of true faithful followers. Even when times seem the darkest, like today, there is still a mighty army present. It is my personal belief that the reason why evil has not conquered more of the world than it has is because the church is still in the world holding the onslaught at bay. Once removed in the Rapture, the man of sin, the Anti-Christ will be revealed and despair will take on new meaning. Not for us the church. We will be literally "Air Lifted" out of the battle zone and shall return victorious as we watch our matchless King of Kings speak the evil world out of existence. In the meantime, where are all the Christians? It is true that some who profess to be are turning away from the Lord, never really being one of His. There are others who are fearful not knowing the power of the Lord. There are those who have compromised the faith and have let evil run over them, and there are those who stand unashamed to proclaim the Gospel as it is written for the Lord has His remnant. Are you a part of this remnant? Do you stand firm for the faith? If you do, seek out the discouraged and encourage them to stand firm too.
Lastly, God will encourage us when no one else will.
Look who came to minister to Elijah holed up in the cave and in the wilderness. First God sent His angel to bring him food. Secondly God spoke audibly to Elijsh and personally told him where he stood in numbers after Elijah surely knew he was the last one left. I am not knocking Elijsh. I can honestly say though I have never felt totally alone in spiritual battle (though I have felt this way many times about other matters) but I have noticed our numbers of the faithful shrinking. I am seeing many good churches close because it was not popular to attend there. I have heard sermons get politically correct and never mention Hell because it was no longer popular. I have seen worship songs go from majestic hymns to pop culture entertainment. I could go on. However, its important to remember that Jesus said in Matt 28:20, "I will be with you to the end of the world." So no matter how loud sin booms around us, no matter how many brethren falter, God will encourage us through His Word and the Holy Spirit. We know we are not cut off from Headquarters when we hear the voice of the Spirit of God within us. He urges us to hold on a little longer and serve Him faithfully. One thing we know for sure is that God will not judge us by the group, but by our individual faithfulness to Him. So keep on.

I know at times we find ourselves seemingly cut off from all things Godly. Even now it seems that some Chrisitans don't know what Truth of Godliness even is. We dare not boast ourselves of having arrived, rather, we need to encourage one another to fight another day for the King. Do you feel cut off as if there is no one out there to have comradery with? This is one of the reasons why I write this blog every week. I don't know how many subscribers there are, but as many as get this, please forward it on to saved and lost people alike. Don't isolate yourself from others, help the broken, lift up the fallen, remind them of Jesus by bearing His heart and Spirit in you. Get involved in the local church, go to Prayer Meetings, come back to Sunday PM services. You will be blessed and you will not feel so alone in the battle.

Heavenly Father, I know I feel very lonely at times, I am sure others do too. Help us Lord to look to You. Take away our fears of the enemy and help us to stand firm in You. In Your Name, Amen.

Mother's Day Poem

I know Mother's day has come and gone by the time you read this, but I think we always ought to honor our mothers daily...mine especially. The following was written on Mom's day for Mom and my Grandma, then distributed at a local Assisted Living home where the Gospel was proclaimed. So here it is, its short, as well as this post which you all are probably thankful for.

LORD GIVE US MOTHERS

By Jon Browning

Lord give us Mothers of the highest integrity,

So men may see the soul’s strength and unfeigned purity.

Lord give us Mothers of which possess the boldest faith, that we may learn from them of whom they trust for their precious one’s sake.

Lord give us Mothers who sacrifice their own self, that no comfort or joy is spared for our own being and our own health.

Lord give us Mothers who others as examples look unto, that many might pattern their lives and thereby encounter You.

Lord give us Mothers that bear our sorrows and joy for the coming day, who take time for our problems and gladly help us on our way.

Lord give us Mothers who constantly pray, that when we go near or far we are upheld by Thy Hand no matter what comes our way.

Lord give us Mothers who we are proud to call our own, when all of life has ceased may they be richly rewarded before Thy Holy Throne.

Thank you Lord that the Mothers in our lives, bless each exponentially more than they realize. If we have mothers amoung our family which do not know You as Lord and Saviour, may this year be the year which their eternal direction is changed forever. In Your Name, most Holy. Amen.

Sticky Trap of False Doctrines

Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 2:1-9

The posts I have been writing have been behind in their delivery to you. Partly this is because we are doing some home repair and it takes more time and energy than I have either of. When done I am wiped out. However the reading for this week grows out of the repair project. I am currently laying a vinyl square tile floor in a basement. The process is rather simple and two fold. Spread the glue evenly with a small notched trowel, and then lay the tile taking care to fit one up against the other so there is no gaps. Well, its the first part of the process I refer to today. The glue is like Elmer's school glue but it is not ready to be adhered to the tile until it gets clear and tacky. Once clear anything stuck to it stays to it.

The humorous part is in the beginning I spread a large area of glue not thinking to get back to the corner I needed to start laying tile in was now impassable. Not thinking the glue was that sticky I put my foot down in the center of the area to get the first row started and I was firmly planted in the glue! Yes I got out but it took a lot of strength to rip my shoe from off the glue. What I had done is sort of laid out a large scale Fly Paper trap in which I caught myself in.

All this to say that there is a lesson we all can learn from my mishap when we look at the subject of false doctrines. It is a known fact that the unbelieving world is drawn to some weird religion that does not contain the full doctrines of God, but rather mixes in enough truth with a lot of lies. People seem to think that what the teaching says is good and they get involved a little, a little more, then they find themselves trapped in it. Even people who profess to know Jesus Christ as Saviour can be trapped as we find in today's reading.

So subtle and yet so dangerous is the destructive nature of false doctrine.

So why is it so attractive and why do the unbelieving world seem to go after it.
Well, of course there are so many religions out there, many of them claim to be part of Christendom, yet all have a common flaw, they deviate from the doctrines of Christ particularly in the area of salvation or the deity of Christ. So in knowing this we cannot answer every person's desire to follow after them but we can say for sure that the Devil is behind every plot to take a person's eyes off of Christ and place them on a cheap substitute. When this is accomplished, the unbeliever, not knowing better has thought he or she has found peace because the folly they believe makes rational sense. False doctrine thrives on the basis of appealing to the human intellect. Man reasons if he can understand it with the mind it must be okay. They feel confident in what they believer because there is a bit of religion mixed in, but not enough to challenge them to know the Lord (if at all) let alone be convicted of sin. This all inclusive tolerance is the bait in many cases. Man wants to feel okay about himself and yet he or she cannot have this feeling when we are faced with Christ. The difference is that Christ offers true hope from sin's penalty, Satan puts off awareness of the consequences of sin, judge for yourself the better course to follow.

For the unbeliever, the first steps in the sticky glue of false doctrine begins lightly and seemingly innocent. Someone shares a piece of literature with them, or, some philosophy on TV arouses their curiosity. Later on the real dissatisfaction in their souls shows up more vividly and because they are soaking in false teachings they figure that there may be some help. So they go to a friend or meeting and believe some more lies. They do this not because they are stupid, but simply because they are being taught a worldly appealing story which agrees with a worldly mind that fails to mention the Truth. They find out that the teachings they are apart of do not satisfy and they keep going deeper into them to find that satisfaction of the troubled heart. Like any narcotic, the more they get involved the more they desire. What is happening is that their minds in place of being enlightened, is being darkened to something that has them assured that things will be alright somehow in the end. No need to talk of Christ, in fact Christ may not be necessary they think. They never want to face up to sin. They never take a stand on much if anything. They seldom see their false teachings as pertinent but as sort of an nice addition to their lives (providing everything is going ok). Finally and sadly, persistence against the Truth of God in the form of reliance upon the false doctrine seals over the heart with an eternally condemnable glaze. They go about either passionately believing a lie or non chalantly claiming a religion that does nothing for them except give a sense of belonging to something that is only made known at weddings and funerals. No matter what the angle or interest, the result is the same, condemnation for rejecting the Christ as Saviour and Lord, for some meaningless belief.

The tragedy is that even Christians can get involved in false doctrines. Its not always that they go after some sort of strange religion, but it can be simply deviating from what God says and incorporating their own ambitions and selfish notions to pacify some lifestyle or habit. In fact most Christians fall into false doctrines very subtly and very gradually. Peter reminds us that false teachers come in silently and begin to work in such a manner that they are hardly recognized. Satan knows that a believer will not look at a full fledged falsehood for it brings up too many flags. So the gradual desensitizing route is the way.

I am reminded of what Paul says in Romans 1:16 about not being ashamed of the Gospel. Though virtually no Christian would not admit to be ashamed of Christ, some would admit of being bored or lacking in Christ. Thus they open their minds up to doubts and questions such as: "Could there be something more than the Gospel? Could there really be peace in some other person other than Christ? Maybe the Scriptures are errant and all this could be a fairy tale." A wandering believer will start wandering towards the traps of Satan, thus rendering them ineffective. He or she does so because they have become discouraged and disillusioned. Some may ask then, "Does this doubtful curiosity turned wandering away indicate that the person is not really a Christian?" This is a big question that cannot be answered by mankind, save only in the understanding of the words of Christ in Matthew 7:18-21 "...by their fruits ye shall know them." One point we can all agree on is that a true believer will eventually never find any satisfaction in worldly ideals or teachings.

The goal should be if we know someone is overcome with false teachings, we must go to them, if possible, and help them understand the Truth from error.

Whenever we take our eyes away from Christ, there is only one place they can go, the way of the world. The world's teachings and its ways look attractive because they are attractive to the flesh we live in. If we war against the flesh, it is a mark of true identity in Christ.
So what do we do as an individual if we realize ourselves stuck in false teachings?

1. Confess our desire and pathways as sin before the Lord
2. Renew a desire to get into the Word of God and put away all connections you
have had to the false influences.
3. Ask God for a daily awareness of His presence.

Have you been ensnared if only slightly in worldly philosophies or teachings? Forgiveness and restoration is always available for the asking. Be on guard because no one is exempt from the temptation of going astray.

Dear Lord, as the world gets darker around us and we become sometimes discouraged, help us to persevere and be preserved from the trappings of false teachings that may on the surface seem appealing, but on the whole is destructive. Help us Lord daily to desire to live for You and be a living testimony for others. Forgive us when we stray and put within us a new desire for Godliness as unto Your praise and Glory. Amen.

Please forward this on to a person that it may help.


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