Just sharing.

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Do your work heartily - serving Christ
Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

Colossians 3:23-24 NASB

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Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Ephesians 6:7,8 ESV

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"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified."

Acts 20:32 NIV

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To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:4,5 KJV

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For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18,24 KJV

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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.

 

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“Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.”

Psalm 31:4

Our spiritual foes are of the serpent's brood, and seek to ensnare us by subtlety. The prayer before us supposes the possibility of the believer being caught like a bird. So deftly does the fowler do his work, that simple ones are soon surrounded by the net. The text asks that even out of Satan's meshes the captive one may be delivered; this is a proper petition, and one which can be granted: from between the jaws of the lion, and out of the belly of hell, can eternal love rescue the saint.

It may need a sharp pull to save a soul from the net of temptations, and a mighty pull to extricate a man from the snares of malicious cunning, but the Lord is equal to every emergency, and the most skilfully placed nets of the hunter shall never be able to hold his chosen ones. Woe unto those who are so clever at net laying; they who tempt others shall be destroyed themselves.

“For thou art my strength.” What an inexpressible sweetness is to be found in these few words! How joyfully may we encounter toils, and how cheerfully may we endure sufferings, when we can lay hold upon celestial strength. Divine power will rend asunder all the toils of our enemies, confound their politics, and frustrate their knavish tricks; he is a happy man who has such matchless might engaged upon his side.

Our own strength would be of little service when embarrassed in the nets of base cunning, but the Lord's strength is ever available; we have but to invoke it, and we shall find it near at hand. If by faith we are depending alone upon the strength of the mighty God of Israel, we may use our holy reliance as a plea in supplication.

“Lord, evermore thy face we seek:
Tempted we are, and poor, and weak;
Keep us with lowly hearts, and meek.
Let us not fall. Let us not fall.”

 

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Why Did Jesus Demand “Perfection”?



One of Jesus’ most famous sayings was “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect,” and it is found in the Sermon on the Mount at Matthew 5:48. Interestingly, Luke doesn’t have the word perfection (teleios) but has “be mercifulas your Father is merciful.” Instead of teleios Luke has oiktirmos.
That may well be a clue, but before we get to that clue I want to look at Jonathan Pennington’s wonderful new book on the Sermon called The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing. (Maybe this image to the right was what his listeners were seeing as Jesus taught.)
Here are Jonathan’s points that lead to a solution for the meaning of “perfection” for the Sermon on the Mount.
First, the problem for so many in the church is that the term means sinlessness and flawlessness and therefore rigorous perfectionism and perfectionistic features. The problem with this term is that it can lead to neurotic scrupulosity.
Second, the term teleios has a background in the Old Testament/Jewish literature in the notions of shalom and tamim, roughly, peace and wholeness or completeness or devotedness. In using devotedness for qadosh/holiness, Pennington and I agree in a significant way: the term Holiness means more than separation or separateness; it means devoted to God and therefore separate.


Third, the virtue tradition in Plato and Aristotle is all about the same idea of wholeness. The virtuous life then is the life of teleios.

Fourth, now to the Gospels, to Matthew, to the Sermon on the Mount: we are staring at a term that means wholeness and singular devotion to God. Jonathan ably shows that the idea of teleios or wholeness can summarize the whole Sermon, and my only pushback here would be that many other terms have been used to do the same — the most obvious one is dikaiosune or righteousness, which it can be argued has even more programmatic appearance in the Sermon.
He has made a very good case for understanding teleios as wholeness. We might ask what wholeness is? Is it devotion and is devotion a true ethical telos?
I observe this: I press harder for the value of Luke 6:26’s use of oiktirmos, for the significance of understanding Matt 5:48’s teleios in the context of loving our enemies and the concept of love at the heart of Jesus’ ethical vision, and not just that teleiossummarizes 5:17-48 but that love of God and love of others is what those passages are about as well. How so? Matt 22:34-40 shows that the fundamental ethical core to the whole torah is loving God and loving others. In other words, teleios’s fundamental expression is agape, which is wholeness and what devotedness to God are about. To flourish is to love God and to love others. That is what human flourishing are all about.

 

[beensetfree]

Ye are the sons of the living God
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Romans 8:16-18 NASB

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We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

Acts 5:32 NIV

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Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

Hosea 1:10 KJV

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But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 1:12,13 ESV

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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]

“The unsearchable riches of Christ.”

Ephesians 3:8

My Master has riches beyond the count of arithmetic, the measurement of reason, the dream of imagination, or the eloquence of words. They are unsearchable! You may look, and study, and weigh, but Jesus is a greater Savior than you think him to be when your thoughts are at the greatest. My Lord is more ready to pardon than you to sin, more able to forgive than you to transgress. My Master is more willing to supply your wants than you are to confess them. Never tolerate low thoughts of my Lord Jesus.

When you put the crown on his head, you will only crown him with silver when he deserves gold. My Master has riches of happiness to bestow upon you now. He can make you to lie down in green pastures, and lead you beside still waters. There is no music like the music of his pipe, when he is the Shepherd and you are the sheep, and you lie down at his feet. There is no love like his, neither earth nor heaven can match it. To know Christ and to be found in him — oh! this is life, this is joy, this is marrow and fatness, wine on the lees well refined.

My Master does not treat his servants churlishly; he gives to them as a king giveth to a king; he gives them two heavens — a heaven below in serving him here, and a heaven above in delighting in him for ever. His unsearchable riches will be best known in eternity. He will give you on the way to heaven all you need; your place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks, your bread shall be given you, and your waters shall be sure; but it is there, there, where you shall hear the song of them that triumph, the shout of them that feast, and shall have a face-to-face view of the glorious and beloved One. The unsearchable riches of Christ! This is the tune for the minstrels of earth, and the song for the harpers of heaven. Lord, teach us more and more of Jesus, and we will tell out the good news to others.

 

[beensetfree]

The Gift of Beauty


Have you ever heard this one? Pretty is as pretty does, or beauty
is only skin deep, but ugly goes to the bone? Well, we all have,
and it used to make me want to scream! When you are a young
girl, and all the world is judging you by the way you look, you tend
to hide a bit from the scrutiny.

I thought that was grossly unfair, for all this talk of beauty within, I
just wanted it without.

Looking in the mirror, I would judge every flaw and try to cover all the
imperfections. The day I found makeup, was a pivotal day for me.

And so became my obsession with the canvas of my face. I did
have an artistic bent, and this was my way of expressing myself.
On to the day with Cover Girl! The irony of that name fully noticed
by me.

Never would I leave the house without my "face" on. I envied
Jane Jetson for her space age, go through the machine, daily
routine. So quickly was she ready to make an appearance. I
would agonize for an hour or so. Checking mirrors and downtown
plate glass windows, to make sure I was presentable.

Nothing
out of place to make me stand out and reap a rejection. What
was going on in my head that made me so acutely aware of me?
Conscious of myself, self consciousness, shyness. All terms that
speak of the outward residing so completely on the inside. How
many years did it take for you to be comfortable in your own skin?
The freedom I imagined it to bring was heady.

In my 20's I met an older woman who became a "mother" to me.
She was such a beauty! Even with all the lines of life and the
crinkles around her eyes. I loved that dear woman.

She had this
youthful giggle and always a smile playing at the edge of her lips.
She had lived and suffered and loved and now became my mentor.
When I confided my obsession with having to look perfect all the
time, including the hating of my picture taken, or a glance of my
reflection, which always made me think, is that really me? She
responded with this.

"Sandy, when you look in the mirror, from now on, I want you to
say out loud to yourself, 'Thank you God, for the gift of beauty'".

Oooookay I said, thinking to myself, where did she come up with
this stuff? But, wonder of wonders I listened to her. She always
gave such good advice, and she had a good track record with me,
so why not? Even though I felt so foolish talking to myself in
the mirror!

Over the course of time, a transformation occurred. It was so slight,
it was not noticed till the work was done. One day while getting
ready, I just looked at myself and thought, you know, I accept
you! I cannot pick you apart anymore! My skin became my
home, not just a house. It was the nicest feeling I have ever
had. To be comfortable with me.

A wonderful freedom came to me that day, one I have had to
keep up with, since I am a "home" owner now. The within
became the without and it was good! As I became less aware
of my imperfections, less conscious of myself, I became more
fully me.

Now those phrases I always heard and hated
became the truth. I believe I was lit from within during this
transformation time. People even came up to me and said,
"There's something different about you". Now there was the
proof of the pudding!

I like the me I am now, granted, I have my days. But I accept
who God made me to be. In loving myself, I can truly and
openly love others in my life better. This was no selfish act,
it was the most loving thing I could do. God doesn't make junk.

Thank you "mom" for helping me to look like my Father!

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, even to those who believe in His
name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:12,13

 

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All things work for the good pleasure of His will
"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

Revelation 4:11 NIV

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And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

1 John 5:14,15 KJV

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Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'

James 4:13-15 NASB

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Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:10

Let this be our daily heart's desire..

__________________

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]

“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”

Jeremiah 8:20

Not saved! Dear reader, is this your mournful plight? Warned of the judgment to come, bidden to escape for your life, and yet at this moment not saved! You know the way of salvation, you read it in the Bible, you hear it from the pulpit, it is explained to you by friends, and yet you neglect it, and therefore you are not saved. You will be without excuse when the Lord shall judge the quick and dead.

The Holy Spirit has given more or less of blessing upon the word which has been preached in your hearing, and times of refreshing have come from the divine presence, and yet you are without Christ. All these hopeful seasons have come and gone — your summer and your harvest have past — and yet you are not saved. Years have followed one another into eternity, and your last year will soon be here: youth has gone, manhood is going, and yet you are not saved.

Let me ask you — will you ever be saved? Is there any likelihood of it? Already the most propitious seasons have left you unsaved; will other occasions alter your condition? Means have failed with you — the best of means, used perseveringly and with the utmost affection — what more can be done for you? Affliction and prosperity have alike failed to impress you; tears and prayers and sermons have been wasted on your barren heart. Are not the probabilities dead against your ever being saved? Is it not more than likely that you will abide as you are till death for ever bars the door of hope?

Do you recoil from the supposition? Yet it is a most reasonable one: he who is not washed in so many waters will in all probability go filthy to his end. The convenient time never has come, why should it ever come? It is logical to fear that it never will arrive, and that Felix like, you will find no convenient season till you are in hell. O bethink you of what that hell is, and of the dread probability that you will soon be cast into it!

Reader, suppose you should die unsaved, your doom no words can picture. Write out your dread estate in tears and blood, talk of it with groans and gnashing of teeth: you will be punished with everlasting destruction from the glory of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. A brother's voice would fain startle you into earnestness. O be wise, be wise in time, and ere another year begins, believe in Jesus, who is able to save to the uttermost. Consecrate these last hours to lonely thought, and if deep repentance be bred in you, it will be well; and if it lead to a humble faith in Jesus, it will be best of all. O see to it that this year pass not away, and you an unforgiven spirit. Let not the new year's midnight peals sound upon a joyless spirit! Now, now , NOW believe, and live.

“ESCAPE FOR THY LIFE;
LOOK NOT BEHIND THEE,
NEITHER STAY THOU IN ALL THE PLAIN;
ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAIN,
LEST THOU BE CONSUMED.”

 

[beensetfree]

How Did Noah Care for All the Animals?

by Ken Ham & Tim Lovett


Just as God brought the animals to Noah by some form of supernatural means, He surely also prepared them for this amazing event. Creation scientists suggest that God gave the animals the ability to hibernate, as we see in many species today. Most animals react to natural disasters in ways that were designed to help them survive. It's very possible many animals did hibernate, perhaps even supernaturally intensified by God.

Whether it was supernatural or simply a normal response to the darkness and confinement of a rocking ship, the fact that God told Noah to build rooms ("qen"--literally in Hebrew "nests") in Genesis 6:14 implies that the animals were subdued or nesting. God also told Noah to take food for them (Genesis 6:21), which tells us that they were not in a year-long coma either.

Were we able to walk through the Ark as it was being built, we would undoubtedly be amazed at the ingenious systems on board for water and food storage and distribution. As Woodmorappe explains in Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study, a small group of farmers today can raise thousands of cattle and other animals in a very small space. One can easily imagine all kinds of devices on the Ark that would have enabled a small number of people to feed and care for the animals, from watering to waste removal.

As Woodmorappe points out, no special devices were needed for eight people to care for 16,000 animals. But if they existed, how would these devices be powered? There are all sorts of possibilities. How about a plumbing system for gravity-fed drinking water, a ventilation system driven by wind or wave motion, or hoppers that dispense grain as the animals eat it? None of these require higher technology than what we know existed in ancient cultures. And yet these cultures were likely well-short of the skill and capability of Noah and the pre-Flood world.

How Could a Flood Destroy Every Living Thing?
And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died (Genesis 7:21-22).

Noah's Flood was much more destructive than any 40-day rainstorm ever could be. Scripture says that the "fountains of the great deep" broke open. In other words, earthquakes, volcanoes, and geysers of molten lava and scalding water were squeezed out of the earth's crust in a violent, explosive upheaval. These fountains were not stopped until 150 days into the Flood--so the earth was literally churning underneath the waters for about five months! The duration of the Flood was extensive, and Noah and his family were aboard the Ark for over a year.

Relatively recent local floods, volcanoes, and earthquakes--though clearly devastating to life and land--are tiny in comparison to the worldwide catastrophe that destroyed "the world that then existed" (2 Peter 3:6). All land animals and people not on board theArk were destroyed in the floodwaters--billions of animals were preserved in the great fossil record we see today.

How Could the Ark Survive the Flood?

The description of the Ark is very brief--Genesis 6:14-16. Those three verses contain critical information including overall dimensions, but Noah was almost certainly given more detail than this. Other divinely specified constructions in the Bible are meticulously detailed, like the descriptions of Moses' Tabernacle or the temple in Ezekiel's vision.

The Bible does not say the Ark was a rectangular box. In fact, Scripture gives no clue about the shape of Noah's Ark other than the proportions--length, width, and depth. Ships have long been described like this without ever implying a block-shaped hull.

Moses used the obscure term tebah, a word that is only used again for the basket that carried baby Moses (Exodus 2:3). One was a huge wooden ship and the other a tiny wicker basket. Both float, both rescue life, and both are covered. But the similarity ends there. We can be quite sure that the baby basket did not have the same proportions as the Ark, and Egyptian baskets of the time were typically rounded. Perhaps tebah means "lifeboat."

For many years biblical creationists have simply depicted the Ark as a rectangular box. This shape helped illustrate its size while avoiding the distractions of hull curvature. It also made it easy to compare volume. By using a short cubit and the maximum number of animal "kinds," creationists, as we've seen, have demonstrated how easily the Ark could fit the payload. At the time, space was the main issue; other factors were secondary.

However, the next phase of research investigated sea-keeping (behavior and comfort at sea), hull strength, and stability. This began with a Korean study performed at the world-class ship research center (KRISO) in 1992. The team of nine KRISO researchers was led by Dr. Hong, who is now director-general of the research center.

The study confirmed that the Ark could handle waves as high as 98 feet (30 m), and that the proportions of the biblical Ark are near optimal--an interesting admission from Dr. Hong, who believes evolutionary ideas, openly claiming "life came from the sea." The study combined analysis, model wave testing, and ship standards, yet the concept was simple: compare the biblical Ark with 12 other vessels of the same volume but modified in length, width, or depth. Three qualities were measured--stability, hull strength, and comfort.

Ship Qualities Measured in the 1992 Korean Study
While Noah's Ark was an average performer in each quality, it was among the best designs overall. In other words, the proportions show a careful design balance that is easily lost when proportions are modified the wrong way. It is no surprise that modern ships have similar proportions--those proportions work.

Interesting to note is the fact that this study makes nonsense of the claim that Genesis was written only a few centuries before Christ and was based on flood legends such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Babylonian ark is a cube shape, something so far from reality that even the shortest hull in the Korean study was not even close. But we would expect mistakes from other flood accounts, like that of Gilgamesh, as the account of Noah would have been distorted as it was passed down through different cultures.

Yet one mystery remained. The Korean study did not hide the fact that some shorter hulls slightly outperformed the biblical Noah's Ark. Further work by Tim Lovett, one author of this chapter, and two naval architects, Jim King and Dr. Allen Magnuson, focused attention on the issue of broaching-- being turned sideways by the waves.

How do we know what the waves were like? If there were no waves at all, stability, comfort, or strength would be unimportant, and the proportions would not matter. A shorter hull would then be a more efficient volume, taking less wood and less work. However, we can take clues from the proportions of the Ark itself. The Korean study had assumed waves came from every direction, giving shorter hulls an advantage. But real ocean waves usually have a dominant direction due to the wind, favoring a short, wide hull even more.

Another type of wave may also have affected the Ark during the Flood--tsunamis. Earthquakes can create tsunamis that devastate coastlines. However, when a tsunami travels in deep water it is imperceptible to a ship. During the Flood, the water would have been very deep--there is enough water in today's oceans to cover the earth to a depth of about 1.7 miles (2.7 km). The Bible states that the Ark rose "high above the earth" (Genesis 7:17). Launched from high ground by the rising floodwaters, the Ark would have avoided the initial devastation of coastlines and low-lying areas, and remained safe from tsunamis throughout the voyage.

After several months at sea, God sent a wind (Genesis 8:1), which could have produced very large waves since these waves can be produced by a strong, steady wind. Open-water testing confirms that any drifting vessel will naturally turn side-on to the waves (broach). With waves approaching the side of the vessel (beam sea), a long vessel like the Ark would be trapped in an uncomfortable situation; in heavy weather it could become dangerous. This could be overcome, however, by the vessel catching the wind (Genesis 8:1) at the bow and catching the water at the stern--aligning itself like a wind vane. These features appear to have inspired a number of ancient ship designs. Once the Ark points into the waves, the long, ship-like proportions create a more comfortable and controlled voyage. Traveling slowly with the wind, it had no need for speed, but the Bible does say the Arkmoved about on the surface of the waters (Genesis 7:18).

Compared to a ship-like bow and stern, blunt ends are not as strong, have edges that are vulnerable to damage during launch and beaching, and give a rougher ride. Since the Bible gives proportions like that of a true ship, it makes sense that it should look and act ship-like. The below design is an attempt to flesh out the biblical outline using real-life experiments and archeological evidence of ancient ships.

While Scripture does not point out a wind-catching feature at the bow, the abbreviated account we are given in Genesis makes no mention of drinking water, the number of animals, or the way they got out of the Ark either.

 

[beensetfree]

Our God Reigns
"Therefore My people shall know My name;
therefore in that day I am the one who
is speaking, 'Here I am.'"

How lovely on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace
And brings good news of happiness,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,
They shout joyfully together;
For they will see with their own eyes
When the LORD restores Zion.

Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You waste places of Jerusalem;
For the LORD has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.

Isaiah 52:6-9 NASB

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The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty;
the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he
hath girded himself: the world also is stablished,
that it cannot be moved.

Thy throne is established of old:
thou art from everlasting.

Psalm 93:1,2 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]

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.”

Ephesians 3:17

Beyond measure it is desirable that we, as believers, should have the person of Jesus constantly before us, to inflame our love towards him, and to increase our knowledge of him. I would to God that my readers were all entered as diligent scholars in Jesus’ college, students of Corpus Christi, or the body of Christ, resolved to attain unto a good degree in the learning of the cross.

But to have Jesus ever near, the heart must be full of him, welling up with his love, even to overrunning; hence the apostle prays “that Christ may dwell in your hearts.” See how near he would have Jesus to be! You cannot get a subject closer to you than to have it in the heart itself. “That he may dwell”; not that he may call upon you sometimes, as a casual visitor enters into a house and tarries for a night, but that he may dwell; that Jesus may become the Lord and Tenant of your inmost being, never more to go out.

Observe the words—that he may dwell in your heart, that best room of the house of manhood; not in your thoughts alone, but in your affections; not merely in the mind's meditations, but in the heart's emotions. We should pant after love to Christ of a most abiding character, not a love that flames up and then dies out into the darkness of a few embers, but a constant flame, fed by sacred fuel, like the fire upon the altar which never went out.

This cannot be accomplished except by faith. Faith must be strong, or love will not be fervent; the root of the flower must be healthy, or we cannot expect the bloom to be sweet. Faith is the lily's root, and love is the lily's bloom. Now, reader, Jesus cannot be in your heart's love except you have a firm hold of him by your heart's faith; and, therefore, pray that you may always trust Christ in order that you may always love him. If love be cold, be sure that faith is drooping.

 

[beensetfree]

What Makes You Weep?
A GUY'S REVIEW OF LES MISERABLES:

Went to the movies with my wife. We saw this obscure movie I never had hear of, some French foreign film. They must have been giving away free tickets because the lines were out the door. Anyway, the movie starts and Wolverine is singing his guts out. Then Catwoman starts crying and singing, and it’s all very moving. The only problem was, the girl next to me, who apparently read the book or something, starts singing along. It was very distracting. So Wolverine is on the run from the Gladiator because Catwoman had a baby at Borat's house, but now she wants Wolverine to care for her. Time skip. A bunch of kids get shot, and in the end everyone dies. Four stars. -Sam Richardson​

Of course a girl's review of Les Miserables would read very differently. Word on the 'net is that this may be the - and I quote - "weepiest film of all time."

I figured out the reason it’s called "the miserable ones," because I'm pretty sure more people die in this film than in Saving Private Ryan.

"I cried more at this movie than the two family funerals that I’ve attended," writes one reviewer, so if you're heading out to see the latest spin on Hugo's classic novel, you apparently would be wise to stuff your pockets with tissue in anticipation of the teary deluge that awaits us all.

Crying is a weird thing, isn't it I believe tears come from two places - obviously when we are overcome with emotion in response to tragedy and loss, but we also weep when we see and hear the things we love with all our hearts.

And when these two places collide in our hearts, we experience an emotional cascade that few dare to process. We love to stay in control of our hearts and we fear looking foolish if we "let it all out," but that is not the way God designed us.

How do I know? Well...let’s go back in time to another "les miserable" situation to see how Jesus reacted:

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and every weakness and sickness.

When He saw the throngs, He was moved with pity and sympathy for them, because they were bewildered (harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless), like sheep without a shepherd.

Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. So pray to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest" (Matthew 9:35-38).​

If anyone ever had a reason to become cynical and hardhearted, it was Jesus. With the kind of rejection He faced, who could blame Him if He just pulled up stakes and returned to heaven?

But when He looked out at the very people who despised Him, He was "moved with pity and sympathy." The Greek word here is "splakna" -which literally means "to spill your guts."

In other words, when our Savior gazed at the multitudes of "les miserables," what His eyes took in caused an emotional collision of calamity and compassion in His soul. Jesus looked past their attitudes towards Him and saw the reality of their world...

Harassed.

Distressed.

Dejected.

Helpless.​

Feeble sheep wandering in a perilous wilderness of guilt, shame, and hopelessness.

At the same moment, Jesus was also moved with compassion as He saw and heard the people He created and loved with all His heart. When those two forces met head on in the core of His being, He didn't attempt to keep control or hold back.

Can't you just see the tears flowing as He passionately begged and beckoned His disciples to spill their guts and reach out to them with the gospel?

So what makes you weep? Movies? Books? Hugh Jackman singing? Perhaps it is time for us to recognize that everywhere we look there are people who truly are "the miserable ones" because they have never found the love, forgiveness and acceptance that comes from knowing and following Jesus Christ.

​

Your friends are harassed by the guilt of their past.

Your friends are distressed about the uncertainty of their future.

They are oftentimes dejected and helpless because there is a hole in their soul that only a relationship with Jesus Christ can fill.

God is looking to send workers who will spill their guts for THE Cause to bring in a harvest of hurting people -

Are you one of them?

 

[beensetfree]

That I may know Him
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,

and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:8-11 NASB

__________________

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

John 17:3 KJV

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Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."

Jeremiah 9:23,24 ESV

__________________

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]

“If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.”

Exodus 22:6

But what restitution can he make who casts abroad the fire-brands of error, or the coals of lasciviousness, and sets men's souls on a blaze with the fire of hell? The guilt is beyond estimate, and the result is irretrievable. If such an offender be forgiven, what grief it will cause him in the retrospect, since he cannot undo the mischief which he has done!

An ill example may kindle a flame which years of amended character cannot quench. To burn the food of man is bad enough, but how much worse to destroy the soul! It may be useful to us to reflect how far we may have been guilty in the past, and to inquire whether, even in the present, there may not be evil in us which has a tendency to bring damage to the souls of our relatives, friends, or neighbors.

The fire of strife is a terrible evil when it breaks out in a Christian church. Where converts were multiplied, and God was glorified, jealousy and envy do the devil's work most effectually. Where the golden grain was being housed, to reward the toil of the great Boaz, the fire of enmity comes in and leaves little else but smoke and a heap of blackness. Woe unto those by whom offences come. May they never come through us, for although we cannot make restitution, we shall certainly be the chief sufferers if we are the chief offenders.

Those who feed the fire deserve just censure, but he who first kindles it is most to blame. Discord usually takes first hold upon the thorns; it is nurtured among the hypocrites and base professors in the church, and away it goes among the righteous, blown by the winds of hell, and no one knows where it may end. O thou Lord and giver of peace, make us peacemakers, and never let us aid and abet the men of strife, or even unintentionally cause the least division among thy people.

 

[beensetfree]

The Right Thing To Do

Darius and Johntel have a lot in common.

They are both talented high school seniors. They both love
basketball. They are both captains of their respective high school
basketball teams.

But on one Saturday night in February, they were forever linked
in the minds of all who were present for a mutual act of courage,
sportsmanship and respect.

The remarkable moment came during a game between Darius's small
town Illinois team and Johntel's big city team in Wisconsin -- a game
that almost wasn't played.
Just hours before tip-off Johntel's mother lost her five-year
battle with cervical cancer.

Her death was sudden and devastating to all who knew her, and
Johntel's coach wanted to cancel the game. But Johntel insisted that
the game should be played, and so with heavy hearts his teammates
prepared to honor their captain's wishes and to play -- and hopefully
win -- without him.

What they weren't prepared for was Johntel's appearance in the
gym mid-way through the first half.

As soon as he saw him, Johntel's coach called a time out, and
players and fans surrounded the grieving young man to offer love and
support. The coach asked him if he wanted to sit on the bench with
the team.

"No," Johntel said. "I want to play."

Of course his team was thrilled to have him.

But because Johntel wasn't on the pre-game roster, putting him
in the game at that point would result in a technical foul and two
free throws for the opposing team.

Johntel's coach was OK with that. He could see that this was
the teenager's way of coping with his loss -- the points didn't
matter.

The opposing team understood the situation and told the referees
to let Johntel play and to forget the technical foul. The referees
argued that a rule is a rule, and the free throws would have to be
taken before the game could proceed.

For possibly the first time in basketball history, officials had
to force a team to accept and take the technical free throws.

As team captain, Darius volunteered to take the shots.

One would have expected he was looking for an opportunity to
keep his team close in a hard-fought game against a big city school.
Or one could even assume he wanted a chance to add a couple of points
to his personal statistics.

In either case, one would be wrong.

Darius took the ball from the official, looked at the basket and
calmly shot the ball.

Now, basketball purists know that the free throw line is 15 feet
from the basket. Darius's first shot only traveled about 4 feet.
His second shot only traveled 2.

Immediately Johntel and his teammates understood what Darius was
doing. They stood and applauded the gesture of sportsmanship as
Darius made his way back to his bench. So did all of the big city fans.

"I did it for the guy who lost his mom," Darius told the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after the game. "It was the right thing
to do."

For those who are concerned about such things, Johntel's team
rode the emotion of the night to a 15-point victory. But as the two
teams met after the game for pizza and sodas, nobody on either side
was too concerned with wins or losses or personal stats.

"This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime," Darius's
coach said. "They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but
they'll remember what happened in that gym that night."

 

[beensetfree]

Seek the LORD
"Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you.

"For everyone who asks receives,
and he who seeks finds,
and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Matthew 7:7,8 NASB

__________________

I will set my eyes on them for good, and
I will bring them back to this land. I will
build them up, and not tear them down;

I will plant them, and not uproot them.
I will give them a heart to know that
I am the LORD, and they shall be my people
and I will be their God, for they shall
return to me with their whole heart.

Jeremiah 24:6,7 ESV

__________________

Seek the LORD while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the LORD,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD.
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:6-9

__________________

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]

“If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.”

Acts 8:37

These words may answer your scruples, devout reader, concerning the ordinances. Perhaps you say, “I should be afraid to be baptized; it is such a solemn thing to avow myself to be dead with Christ, and buried with him. I should not feel at liberty to come to the Master's table; I should be afraid of eating and drinking damnation unto myself, not discerning the Lord's body.” Ah! poor trembler, Jesus has given you liberty, be not afraid.

If a stranger came to your house, he would stand at the door, or wait in the hall; he would not dream of intruding unbidden into your parlor — he is not at home: but your child makes himself very free about the house; and so is it with the child of God. A stranger may not intrude where a child may venture. When the Holy Ghost has given you to feel the spirit of adoption, you may come to Christian ordinances without fear.

The same rule holds good of the Christian's inward privileges. You think, poor seeker, that you are not allowed to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; if you are permitted to get inside Christ's door, or sit at the bottom of his table, you will be well content. Ah! but you shall not have less privileges than the very greatest. God makes no difference in his love to his children. A child is a child to him; he will not make him a hired servant; but he shall feast upon the fatted calf, and shall have the music and the dancing as much as if he had never gone astray.

When Jesus comes into the heart, he issues a general license to be glad in the Lord. No chains are worn in the court of King Jesus. Our admission into full privileges may be gradual, but it is sure. Perhaps our reader is saying, “I wish I could enjoy the promises, and walk at liberty in my Lord's commands.” “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” Loose the chains of thy neck, O captive daughter, for Jesus makes thee free.

 

[beensetfree]

God loves a cheerful giver
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:6,7 NASB

__________________

You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.

Deuteronomy 15:10 ESV

__________________

O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.

I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.

1 Chronicles 29:16,17 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]

“The people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.”

Mark 9:15

How great the difference between Moses and Jesus! When the prophet of Horeb had been forty days upon the mountain, he underwent a kind of transfiguration, so that his countenance shone with exceeding brightness, and he put a veil over his face, for the people could not endure to look upon his glory. Not so our Savior. He had been transfigured with a greater glory than that of Moses, and yet, it is not written that the people were blinded by the blaze of his countenance, but rather they were amazed, and running to him they saluted him.

The glory of the law repels, but the greater glory of Jesus attracts. Though Jesus is holy and just, yet blended with his purity there is so much of truth and grace, that sinners run to him amazed at his goodness, fascinated by his love; they salute him, become his disciples, and take him to be their Lord and Master. Reader, it may be that just now you are blinded by the dazzling brightness of the law of God. You feel its claims on your conscience, but you cannot keep it in your life. Not that you find fault with the law, on the contrary, it commands your profoundest esteem, still you are in nowise drawn by it to God; you are rather hardened in heart, and are verging towards desperation.

Ah, poor heart! turn thine eye from Moses, with all his repelling splendor, and look to Jesus, resplendent with milder glories. Behold his flowing wounds and thorn-crowned head! He is the Son of God, and therein he is greater than Moses, but he is the Lord of love, and therein more tender than the lawgiver. He bore the wrath of God, and in his death revealed more of God's justice than Sinai on a blaze, but that justice is now vindicated, and henceforth it is the guardian of believers in Jesus. Look, sinner, to the bleeding Savior, and as you feel the attraction of his love, fly to his arms, and thou shalt be saved.

 

[beensetfree]

Jesus and the MythBusters

Have you checked MythBusters out? If not, MythBusters is a show on Discovery
Channel that basically tackles urban legends, internet rumors, movie scenes and the
like with the scientific method to test their validity.

One of my favorites was Shark Week, when they answered critical questions like:

Can sharks detect a struggling fish?
Does chili powder repel sharks?
Will a pack of sharks ignore you if you play dead?
Could you reach a shark's eye while inside its mouth?

These are questions that go through my mind pretty much every time I stick more
than a toe in the ocean.

Then there are other key questions in life that they examine. For example,

Can you cut down a tree with a machine gun?
Can you hold a conversation with someone while falling at terminal velocity?

And of course, many many myths are 'busted' - even though at face value that
seemed to make sense.

In other words, you definitely shouldn't believe everything you see or hear.

Now, I'm for sure no Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who use their great
special effects training and common sense to help keep the story straight, but
I have one myth that I would like to 'bust' for you right now. Here is the question for the week:

Is Jesus Christ a mythical figure?

Important question - wouldn't you say? If Jesus is just a made up figure
designed to impose control and power over weak-minded fools, then I would
like to know. By the same token, if Jesus Christ is a real historical figure, then
based on what He claimed it would be sheer madness to simply dismiss Him
as "another religious dude."

Those that believe Jesus is a myth on par with Bigfoot, unicorns, and the Flying
Spaghetti Monster base their perspective largely on the concept that Jesus
Christ is a copycat Sun god who shares key elements from dozens of 'gods'
before Him. For example, they point to themes like virgin birth, star in the east,
12 disciples, death on the Cross, resurrection etc. as the same storylines that
have been attributed to many so called 'gods' before Jesus' time. So there never
really was a flesh and blood person in the 1 st Century that walked on water,
healed the sick and resurrected from the dead.

OK, so now we have our myth. But let's look at the evidence.

The fact of the matter is that we have four eyewitness accounts of Jesus' existence
that were written within a generation of His time on earth. The New Testament books,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are considered some of the most reliable
historical documents in the world.

And here are a few other things to consider-

The Encyclopedia Britannica uses over 20,000 words to describe Jesus,
which is more than Aristotle, Cicero, Alexander, Julius Caesar, Buddha,
Confucius, Mohammed, or Napoleon.

Sorry, but the pretty doggone smart folks at the Britannica generally do their
homework before they use 20,000 words about someone who 'might be' a myth.

Eleven of Jesus' disciples were tortured and murdered for spreading the message
of Jesus. Wait - they would all die for something they knew to be a lie?

The gospel message of Jesus spread from a band of 12 men in a tiny region
of Israel to thousands of people across thousands of miles to Rome in just 30
years. Wait, an entire civilization being duped by an obvious copycat religion?

Plus we have non-Biblical references to Jesus coming from Roman historians,
government officials, and even the Jewish literature of that time. Wait one more
time, the people that wished Jesus was a myth write about Him? Not a great
way to get rid of a copycat Sun god - wouldn't you say?

Finally-

There are over 5000 historical source documents to support the validity of the
New Testament, much more than any other ancient book. All the Gospels were
published within the lifetimes of eyewitnesses, and yet there's no record of
anyone ever proving them false.

The Romans tried for 250 years to stamp out Christianity before accepting it as
their state religion. By that time the books of the New Testament had been a
published fact for two centuries.

The Bible recounts a 6000 year history of God first saying He'll do something
and then doing it. You know them as prophecies, and non-Christian history
books document their fulfillment all over the place.
Why?

Because the idea of Jesus being a myth is a myth that in my opinion is more
easily busted than proving that a jet engine really can't fly a Chevy.

The biggest question you should ask is-

Is Jesus Christ really who He claimed to be - which is God in the flesh and the
Savior of the world? This is a question that has already been confirmed - now all
you need to do is confirm your place in heaven by trusting in Jesus alone as your
only hope of salvation.

Head: What you need to know about this truth

The Jesus Christ who is described in the Bible is definitely not a myth. He is
God in the flesh and the Savior of the world.

Heart: What you need to feel about this truth

Feel confident that your faith in Jesus Christ is not a leap into the dark, it is a
step into the light. There is more proof of His existence than any other ancient figure.

Hands: What you need to do about this truth

Bring up a conversation with friends who don't have a relationship with Jesus using
the facts from this week's Soul Fuel. It's a great way to share your faith!