Just sharing.

[beensetfree]

“When I passed by thee, I said unto thee, Live.”

Ezekiel 16:6

Saved one, consider gratefully this mandate of mercy. Note that this fiat of God is majestic. In our text, we perceive a sinner with nothing in him but sin, expecting nothing but wrath; but the eternal Lord passes by in his glory; he looks, he pauses, and he pronounces the solitary but royal word, “Live.” There speaks a God. Who but he could venture thus to deal with life and dispense it with a single syllable? Again, this fiat is manifold.

When he saith “Live,” it includes many things. Here is judicial life. The sinner is ready to be condemned, but the mighty One saith, “Live,” and he rises pardoned and absolved. It is spiritual life. We knew not Jesus — our eyes could not see Christ, our ears could not hear his voice — Jehovah said “Live,” and we were quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. Moreover, it includes glory-life, which is the perfection of spiritual life. “I said unto thee, Live:” and that word rolls on through all the years of time till death comes, and in the midst of the shadows of death, the Lord's voice is still heard, “Live!” In the morning of the resurrection it is that self-same voice which is echoed by the arch-angel, “Live,” and as holy spirits rise to heaven to be blest for ever in the glory of their God, it is in the power of this same word, “Live.”

Note again, that it is an irresistible mandate. Saul of Tarsus is on the road to Damascus to arrest the saints of the living God. A voice is heard from heaven and a light is seen above the brightness of the sun, and Saul is crying out, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” This mandate is a mandate of free grace. When sinners are saved, it is only and solely because God will do it to magnify his free, unpurchased, unsought grace. Christians, see your position, debtors to grace; show your gratitude by earnest, Christlike lives, and as God has bidden you live, see to it that you live in earnest.

 

[beensetfree]

Giving

I had a professor in seminary who told us one day that there were four stages of giving, which he then proceeded to illustrate. “The first stage is like a man who stands up in church and says, ‘Hey, everybody, look! I’m putting a hundred dollar bill in the offering!’ The second stage is when the same man puts the hundred dollar bill in the offering but does not announce the fact. However, he makes it convenient somehow for someone to find out. The third stage is when he puts the hundred dollar bill in the offering and neither makes the announcement nor makes it convenient that someone find out. But he feels so righteous.

With that the seminary professor changed the subject and started talking about something else. One of the students interrupted him, saying, “Now wait a minute, didn’t you say that there were four stages of giving?” “That ‘s right,” the professor replied, “Well then, what’s the fourth stage?” “Who knows?” the teacher replied.

 

[beensetfree]

If one day


if one day my tears are running
because i’m so hurt inside
i know you will be there
and i wouldn’t have to hide.

if one day i see beauty
that no one cares to see
i know you will be there
to cherish it with me.

if one day i grow old
and nothing seems worth while
i know you will be there
to share with me your smile

if one day my eyes give up
and i couldn’t see the stars at night
i know you will be there
to share with me your sight.

because God loves me so much
he sent someone true
he knows deeply of friendship
and he saw it in you.

 

[beensetfree]

Abide in Love
We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised (eternal life).

Hebrews 6:11,12 NIV

__________________

As many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them who believe on His Name.

John 1:12 KJV

__________________

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

1 John 4:15,16 NASB

__________________

Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

 

[beensetfree]

“Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.”

Joel 1:3

In this simple way, by God's grace, a living testimony for truth is always to be kept alive in the land—the beloved of the Lord are to hand down their witness for the gospel, and the covenant to their heirs, and these again to their next descendants. This is our first duty, we are to begin at the family hearth: he is a bad preacher who does not commence his ministry at home. The heathen are to be sought by all means, and the highways and hedges are to be searched, but home has a prior claim, and woe unto those who reverse the order of the Lord's arrangements.

To teach our children is a personal duty; we cannot delegate it to Sunday school teachers, or other friendly aids; these can assist us, but cannot deliver us from the sacred obligation; proxies and sponsors are wicked devices in this case: mothers and fathers must, like Abraham, command their households in the fear of God, and talk with their offspring concerning the wondrous works of the Most High. Parental teaching is a natural duty — who so fit to look to the child's well-being as those who are the authors of his actual being? To neglect the instruction of our offspring is worse than brutish.

Family religion is necessary for the nation, for the family itself, and for the church of God. By a thousand plots Popery is covertly advancing in our land, and one of the most effectual means for resisting its inroads is left almost neglected, namely, the instruction of children in the faith. Would that parents would awaken to a sense of the importance of this matter. It is a pleasant duty to talk of Jesus to our sons and daughters, and the more so because it has often proved to be an accepted work, for God has saved the children through the parents’ prayers and admonitions. May every house into which this volume shall come honour the Lord and receive his smile.

 

[beensetfree]

What Does Jesus Say About Homosexual Behavior?



How many times have we heard that claim that “Jesus never spoke one word on homosexual behavior”? I would argue that yes, he did. We find that word on his list of sins that defile the human heart in Mark 7:22-23, where Jesus names not only adultery and heterosexual sex outside of marriage, but also the sin of aselgeia.

Aselgeia is a term that is usually translated “lewdness,” “licentiousness,” or “lasciviousness,” but it appears to be the Greek word used by first century Jews to refer to sexual behavior that goes beyond mere fornication or adultery.
Before I go any further, you may wonder, “Is Jesus anti-gay?” That’s a very different question than to ask, “Does Jesus think sex is OK between members of the same sex?” If we presume that Jesus hates all people who do stuff that he names on this sin list, then Jesus must hate everybody! No, that’s the wrong way to read Jesus’ teaching. Jesus is not labeling same-sex attraction as sin. The issue is not our desires, but how we handle those desires.

I have made the argument that aselgeia is Jesus’ veiled term for homosexual behavior and other similar sexual offenses forbidden in the Torah in my journal article “Aselgeia in Mark 7:22.” The scholar’s version may be found at https://www.bsw.org/filologia-neote...963-941-955-947-949-953-945-in-mark-7-22/523/. The layperson’s version may be found in Appendix Two of my book, What’s on God’s Sin List for Today?

The basic meaning of this word in Greek is shocking behavior that goes way over the line. It can include outrageous insults. Plutarch uses the word for men who deliberately vomited at dinner and pooped on their chairs, while Demosthenes uses it for men who dumped chamberpots on their host. But the word is more often used for shocking sexual behavior, including a man who has sex with his slave in public at a party, a Roman soldier who waves his penis at a crowd in Jerusalem, and “a single young man who through aselgeia has become the lover of an entire city” (Heraclitus, Epistle 7.5). In the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, Jews use the word for not only unrestrained fornication, but also incest, pederasty, and bestiality.

The word aselgeia is used ten times in the New Testament. Second Peter, which uses the word three times (2:2, 2:7, 2:18), links it clearly to the sin of Sodom. Jude 4 describes those “who twist the grace of our God into aselgeia.” The word appears in Paul’s famous list of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19. It also tops the list of objectionable pagan behaviors in 1 Peter 4:3. In Ephesians 4:19, Paul says that pagans “have given themselves up to aselgeia, greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness.” (See also Romans 13:13 and 2 Corinthians 12:21.) The word is never used in any book where Paul’s specific word for homosexual, arsenokoitēs (1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:10), is used.

Outside of the New Testament, aselgeia often occurs in a standard trio of sexual vices alongside fornication and adultery, in the same spot in the trio often occupied by arsenokoitēs or paiderastia (molestation of boys). An example is Melito’s sermon On the Passover, where aselgeia is used in the trio of vices, and then the speaker describes as the ultimate degree of aselgeia cases where “father cohabits with his child, and son with his mother, and brother with sister, and male with male, and each man neighing after the wife of his neighbor.”


How did the earliest Christians translate this word? Syriac is the closest language to Aramaic, the language that Jesus spoke. Our Syriac versions use a word that means licentiousness or lewdness. This Syriac word comes from an Aramaic word that conveys a terrible stench. The specific Aramaic word that Jesus probably used never appears in print, which leads me to wonder whether it was unprintable (!) due to Jewish reluctance to talk about the subject unless absolutely necessary.

According to both the Oxford Latin Dictionary and Craig Williams, author of Roman Homosexuality, the translation used in the Old Latin versions, impudicitia, points strongly to homosexual behavior in men. Suetonius says about Julius Caesar, “Lest there be any doubt in anyone’s mind that he was notorious indeed both for his impudicitia and his adulteries, the elder Curio called him in one of his speeches ‘every woman’s man and every man’s woman.’” It is this sense of impudicitia that is arguably the meaning behind Mark’s use of aselgeia in transmitting the words of Jesus in Mark 7:22.

The likelihood that aselgeia is Jesus’ term for homosexual behavior is strengthened by his clear overarching teaching on marriage in Matthew 19:1-6 (= Mark 10:1-9). As I wrote in a previous post, http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tomhobson/2017/09/gods-sex-mandate-two-shall-become-one-flesh/, Genesis, Jesus, and Paul all teach God’s central teaching on sex: it belongs only in a lifelong one-flesh relationship between a man and a woman. Jesus only endorses celibacy and committed heterosexual marriage. And Jesus was enough of a non-conformist that if he had believed in same-sex relationships, he would have said so.

Does this sin list in Mark really comes from Jesus, or did the early church make it up? Jesus scholar John Meier believes that the list reads like a catechism for Gentiles who need the basics of morality spelled out for them. I would counter that every rabbi had his own halakah (code of conduct) for his followers; here, we have Jesus’ halakah, given right when he has just set aside the kosher food laws. And despite Meier’s skepticism about whether Jesus spoke these actual words, Meier writes in volume 3 of his book A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus:
“On sexual matters, Jesus and the Essenes tend in the same direction: stringent standards and prohibitions…In a sense, one could call both Jesus and the Essenes extreme conservatives…apart from the two special cases of divorce and celibacy, where he diverged from mainstream Judaism, his views were those of mainstream Judaism.

Hence there was no pressing need for him to issue or for the earliest Christian Jews to enshrine moral pronouncements about matters on which all Law-abiding Jews agreed.”
Underneath the reality of same-sex desire is the God-given need all of us have for love and affirmation from our own gender. The road to healing seems to lie in meeting that need in non-sexual ways. Christians need to be the ones God uses to extend that kind of love to those who experience same-sex desire. That’s the heart I see behind what Jesus says: to set us free from anything that harms us. That’s the ultimate purpose in Jesus’ list of warnings of what throws the human heart off track. Mark gives us a tantalizing one-word clue as to what Jesus thinks on this subject.

 

[beensetfree]

“And God divided the light from the darkness.”

Genesis 1:4

A believer has two principles at work within him. In his natural estate he was subject to one principle only, which was darkness; now light has entered, and the two principles disagree. Mark the apostle Paul's words in the seventh chapter of Romans: “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members.”

How is this state of things occasioned? “The Lord divided the light from the darkness.” Darkness, by itself, is quiet and undisturbed, but when the Lord sends in light, there is a conflict, for the one is in opposition to the other: a conflict which will never cease till the believer is altogether light in the Lord. If there be a division within the individual Christian, there is certain to be a division without. So soon as the Lord gives to any man light, he proceeds to separate himself from the darkness around; he secedes from a merely worldly religion of outward ceremonial, for nothing short of the gospel of Christ will now satisfy him, and he withdraws himself from worldly society and frivolous amusements, and seeks the company of the saints, for “We know we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.”

The light gathers to itself, and the darkness to itself. What God has divided, let us never try to unite, but as Christ went without the camp, bearing his reproach, so let us come out from the ungodly, and be a peculiar people. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners; and, as he was, so we are to be nonconformists to the world, dissenting from all sin, and distinguished from the rest of mankind by our likeness to our Master.

 

[beensetfree]

The gift

Sharon was rich and lived in a large house. Beth was from a poor family and lived in a little house that had thin walls and bare pine floors. Sharon and Beth went to the same school, were in the same class and one day entered the same contest for reading books and writing reports. At the end of the contest, both girls had completed the exact same number of reports and both girls had done reports of very high quality. The contest was declared a tie and the two girls were asked to draw straws—short straw to win.

An ecstatic Beth won the prize, a music box of bright blue plastic. When the music played, a tiny screen showed a series of different pictures as the wheel revolved. Beth placed her prize next to the front door of her small house so if there was ever a fire she would be able to rescue it on her way out.
Sharon was very disturbed that she had not won the drawing. After all, she had written just as many good book reports as Beth. She went home and complained loudly to her parents. The next day her parents came to school and complained loudly. Before you know it, the contest judges decided to buy another music box for Sharon.
Sharon was pleased to have gotten her own way, but after playing the music box she was not impressed. She shoved it on a shelf in her closet with many other forgotten toys.

While it was Beth who worried about fire, it was Sharon who suffered that catastrophe. Early that winter, a fire caused by a careless maid destroyed Sharon’s home. The family escaped but all their possessions were destroyed.
When Beth heard about the fire, she was dismayed. At school, it was said that all of Sharon’s many toys had burned except for the pony cart that was in the barn. All her clothes had burned. Many of the little children were not too kind about Sharon’s hardship. One little girl even said, “It serves her right for being so hoity-toity all the time.”

Beth, however, was sad for Sharon. On the way home after school, she thought and thought. She was home only a minute before she rushed back out the door carrying a small bag. She raced to a large brick house—the home of Sharon’s grandmother where Sharon was now staying. When the maid brought Sharon to the parlor where Beth was waiting, Beth opened the bag and pulled out her cherished music box. “I’m sorry about your fire,” she said. “I want you to have this in place of the one you lost.”
“Thank you,” said Sharon. “I’m sorry I can’t visit now. Grandma is taking me shopping to get new clothes.”

A few minutes later, the maid closed the door behind Beth as Sharon raced upstairs to the bedroom she had been given in her grandmother’s home the moment she was born. As she pulled out a warm coat to wear on her shopping trip, she took a moment to shove the music box to the back of a shelf. “It’s a stupid toy,” she thought. “No wonder Beth gave it to me.”
Sharon went off shopping with Grandma with no understanding of the great gift she had been given while Beth went home to her little house, watched and guarded all the way by a thousand angels.

 

[beensetfree]

“His heavenly kingdom.”

2 Timothy 4:18

Yonder city of the great King is a place of active service. Ransomed spirits serve him day and night in his temple. They never cease to fulfil the good pleasure of their King. They always “rest,” so far as ease and freedom from care is concerned; and never “rest,” in the sense of indolence or inactivity. Jerusalem the golden is the place of communion with all the people of God. We shall sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in eternal fellowship. We shall hold high converse with the noble host of the elect, all reigning with him who by his love and his potent arm has brought them safely home. We shall not sing solos, but in chorus shall we praise our King.

Heaven is a place of victory realized. Whenever, Christian, thou hast achieved a victory over thy lusts — whenever after hard struggling, thou hast laid a temptation dead at thy feet — thou hast in that hour a foretaste of the joy that awaits thee when the Lord shall shortly tread Satan under thy feet, and thou shalt find thyself more than conqueror through him who hath loved thee. Paradise is a place of security. When you enjoy the full assurance of faith, you have the pledge of that glorious security which shall be yours when you are a perfect citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem. O my sweet home, Jerusalem, thou happy harbour of my soul! Thanks, even now, to him whose love hath taught me to long for thee; but louder thanks in eternity, when I shall possess thee.

“My soul has tasted of the grapes,
And now it longs to go
Where my dear Lord his vineyard keeps
And all the clusters grow.
“Upon the true and living vine,
My famish'd soul would feast,
And banquet on the fruit divine,
An everlasting guest.”

 

[beensetfree]

A Hug

The Universal Prescription
No moving parts, no batteries.
No monthly payments and no fees;

Inflation proof, non-taxable,
In fact, it’s quite relaxable;
It can’t be stolen, won’t pollute,
One size fits all, do not dilute.

It uses little energy,
But yields results enormously.
Relieves your tension and your stress,
Invigorate your happiness;
Combats depression, makes you beam,
And elevates your self esteem!

Your circulation it corrects
Without unpleasant side effects
It is, I think, the perfect drug:
May I prescribe, my friend… the hug!

And, of course, fully returnable!

 

[beensetfree]

“And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

Genesis 1:5

The evening was “darkness” and the morning was “light,” and yet the two together are called by the name that is given to the light alone! This is somewhat remarkable, but it has an exact analogy in spiritual experience. In every believer there is darkness and light, and yet he is not to be named a sinner because there is sin in him, but he is to be named a saint because he possesses some degree of holiness.

This will be a most comforting thought to those who are mourning their infirmities, and who ask, “Can I be a child of God while there is so much darkness in me?” Yes; for you, like the day, take not your name from the evening, but from the morning; and you are spoken of in the word of God as if you were even now perfectly holy as you will be soon. You are called the child of light, though there is darkness in you still. You are named after what is the predominating quality in the sight of God, which will one day be the only principle remaining. Observe that the evening comes first. Naturally we are darkness first in order of time, and the gloom is often first in our mournful apprehension, driving us to cry out in deep humiliation, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.”

The place of the morning is second, it dawns when grace overcomes nature. It is a blessed aphorism of John Bunyan, “That which is last, lasts for ever.” That which is first, yields in due season to the last; but nothing comes after the last. So that though you are naturally darkness, when once you become light in the Lord, there is no evening to follow; “thy sun shall no more go down.” The first day in this life is an evening and a morning; but the second day, when we shall be with God, for ever, shall be a day with no evening, but one, sacred, high, eternal noon.

 

[beensetfree]

Every Gift Was Handed Back


This year I stopped to contemplate the kind of gift I’d bring
To lay at the nail-scarred feet of my Gracious Heavenly King.
He’s given my very life to me, and the blessings I hold dear,
But I can’t come up with anything appropriate, I fear.

Every time I give Him something, He more than doubles the return…
I gave to Him my weakness, His strength He then confirmed
Would always be there for me to securely hold on to.
I gave Him my shattered life – He gave me life anew.

I gave Him my pain and heartbreak, all that troubled my weary soul –
He gave me hope and happiness, and made my body whole.
I gave Him all my doubts and fears, the things that stood in the way
Of my daily service in His name – He made them go away.

I offered Him my feeble voice, to sing His praise in song –
He filled my heart with a melody, that will last my whole life long.
I offered Him my hands to serve, to help out those in need,
He gave me the talent to use these tools, so that I would succeed.

I gave Him my life completely, to show His light in a world of night,
He gave me a wonderful testimony, a way to share His light.
I offered Him my eyes to see all that they could take in –
He showed to me a world of fear, unhappiness and sin.

For every gift I gave to Him, He handed back to me
Instructions for their uses – endless possibility
To reach a world that needs to find the Saviour that I found,
So on and on, I serve, for to Him in love I’m bound.

 

[beensetfree]

“When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.”

Psalm 56:9

It is impossible for any human speech to express the full meaning of this delightful phrase, “God is for me.” He was “for us” before the worlds were made; he was “for us,” or he would not have given his well-beloved son; he was “for us” when he smote the Only-begotten, and laid the full weight of his wrath upon him — he was “for us,” though he was against him; he was “for us,” when we were ruined in the fall — he loved us notwithstanding all; he was “for us,” when we were rebels against him, and with a high hand were bidding him defiance; he was “for us,” or he would not have brought us humbly to seek his face.

He has been “for us” in many struggles; we have been summoned to encounter hosts of dangers; we have been assailed by temptations from without and within—how could we have remained unharmed to this hour if he had not been “for us”? He is “for us,” with all the infinity of his being; with all the omnipotence of his love; with all the infallibility of his wisdom; arrayed in all his divine attributes, he is “for us,”—eternally and immutably “for us”; “for us” when yon blue skies shall be rolled up like a worn out vesture; “for us” throughout eternity.

And because he is “for us,” the voice of prayer will always ensure his help. “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies be turned back.” This is no uncertain hope, but a well grounded assurance—“this I know.” I will direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up for the answer, assured that it will come, and that mine enemies shall be defeated, “for God is for me.” O believer, how happy art thou with the King of kings on thy side! How safe with such a Protector! How sure thy cause pleaded by such an Advocate! If God be for thee, who can be against thee?

 

[beensetfree]

Eight Gifts that Do Not Cost A Cent

• THE GIFT OF LISTENING…
  But you must REALLY listen.
  No interrupting, no daydreaming,
  no planning your response.
  Just listening.
• THE GIFT OF AFFECTION…
  Be generous with appropriate hugs,
  kisses, pats on the back, and handholds.
  Let these small actions demonstrate the
  love you have for family and friends.
• THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER…
  Clip cartoons.
  Share articles and funny stories.
  Your gift will say, “I love to laugh with you.”
• THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE…
  It can be a simple
  “Thanks for the help” note or a full sonnet.
  A brief, handwritten note may be remembered
  for a lifetime, and may even change a life.
• THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT…
  A simple and sincere,
  You look great in red,” “You did a super job,”
  or “That was a wonderful meal”
  can make someone’s day.
• THE GIFT OF A FAVOR…
  Every day, go out of your way
  to do something kind.
• THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE…
  There are times when we want nothing better
  than to be left alone.
  Be sensitive to those times and give
  the gift of solitude to others.
• THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION…
  The easiest way to feel good is
  to extend a kind word to someone.
  Really, it’s not that hard to say,
  Hello or Thank You.

 

[beensetfree]

“When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.”

Psalm 56:9

It is impossible for any human speech to express the full meaning of this delightful phrase, “God is for me.” He was “for us” before the worlds were made; he was “for us,” or he would not have given his well-beloved son; he was “for us” when he smote the Only-begotten, and laid the full weight of his wrath upon him — he was “for us,” though he was against him; he was “for us,” when we were ruined in the fall — he loved us notwithstanding all; he was “for us,” when we were rebels against him, and with a high hand were bidding him defiance; he was “for us,” or he would not have brought us humbly to seek his face.

He has been “for us” in many struggles; we have been summoned to encounter hosts of dangers; we have been assailed by temptations from without and within—how could we have remained unharmed to this hour if he had not been “for us”? He is “for us,” with all the infinity of his being; with all the omnipotence of his love; with all the infallibility of his wisdom; arrayed in all his divine attributes, he is “for us,”—eternally and immutably “for us”; “for us” when yon blue skies shall be rolled up like a worn out vesture; “for us” throughout eternity.

And because he is “for us,” the voice of prayer will always ensure his help. “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies be turned back.” This is no uncertain hope, but a well grounded assurance—“this I know.” I will direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up for the answer, assured that it will come, and that mine enemies shall be defeated, “for God is for me.” O believer, how happy art thou with the King of kings on thy side! How safe with such a Protector! How sure thy cause pleaded by such an Advocate! If God be for thee, who can be against thee?

 

[beensetfree]

Feed My Sheep


Over the weekend, most of the leaves on the tree outside my office window disappeared from the limbs. A couple of weeks ago they were vibrant and green. Last week they were gold and red. Then, while I wasn’t looking, they dried up and withered away to crumble into dust and return to the soil. According to God’s plan, they will a soul that does not wither.

When a leaf disintegrates, it is gone. The human soul does not disintegrate—only the husk within which it lives while it performs the duties assigned to it by God. Nevertheless, if you do your duties well, you will nurture the spirits of the souls that follow you through a lifetime on this earth as surely as the dust of fallen leaves nourishes the leaves of the coming year. The question for you as your autumn approaches is whether or not you are nourishing the sprits of others. Jesus said to Peter, “Feed my sheep.” This is our duty as well.

 

[beensetfree]

Hay, wood and stubble

The Bible says that our works may be burned up as hay, wood, and stubble, and only those things done for Christ alone will pass through the fire.

Knowing Christ

When Jesus was speaking to a large crowd, He wanted to make sure that they not only listened to His words, but they did what He said. For example, Jesus warned that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt 7:21), because on the day of judgment, “many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matt 7:22-23).

It’s not enough to do works in Jesus’ name; we must do what the will of the Father is, and Jesus revealed what the Father’s will is. Notice that “many” will profess to know Christ but that same “many” will be turned away? Many…not a few! Why? Because they did not do what Jesus commanded, therefore, they are not really His disciples if they don’t do what He says. Another point is, Jesus says “I never knew you,” so if someone says, “I know God” or “I know Christ,” the bigger question is, “Does He know you!” Satan “knows Christ” but obviously it doesn’t mean he’s saved, so it’s not whether you say that you know Christ, but does Christ know you! That answer determines your final, eternal destination.

Building on the Rock

In the same chapter (Matthew 7), Jesus says, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt 7:24). I can hear but if I don’t act on what I hear (from Jesus), then I am building on sand and that’s not going to stand when the storms come. The one who listens to Christ and does what He says can withstand the storms, so when “the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (Matt 7:25), however, whoever “hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matt 7:26-27). If we have another tornado warning and I ignore those words, I put my life in peril, but if I listen to the warning and act on that warning by taking shelter, this shows I am not only hearing their words but obeying them. In this case, listening and doing can save my and my family’s life. It’s not enough to listen…we must follow through on what Jesus teaches because what Christ taught came from the Father, and it is His will that we are to do, not Christ’s alone.

Rewards

We do not do good works just for rewards but rather because we love Jesus, but Jesus often mentioned rewards for those who are His faithful followers and do what He commands. The Apostle Paul wrote that “if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done” (1 Cor 3:12-13), and “If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward”(1 Cor 3:14). What is this foundation Paul speaks about? It’s the foundation of Christ Who is the solid rock upon which we build, however, if we do these good works to be seen of men and women, we’ve already received our reward, so “If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Cor 3:15). That means many will be saved but have no or few rewards when Christ will come to judge the saints. This judgment is not for our sins but for our works done while in the body, and only those works done for Christ will be rewarded by Christ Himself.

Serving in Secret

One man I know puts everything he does on Facebook and then tells every one of his 3,000 plus friends what He did for Jesus. He frequently posts that he helps the poor and witnesses for Christ, however we’re told that “when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matt 6:3-4). Even “when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.

Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward” (Matt 6:5), so the question is, “Do you want to receive your rewards today in accolades from others” or do you want to keep it quiet and receive your rewards from Christ. Jesus is teaching to “not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matt 6:3-4)? One of these rewards is temporal (from man), but the others (done in secret) are eternal (from God), and we cannot even imagine what those rewards will be. The Apostle Paul said, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him

Conclusion

If you tell others what you’ve done for Christ, you have your reward, but if you keep your good works between you and the Father, you rewards are yet to come. If you tell everyone, God will forget it, but if you forget it, God will remember it. Only those things done for Christ, and done without blowing a trumpet to draw attention to it, will be rewarded someday…otherwise, you can settle for a few pats on the back. That’s hay, wood, and stubble. I prefer to have those things which can pass through the fire on judgment day, so I’m keeping my mouth shut for those things done for Christ, since “each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Cor 3:13-15). I don’t want to enter the kingdom smelling like I had just come from a fire sale.

 

[beensetfree]

The Lord has said, “Come follow me.”
Man replies, “Just let me be.”

The Lord says the meaning of riches is naught;
Man says, “I need all these things I bought.”

Always there’s conflict between the divine
And man declaring, “This thing is MINE!”

But some day when all is stripped away,
All the riches and glory of this present day,

Then, with soul trembling, you’ll hear the Lord say,
“What good did you do along your earthly way?”

And then only God’s amazing grace
Will allow you to enter His Holy place.

 

[beensetfree]

Confess your sin

When you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. You will again obey the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today.

Deuteronomy 30:2,3, and 8 NIV

__________________

Confession of Sin

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 KJV

__________________

I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.

Psalm 32:5,7 KJV

__________________

Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

 

[beensetfree]

It was a defining moment in the history of man, witnessed by millions through video images as it happened or only moments afterward. It was a moment when so much human life was blasted so swiftly from the face of the earth that the air over all of New York City must have been filled with the essence of departing souls.
It was the moment patriotism was rediscovered. It was the moment the citizens of the United Stated turned our faces once more toward God and remembered that we are “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

We watched as two magnificent examples of building technology were destroyed in a brief moment by the evil of men’s hearts. We watched as the Pentagon was attacked and we listened as brave men and women in an airplane flying over Pennsylvania lost their lives as they became the first Americans to strike back against terrorism.
At that desperate moment in history, our nation invoked God to aid us in our sorrow and in pursuing the cause of justice. In the aftermath of those events, Americans were called forth once more to pay the price for liberty and justice.

I pray we of the United States will never forget that moment and will always be resolved that the many brave men and women, both civilians and members of our armed forces, who in the ensuing years have lost their lives for the cause of liberty did not die in vain.