"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'"Reuters is reporting the Metropolitan Police in London, England, are finding it difficult to bring in sufficient recruits. So the agency has loosened its requirements – ignoring tattoos and criminal records.John 3:3
“This wouldn't apply to people who had shown criminal intent, like burglary,” a spokesman said. “If you hit the target on 19 of 20 criteria and miss it on one we’d consider your application.” That’s because you get an extra point for insight into the criminal mind.
Not so in heaven … only those with all the qualifications (the blood of Jesus) need apply!
We need to understand, in the same way a theater won’t admit with half a ticket the Lord will either! It's either 100% saved by grace through faith or it's not! Christ's all-sufficient sacrifice is not up for negotiation.
Showing posts with label John. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John. Show all posts
Friday, January 25, 2008
JUSTIFICATION: I'm ninety-five percent saved!
ETERNAL LIFE: No hazard alerts are expected!
"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'"The Australian government recently issued a “hazard alert” for various models of the St. Jude Medical Tempo Pacemaker. They warned that the devices could fail unexpectedly. The pacemakers have “an internal problem which can lead to premature, unexpected device failure”, the warning said.John 3:3
Man is constantly having to renew things. Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born-again. But He told the woman at the well she could drink of living water and would never die.
Forget the pacemaker, give me the water! [“Alert issued over faulty pacemakers,” Australian Associated Press, June 6 2000]
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
ATONEMENT: Understand what finished work looks like!
"Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!' And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit."In a Reader’s Digest article entitled “Fast-Track Fundamentals” by Richard A. Moran, a series of proverbs was supplied to remind career-oriented people of things they all too often don’t know or forget.John 19:30
One of these maxims was: "Understand what finished work looks like and deliver your work only when it is finished."
Jesus knew what finished work looked like and didn’t quit until His Father’s work was accomplished.
[Reader’s Digest, date unknown, 112-114; condensed from “Never Confuse A Memo With Reality,” Moran, © 1994, HarperCollins, NY.]
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
REBIRTH: The Spectrum of the Son!
"you must be born again"Our kids were watching some old Outer Limits reruns on TV; the episode concerned a shift in the radiation spectrum of the Sun, as a result of elevated gamma rays mankind was in danger of annihilation. Man, however, was unaware of the shift or their doom.John 3:7
"if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature"2 Corinthians 5:17
Observing this from another galaxy, some friendly aliens developed an antidote. The aliens sent an ambassador to warn earth and offer the antidote. But the human race faced a dilemma: the antidote caused a metamorphosis of all who submitted. In order to be saved, one had to be changed into a new creature.
CONSECRATION: Let’s Get Cirrus!
“Sir, we wish to see Jesus”Freshly graduated from seminary, a minister of a small Texas church in an area suffering from drought, went to visit a farmer-church member one hot afternoon.John 12:20-21
Leaning on a fence, they discussed the weather. "Those are serious clouds over there," the old man said, pointing southwest. "Don’t you mean Cirrus? Actually, they're probably Cumulus," the newcomer stated somewhat smugly.
The old man eyed him for a moment, then said, "Yung'un, they's just two kinds of clouds -- them what's serious and them what ain't."
Church folks are like that farmer’s clouds; some’re serious, some ain’t!
[Adapted from "Life In These United States" by All Henager; © 1996; The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., all rights reserved]
Monday, August 13, 2007
BOLDNESS: Of the John Wayne kind!
GO AHEAD, MAKE MY DAY: John 16:8-11; other topics - Attitude, Commitment, Conviction, Courage, Fear, Right (opposed to wrong)
The gunman found Ponsett sitting on his horse waiting for him; he asked, “Who are you?” He said, “Britt Ponsett” and laid a shotgun over his saddle as the tough started to draw. And in his signature style he drawled, “How come you're stopping? Go ahead, draw!”
The bully was so flabbergasted he couldn't find his courage; he never showed his face in the region again.
Fantasies concerning life and its living are common to all people … one of mine is stepping toward the next illogical, irrational, relativistic humanist or atheist and saying, “Go ahead, draw” as I lay the sword of the Lord across my saddle horn.
In my vision the rascal doesn’t turn and run; instead he comes under conviction, drops to his knees and pleads for God’s forgiveness.
I fear many of our brothers and sisters have become so fearful of the world and its minions they’ve rendered themselves powerless in the battle for souls.
The Six Shooter was an extremely popular western, broadcast on NBC radio from 1953-54. Jimmy Stewart starred as Britt Ponsett, a Texas plainsman.
On one broadcast (“Duel at Lockwood”; 3/21/54 - Radio Spirits) Britt called a young tough’s bluff … even though it was possible the kid might be faster.
A teen-aged killer went after The Six Shooter in a town called Lockwood … he bragged to everyone if he ran into Ponsett he’d kill him. Well Britt showed up one day; the outlaw heard the quiet gunman had come to town, so he sent a messenger to warn Ponsett he was on his way. Ponsett didn’t wait … he rode out on the trail and waited for the kid on the trail.The gunman found Ponsett sitting on his horse waiting for him; he asked, “Who are you?” He said, “Britt Ponsett” and laid a shotgun over his saddle as the tough started to draw. And in his signature style he drawled, “How come you're stopping? Go ahead, draw!”
The bully was so flabbergasted he couldn't find his courage; he never showed his face in the region again.
Fantasies concerning life and its living are common to all people … one of mine is stepping toward the next illogical, irrational, relativistic humanist or atheist and saying, “Go ahead, draw” as I lay the sword of the Lord across my saddle horn.
In my vision the rascal doesn’t turn and run; instead he comes under conviction, drops to his knees and pleads for God’s forgiveness.
Clearly, there is a present need for more boldness amongst the Body of Christ. Jesus didn’t die in order for us to become doormats for every godless heathen we encounter. After all, Jesus was no wimp! [Luke 19:45-47; John 2:13-17]
I fear many of our brothers and sisters have become so fearful of the world and its minions they’ve rendered themselves powerless in the battle for souls.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
FRIENDS: A Thing That Makes Life Worth Living!
JESUS – THE ULTIMATE EXAMPLE: [John 15:12-17; other topics - Friendship, Marriage]
Someone once said, “What are friends for if you can’t use them?”
Friendship, like many other things, is a paradox … “it is both the strongest thing in the world and the most fragile. Wild horses cannot separate (true) friends, but whining words can. A man will lay down his life for his friend [John 15:13], but will not sacrifice his eardrums.” [“Points To Ponder,” Field Newspaper Syndicate (Readers Digest, 1985) p.183.]
Usually it’s the smallest thing which separate friends; it should be big things which break up friendships. Friends are worth fighting for even in difficult times, because true friends are very rare and hard to find.
Jesus, of course, offers the ultimate example of friendship, dying in His friends’ place while they were wholly unworthy of friendship.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
THIRST: Take a long pull on the Living Water!
SPIRITUAL THIRST: [John 4:1-26 or Revelation 21:6]
My wife and I were involved in foster care; we’ve had a foster child with us for over six years. From time to time we were required to take certification classes. In one session, the instructor was explaining how some children are abused by depravation.
She told us of three siblings who had been deprived of water. When they arrived at her home they were fascinated by the availability of water … they ran around turning on every faucet, inside and outside. But what fascinated them most were the toilets, they flushed them again and again.
A negative side to these discoveries was a sense of desperation when leaving home; their new mom solved the problem by getting each of them a mini-water bottle.
When people are deprived of a thing they “want,” they generally get along pretty well without it; however, when it’s something they “need,” or require, they suffer horribly in its absence.
These little boys didn’t consciously know they were suffering from a lack of water, but they were … so too is man as he is deprived of God’s living water! Just as he thirsts for physical water, so too he thirst for spiritual water. Only One can satisfy that thirst: The Living Water of Life!
My wife and I were involved in foster care; we’ve had a foster child with us for over six years. From time to time we were required to take certification classes. In one session, the instructor was explaining how some children are abused by depravation.
She told us of three siblings who had been deprived of water. When they arrived at her home they were fascinated by the availability of water … they ran around turning on every faucet, inside and outside. But what fascinated them most were the toilets, they flushed them again and again.
A negative side to these discoveries was a sense of desperation when leaving home; their new mom solved the problem by getting each of them a mini-water bottle.
When people are deprived of a thing they “want,” they generally get along pretty well without it; however, when it’s something they “need,” or require, they suffer horribly in its absence.
These little boys didn’t consciously know they were suffering from a lack of water, but they were … so too is man as he is deprived of God’s living water! Just as he thirsts for physical water, so too he thirst for spiritual water. Only One can satisfy that thirst: The Living Water of Life!
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
LOVE: The Greatest Thing God Has Demonstrated!
HE'S NOT OUR SON! [Matthew 28:20]
Herbert Toney, 36, and Latisha Washington, 29, were arrested in October in St. Bernard Parish, just outside New Orleans, and face several charges including abandoning their 8-year-old son.
According to police, the couple instructed the son to go into a Winn-Dixie supermarket and steal groceries and beer. When a security guard stopped him, the boy pointed to his parents nearby. But Toney and Washington matter-of-factly denied knowing the boy, and walked away.
Deputies brought the couple in again a while later, but Washington said only that maybe she had seen the boy around the neighborhood a few times. Finally, she admitted he was her child. [The Times-Picayune, 10-4-02]
The Lord will not leave us nor foresake His children!
BIBLICAL LOVE! [John 15:12-17]
I've been in many services where the preacher, the evangelist, or the teacher told us to turn to a person on the left or right and say, "I love you." But you know, I've never been in a service where anyone told us to turn to the person next to us and say, "I'm willing to die for you!" Yet that's exactly what God said to the whole world.
Love is not a theory; it’s a theorem. You see, we are supposed to demonstrate our love for others, not just say that we love someone. God so loved the world that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." God demonstrated His love for us! So now, I tell my congregation to turn to the person next to them, weeping, and say, "I'm willing to die for you!" That's biblical love!
ENJOY YOUR MEAL! [Psalm 23:5a]
Our family has been enjoying a nesting pair of doves. They’ve set up house in a Creeping Charlie, which hangs on our front porch. Mom seems to be there 24/7. Dad? Well, he comes around from time to time ... bringing lunch, perhaps.
Last year they laid a brace of eggs but having a new roof installed scared them away before they hatched. This year ... in fact just a few days ago, two chicks were born and they were born hungry. Now even dad spends time in the nest. I won’t tell you what he does.
Our dog sleeps right under their nest and they aren’t in the least fazed. We also have three cats, who take turns sitting at the screen door several times each day. The cats don’t know about the birds yet ... conversely the birds don’t seem to know about the cats.
I’ve discovered a couple of things from observing these birds. First, mothers, human or otherwise, put up with a great deal. Second, each hatchling has its meals in the presence of its enemies. Yet, unlike you or me, they have no concept of their enemies.
And so shall I be free of fear, for God promises "to prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." Now David has made no distinction whether these were temporal or eternal enemies. However, since I know the Lord is immutable [unchanging], I hold it makes no difference ... He would never have me feast fearlessly in one dimension and not in the other, so great is His love for me.
On the other hand, if you’re like me, your enemies often give you indigestion. So what’s up? Not faith, that’s for sure! I wouldn’t need spiritual Zantac ® if I really lived by faith. Jesus often said to the disciples, "Oh ye of little faith."
He also said, "And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." [Matthew 10:28] And, "be not anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself." [Matthew 6:34a]
It certainly isn’t the Lord’s fault that our temporal lives are so full of hobgoblins who give us spiritual reflux.
EVERYONE HAS A BOB! [Matthew 25:31-46]
The following is by Charles Lowery: "What about Bob?"; SBC LIFE, April 2002; Copyright © 2001 Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
THAT DREADFUL THING! [Matthew 25:40-46]
Bias is as simple to understand as the difference between a ladybug and a cockroach. Take a ladybug to your wife, girlfriend or mother and let it crawl on her arm. You’ll discover they have no objection ... that is, if don’t sneak up on them. They’ll say. "Oh, how cute. Aren’t they the prettiest things?" Some of them will add, "Don’t hurt it. They’re good bugs."
Now try doing the same thing with a water beetle (a very important bug except it looks like a cockroach). See what I mean? They’ll shout and scream, "Oh, don’t bring that dreadful thing near me. They’re so disgusting." Some of them will add, "Kill it! Kill it!" But they’re both bugs. What’s the difference?
Bias is rooted in our experiences; prejudice is rooted in our fears, which are also rooted in our experiences. Many of these experiences are actually lessons taught to us by others while we were young ... usually without our conscious knowledge.
Little girls are taught that bugs are "icky," while little boys are taught that bugs are good things to use to scare little girls. Yet, all kids are taught that ladybugs are "good bugs"; so too are "Daddy-long-legs" and "swamp flies."
Prejudice and bias interfere with the proper working of human life in general but in the heart of a believer they interfere with the proclamation of the Good News. At this moment there is a man sitting on the bench under the huge oak tree in our church parking lot. His name is Frank, he limps over here from a rest home down the street. He comes every day to sit in the shade and a drink his daily quart of bottled beer.
Frank is scruffy bearded and always appears in need of a bath. His fingernails are long and unclean. But Frank is the nicest guy. He’s as friendly as a Golden Retriever and just as uneducated. In a few minutes my associate, Dan, is going out to talk to him, and remind him of how much God loves him ... and why.
On the other hand, some people in our church have seen Frank under the tree, and asked with a tone of condemnation, "What’s he doing there?" The "he" is elevated, and clearly communicates that people like him are not welcome around God’s house. Others have asked, "Who’s that?" With the accent on "that" and the "who" drawn out like a barn owl’s cry.
My heart breaks for Frank ... in need of friends and love and space ... but it double breaks for those in my church who are biased against the different. Whose experiences have taught them to ignore the clear teachings of their Lord and Savior, "To the extent you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me. ... to the extent you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me." Whose prejudices have caused them to reject the Teacher Himself because they’ve rejected His teachings. "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
THE BEAUTY WITHIN: [Proverbs 5:18]
The sculptor and the diamond cutter have one thing in common, they’re both trying to craft a work of art out of a rough, natural stone. These artists study the jagged object before them to such a degree they can actually visualize the finished product in their minds.
Another mental phenomena which fascinates me is how lovers are able to grow old together. The process is similar to that of the artisans above, only the image visualized is an image past, while the image seen is the image present.
When we fall in love, we are enamored with our sweetheart; she is beautiful to us and, though we all have imperfections, she seems perfect.
The aging process is heartless to the images of young love; but where true love exists, it allows us to see in our aging mate the original beauty which attracted us to them. How wonderful it is to look into our wife’s eyes and see the beauty hidden behind her now maturing flesh, the continuing elegance of her now failing frame, and persistent loveliness and appeal of her now mellowing voice.
Oh, how marvelous is this thing called true love; what a gift God has given to the man who is man enough to see with the eyes of his heart ... letting his fountain be blessed, rejoicing in the wife of his youth.
"and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Herbert Toney, 36, and Latisha Washington, 29, were arrested in October in St. Bernard Parish, just outside New Orleans, and face several charges including abandoning their 8-year-old son.
According to police, the couple instructed the son to go into a Winn-Dixie supermarket and steal groceries and beer. When a security guard stopped him, the boy pointed to his parents nearby. But Toney and Washington matter-of-factly denied knowing the boy, and walked away.
Deputies brought the couple in again a while later, but Washington said only that maybe she had seen the boy around the neighborhood a few times. Finally, she admitted he was her child. [The Times-Picayune, 10-4-02]
The Lord will not leave us nor foresake His children!
BIBLICAL LOVE! [John 15:12-17]
I've been in many services where the preacher, the evangelist, or the teacher told us to turn to a person on the left or right and say, "I love you." But you know, I've never been in a service where anyone told us to turn to the person next to us and say, "I'm willing to die for you!" Yet that's exactly what God said to the whole world.
Love is not a theory; it’s a theorem. You see, we are supposed to demonstrate our love for others, not just say that we love someone. God so loved the world that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." God demonstrated His love for us! So now, I tell my congregation to turn to the person next to them, weeping, and say, "I'm willing to die for you!" That's biblical love!
ENJOY YOUR MEAL! [Psalm 23:5a]
Our family has been enjoying a nesting pair of doves. They’ve set up house in a Creeping Charlie, which hangs on our front porch. Mom seems to be there 24/7. Dad? Well, he comes around from time to time ... bringing lunch, perhaps.
Last year they laid a brace of eggs but having a new roof installed scared them away before they hatched. This year ... in fact just a few days ago, two chicks were born and they were born hungry. Now even dad spends time in the nest. I won’t tell you what he does.
Our dog sleeps right under their nest and they aren’t in the least fazed. We also have three cats, who take turns sitting at the screen door several times each day. The cats don’t know about the birds yet ... conversely the birds don’t seem to know about the cats.
I’ve discovered a couple of things from observing these birds. First, mothers, human or otherwise, put up with a great deal. Second, each hatchling has its meals in the presence of its enemies. Yet, unlike you or me, they have no concept of their enemies.
And so shall I be free of fear, for God promises "to prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." Now David has made no distinction whether these were temporal or eternal enemies. However, since I know the Lord is immutable [unchanging], I hold it makes no difference ... He would never have me feast fearlessly in one dimension and not in the other, so great is His love for me.
On the other hand, if you’re like me, your enemies often give you indigestion. So what’s up? Not faith, that’s for sure! I wouldn’t need spiritual Zantac ® if I really lived by faith. Jesus often said to the disciples, "Oh ye of little faith."
He also said, "And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." [Matthew 10:28] And, "be not anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself." [Matthew 6:34a]
It certainly isn’t the Lord’s fault that our temporal lives are so full of hobgoblins who give us spiritual reflux.
EVERYONE HAS A BOB! [Matthew 25:31-46]
The following is by Charles Lowery: "What about Bob?"; SBC LIFE, April 2002; Copyright © 2001 Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
There are always a few in every church. When we see them we think of that little Family of God chorus and sing "I'm surprised you're a part of the family of God." God made them fearfully and wonderfully weird. They have the amazing ability to drain the joy right out of the ministry. ... . The porch light is on but no one is home. ... .
When I see them I want to ask, "Where are Moe, Larry, and Curly?" ... . They act so inappropriately at times. They are usually standing when they are supposed to be sitting or talking when they are supposed to be quiet. They aren't cool, quick, or articulate like us. ... .
When everyone else has gone home, they want to talk to you. They usually want to hug you. And there is always one who zeros in on you; you are his hero, his idol, and the person he wants to spend as much time with as he can. They are there after every service, waiting to tell you things you already know. ... . You devise ways of avoiding them. ...
Let's be honest, sometimes you're just rude. You blow them off because your time is too valuable. ... . You say something that cuts them off or you embarrass them with your quick wit and it hurts and it works. Now you're free to do what important people like you do.
A friend of mine told me about someone that drove him crazy. His name was Bob. My friend was grumbling about Bob under his breath, and God was listening.
That night everything changed because God spoke to him as clearly as He had ever spoken before. God said, "You know that fellow, Bob, who is a little slow and never quite gets things right? The one you avoid at all costs? Well, I want you to remember something - compared to Me, you are not the sharpest knife in the drawer, either, and you don't get things quite right most of the time. So, the next time Bob starts to bug you, remember you're My Bob."
My own Bob was a lady who rode the van to our church. ... . When I had important things to do, I would try to sneak by without her seeing me. She always saw me and would yell, "Pastor, good morning!"
After church we greeted guests in the Hospitality Room and she always came in to give me a hug ... . I hugged her ... and I enjoyed it. Because I knew she was my Bob, I knew that in her simplistic mind, I represented God. God in His still, small voice said, "Well done, Charles. You loved someone who needed My love desperately. When you are desperate for love, I'll be there for you like you were for her." And when I was desperate, He was there.
I have now resigned from that church and when I look back on my time there, she is one of the people I miss. Why? Because I know she really needed me. I pray that God will send her another Charles and ... me another Bob, and give me enough sense to recognize him when he shows up.
THAT DREADFUL THING! [Matthew 25:40-46]
Bias is as simple to understand as the difference between a ladybug and a cockroach. Take a ladybug to your wife, girlfriend or mother and let it crawl on her arm. You’ll discover they have no objection ... that is, if don’t sneak up on them. They’ll say. "Oh, how cute. Aren’t they the prettiest things?" Some of them will add, "Don’t hurt it. They’re good bugs."
Now try doing the same thing with a water beetle (a very important bug except it looks like a cockroach). See what I mean? They’ll shout and scream, "Oh, don’t bring that dreadful thing near me. They’re so disgusting." Some of them will add, "Kill it! Kill it!" But they’re both bugs. What’s the difference?
Bias is rooted in our experiences; prejudice is rooted in our fears, which are also rooted in our experiences. Many of these experiences are actually lessons taught to us by others while we were young ... usually without our conscious knowledge.
Little girls are taught that bugs are "icky," while little boys are taught that bugs are good things to use to scare little girls. Yet, all kids are taught that ladybugs are "good bugs"; so too are "Daddy-long-legs" and "swamp flies."
Prejudice and bias interfere with the proper working of human life in general but in the heart of a believer they interfere with the proclamation of the Good News. At this moment there is a man sitting on the bench under the huge oak tree in our church parking lot. His name is Frank, he limps over here from a rest home down the street. He comes every day to sit in the shade and a drink his daily quart of bottled beer.
Frank is scruffy bearded and always appears in need of a bath. His fingernails are long and unclean. But Frank is the nicest guy. He’s as friendly as a Golden Retriever and just as uneducated. In a few minutes my associate, Dan, is going out to talk to him, and remind him of how much God loves him ... and why.
On the other hand, some people in our church have seen Frank under the tree, and asked with a tone of condemnation, "What’s he doing there?" The "he" is elevated, and clearly communicates that people like him are not welcome around God’s house. Others have asked, "Who’s that?" With the accent on "that" and the "who" drawn out like a barn owl’s cry.
My heart breaks for Frank ... in need of friends and love and space ... but it double breaks for those in my church who are biased against the different. Whose experiences have taught them to ignore the clear teachings of their Lord and Savior, "To the extent you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me. ... to the extent you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me." Whose prejudices have caused them to reject the Teacher Himself because they’ve rejected His teachings. "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
THE BEAUTY WITHIN: [Proverbs 5:18]
The sculptor and the diamond cutter have one thing in common, they’re both trying to craft a work of art out of a rough, natural stone. These artists study the jagged object before them to such a degree they can actually visualize the finished product in their minds.
Another mental phenomena which fascinates me is how lovers are able to grow old together. The process is similar to that of the artisans above, only the image visualized is an image past, while the image seen is the image present.
When we fall in love, we are enamored with our sweetheart; she is beautiful to us and, though we all have imperfections, she seems perfect.
The aging process is heartless to the images of young love; but where true love exists, it allows us to see in our aging mate the original beauty which attracted us to them. How wonderful it is to look into our wife’s eyes and see the beauty hidden behind her now maturing flesh, the continuing elegance of her now failing frame, and persistent loveliness and appeal of her now mellowing voice.
Oh, how marvelous is this thing called true love; what a gift God has given to the man who is man enough to see with the eyes of his heart ... letting his fountain be blessed, rejoicing in the wife of his youth.
Sunday, August 07, 2005
LIGHT - Let the be no darkness at all!
BETTER TO BE BLIND! [John 8:12; Illumination, Jesus, Life] (Added 3 June 2006)CONSUMED BY HIS POWER! [2 Corinthians 4:4; gospel, power (God's)]Imagine no red rose, no blue sky, rolling but grey hills, and a several shades of grey Monarch Butterfly. Without light, there is no color. Color is just bands of light reflected off an object; which bands are reflected depends on the nature of the object. Without light, things would be very plain … AND VERY DARK.
So too without Christ … imagine no hope, no love, no future, and no present purpose for living.
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life."
Without the light of Christ, there would be no spiritual blessings, no sustaining grace, and no “daily bread” worth eating. Just as it is impossible to receive mail without a delivery address, it is impossible to receive a true blessing outside the person and authority of Christ but it is the individuals nature that brings His ultimate blessing.
COME INTO THE LIGHT! [1 Peter 1:19; Revelation, Sin, Truth]One of our church janitors was in my office the other day and told me a fascinating but sad story.
A hardworking man finally had time to go to a night baseball game with his family. They were doing the usual things: eating hot-dogs and peanuts, drinking cokes, and complaining about the prices.
His wife, a registered nurse and mother of his three kids, said something and he turned in such a way that the park lights were directly in his eyes. She gasped and took his face in her hands to have a closer look. Her suspicion was correct, his eyes were jaundiced, a sign of several serious diseases. Within a few weeks her childhood sweetheart and the father of her three children was dead.
Man must come into the light of God to see the ravaging affects of his sins. He is little more than the walking dead without the cleansing power of the blood of the Lamb. The Light reveals the truth for all to see. Many will come into the light too late. [1 Corinthians 4:5]LAVA LAMP BELIEVERS! [1 John 1:6,7; apostasy, believers, nominalism, testimony, witness]My associate pastor, Dan, used to work for Orkin (the pesty people); he was pulpit supply for me this morning and I was blessed to hear an illustration he used on the whole armor of God [Epesian 6:10-17].
Orkin evidently had special Maglites with custom commercial grade batteries in them ... make that battery. Instead of four D-cells it had a single, long battery. I gather They're like those used by law enforcement. At any rate he said it was a blessing when he was crawling around in attics and under houses; it would light up the area from one end to the other.
He used this tool to illustrate the power of the Light of God, Jesus our Lord. When an ordinary flashlight was shined directly into the beam of light coming from his Maglite the beam from the common flashlight was consumed by the power of the more powerful light.
So too the power of Satan, when it is exposed to the Light of God.Lava Lamps have made a comeback in recent years (2002). Many of today’s versions are more creative than when they were first introduced some forty years ago.
All lava lamps have one thing in common, none of them are adequate as a source of light. They're called a lamp, but they're not a lamp.
The age of their introduction was an age of darkness and half-light. People in that day didn’t want a lot of light. You might say they wanted just enough of the real thing so they could call the facsimile by name of the real thing.
Unfortunately, many Christians aren’t much better than lava lamps; they don’t really want the whole Light of God, just enough so they can go by the name of the Genuine Light yet remain in the shadows.
TURNING TOWARD THE LIGHT! [Ephesians 5:7-10; other topics - Holiness, Righteousness] (Added 3 June 2006)Our adopted daughter, Naomi, was admiring one of her mom’s houseplants. Her older sister, Jennifer, asked her if she noticed how the plant leaned toward the light coming through the front window. She said, “Yeah!” He sister then told her, “If you turn the plant around halfway, the plant will lean back toward the light inside of a week.” Naomi said, “Wow!”Likewise genuine Christians; separate them from the Light, or turn them away from the Light, and inside a short period of time they will have leaned back toward Him.
Friday, July 15, 2005
ETERNAL SECURITY - Once sealed, always sealed!
BURNED JUST ONCE! [Ephesians 1:13,14; regeneration, seal (of Holy Spirit)]
Our church secretary, Patsy McDonald, just informed me CD’s now have a fail-safe feature burned into them preventing more than one copy from being made. The manufacturers and producers do this to prevent the lose on their valuable products. Once is all they allow.
God has likewise burned a fail-safe feature into the spirit of "the redeemed" [Ephesians 1:13]. We are originally created in God’s image, then regenerated by the precious blood of Jesus and sealed for all eternity by the Holy Spirit to prevent the loss of His most valuable possessions. Once saved is all that He requires. Glory to God!
CROSSING GUARD! [John 1:12,13; atonement, redemption, salvation]
When I was a little boy I was instructed in how to cross the street at intersections, with and without traffic lights. My elders told me the signal lights were preset for a minimum number of people; they told me I would have to wait until that many people had pushed the pedestrian crossing button. So we all pushed the button again and again until the signal changed.
I trusted the wisdom of my elders in those days; I really thought, for the longest time, I could make the signal change by pushing that silly button. Nearly wore my index finger out doing it.
I’m sure you’ve noticed, if you’re paying attention, how many people still push the pedestrian button over and over, believing, as I did, they have some control over the lights. What is amazing to me is how many grownups still do.
Grownups really do amaze me, especially concerning changing things. In the same way the pedestrian crossing button must only be pushed once to let the system know we’re there, we must only receive Christ once, in order to cross over, changing our eternal destiny. There’s no way to change the entry made to the system once that eternal button is pushed. There’s no standing on the corner of Atonement Avenue and Redemption Road saying, “Opps! I didn’t mean that.” The signal won’t flash a message back saying, “You started to cross before the light changed, your right to cross is revoked!” Or, “You’re too slow, go back and start over.”
We’ve all heard “Christians” who tell of the many times they’ve received the Lord, as if they had something to do with crossing over. Or they say, “It didn’t work the first time.” We’ve also heard those who tells us salvation can be lost and we must receive Christ again. We must be perfectly clear on this: salvation is of the Lord, it is a gift of God [Ephesians 2:8]. Once God saves a soul that soul is saved for all eternity. Push the crossing over button once, sincerely, that’s all that’s needed.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
SANCTIFICATION - Our hand in His hand!
AIMING FOR THE CENTER OF HIS WILL! [Matthew 7:13,14; other topics - Walk, Way (The), Will (of God)]
In order to keep my car in the middle of the lane, I was taught (by a farmer) to “aim” the vehicle down the road.The Christian walk is like that: God doesn’t want us veering to the right or the left; He wants us on the straight and narrow. Paul says we should focus on things above and in so doing we’ll keep right in the middle of His Way. For me the narrow gate figuratively represents “things above.”
Praise His holy name. (added 2/15/2006)
AIR SPEED! [James 4:4-10]
All winged aircraft have one thing in common, they must maintain air speed or they will go into a stall and nose-over. From time to time, our walk seems to nose-over, our forward progress being insufficient to sustain the "lift" needed. We must
1. be prepared for His presence
2. respond to his presence, and
3. experience His presence!
HEAVEN ON EARTH! [Various; Life (True), Heaven]Heaven may be compared to the dining hall of a great king. Where, for now, we’re all outside his castle waiting to be let into the Great Hall. Everyone has received an invitation to come to the royal table and join in consuming his royal feast, only not all will accept his invitation. [Mark D. Roberts, After I Believe (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 19]
The interesting aspect is the Christian life this side of eternity future; its like the “Heavenly Cook [letting] us stick our fingers into the batter of heaven while it’s being prepared. The Christian Life happens not just in the future but right now.” (added 2/15/2006)
HUMAN BOOKCASES! [James 1:22-25; other topics - Knowledge; Word; Works]
When I was in elementary school I recall the big deal my mom and dad made over money, how tight it was. But then they bought a set of Collier’s Encyclopedias on an installment plan because they thought my sisters and I could use the knowledge.
The buyer received a complete set of books at the time of purchase, with updates coming every year. You also received a small doubled-shelved, wooden bookcase. It was designed specifically for the books.
I was about 22-years old when those books went for $10.00 at a yard sale. I don’t ever remember opening any of them; I don’t ever remember my sisters opening any of those books.
In fact, I don’t ever remember my mom or dad opening any of those books ... except the first couple of nights, to show us how they were full of facts and knowledge and other useless stuff.
Sadly, many Christians are like that little bookcase. They’re crammed full of information, facts and knowledge ... but it never gets applied.
Christianity is intended to be applied. Like those books filled with all that powerful knowledge, Christians whose heads are full of knowledge are useless, unless some of that learning seeps down into the heart, where knowledge gets applied.MASTER BUILDER! [Romans 6:19]
A master shipbuilder steps out into his yard and looks around him. There are vast skeletons of ships in the process of completion; there are others nearing completion. But there is nothing in the scene to satisfy, nothing is as he envisions. The big hulls are at present good for nothing. A thousand hammers pounding a thousand rivets into place like a thousand woodpeckers from hell. The yard is strewn with scrap and jigs.
And a short distance is the public harbor, with its fancy and not so fancy boats, of every size and shape; and near it is the grave yard ... decaying, rotting, half-sunk craft ... abandoned and doomed to one day be taken away to a fiery pit.
Yet the owner stands content amid the imperfection. He never thinks of doubting the process he commands. In his mind he knows the ideal, the perfect ship, and he justifies these imperfect vessels by imputing to them that ideal.
God is like that master shipbuilder. The ideal servant exists in His mind. He has the Blueprint; man is jut the image of what is to be. When God looks at him He does not despair, because He knows what the Perfect Man is like and smiles at the thought of His Son.
Attribution: e-Sword Ministries' (2000+ Illustrations)
PARADOX OF CHRISTIAN GROWTH! [John 3:30; Discipleship, growth, humility]Someone once said they knew when a believer was growing because:
SPIRITUAL NAVIGATION SYSTEMS! [Romans 1:18-20; other topics - Attributes (of God), creation, discipleship, nature, revelation, witnessing]
“Get ready! You’re going to have fewer excuses for getting lost on the road.” This sure sounds like it might be from a tract on the Roman Road, doesn’t it?
No, it isn’t! Actually it’s ad copy from an Internet advertisement for “on-board navigation systems” from the automobile industry. These “NAVS,” as they are called, use GPS (Global Positioning Satellite technology) to locate a position precisely; the same technology used recently by scientists to determine the exact height of the Washington Monument.
As model years pass, more new cars are being offered with onboard navigation systems, which help you map your route to important meetings, or to that favorite vacation spot near grandma’s, or to a restaurant whose address you’ve forgotten. NAVS can even help direct you to a local automated teller machine (ATM) or nearest hospital or your next job interview.
Now there’s no real excuse for getting lost, even if you’re one of those guys who refuses to ask for directions.
God has been far ahead of modern technology. In Romans 1:19 Paul says,For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.God’s plan has always been to provide man with a spiritual navigation system. In fact, Paul clearly says just that. God has given mankind all they need to know to know where they are in relationship to Him: general and special revelation - not to mention the conscience, which the Holy Spirit uses to convict us and guide us.
THE LORD’S LEASH! [Luke 15:17a; Discipleship, discipline, obedience, submission (surrender)]
Recently, I took my dog for a walk just as I do every morning. When I leave the entrance of our housing development, I always look both ways to see who else is out walking their dog. A few are pests: both owners and dogs.
Up the block, I saw the man with the golf cart and his little grey poodle; both are regulars. I noticed his dog was off the leash again, so I crossed the street and walked the other way. When I reached Foothill Boulevard, two blocks away, I crossed to the other side and headed home.
That’s when I heard an anxious voice calling a dog. I looked up and saw this vicious, bloodthirsty, 9½ lb. grey speck burning rubber in my direction, a block away, his owner in hot pursuit. I tried to scare the little speck away but he made an end-run, stood up, danced over, put his paws on my dog’s face, and bit him on the forehead. Well, my dog, Buck, doesn’t like to be bit, but he likes boy dogs even less.
I was able to pull the little dog from Buck’s mouth before he swallowed but not before the little fur ball twisted and tore the back of my hand up. As bad as my hand was, what the poodle got for his efforts was much worse.
The moral: don’t covet being off the Lord’s leash or even at the end of his leash (Parents, pay special attention: don’t let your kids off their leash until you’re certain they have the spirit God wants for them.).
Moving farther away from your Master than your Master gives you leash is not wise at all: not only might you get hurt, or killed, but you’ll certainly bring pain and suffering to others. This latter point is worthy of emphasis.
Too often, we are lulled into seeing the Leash of the Lord as “for our benefit alone,” we rarely give thought to the benefits others reap from our being tethered. Consider that my dog was on a leash and we were both minding our own business, yet we were both bitten and I’m out over $100.
Also, consider the consequences to the owner of that little beast; he’s out over $600. And my dog? He’s real upset that I interrupted his meal. And Shadow (that’s the perpetrator’s name)? Well, he is just now able to face the great outdoors.
Look back, beloved, at all the time off the Lord’s Leash and witness the devastation of that time.
THE JOY OF THE JOURNEY! [Romans 6:19-22]
George, let’s call him George, was a very busy and very successful younger man. In fact, he had done so well that he decided to surprise his wife with a trip to Tahiti over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. On his lunch hour, he hurried to his agent’s office and picked up the tickets.
In early December George stopped at the dry cleaners on his way home to pick up his suits and was surprised when the manager handed him an envelop with two unused tickets to Tahiti. After he had purchased the tickets he had put them in his jacket pocket and immediately went back to his normal routine … he forgot the entire event.
Many people are just like George. They pray to God for forgiveness and promise to do better but immediately, they forget what they’ve done and return to their normal routine. Even some genuine believers accept a ticket to eternity, put it away, and never seem to experience the marvelous journey laid out before them.
The salvation event ought to be like the ideal marriage event, where two distinct and independent individuals agree to unite and journey through life together. Instead, far too many salvation experiences are like far too many marriages: the uniting occurs but the couple never experiences the journey’s joy, and often end in separation.
It is true that all we must do is “call upon the name of the Lord” [Romans 10:13], but God never intended the journey to end there, just as a marriage is not supposed to stop on the trip home from the honeymoon.
VOLCANO STEW!
On the isle of São Miguel, in the Azores, a powerful and popular dish, cozido, is prepared in an interesting way: mix beef, chicken, pork, sausages, and vegetables together in an aluminum-cooking utensil, place this in a cloth bag, bury it all in the ground near Lake Furnas, and let it steam naturally for approximately six hours.
The volcano Furnas created Lake Furnas when it erupted thousands of years ago; soil surrounding the lake can reach a temperature of 208 degrees Fahrenheit, providing villagers with an unique natural oven. [Adapted from National Geographic; cited in Reader’s Digest, “Notes From All Over, p.204, nd.]
God could have chosen another way to deal with rebirth, perhaps taking us up to glory immediately. For reasons He and He alone knows He decided to leave us where we were to prepare us according to His receipe and His time. Perfect in the end!TAGS: Bible, Christianity, Illustrations, Sanctification, Sermons, Religion
Friday, March 04, 2005
Warnings
WACKY WARNING LABELS! [John 3:3; other topics - Bible, Word]Close to 100 warning labels were entered in the Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch's “Wacky Warning Labels” contest recently. The winner: “Shin pads cannot protect any part of the body they do not cover.”Every Bible should also have a warning label: “Open at your own risk.” However, the real warning is inside: “You must be born-again or you shall not see the Kingdom of God!”How fearful and horrible is the thought that some will not see the Kingdom of God simply because they will not “see” the kingdom of God [or the King of the kingdom] when a glimpse is offered.
Courage
The Six Shooter was an extremely popular western, broadcast on NBC radio from 1953-54. Jimmy Stewart starred as Britt Ponsett, a Texas plainsman.
On one broadcast (“The New Sheriff”; 6/10/54 - Radio Spirits) Britt called a bully’s bluff … even though his gun was several feet away on a dresser.
In his signature style, Stewart (as Ponsett) told the tough he could draw his gun anytime he wanted. The surprised crook stammered, “B-b-b-but you a-a-a-ain’t got your six-shooter.”
Ponsett stepped toward the thug and drawled, “Things might not work out the way you think they will.” The Six Shooter’s bold confidence made the rascal turn and run.
Fantasies concerning life and its living are common to all people … one of mine is stepping toward the next illogical, irrational, relativistic humanist and saying, “Things might not work out the way you think they will.”
Only in my vision the rascal doesn’t turn and run; instead he comes under conviction, drops to his knees and pleads for God’s forgiveness.
Only in my vision the rascal doesn’t turn and run; instead he comes under conviction, drops to his knees and pleads for God’s forgiveness.
Clearly, there is a present need for more boldness amongst the Body of Christ. Jesus didn’t die in order for us to become doormats for every godless heathen we encounter. After all, Jesus was no wimp! [Luke 19:45-47; John 2:13-17]
I fear many of our brothers and sisters have become so fearful of the world and its minions they’ve rendered themselves powerless in the battle for souls.
EASTER - The day to end all days!
BEHOLD, THE LAMB OF GOD! [John 1:29, 36; Other topics - Humility, Jesus, Lamb of God, Salvation]
A few years ago our church decided to change the traditional Easter decorations in the sanctuary.
My wife, Rita, volunteered to find a ceramic lamb for the altar decoration. She searched and searched every craft and church supply store in the area; she spent days looking; she found standing lambs, knelling lambs, and grazing lambs but not one like we wanted. Ours would be a lying down lamb, a cute and “innocent” little, reposing lamb.
Being a Shepherd, I decided I might add just the right spiritual element as she headed to the last store. We examined every self in the place; hoping perhaps one might be hidden behind something. Frustrated, we both headed for the exit, dejected, heads down … then we saw it, on the floor, in a corner, under a shelf, unattended, dirty, ignored, alone. It was perfect! And it was on sale!
The world has also been searching for a lamb to save them from their sins. They’ve been looking for 6,000 years.
They too are looking in all the wrong places, heads up, proud, money no object. They’ve found all kinds of saviors: standing ones, knelling ones, grazing ones and many others as well. But not one turned out to be the “perfect” one!
We have to give them credit, they have looked everywhere imaginable. But, it is only when they seem to have lost all hope, when their heads are down, humbled, and through with doing it themselves that they find Him … Jesus, the Lamb of God!
Jesus was likewise rejected and ignored, the world trying to shove Him out of the way, into a corner or under a shelf.
How much does the Lamb of God cost? The tag says, “Priceless.” He has paid it Himself. This Lamb gave His life for those who rejected Him.
BLESSINGS TOO NUMEROUS! [Psalm 107:31; other topics - Blessings, Conviction, Self-examination]Pastor Jack Hinton from New Bern, NC was leading worship music at a leper colony in Tobago; time allowed for one more congregational selection. A woman in the congregation, who’d been turned away, turned to face Hinton, revealing a most “hideous” face. The lady’s nose and ears were gone; most of her lips had worn away as well. She lifted a hand, more stub than hand, and asked, “Can we sing ‘Count Your Blessings’”?
Overcome by the situation Hinton fled the room, followed by another team member. The man tried to comfort the distraught song leader, “I guess you’ll never be able to sing that song again”? “Oh, yes I will,” he responded, “but never the same way.”
Warren Wiersbie is credited for saying, “Life is a school in which God trains us for eternity. Trials are ... God’s textbooks in this school of Christian experience.” It often takes the deficiency of another to reveal our own; but in the revelation, we can find fruit for nourishment.Pastor’s Update; FMB of the Southern Baptist Convention; Richmond, VA, May 1996, p.4; Sermon-Illustrations-Each-Week, 991004-6]
MORE THAN AN IMAGE IS NEEDED! [1 Peter 1:14-19; Atonement, Lamb of God, Blood (the)]
Evidently Peruvian authorities have begun dressing up walls along their nation’s filthiest streets with pictures of Jesus Christ; the purpose seems to be to shame those illegally dumping trash along the streets.Apparently, just the image of our Lord is believed to have such importance among the general Peruvian population.Oh that the mere image of the Lord would clean up the streets of our minds and hearts. But it takes the precious blood of the Lamb to cleanse the heart and mind of a sinner.
Oh that it had not been necessary for the Son of God to give His life an atonement for man’s sins … but it was.The Father tried everything; but we rejected His miracles, rejected His word, killed His prophets, and turned our backs on Him … it was oh so necessary to send His Son.You see, an image could never pay the ransom … the Jews tried that in the temple for centuries … only the priceless and spotless Lamb of God in person was worthy [Revelation 5:12].
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Jesus (the Christ)
Bad News – Good News [John 3:16, 17; other topics - Judgment, Redemption, Second Coming]
The Grabouw Journal, a South African news journal, reports the story of Roger Russell, an activist crime-fighter. In August, 1999, Russell began a 2,800-mile walk around South Africa to focus attention on the nation’s infamous crime rate; his second day out he was mugged. He wasn’t out to judge the guilty, just bring an end to crime.
The Journal said, “It was either an awful start or the best one he could have hoped for.” You see Russell is down but not out; he’s coming back to finish what he started.
God announced in various ways, over hundreds of years, He wanted to relieve man of his sin-burden; He told us in advance He would send a Savior, a Deliverer, a Redeemer, a Shepherd, and a Messiah. When He did, He sent His Son, who came in the flesh and dwelt among us [John 1:14], to focus attention on the world’s infamous sin rate. He didn’t come to judge the world but to save the world.
At the Lord’s first attempt to reach sinful man, man attacked Him rather than receive Him … oh, He was down but not out; He’s coming again to finish what he started, only this time it’ll be to judge the world [John 5:29; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 14:6,7].
[Adapted from “Reality Check for Anti-crime Trekker” by Ian Fisher, NY Times on the Web, (September 11, 1999)]
Fire Power [Acts 4:12; Lordship, Sovereignty]
In a world where numbers and possessions mean power, is it any wonder the subject of Jesus receives a cool reception?
Many are uninterested in the Good News because Jesus does not command divisions or carry a gun or have his stock listed on the NYSE or hold a Ph.D. or have a corporate title. The world doesn’t want to know who Jesus is; they want to know how much fire power He possesses.THIS LIGHT CANNOT BE STOPPED … THANK GOD! [John 1:9; other topics - Christ; Sovereignty]The New York Times reports researchers have slowed light to a dead stop, stored it, and then released it, as if it were an ordinary material particle. These reports are fascinating for anyone who knows a little about light but … there is another Light, a True Light, and no scientist will every exist who can stop Him … let alone treat Him as if He were “ordinary material particle”!The is nothing ordinary about the True Light!
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Special Days
Spirit of Christmas [John 14, 16; other topics -Carnality, Christmas, Lust (of the World), Materialism, Spirit]
A couple of years ago my wife was getting a jump on the Christmas decorating; being an insensitive beast, I said, “Aren’t the decorations going up kind of early?” She said, “Oh, I’m just trying to get into the spirit!”
Her response made me think: half the world is unable to provide a decent living, home, or meal for their families, yet here we are putting up decorations worth who knows how much and all to celebrate what the world calls a lie; the “spirit” we’re “getting into” is the spirit of this world, and we’re trying real hard to get into it, while we should be trying to get the Spirit of God into us … or if He is already in us we should trying as hard to reveal Him to those around us; and if we put as much money and effort into reaching the lost or caring for the poor, how would the real Spirit of Christmas be manifested? Christmas is coming again this year, PTL; let’s keep it holy because He is holy!
Mother’s Day [Various Scriptures; other topics - Compassion; Drugs; Responsibility; Welfare]
For the thinking and feeling person it comes as no shock when we read things like the following.
In a LA Times story, by Times Staff Writer Sylvia Pagan Westphal, it was reported that, in the drug-culture, "mother’s day” takes place the first week of every month. It's the day when welfare checks are issued in Los Angeles County.
Drug dealers anticipate “mother’s day” and stock up to raid the extra cash. The day is so named because the checks have traditionally gone to welfare-mothers. Social workers and physicians who see low-income substance abusers are well aware of the phenomena.
In a New England Journal of Medicine study released in early July, 1999, it was revealed that more than 4,000 additional deaths occur during the first week of the month as compared to the last week of the preceding month.
You don’t end a person’s problems by feeding it. There is an amazing difference between the welfare of the man in the parable of “The Good Samaritan” and the welfare our culture engages in; take them to Calvary for “by His stripes are they healed.”
[Adapted from “Study Links Welfare Paydays to Rise in Drug Deaths,” Los Angeles Times, Thursday, July 8, 1999, A17]
SALVATION - This is really Good News!
LIFE-LINE! [Psalm 132:7-9; Ark, faith, lifeline, redemption]
The storm had been chasing the destroyer all over the South Pacific and finally caught it. Now it was knocking the huge vessel around like a “ducky” in a child’s bathtub. Frank McDonald, one of our faithful deacons, was serving his country onboard this ship during the Korean War.
Frank, in one section of the ship, needed to return to his quarters following his duty shift; only one thing prevented this from being easy … the storm. In order to get to where he was going, he was forced to go out on deck for a short distance to get to an aft hatch. Knowing he was about to get soaked, he rushed out with his head down … suddenly the ship lurched, his feet flew out from under him … wham, his back hit the hard slopping surface and he shot feet first out over the side of the ship, nothing but air to support him. For some reason, which Frank can’t explain, he held his hands in the air, fingers cupped, thumbs down … as if planned by the ship’s designer, both hands caught and grasped the ship’s lower lifeline, saving him from the sea’s unappeasable gullet.God’s Son, Jesus, is designed to be His vessel (an ark) of salvation for those who believe. He is included in God’s plan of salvation as our lifeline; unseen as we slide down the slippery slope of life, at an ever increasing rate. Rescue from eternal damnation awaits those who, by faith, would but reach up and grasp the line that is offered.LOST AND FOUND [Jeremiah 5:25; Carnality, heaven, sin]
Norman Johnston committed a series of appalling crimes, and then murdered his own teen-aged relatives to cover the trail. His young relatives were members of his burglary gang ... they simply knew too much. Johnston, 48, has spent the last 20 years of his life in Huntington state prison in Pennsylvania. He thought he couldn’t cope with imprisonment any longer, so he constructed a dummy for his bunk, cut out his cell window, and escaped. But he quickly discovered he couldn’t cope with freedom either.
He stole car after car because he couldn’t operate electronic gas pumps. He stole mobile phones but couldn’t use those either. Most of his liberty was spent roaming around the Pennsylvania countryside, scared and bewildered. He was captured in a housing development which had been built on land he knew as open farmland during his youth.
Johnston was returned to prison; he was lost, he was found, he was returned but not to his father’s house.
However, with the Lord, who came "to seek and to save the lost," when you are found, you are returned to a right relationship with your Father in heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself goes to prepare a place for you.
PACKED FOR PRESERVATION! [2 Peter 2:4-10a; Apostasy, Redemption]
According to a story in The Guardian (London), Calin Florea of Scarisoara Romania dismantled his German-made Lanz tractor and packed it in cardboard coated with tar; he did this to escape the confiscating claws of communist collectivization in 1955. By 1990, however, land reforms had made it possible for Florea to farm the land he once owned, so he dug it up, reassembled it, and started all over. Had Florea not protected his possession carefully the elements would have destroyed it when he once came to redeem it.
God commanded Jeremiah the prophet to obtain and bury a waistband near the river Euphrates; taking no precautions to protect it. Later, God commanded him to retrieve the waistband from its burial place. When Jeremiah did so, he discovered that the waistband had rotted and was worthless. [Jeremiah 13:1-8]
God then said to Jeremiah,"Just so will I destroy the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This wicked people, who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband, which is totally worthless. For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah to cling to Me … that they might be for Me a people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they did not listen."Observation suggests the “western” church could easily serve as a substitute for Israel in this passage … without disturbing the water. The same observation reveals that many contemporary believers have hidden their lamps under peck-measures. [Cf. Matthew 5:15-16]Jeremiah 13:9-11
One day, these autumn trees without fruit, much like the five hapless virgins of Matthew 25 [1-13], will return to search out their lamp only to find it without oil or wick … and so worthless.
God is unchanging [immutable] and His judgments are for all ages and all peoples. Therefore, no man shall escape His wrath. God will reach down near the River of Life and retrieve that which He hid in our hearts long ago. Should He find it rotted and worthless the end shall be according to the means [2 Corinthians 11:15-16].
God has given us a prized possession and it is up to us to protect it for they day when it is to be revealed … it must be packed in the precious blood of Jesus. (Added 18 May 2006)
PULL PIN NOW! [John 3:3, 5; deliverance]The fire extinguisher outside my office says, “Pull pin.” This simple admonition is to remind potential users that the pin must be pulled before the extinguisher can be used to put out a fire.
Likewise, a parachute will have an admonition on its pack, “Pull pin to open.” If the parachutist wants to save his life (after a period of free fall), he must pull the pin before it is too late.In John 3:3 Jesus said, “Truly, truly, you must be born again.” This is Jesus saying, “If you want to be saved, pull pin first.”
If one wants to avoid the fires of hell, he must pull the pin on this life in order for the next to begin; if he wants to avoid the second death, he must open the Savior’s chute this side of the first death before it is too late.
RELIGIOUS MUSCLE RELAXANT! [2 Corinthians 5:17; life, regeneration, sanctification, walk]
My friend Marsha Wagner’s husband, Andy, snored something awful, until he had a heart attack. To help him sleep, his doctor prescribed a muscle relaxant; a side effect of the drug was his snoring stopped.
Prior to this, her husband’s nightly sonata let Marsha know he was at least okay; but know, since he’s sleeping better, she has to poke him to see if he is still alive.
I’ve seen far too many people whose lives exhibited some irritating carnal behavior, walk the aisle, pray the sinner’s pray, get baptized and claim the name of Jesus who now must be poked to see if they are still alive. Though the irritating behavior is gone, the life is not present.
Christianity is being used by too many people as a religious muscle relaxant for the flesh but manifests no Spirit-filled, animated, Pentecostal life. God doesn’t relax our muscles to make us stop sinning, He makes a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
THE SIGNATURE IS WHAT MATTERS! [Ephesians 1:7-8; Redemption]
At an annual town reunion, one of the town’s original organizers saw a disheveled man sitting alone on a park bench, a brown paper bag in his hand. The founder thought he knew him, so he approached. “Ben?” He asked gently. “Is that you?” The man looked up through swollen and bloodshot eyes. “Huh?” He responded.Shocked at the man’s condition he considered leaving but something made him stop. “Ben? Ben Johnson? That is you, isn’t it?”“Oh, he-llll-llooow.” The man breathed, between a yawn and a belch. “Yea, Sam. It’s me. Your old buddy Benjamin.”After discovering his friend’s sad history … two tours in Nam, in and out of Veteran’s Hospitals, several divorces, and alcoholism … Sam felt compassion for his old friend and asked if there was anything he could do to help. His friend said there was but he didn’t deserve it; he could help him raise the money to get into a veterans rehab program out of state so he could get his life back together. Instead, Sam wrote him a check for the entire sum. But since it was Sunday, the bank was closed and he’d have to wait until Monday to cash the check.On Wednesday, Sam was driving out of town to return home, when he saw his friend, Ben, sitting on the same park bench, looking just as pathetic. Angry, he pulled into the park and stopped next to the bench. Accusingly, he said, “What happened, Ben? Did you cash it and spend it on booze?”Quickly and soberly, Ben pulled the check from his army jacket and held it high. “No! No!” He exclaimed. “I got it I just ain’t cashed it.” Frustrated Sam asked why. Ben’s head dropped and his eyes began to tear up. “Sam, I went to that bank Monday and sat outside all day until they closed. I never went in because I knew they’d take one look at me and know I got no right to have a check this big.”Now Sam’s eyes began to tear up. “Oh, Ben.” He said. “It’s not what you look like or what you smell like that makes that check good. It’s the signature on the check and whether or not its writer has enough in his account to cover the draft.”In the same way, on judgment day, everyone will come before the Judge of judges and He will look to see whose name is written on our hearts and whether or not He has the resources to cover the draft. [Author unknown]
TODAY IS THE DAY! [2 Corinthians 6:2; Choices, evangelism, light-dark, redemption]
California is known for its earthquakes and in 1994 one hit the Northridge area of Southern California.
One of the Los Angeles Police Department’s most highly regarded motorcycle officers was in bed, miles away, when he felt the shake. He instinctively knew it was a big one and as a professional knew he’d be needed. Without waiting for a call, he dress and rushed to get his LAPD cycle and head for his station.
What the officer did not know was that Highway 14 leading into Los Angeles had suffered major damage, several overpasses were down. At about 5:15 AM, in the dark, with only his single headlight to guide him, this dedicated police officer and father of three sailed of the truncated end of a freeway overpass to his death forty feet below.
Mankind is driving in the dark, seeking a way to make sense of his life, looking for meaning, with only a puny little light to guide him. He doesn’t know it but the bridge is out ahead. An abyss lies at the bottom. He may not reach it today, or tomorrow, but he will reach it and then it will be too late … unless he is clinging to the Light of the World.
TWO SETS OF PLANS! [2 Peter 2:4-10a; Apostasy, Redemption]
Not far from the Kremlin wall stands the Moskva Hotel, as gargantuan in scale as Stalin’s state power used to be. After 50 years Muscovites have grown accustomed to it, but a visitor can’t help but notice the bizarre asymmetry of its façade.
An invisible vertical line seems to divide the structure in two, with one architectural style on the left, another on the right.
As one story goes, the architect worked up two designs, and Stalin, not realizing they were different, signed off on both. Nobody had the temerity to explain this mistake to the “Father of Peoples” – so the hotel was built using both designs. [Anatoly Sobchak, For a New Russia, (Free Press)]
God has prepared us to be redeemed by two designs ... one by the Law, through works, and the other by Grace, through His Son, but God knows the difference and is not confused about which is which. (Added 18 May 2006)
UNCOVERED AND USED ANEW! [Romans 3:21-26; Grace, regeneration]
Supposedly, it was laid down in the deep rich soil of rural Clay County, Georgia, around 1828; sometime between then and about 1930 it was forgotten and has reclined unused till discovered in May of 2002.
No one knows for certain when the open-air baptistry of Mt. Gilead Baptist Church (Fort Gaines, Ga.) was last used; in fact, it took weeks to locate anyone who even remembered the concrete pool. Only a few people could recall the church ever having a place to baptize. But one member (who said he was "practically born and raised in this church"), remembers playing in the baptistry with his friends in 1932.The baptistry was discovered when volunteers gathered to clear land for parking in the woods across from the church. A deacon operating a backhoe hit something that attracted his attention; the heavy equipment strained but couldn’t move whatever it was. Two additional deacons were called to bring hand tools to help clear the decades old accumulation of pine mulch covering the 9’ by 5’, 600-gallon structure. The accidental archaeologists didn’t know they had uncovered a century-old baptistry, they initially thought it might be a grave or a septic tank.No one was as surprised about the find as were members of Mt. Gilead. The bottom-line, however, is that it was found and is now in use once again. Once the baptismal was found to be functional, the congregation restored the tradition of holding baptisms in it. [Adapted from an October 16, 2002, Baptist Press story by Joe Westbury]Once we were lost, but now we are found; once we were hidden by decay, but now we are clean; once we were not useful, but now we are on mission and in service.
Praise God I’m found and useful again! To God be the glory, the honor, and the power forever, without end.
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