Thursday, September 28, 2017

Autumn Leaves


My wife died yesterday as the time of Autumn shows its colorful leaves that fall and return to the ground. We are as the leaves, we have our Spring and our second rebirth in Christ Jesus. Being flesh, we too have our Autumn time. The body must die but the soul and Spirit continue.

Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 

Autumn Leaves

The falling leaves drift by my window

The falling leaves of red and gold
I see your lips the summer kisses
The sunburned hands I used to hold
Since you went away the days grow long

And soon I'll hear old winter's song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall
We have more to this life then do the Autumn leaves. Some of the leaves in Autumn show their greatest beauty before returning to the earth. A reborn Christian has more than these 70 plus years, we are alive with Christ.
2Co 5:8  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 
1Co 15:54  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 
1Co 15:55  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 
1Co 15:56  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 
1Co 15:57  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
1Co 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 


Thursday, September 21, 2017

Living and Dying For Truth


My wife is in hospice here at home with me and our daughter.  We were advised to give her morphine for pain and to increase the dosage for comfort. My wife was asleep all the time and somewhat delusional. She managed to say, "I do not want morphine."  It has always been her wish to have her mind working and she did not  want to be knocked out which is the usual treatment in nursing homes. She is fighting to keep her mind and even to be able to crochet some, in spite of the pain of stage 4 cancer. Fighting for a clear mind. 

I see the spirit of this age succumbing to delusions and by choice they prefer the lies of evil spirits to the truth of God. The truth that has given us life through faith in Jesus who has suffered and died that through him we may be saved from sin and eternal hell. Truth seekers are a minority today and this is making the arise of the evil one that the Bible warns us of. There will be a one world government, a common 666 mark to buy or sell. People wlll worship and be controlled by the devil in the evil one who we call the Antichrist Beast, the false man of peace.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 

Are you willing to stand and suffer if need be for the truth of God? What is worth living for is also worth dying for.


Saturday, September 16, 2017

Search Me, O God


I awakened from a troubled dream of a past problem. It was only a dream. There are enough problems that we face each day without making up new ones in a dream. I am grateful that I do not face problems alone, for the Lord is with me. We are spirit and spirit does not die. My spirit is made alive by the Spirit of God. He will not leave me. Thank you Jesus.

Psa 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 
Psa 139:24  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! 


Search Me, O God
by James Orr

  1. Search me, O God, and know my heart today,
    Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray;
    See if there be some wicked way in me;
    Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free.
  2. I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;
    Fulfill Thy word and make me pure within;
    Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame;
    Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.
  3. Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine;
    Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine;
    Take all my will, my passion, self and pride;
    I now surrender, Lord, in me abide.
  4. O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee;
    Send a revival, start the work in me;
    Thy Word declares Thou wilt supply our need;
    For blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.


Friday, September 15, 2017

Stand up for Jesus


Php 1:27  Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 
Php 1:28  And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. 
Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; 

Paul writes this epistle while in prison unsure if he will be able to come to the church in Philippi again. But he is confident that through Jesus the church will stand together in one spirit, and one mind, the mind of Christ, for the faith. Faith in what? Faith in the word of God, in the gospel that Jesus has shed his blood as the atonement for our sins and that He has risen from the grave on the third day. Sin is paid for and eternal life provided for us by his rising up from the tomb.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 

God which has begun a good work in you shall continue with you until you are with Jesus. Jesus said; will he find faith when he returns? (Luke 18:8) We are not only to believe in Christ, but if necessary we may also suffer for his sake. Suffer for the truth of the gospel, not being afraid of ungodly men. We seek to save them, but some will want to do the work of the devil, to steal kill and destroy. 

Our nation has been sliding downward  and with the election of Trump, there is a window of opportunity to stop the downward slide. It will require that the church stands up for the righteousness of God together, in one mind and in one spirit. Boldly proclaim the word of God before we are silenced by law and by force. Will you stand with those who believe that Jesus is Lord and Savior?

Stand up, Stand up for Jesus
(by Bart Millard)

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, 
Ye soldiers of the cross; 
Lift high his royal banner, 
It must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory
His army shall he lead, 
Till every foe is vanquished, 
And Christ is Lord indeed.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, 
Stand in his strength alone; 
The arm of flesh will fail you, 
Ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the gospel armor,
Each piece put on with prayer; 
Where duty calls or danger, 
Be never wanting there.


Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Flourishing


Psa 92:12  The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 
Psa 92:13  Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 
Psa 92:14  They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 
Psa 92:15  To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. 

We inherited a house from my wife's parents. They put in a pool in the sixties and a cement deck with a yard wide circular cutout for a plant. There was a fragrant gardenia flower plant there. I moved the gardenia to but in a baby palm tree to add a tropical look.  That baby palm is now a towering forty feet high! You can say that it has flourished and being bigger than the original hole in the cement, it gets its water and nourishment underground. The gardenia that was moved soon died. The tree is like the righteous, those who Christ has forgiven their sins. They depend on God for growth just as the palm is not cared for by human hands. 

Psa 92:14  They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 

I can identify with being old, still going, being fat and flourishing. The wicked have their time of growth, but if not connected to God they perish.

Psa 92:7  When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever: 
Psa 92:8  But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore.

Let it be heard that God sent his son to forgive our sins. Ask Jesus to forgive all your sins and to make you an adopted spiritual son or daughter of God. Read the Bible in the New Testament, and follow Jesus.


Monday, September 11, 2017

The Greatest Servant


Luk 22:24  Later, the apostles began to argue about which one of them was the most important. 
Luk 22:25  But Jesus said to them, "The kings of the world rule over their people, and those who have authority over others want to be called 'the great providers for the people.' 
Luk 22:26  But you must not be like that. The one with the most authority among you should act as if he is the least important. The one who leads should be like one who serves. 
Luk 22:27  Who is more important: the one serving or the one sitting at the table being served? Everyone thinks it's the one being served, right? But I have been with you as the one who serves. (ERV)

I love how the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, humbled himself and became a servant. He is not a wrathful God, but He is a Gentle Shepherd of his people. Some may say, "How could this be the Son of God" ?  Paul, in the letter to the Philippians gives us more light on this topic.

Php 2:5  In your life together, think the way Christ Jesus thought. 
Php 2:6  He was like God in every way, but he did not think that his being equal with God was something to use for his own benefit. 
Php 2:7  Instead, he gave up everything, even his place with God. He accepted the role of a servant, appearing in human form. During his life as a man, 
Php 2:8  he humbled himself by being fully obedient to God, even when that caused his death--death on a cross. 
Php 2:9  So God raised him up to the most important place and gave him the name that is greater than any other name. 
Php 2:10  God did this so that every person will bow down to honor the name of Jesus. Everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth will bow. 
Php 2:11  They will all confess, "Jesus Christ is Lord," and this will bring glory to God the Father. (ERV)

If we want to be greater in the eyes of our God, then we are to be a servant. Be like our Lord and Savior who came not to destroy, but to seek and to save that which was lost. He did good works. I am speaking to those in Christ Jesus. I plead with those who have not come to Jesus as their savior to do so now.  The wrath of God will come to all who do evil. Submit now to the Gentle Shepherd for this evil world is ripe for judgment.





Sunday, September 10, 2017

Paul's Prayer


This could very well be a prayer and a pattern of life for all Christians. 

Php 1:9  And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 
Php 1:10  That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 
Php 1:11  Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. 

There is much to meditate on in these verses. Let me hear from you your thoughts.

More and more love, channeled by knowledge and judgment. By this we may approve what is excellent (Phil 4:8)  and  be careful to be sincere and to control our words so as not to offend our fellow saints.  Our life is to be filled  with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and by his Spirit we are under authority, and are given power to do what is right to the glory and praise of God.

Thank you Jesus, amen


Saturday, September 9, 2017

Persecution Comes Frst


Luk 21:10  Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: 
Luk 21:11  And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. 
Luk 21:12  But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. 
Luk 21:13  And it shall turn to you for a testimony. 

We are seeing all the signs of the coming of Jesus. Wars; the year I was born Hitler's armies marched into Poland, There have been wars and rumors of wars all of my life. Think of North Korea's threat to the United States and then there is Iran and wars and divisions within our country. Physical wars and spiritual wars for the souls of our nation. Kingdom against kingdom; the kingdom of satan against the people of God. A recent poll has (white) Christians as a minority of 43%, down from 67%  in 1996. There is something wrong here, when they separate white Christians from the overall population. They wish to divide us by race now as well as our beliefs. There is no separation in Christ Jesus.

Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 

There will be earthquakes in various places. Recently Idaho has been having earthquakes. There were earthquakes in Mexico and other countries as well. Famines and diseases; Venezuela and North Korea suffer from lack of food because of their communist, socialist leaders. Fearful sights, Isis atrocities and storms and signs in the sky like the recent eclipse of the sun. But first  and before all of these things, there will be persecution of Christians. All over the world Christians are becoming a minority and are suffering persecution. With the outrageously liberal laws in our country, Christians are seen by some as the intolerant ones that need to be eliminated. Do they not know that we will judge the angels?  Do not fear the world, but fear and reverence God the father and Jesus his son. These things must come before the great day of the Lord. We are kept by him as his beloved. We are to continue to share his good news in a world at war with God. Jesus was persecuted by the darkness and so shall we be. He overcame and so shall we.

Rev 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 



Friday, September 8, 2017

It Ain't Necessarily So


Luk 20:41  And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son? 
Luk 20:42  And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 
Luk 20:43  Till I make thine enemies thy footstool. 
Luk 20:44  David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son? 

Psa 110:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. 

Two things I want to say. First, the Lord Jesus quoted a Psalm as proof that he was greater than a man, even greater than the son of king David.  Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one from God. Jesus believed that all the scriptures were true.  The world does not see it this way. One part of scripture many mock at is the story of Jonah and the great fish. Jesus used this true story as an important illustration.

Mat 12:39  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 
Mat 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 
Mat 12:41  The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 

One once popular song was called "It ain't necessarily so" Written by Harlan Howard

It ain't necessarily so
It ain't necessarily so
The things that you're liable
To read in the Bible,
It ain't necessarily so.

The song mentions Jonah and the whale, David and Goliath and Methuselah who lived 900 years. The song suggests that we take what we read in the Bible with a grain of salt, for it ain't necessarily so. I clever song of a popular worldly viewpoint. However the Bible is true and Jesus often quoted from the Old Testament. The world has taken the truth of God's Bible and made it a fictional story book. Is there any wonder that the nation is divided about what is the truth? What the world teaches as truth; evolution, abortion, gay marriage, promoting aberrant lifestyles, this is not truth as taught in the word of God. Jesus offers truth and life, eternal life in him. The world seeks to destroy and to kill  those who disagree with them. (John 10:10)


Thursday, September 7, 2017

Faithful to Your Calling


Saul who had been a persecutor of the church had a visitation from Jesus. He became the great and faithful apostle Paul.  He was faithful to his call to preach the gospel (that Jesus is God's son who came as a human to  offer his blood up for the atonement of our sins. He died and is risen to eternal life. He offers us forgiveness of sins and eternal life through believing in him.) His calling was to share the good news to the Gentiles and also to the Jews.

1Co 9:16  For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! 
1Co 9:17  For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. 
1Co 9:18  What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. 
1Co 9:19  For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 

The prophet Jeremiah was called from the womb to be the voice of warning to God's people. He suffered much abuse because they would not hear the truth; but he kept on in the face of opposition.

Jer 20:7  O LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. 
Jer 20:8  For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, "Violence and destruction!" For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. 
Jer 20:9  If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name," there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. 
Jer 20:10  For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! "Denounce him! Let us denounce him!" say all my close friends, watching for my fall. "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him." 
Jer 20:11  But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. 

As a man Jeremiah looked for vengeance towards his persecutors. Jesus proved his calling of a human who was also the Son of God from heaven. His response to his tormentors, even from the place of his torture was grace; "Luke 23:34  And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments."  Jesus offered forgiveness from the cross and even while dying he bore fruit, for a thief repented   "Luke 23:42  And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 
Luke 23:43  And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

I appeal to you as a believer in Jesus Christ to be faithful to your calling. Jesus came not to curse and destroy, but to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10) Do not quit but be still and listen to God. Feel the burning desire to be faithful to your calling. Get busy and do the work you were created to do. I have a friend called Susyshines who has remained faithful to share God's word, even from a raging storm. Life will have it's storms and people will be looking for hope. You keep going and show them their hope is in Jesus, their savior from sin and death. Well done faithful servant.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

A New Kind of Man


Psa 89:48  What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah. 


When this question was written the answer had not yet arrived. Jesus is the answer to a new kind of man whose soul he himself delivered from the grave. Jesus was in the form of a man, with a soul, but whose  Spirit is God. God the Son created all there is with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The three are one God. They are one Holy Spiritual God.


Num 23:19  God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 


Contrasting God with the sons of Adam. God is not a man like they knew men, that would lie. Neither was he like a son of Adam that he should repent. The only men known at this time were the sons of Adam. Contrast this to the actions of the LORD. When God speaks, shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make good? Those who are in Christ today have his faithful nature in contrast to the sons of Adam who continue to lie and need to repent.


1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.


The scriptures that show the purpose of this new kind of man, the Son of God, the last Adam are John 3:16 and 17.


John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

John 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 



Having trouble understanding? Ask Jesus for the infilling of the Holy Spirit of truth. The new Spirit filled man walks in the truth of God.




Saturday, September 2, 2017

Pleasure to God


I believe that there is a sifting going on to separate the people of God from those who seek after their own lusts. Be assured that we will be tested to see who we make our master.

Heb 10:38  Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 
Heb 10:39  But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. 

I do not want to draw back from God, I do not want to be a back slider. Lord help us to live by faith and to give you pleasure as obedient disciples and children of God.

Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Our adoption in him, gives the LORD pleasure. As children we want to bring honor and pleasure to our Father.

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

It is by the power of God that we follow him and do his works. It is also apparent that many seek only their own pleasure and ignore God to their own destruction.

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 
2Ti 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 
2Ti 3:3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 
2Ti 3:4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 
2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 

It is important to associate with like minded people of faith. We share the gospel message with the lost, but we do not do as they do. We are called apart from the world unto God. False teachers pretend to be of God, but deny his power having not his Spirit. We are not to have fellowship with them.

1Pe 1:14  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 
1Pe 1:15  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 

1Pe 1:16  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 

We are holy if Jesus is our Lord and Savior. As a result of our holiness unto God, we set our mind and will  to do what is right and good to bring pleasure to the Father and to be examples to the world of lost people. We are not to be puffed up as holier than thou people, but we are to show the spiritual fruit of love from the Holy Spirit of God.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 

Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 

Let us trust in Jesus, for this brings pleasure to the Father in heaven.