10/09/2016
Let PATIENCE Have Her PERFECT WORK !
TO HAVE HER PERFECT WORK !
PATIENCE will lead us down the path of humbleness also, especially if we embrace that path as “from The LORD.”
9/22/2016
The Valley of Baca... The Valley of Weeping
The Valley of Baca …
The Valley of WEEPING
Psalm 84
The Valley of Weeping is a Special Place for the Followers of JESUS. It is a place of sweet Companionship with the Savior+ of our souls. It is a valley where we walk, one at a time, with our hand in His+ Hand… His+ Nail-pierced Hand.
HE+ knows the Way through that valley because, you see, HE+ walked it before we did. HE+ suffered rejection and loss of family, for even some of His+ half-brothers did not believe HE+ was the Messiah.
HE+ walked it through slights and taunts and rudeness as the learn-ed ones who knew The Word did not know HIM+, the Living Word+.
HE+ walked through that dark Valley when HE+ shared Isaiah 61 with the people HE+ grew up with … who turned on HIM+ in wrath and thrust HIM+ to the edge of the cliff to throw HIM+ head-long down the ravine.
The Valley of Weeping was where HE+ laid His+ head. It was where HE+ opened the eyes of the blind and then rescued him from the Temple Pharisees.
It was where HE+ healed the diseases and yes, where HE+ raised Lazarus with deep groans in the SPIRIT, heard by The FATHER.
What happens to our tears, as we walk through the Valley of Baca, with JESUS ? Listen to the literal Hebrew:
Blessed is the man whose strength
is in THEE+;
in whose heart are the highways,
who passing through the Valley of Baca
make it a fountain;
even with blessings
the early rain covers it.
Our tears draw us to JESUS HIMSELF+. They water the garden of our heart, right in the midst of the Valley of Baca. In our heart, you see, is the Highway to GOD and at times that Highway takes us through that Valley of Weeping.
But as we Weep With JESUS, a phenomenal thing occurs. Our tears become a REFRESHING fountain for others who must walk through the Valley, sooner or later. Indeed, out of our belly flow RIVERS of LIVING WATERS ! John 7:38.
The
Fountain of our Tears, joined to JESUS, becomes blessings for the
strengthening of others, just like the life-giving early rains for the
production of food for mankind. Indeed, it will POUR forth from the
Fountain of our Soul, rooted in JESUS.
The WORLD cannot give its followers this, in the midst of their sorrows.
Our
LORD and SAVIOR+ JESUS CHRIST can SANCTIFY our trials and sorrow of
heart … and MOST ASSUREDLY does … if we walk Hand in Hand with our
LORD. HE+ wastes nothing that touches our lives. It all is for OUR GOOD
… and for others.
Our Companionship with HIM+ grows deeper than a lack of sorrow could ever bring. HE+ brings us to maturity in CHRIST, a maturity that is not possible to achieve without sorrow and grief and hurt.
No matter WHAT variety of sorrow we face, we have the promise that our SORROW will not last forever… but our joy in JESUS will !
+ + +
Therefore, O LORD,
we praise you even now in the midst of our sorrow,
our hurt, and our weakness.
Yes, we would like this sorrow to lift,
but we know that YOU+, O LORD ,
have no shadow of turning in THEE+.
YOU+ are always constant, the same.
So, help us to stay constant in CHRIST.
Through good times, through sorrow,
let Your+ Light so shine in us before men,
that they may see our good works
and GLORIFY YOU,
O Holy FATHER.
+ + +
9/19/2016
JESUS WEPT...
JESUS Wept…
is written such
when sorrow much at Death prevails,
holding all in gloom-filled tomb;
no end in sight for Sorrow’s Might
when Death destroys a loved one.
JESUS Wept…
Scriptures said,
when tears o’r-flowed from family.
Neighbors came a-weeping,
as Death untamed
laid its Claim for keeping.
Yes, JESUS Wept…
Seeing Death affect the Living,
curse in sway sweeps life away,
destroying all it touches .
JESUS Wept…
but swept aside His+ Veil of Flesh
and earthly fears with groans,
unheard His+ moans
by fleshly, human ears.
Then JESUS Lifted
… not the stone…
but the Tone
of Command.
There HE+ met the curse head-first:
LAZARUS ! Here ! Outside !
HE+ cried.
This time… with no tears!
9/11/2016
A Tribute to UNCLE KARL, a CHRISTIAN MAN
This is the recent funeral tribute for a Christian man who died suddenly of a massive heart attack.
+ + +
In the Name of The FATHER,
And of The SON+,
and of The HOLY SPIRIT.
Amen.
+ + +
Greetings of love to each of you in the Life-giving Name of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST... the same yesterday, today, and forever... Who+ ever liveth to make intercession for us.
My relationship with Uncle Karl goes back about 69 years. He was staying with my family before I was born. Thus, our hearts were knit together for the rest of our lives.
During his youth, Uncle Karl would share things with me and I , with him. I would always give him bites of my popsicles... until my good aunts would chase him away!
He would call me to help him ... yes, to help him skin all those rabbits he was so fond of shooting. "Here, hold these legs... now hold them TIGHT! " he would insist. I would , but OH, how they stunk !
Through his young adult years, Uncle Karl had many hard knocks. He had some harsh experiences that left him broken-hearted and hurt.
Now Uncle Karl was a hard-worker all of his life. He lived with my family while he worked in our town on the railroad, away from his family. Uncle Karl did not have a lazy bone in his body.
He would call me to help him ... yes, to help him skin all those rabbits he was so fond of shooting. "Here, hold these legs... now hold them TIGHT! " he would insist. I would , but OH, how they stunk !
Through his young adult years, Uncle Karl had many hard knocks. He had some harsh experiences that left him broken-hearted and hurt.
Now Uncle Karl was a hard-worker all of his life. He lived with my family while he worked in our town on the railroad, away from his family. Uncle Karl did not have a lazy bone in his body.
Uncle Karl possessed another character trait.
That was HONESTY.
He was not a cheat.
That was HONESTY.
He was not a cheat.
And, he did not lie.
Uncle Karl carried his responsibility and commitments. He took care of what was entrusted to him from his own labors. But still, the hard knocks came.
One day, through his middle years, he looked into the mirror... the MIRROR of GOD'S Word. It stopped him cold. Because of his deep inner honesty, he saw himself as he REALLY was.
He saw that his own CHOICES produced the hard knocks. He could not blame GOD for them.
He said,
" I, I am wrong.
LORD JESUS,
YOU+ are right."
Uncle Karl said,
" I am the sinner.
YOU+, LORD, have not mistreated me,
but I have
mistreated YOU+ . "
And he bent the knees of his heart and heartily repented... ashamed of choosing sin... and very hurt at himself; Uncle Karl repented.
He pledged allegiance to JESUS CHRIST from that moment on. NOT to a LIST of Laws, but to The LORD JESUS CHRIST went his allegiance.
He yielded the CONTROL of his life unto the Savior+ of his soul.
Uncle Karl rose up from his knees and entered the cleansing waters of baptism. He was immersed and his soul was cleansed of sin.
And when he emerged from that sanctified water, The LORD did something to him: HE+ made Uncle Karl into A New Creature in CHRIST!
MARVELOUS! MARVELOUS GIFT!
Now, how do we KNOW Uncle Karl became that New Creature in CHRIST?
Well, that was easy: we ALL KNEW that JESUS changed him !
First, he put away the booze bottles. He would not have that devil water in his house. He hated even the smell of it... because it had helped to ruin his life.
It is hard to ask the LORD'S blessing before you drink your beer, isn't it ?
Then, he stopped gambling and throwing his money away on fine race horses. He stopped going to the race track.
JESUS said,
" I+ don't go there;
don't you go there,
either. "
" I+ don't go there;
don't you go there,
either. "
THAT is what a New Creature in CHRIST does.
Uncle Karl kept a clean heart and a clean house. He cleaned up his language... and kept it clean. He had no filthy magazines under his bed.
He forgave those who hurt him or ignored him or turned a cold shoulder to him. And he kept on forgiving unto his dying day.
Uncle Karl kept a reading rack in his bathroom. It had a Bible in it. A daily reading Bible, with portions for each day for a year. He read through it several times.
That is what a New Creature in CHRIST does !
He set his priority to keep his commitment to The LORD JESUS with at least as much diligence as he gave to his worldly jobs... and THAT was quite a lot.
Uncle Karl asked the LORD'S blessing over his food at home, and in public restaurants. He would NOT DENY CHRIST before men.
Uncle Karl developed a deep companionship with JESUS by doing these things.
As a result of his companionship with CHRIST JESUS, Uncle Karl grew tender-hearted toward those in need. He opened up his heart... and his pocketbook followed... to the hurting and hungry and handicapped.
He didn't blow a trumpet before him, so we are just finding out now some of the things he did.
We discovered that he found a way to help the American Indians, a down-trodden people, the under-dogs... because he had been an under-dog for so many years himself and he never forgot the pain of it.
We discovered that he found a way to help the American Indians, a down-trodden people, the under-dogs... because he had been an under-dog for so many years himself and he never forgot the pain of it.
He said,
" This is what GOD
wants me to do. "
" This is what GOD
wants me to do. "
A Companionship with CHRIST is what he prayed for his family and friends and acquaintances he met in passing.
I hate to say good-bye to such a man as this: an elder in CHRIST, an excellent example.
So now, we have this confidence: because Uncle Karl was a New Creature in CHRIST, the LORD received him into His+ Heaven.
So now, we have this confidence: because Uncle Karl was a New Creature in CHRIST, the LORD received him into His+ Heaven.
Yes, Uncle Karl IS absent now from the body, but he is present NOW with The LORD. But, Uncle Karl will not ALWAYS be absent from the body. He is not in these ashes. He is alive in soul and spirit... the Uncle Karl we know ... and in Heaven.
These ashes sitting here in this urn are going to be changed ! Uncle Karl will be restored --- complete, whole, healthy, and happy --- in his body, AT THE LAST TRUMPET!
These ashes sitting here in this urn are going to be changed ! Uncle Karl will be restored --- complete, whole, healthy, and happy --- in his body, AT THE LAST TRUMPET!
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised...
the DEAD shall
be RAISED
incorruptible !
at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised...
the DEAD shall
be RAISED
incorruptible !
And those who follow JESUS in a daily, honest, and responsible companionship shall be raised from their graves too... with bodies glorified like unto our LORD'S glorified body, according to the working whereby, CHRIST JESUS is able to subdue all things unto HIMSELF+.
So... we say good-bye ... just temporarily ... to this dear man, as his spirit and soul enters into that Continuing City, whose Builder and Maker is GOD.
Uncle Karl cannot come to us ... but we can go to him.
I KNOW he wants to see you there, too.
In the Name of GOD the FATHER,
WHO created us ---
and unto Whom we must give an account;
and unto Whom we must give an account;
And in the Name of His Beloved SON+, JESUS CHRIST, Who+ knows every little thing about us
... and still loves us.... enough to save us;
... and still loves us.... enough to save us;
And in the Name of that Blessed HOLY SPIRIT Who+ sanctifies us by the BLOOD of JESUS CHRIST.
AMEN.
+ + +
9/03/2016
LUSTING AFTER FLESH? Pluck out the EYE !
If YOU...
are caught up in personal sins ... the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life ... you LOVE DARKNESS.
If you hunger after what the EYE sees, pluck it out and turn to
CHRIST JESUS
for the True Vision of Life in HIM+.
It is far better to lose an EYE than to be cast into HELL... where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, torments and flame, and of course, DARKNESS.
Afraid of the DARK ?
You WILL be !
Just as soon as you close your EYES in death, you will SEE DARKNESS for all Eternity.
If you hunger after the lusts of the flesh and REFUSE TO TURN AWAY from them, you have CHOSEN YOUR OWN CONDEMNATION... darkness for all Eternity... from which there is NO ESCAPE.
You will forever be aware of your foolish and sin-filled CHOICES you have made to put yourself under this condemnation.
Remember: if you commit IMMORALITY IN YOUR HEART, it is LAID TO YOUR ACCOUNT.
If you lust after the flesh through pictures and photos, you are walking in SERIOUS DARKNESS. THIS IS DANGEROUS.
REPENT before it is too late...
and the DARKNESS
CHOOSES YOU !
Men banished into darkness died, in prison camps. But there is a darkness greater than physical darkness.
JESUS said:
And this is the condemnation,
that LIGHT+ is come into the world
and men LOVED DARKNESS
rather than LIGHT+
BECAUSE
their deeds were EVIL.
For,
everyone that does evil
hates the LIGHT+
neither does he come
to The LIGHT+
lest his deeds
should be reproved.
Who can save us from DARKNESS ?
For GOD sent not HIS SON+
into the world
to condemn the world,
but that the world,
through HIM+,
might be saved !
For GOD SO LOVED
the world, that HE GAVE
HIS only-begotten SON+
JESUS CHRIST,
that whomever believes into HIM+,
should not destroy himself,
but have ever-lasting life.
John 3:16, literal Greek.
May The LORD hear your cry in the darkness. May your heart turn to HIM+ Who+ is the TRUE LIGHT+ available for every man in this world.
HE+ has the POWER to chase that darkness away ... if you do not love evil.
COME TO JESUS.
COME NOW.
HE+ will deliver you from the death-grip of pornography if you ask HIM+.
Leave that pornography behind in the ash heap. Sooner ... rather than later.
8/24/2016
The DESTRUCTION of the Wicked
That GOD will destroy the wicked is common knowledge. HE brings the FINAL “final solution” to evil in this world.
But before GOD’S destruction of the wicked occurs, there is another one who brings destruction to us human beings, even as we live.
Hidden in the language of John 3:15 ( and the same phrase in verse 16), “who” brings destruction to man is identified. [ It may surprise us.]
Here is the WORD spoken by Our LORD JESUS CHRIST :
3:14
And as Moses
lifted up the serpent
[ ophe0n = sharp-eyed one,not herpaton, a reptile ]
in the wilderness,
even so must the SON+ of Man be lifted up:
3:15
That whosoever believeth in HIM+
should not perish,
but have eternal life.
3:16
For GOD so loved the world,
that HE gave
His only-begotten SON+,
that whosoever believeth in HIM+
should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
+ + +
“Perish” is the verb of focus. The Greek root may sound familiar to us: apollumi,
Strong’s # 622, which means
to destroy.
We recall this well-known verse in Revelation 9 :
9:11
And they had a king over them,
which is the angel of the bottomless pit,
whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon,
but in the Greek tongue hath his name
Apollyon.
From Strong’s: (623) Apolluwn, — ap-ol-loo’-ohn; active participle of (622) (ajpollumi); a destroyer (i.e. Satan): — Apollyon.
Thus we see that the verb APOLLUMI means to destroy, in its various forms.
Now then, translators have assigned “perish” to this verb “DESTROY.”
This
is an arbitrary designation that somehow, they have all agreed upon
because the verb is in the simple MIDDLE voice, in the Greek language.
However , briefly note this: a verb in the simple MIDDLE form carries a reflexive meaning. The subject does an action that REFLECTS BACK upon himself.
Thus, a more basic, more honest translation of this verb phrase is this:
That whosoever
believeth in HIM+
“…should not destroy himself “
but may have everlasting Life.
“Perish” indeed happens to oneself, but WHO is making the perishing to happen ? In the translators’ versions, no-one; it just “occurs.”
Some people refuse to come to CHRIST JESUS on the grounds of this protest:
Why would a Loving GOD
put anyone in Hell ?
The answer is:
HE DOES NOT.
WE PUT OURSELVES THERE.
We do it to ourselves.
We choose not to believe.
We choose to put our trust elsewhere instead of upon The LORD JESUS CHRIST.
We choose to ignore HIM+, His+ servants, His+ Word, and His+ warnings.
We have free-will. The choice is ours, not His+.
.The LORD JESUS CHRIST
will NOT choose for us;
we must do it ourselves.
If we fail to make a choice, then by default our Adamic nature has chosen Hell .
Originally, Hell was not created for man but for the satan and his rebel angels. Matthew 25:41.
When Adam and Eve chose to break the companionship they had with The LORD, they infected the entire Adamic race with the curse of sin.
The LORD JESUS CHRIST, however, re-established a Way for fallen, sinful man to come out from under the curse and have companionship with The FATHER again.
When man refuses The LORD JESUS, then we go with the being we follow. We have no power to stop our decline into Hell, apart from The LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Now, there is yet another gem of Truth hidden within this great passage in John 3:15 and John 3:16:
That whosoever
believeth in HIM+
should not destroy himself
but may have everlasting Life.
The verb phrase “may have” or “might have” is in the subjunctive mood. We would understand this to be CONDITIONAL, hopeful, allowable perhaps … if the conditions are met.
Those CONDITIONS are important !
We may obtain eternal, everlasting Life … IF… IF… IF… we stay with JESUS, nothing wavering.
IF we stay anchored on HIM+ through the testings that come our way, THEN we are allowed to retain our hope of Eternal Life with JESUS in Heaven with certainty.
If we leave HIM+, though, and deny HIM+ before men, HE+ will deny us before His+ Heavenly FATHER and HIS angels.
Whosoever therefore
shall confess ME+ before men,
him will I+ confess also
before My+ FATHER
which is in heaven.
But whosoever shall deny ME+
before men,
him will I+ also deny
before My+ FATHER
which is in heaven.
Matthew 10:32-33
Scriptures Courtesy of Bible Gateway
We have NOT MET THE CONDITIONS to obtain Eternal Life, at that point.
And, worse. Unless we repent, we will lose our soul in Hell. A Living, tormenting Hell, not a perpetual soul-sleep, as some teach. See the account of the beggar Lazarus in Abraham’s Bosom and the wicked rich man in Hell. Luke 16.
Furthermore, “may have” is present active. What does being “present active” in Greek tell us ?
It tells us that “may have Eternal Life” is a continuous happening occuring right now… if we stay anchored in JESUS CHRIST The LORD.
John 5:24
Verily, verily, I+ say unto you, He that heareth My+ word, and believeth on HIM that sent ME+, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation;
but is passed from death unto life.
IF we remain, abide, stay anchored
in The LORD JESUS, we are passed
from death unto Life even now, JESUS told us.
He that overcometh,
the same shall be clothed
in white raiment;
and I+ will not blot out his name
out of the Book of Life,
but I+ will confess his name
before My+ FATHER,
and before HIS angels.
Revelation 3:5
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