"Beware
of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing
robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the
marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the
head table at banquets." – Luke 20:46
My Mission From God is To Ensure His Word Reaches The Whole World
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
Romans 12:1-2 (NLT) Let God transform your thinking
Romans 12:1-2 (NLT) "This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the
behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person
by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you,
which is good and pleasing and perfect."
Saturday, April 26, 2014
2 Peter 1:19 (NIV)
2 Peter 1:19 (NIV) "And we have the word of the prophets made more certain,
and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark
place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts."
Friday, April 25, 2014
Spurgeons Daily Devotional: "If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him."
"If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in
to him."
Revelation 3:20
Revelation 3:20
What is your desire this evening? Is it set upon heavenly things? Do you long to enjoy the high doctrine of eternal love? Do you desire liberty in very close communion with God? Do you aspire to know the heights, and depths, and lengths, and breadths? Then you must draw near to Jesus; you must get a clear sight of Him in His preciousness and completeness: you must view Him in His work, in His offices, in His person. He who understands Christ, receives an anointing from the Holy One, by which He knows all things. Christ is the great master-key of all the chambers of God: there is no treasure-house of God which will not open and yield up all its wealth to the soul that lives near to Jesus. Are you saying, "O that He would dwell in my bosom "Would that He would make my heart His dwelling-place for ever"? Open the door, beloved, and He will come into your souls. He has long been knocking, and all with this object, that He may sup with you, and you with Him. He sups with you because you find the house or the heart, and you with Him because He brings the provision. He could not sup with you if it were not in your heart, you finding the house; nor could you sup with Him, for you have a bare cupboard, if He did not bring provision with Him. Fling wide, then, the portals of your soul. He will come with that love which you long to feel; He will come with that joy into which you cannot work your poor depressed spirit; He will bring the peace which now you have not; He will come with His flagons of wine and sweet apples of love, and cheer you till you have no other sickness but that of "love o'erpowering, love divine." Only open the door to Him, drive out His enemies, give Him the keys of your heart, and He will dwell there for ever. Oh, wondrous love, that brings such a guest to dwell in such a heart!
Galatians 2:9-10
Galatians 2:9-10 (NLT) "In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as
pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted
Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the
Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. Their only suggestion
was that we keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do."
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Pray Without Ceasing
Our government, this nation and many of our churches are full of corruption and greed. Their is judgment upon this nation, those things can be changed, we need to pray without ceasing and you know the verse of (If my people). This nation needs to come back to the Lord, it is not too late.
Jeremiah 4:11-12 (NLT) "The time is coming when the LORD will say to the people of Jerusalem, "My dear people, a burning wind is blowing in from the desert, and it's not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain. It is a roaring blast sent by me! Now I will pronounce your destruction!"
Jeremiah 4:11-12 (NLT) "The time is coming when the LORD will say to the people of Jerusalem, "My dear people, a burning wind is blowing in from the desert, and it's not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain. It is a roaring blast sent by me! Now I will pronounce your destruction!"
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Luke 18:7-8 (NLT) A verse to ponder on. Do you have faith?
Luke 18:7-8 "Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don't you
think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day
and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to
them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the
earth who have faith?"
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Ephesians 4:31 (AMP Bible) A good one for all of us to remenber and follow.
Ephesians 4:31 (AMP) "Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion,
rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling,
clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language)
be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any
kind)."
Monday, April 21, 2014
Ephesians 4:31 We must banish all anger and bitterness from us.
Ephesians 4:31 (AMP) "Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion,
rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling,
clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language)
be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any
kind)."
Friday, April 18, 2014
The strong righ arm of the Lord
And David became more and more powerful, because the LORD God of Heaven's Armies
was with him. – 2 Samuel 5:10
Psalm 118:15-16 (NLT) "Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things! The strong right arm of the LORD is raised in triumph. The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things!"
Psalm 118:15-16 (NLT) "Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things! The strong right arm of the LORD is raised in triumph. The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things!"
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Subject: California Politicians: I do not normaly do this but I had to post this one.
Subject: California
Politicians
LA Times Quote
of the day - priceless
Quote of the day by Dianne Feinstein........
Dianne Feinstein: "All vets are mentally ill in some way and government should prevent them from owning firearms."
Yep, - she really said it on Thursday in a meeting in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee... and the quote below from the LA Times is priceless. Sometimes even the L.A. Times gets it right.
Kurt Nimmo: "Senator Feinstein insults all U.S. Veterans as she flays about in a vain attempt to save her anti-firearms bill."
Quote of the Day from the Los Angeles Times:
"Frankly, I don't know what it is about California, but we seem to have a strange urge to elect really obnoxious women to high office. I'm not bragging, you understand, but no other state, including Maine, even comes close. When it comes to sending left-wing dingbats to Washington, we're Number One. There's no getting around the fact that the last time anyone saw the likes of Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein, Maxine Waters, and Nancy Pelosi, they were stirring a cauldron when the curtain went up on 'Macbeth'. The four of them are like jackasses who happen to possess the gift of blab. You don't know if you should condemn them for their stupidity or simply marvel at their ability to form words."
Columnist Burt Prelutsky,
Los Angeles Times
Be sure to forward this to all of the "mentally ill" vets you know.
Especially the ones with guns...
Quote of the day by Dianne Feinstein........
Dianne Feinstein: "All vets are mentally ill in some way and government should prevent them from owning firearms."
Yep, - she really said it on Thursday in a meeting in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee... and the quote below from the LA Times is priceless. Sometimes even the L.A. Times gets it right.
Kurt Nimmo: "Senator Feinstein insults all U.S. Veterans as she flays about in a vain attempt to save her anti-firearms bill."
Quote of the Day from the Los Angeles Times:
"Frankly, I don't know what it is about California, but we seem to have a strange urge to elect really obnoxious women to high office. I'm not bragging, you understand, but no other state, including Maine, even comes close. When it comes to sending left-wing dingbats to Washington, we're Number One. There's no getting around the fact that the last time anyone saw the likes of Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein, Maxine Waters, and Nancy Pelosi, they were stirring a cauldron when the curtain went up on 'Macbeth'. The four of them are like jackasses who happen to possess the gift of blab. You don't know if you should condemn them for their stupidity or simply marvel at their ability to form words."
Columnist Burt Prelutsky,
Los Angeles Times
Be sure to forward this to all of the "mentally ill" vets you know.
Especially the ones with guns...
May you always walk in sunshine, my friend!
Proverbs 16: 1-3 The Lord always gives the right answer.
Proverbs 16:1-3 (NLT) "We can make our own plans, but the LORD gives the
right answer. People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their
motives. Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Verse for the Day Matthew 15:24-25
Matthew
15:24-25 (NLT) "Then Jesus said to the woman, "I was sent only to help God's
lost sheep-the people of Israel." But she came and worshiped him, pleading
again, "Lord, help me!" Jesus responded, "It isn't right to take food from the
children and throw it to the dogs." She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even
dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their master's table."
"Dear woman," Jesus said to her, "your faith is great. Your request is
granted." And her daughter was instantly healed."
Sunday, April 13, 2014
God’s Accuracy
I am forwarding this on because it is great and awesome.
When you get ready to forward this, the devil will get very upset and try to talk you out of doing it .... Do it anyway, you will be glad you did.
God’s Accuracy
How Great is our God!!! Our Creator and Redeemer . . .
and do we THINK about it ??? God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of
eggs.. . . . .For example: the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days; those of
the canary in 14 days; -those of the barnyard hen in 21 days; The eggs of ducks
and geese hatch in 28 days; those of the mallard in 35
days;
the eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42
days.
(Notice, they are all divisible by seven, the number of
days in a week!)
God's wisdom is seen in the making of an
elephant.
The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in
the same direction. No other quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal
would have a huge body, too large to live on two legs. For this reason He gave
it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground
easily.
The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs
first. A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first. How wise the
Lord is in all His works of creation!
God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections
and segments, as well as in the number of grains
.
-Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the
rind.
-Each orange has an even number of
segments.
-Each ear of corn has an even number of
rows.
-Each stalk of wheat has an even number of
grains.
-Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even
number of bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even
number and the next row an odd number.
-The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the
minute in all kinds of weather.
-All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and
the Lord specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundred fold all even
numbers.
God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain
specified times during the day. Linnaeus, the great botanist, once said that if
he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and
temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were
open and those that were closed !
The lives of each of you may be ordered by the Lord in a
beautiful way for His glory, if you will only entrust Him with your life. If you
try to regulate your own life, it will only be a mess and a failure. Only the
One Who made the brain and the heart can successfully guide them to a profitable
end.
I HOPE YOU FIND THIS AS FASCINATING AS I DID. May God
Bless You In Ways You Never Even Dreamed. I didn't think twice about forwarding
this one.
The Bible
When you carry the Bible , Satan has a headache, when
you open it, he collapses, when he sees you reading it, he loses his strength,
AND when you stand on the Word of God , Satan can't hurt you! And did you
also know...
When you get ready to forward this, the devil will get very upset and try to talk you out of doing it .... Do it anyway, you will be glad you did.
Verse for the Day; Galatians 5: 16-17
Galatians 5:16-17 (NASB) "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not
carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one
another, so that you may not do the things that you please."
Thursday, April 10, 2014
James 1:3-5 Perseverance and Wisdom.
James 1:3-5 (NIV) "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should
ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given
to him."
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Do we listen, Do we hear. I posted this teaching in July 2012, we need to read it again.
New Teaching: Do we listen, Do we hear, Do we see what the Lord is Telling us?
Do we listen, Do we hear, Do we see what the Lord is telling us?
How many of us as Christians (or those who claim to be Christians) hear and see what the Lord is showing and telling us? How many of us heed His warnings to us and the world? How many of us see what is going on in the world (such as earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and record heat waves) and blame it on what the world calls “global warming.” Are we blind to what the Lord is telling us? Do many of us choose to ignore or block out the Lord’s cries to us, to the world? Does even most of the church ignore His cries?
Sadly, the answer to the questions above is yes, we don’t hear the Lord’s grief and distress; we don’t see or hear his broken heart because we do not hear, see, or listen to what He is lovingly trying to tell us or show us. This was apparent in 9-11 and in many other warnings that the Lord has sent to us and we ignore at our own peril and that is not counting what the scriptures tell us. Oh yes, we as a nation and the church joined together for a very short time then we forgot about it. What would it take to wake up the church and this nation, this world? How quickly we go back to worldly ways!
Do you think that the Lord God will be mocked? I can tell you right now that the Lord will not be mocked! The Gospel tells us in Galatians 6:7 ASV “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: For whatsoever a man soweth, that he shall reap.” Does anyone but a few believers know that when this nation (or any other nation) does something against God’s chosen people (Israel) that we will and have suffered the consequences for it? Every time we have taken an action against Israel this nation (and the unbelieving churches) have has some kind of consequence as a result of the action taken against Israel or by us ignoring God’s word. You do not have to believe me all you have to do is look at recent history.
Just look at the history since Israel once again became a nation on May 14, 1948 at midnight (and for a little historical biblical background this was prophesied in Ezekiel 36:24 NIV” For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.”). As I was saying just check the recent history, for example when this nation first started to appease the Palestinians to break up parts of Israel to give land to them by mostly forcing Israel to sign into a so called treaty or treaties that the Palestinians (or their government which is made up of mostly terrorists) had or have no intention of honoring and even up to the present day and what this nation is still doing now to force Israel to give in to the Palestinians.
Every time that this nation has made a move to force Israel to give up land something has happened to this nation (such as financial, weather related, and so on) every time the day we supported some United Nations move or we “suggested” that Israel give up something either that day or up to a week or a little longer depending when we for sure supported a move to take something away from Israel some calamity happened to this nation or to some other nation that made a move against God’s chosen. A good example is when the nation of Japan ( a nation of false gods) in the United Nations made a demand of Israel to go back to 1967 borders ( a move our own President first suggested!), hours after that Japan had the earthquakes and the tsunamis which in turn caused the nuclear calamity with their reactor plants. I suggest to you this is not coincidence. What does the Gospel say about Israel?
Numbers 24: 9 NLT states; “Like a lion, Israel couches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to arouse her? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel, and cursed is everyone who curses you.”
Genesis 12:3 NLT states; “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.”
Genesis 27:29 NLT states; May many nations become your servants. May you be the master of your brothers. May all your mother’s sons bow low before you. All who curse you are cursed, and all who bless you are blessed.”
Is it too late for us, the church, the nation, the world? I pray not. Prayer and repentance can change things. It can change things for the church, individuals, and nations. We do have hope; we need to become a righteous people and church in God’s eyes without spot. We as believers can save our families and the church; but be warned those churches that are preaching false doctrines will be disciplined and the Pastor, Minister, or Prophet who is supposed to be ministering God’s word to the congregation and instead is preaching false teachings and doctrines, you are held more responsible then all of us. How are you going to justify to God what you did? It cannot be justified! You will surly suffer in hell. Let us look into what the Gospel teaches us about false teachers.
2 Peter 2: 1-3 NLT
“But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach their destructive heresies about God and even turn against their Master who bought them. Theirs will be a swift and terrible end. 2 Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of them, Christ and his true way will be slandered. 3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction is on the way.”
2 Peter 2: 12-14
“These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, who are born to be caught and killed. They laugh at the terrifying powers they know so little about, and they will be destroyed along with them. 13 Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They revel in deceitfulness, while they feast with you. 14 They commit adultery with their eyes, and their lust is never satisfied. They make a game of luring unstable people into sin. They train themselves to be greedy; they are doomed and cursed.”
2 Peter 2: 17-19
“These people are as useless as dried up springs of water or as clouds blown away by the wind—promising much and delivering nothing. They are doomed to blackest darkness. 18 They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With lustful desire as their bait, they lure back into sin those who have just escaped from such wicked living. 19 They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves to sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.”
The Lord is coming soon; no one knows the time or the date. He will come in His time not our time. Many of the signs of His coming are present, many prophesy’s in the gospel has come into being and we still have more that has yet to come into play. We have to become immersed in the Good Word and listen to what God is telling us. God’s word is a living word shaper than a two edged sword.
This is not just about Israel or global warming; this is about us as people, the church, our countries, our families, our children and much more. We need to wake up and as they say “smell the roses.” Our Lord and Savior is clearly sending us warnings and crying out to us, He does not want even one of us to be lost. Our Father loves us; after all He sent his only begotten Son to die for our sins. We must pull the binders away from our eyes, our ears, and our hearts. We have to stop listening to what the world and Satan is telling us. We must tear away the veils of deception that are around us, our countries, and the church. We must get back into the one true Gospel and not listen to the false doctrines that are being taught. We must get away from the “manmade” church and manmade church rules. We must read the Gospel as God had it written and not as many different interpretations as there are different denominations. Get back into the word and get into your prayer closet, pray and call out to God and then become silent and listen for that still small voice and be obedient to God. The church needs to wake up or it will be shook up by God, for God will cleanse His Church.
Wake up Church! God is knocking, can you hear Him calling?
Do we listen, Do we hear, Do we see what the Lord is telling us?
How many of us as Christians (or those who claim to be Christians) hear and see what the Lord is showing and telling us? How many of us heed His warnings to us and the world? How many of us see what is going on in the world (such as earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and record heat waves) and blame it on what the world calls “global warming.” Are we blind to what the Lord is telling us? Do many of us choose to ignore or block out the Lord’s cries to us, to the world? Does even most of the church ignore His cries?
Sadly, the answer to the questions above is yes, we don’t hear the Lord’s grief and distress; we don’t see or hear his broken heart because we do not hear, see, or listen to what He is lovingly trying to tell us or show us. This was apparent in 9-11 and in many other warnings that the Lord has sent to us and we ignore at our own peril and that is not counting what the scriptures tell us. Oh yes, we as a nation and the church joined together for a very short time then we forgot about it. What would it take to wake up the church and this nation, this world? How quickly we go back to worldly ways!
Do you think that the Lord God will be mocked? I can tell you right now that the Lord will not be mocked! The Gospel tells us in Galatians 6:7 ASV “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: For whatsoever a man soweth, that he shall reap.” Does anyone but a few believers know that when this nation (or any other nation) does something against God’s chosen people (Israel) that we will and have suffered the consequences for it? Every time we have taken an action against Israel this nation (and the unbelieving churches) have has some kind of consequence as a result of the action taken against Israel or by us ignoring God’s word. You do not have to believe me all you have to do is look at recent history.
Just look at the history since Israel once again became a nation on May 14, 1948 at midnight (and for a little historical biblical background this was prophesied in Ezekiel 36:24 NIV” For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.”). As I was saying just check the recent history, for example when this nation first started to appease the Palestinians to break up parts of Israel to give land to them by mostly forcing Israel to sign into a so called treaty or treaties that the Palestinians (or their government which is made up of mostly terrorists) had or have no intention of honoring and even up to the present day and what this nation is still doing now to force Israel to give in to the Palestinians.
Every time that this nation has made a move to force Israel to give up land something has happened to this nation (such as financial, weather related, and so on) every time the day we supported some United Nations move or we “suggested” that Israel give up something either that day or up to a week or a little longer depending when we for sure supported a move to take something away from Israel some calamity happened to this nation or to some other nation that made a move against God’s chosen. A good example is when the nation of Japan ( a nation of false gods) in the United Nations made a demand of Israel to go back to 1967 borders ( a move our own President first suggested!), hours after that Japan had the earthquakes and the tsunamis which in turn caused the nuclear calamity with their reactor plants. I suggest to you this is not coincidence. What does the Gospel say about Israel?
Numbers 24: 9 NLT states; “Like a lion, Israel couches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to arouse her? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel, and cursed is everyone who curses you.”
Genesis 12:3 NLT states; “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.”
Genesis 27:29 NLT states; May many nations become your servants. May you be the master of your brothers. May all your mother’s sons bow low before you. All who curse you are cursed, and all who bless you are blessed.”
Is it too late for us, the church, the nation, the world? I pray not. Prayer and repentance can change things. It can change things for the church, individuals, and nations. We do have hope; we need to become a righteous people and church in God’s eyes without spot. We as believers can save our families and the church; but be warned those churches that are preaching false doctrines will be disciplined and the Pastor, Minister, or Prophet who is supposed to be ministering God’s word to the congregation and instead is preaching false teachings and doctrines, you are held more responsible then all of us. How are you going to justify to God what you did? It cannot be justified! You will surly suffer in hell. Let us look into what the Gospel teaches us about false teachers.
2 Peter 2: 1-3 NLT
“But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach their destructive heresies about God and even turn against their Master who bought them. Theirs will be a swift and terrible end. 2 Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of them, Christ and his true way will be slandered. 3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction is on the way.”
2 Peter 2: 12-14
“These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, who are born to be caught and killed. They laugh at the terrifying powers they know so little about, and they will be destroyed along with them. 13 Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They revel in deceitfulness, while they feast with you. 14 They commit adultery with their eyes, and their lust is never satisfied. They make a game of luring unstable people into sin. They train themselves to be greedy; they are doomed and cursed.”
2 Peter 2: 17-19
“These people are as useless as dried up springs of water or as clouds blown away by the wind—promising much and delivering nothing. They are doomed to blackest darkness. 18 They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With lustful desire as their bait, they lure back into sin those who have just escaped from such wicked living. 19 They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves to sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.”
The Lord is coming soon; no one knows the time or the date. He will come in His time not our time. Many of the signs of His coming are present, many prophesy’s in the gospel has come into being and we still have more that has yet to come into play. We have to become immersed in the Good Word and listen to what God is telling us. God’s word is a living word shaper than a two edged sword.
This is not just about Israel or global warming; this is about us as people, the church, our countries, our families, our children and much more. We need to wake up and as they say “smell the roses.” Our Lord and Savior is clearly sending us warnings and crying out to us, He does not want even one of us to be lost. Our Father loves us; after all He sent his only begotten Son to die for our sins. We must pull the binders away from our eyes, our ears, and our hearts. We have to stop listening to what the world and Satan is telling us. We must tear away the veils of deception that are around us, our countries, and the church. We must get back into the one true Gospel and not listen to the false doctrines that are being taught. We must get away from the “manmade” church and manmade church rules. We must read the Gospel as God had it written and not as many different interpretations as there are different denominations. Get back into the word and get into your prayer closet, pray and call out to God and then become silent and listen for that still small voice and be obedient to God. The church needs to wake up or it will be shook up by God, for God will cleanse His Church.
Wake up Church! God is knocking, can you hear Him calling?
Spurgeon's Daily Devotional, "And there followed Him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented Him."
"And there followed Him a great company of people, and of
women, which also bewailed and lamented Him."
Luke 23:27
Luke 23:27
Amid the rabble rout which hounded the Redeemer to His doom, there were some gracious souls whose bitter anguish sought vent in wailing and lamentations--fit music to accompany that march of woe. When my soul can, in imagination, see the Saviour bearing His cross to Calvary, she joins the godly women and weeps with them; for, indeed, there is true cause for grief-- cause lying deeper than those mourning women thought. They bewailed innocence maltreated, goodness persecuted, love bleeding, meekness about to die; but my heart has a deeper and more bitter cause to mourn. My sins were the scourges which lacerated those blessed shoulders, and crowned with thorn those bleeding brows: my sins cried "Crucify Him! crucify Him!" and laid the cross upon His gracious shoulders. His being led forth to die is sorrow enough for one eternity: but my having been His murderer, is more, infinitely more, grief than one poor fountain of tears can express.
Why those women loved and wept it were not hard to guess: but they could not have had greater reasons for love and grief than my heart has. Nain's widow saw her son restored--but I myself have been raised to newness of life. Peter's wife's mother was cured of the fever--but I of the greater plague of sin. Out of Magdalene seven devils were cast--but a whole legion out of me. Mary and Martha were favoured with visits--but He dwells with me. His mother bare His body--but He is formed in me the hope of glory. In nothing behind the holy women in debt, let me not be behind them in gratitude or sorrow.
"Love and grief my heart dividing,
With my tears His feet I'll lave--
Constant still in heart abiding,
Weep for Him who died to save."
With my tears His feet I'll lave--
Constant still in heart abiding,
Weep for Him who died to save."
Monday, April 7, 2014
Isaiah 57:15 and Luke 9:23 Verses for the day.
Isaiah 57:15 (NIV) "For this is what the high and lofty One says-- he who lives forever, whose name is holy: 'I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.'"
Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me." – Luke 9:23
Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me." – Luke 9:23
Spurgeon's Daily Devotional. Psalm 4:2 "O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame?"
"O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into
shame?"
Psalm 4:2
Psalm 4:2
An instructive writer has made a mournful list of the honours which the blinded people of Israel awarded to their long-expected King. (1.) They gave Him a procession of honour, in which Roman legionaries, Jewish priests, men and women, took a part, He Himself bearing His cross. This is the triumph which the world awards to Him who comes to overthrow man's direst foes. Derisive shouts are His only acclamations, and cruel taunts His only paeans of praise. (2.) They presented Him with the wine of honour. Instead of a golden cup of generous wine they offered Him the criminal's stupefying death-draught, which He refused because He would preserve an uninjured taste wherewith to taste of death; and afterwards when He cried, "I thirst," they gave Him vinegar mixed with gall, thrust to His mouth upon a sponge. Oh! wretched, detestable inhospitality to the King's Son. (3.) He was provided with a guard of honour, who showed their esteem of Him by gambling over His garments, which they had seized as their booty. Such was the body-guard of the adored of heaven; a quaternion of brutal gamblers. (4.) A throne of honour was found for Him upon the bloody tree; no easier place of rest would rebel men yield to their liege Lord. The cross was, in fact, the full expression of the world's feeling towards Him; "There," they seemed to say, "Thou Son of God, this is the manner in which God Himself should be treated, could we reach Him." (5.) The title of honour was nominally "King of the Jews," but that the blinded nation distinctly repudiated, and really called Him "King of thieves," by preferring Barabbas, and by placing Jesus in the place of highest shame between two thieves. His glory was thus in all things turned into shame by the sons of men, but it shall yet gladden the eyes of saints and angels, world without end.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Spurgeon's Daily Devotional. Plalm 118:12 In the name of the Lord I will destroy them."
"In the name of the Lord I will destroy them."
Psalm 118:12
Psalm 118:12
Our Lord Jesus, by His death, did not purchase a right to a part of us only, but to the entire man. He contemplated in His passion the sanctification of us wholly, spirit, soul, and body; that in this triple kingdom He Himself might reign supreme without a rival. It is the business of the newborn nature which God has given to the regenerate to assert the rights of the Lord Jesus Christ. My soul, so far as thou art a child of God, thou must conquer all the rest of thyself which yet remains unblest; thou must subdue all thy powers and passions to the silver sceptre of Jesus' gracious reign, and thou must never be satisfied till He who is King by purchase becomes also King by gracious coronation, and reigns in thee supreme. Seeing, then, that sin has no right to any part of us, we go about a good and lawful warfare when we seek, in the name of God, to drive it out. O my body, thou art a member of Christ: shall I tolerate thy subjection to the prince of darkness? O my soul, Christ has suffered for thy sins, and redeemed thee with His most precious blood: shall I suffer thy memory to become a storehouse of evil, or thy passions to be firebrands of iniquity? Shall I surrender my judgment to be perverted by error, or my will to be led in fetters of iniquity? No, my soul, thou art Christ's, and sin hath no right to thee.
Be courageous concerning this, O Christian! be not dispirited, as though your spiritual enemies could never be destroyed. You are able to overcome them--not in your own strength--the weakest of them would be too much for you in that; but you can and shall overcome them through the blood of the Lamb. Do not ask, "How shall I dispossess them, for they are greater and mightier than I?" but go to the strong for strength, wait humbly upon God, and the mighty God of Jacob will surely come to the rescue, and you shall sing of victory through His grace.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Spurgeon's Daily Devotional; Luke 23:26 "On Him they laid the cross, that He might bear it after Jesus." You will be so blessed reading this.
"On Him they laid the cross, that He might bear it after
Jesus."
Luke 23:26
Luke 23:26
We see in Simon's carrying the cross a picture of the work of the Church throughout all generations; she is the cross-bearer after Jesus. Mark then, Christian, Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering. He bears a cross, not that you may escape it, but that you may endure it. Christ exempts you from sin, but not from sorrow. Remember that, and expect to suffer.
But let us comfort ourselves with this thought, that in our case, as in Simon's, it is not our cross, but Christ's cross which we carry. When you are molested for your piety; when your religion brings the trial of cruel mockings upon you, then remember it is not your cross, it is Christ's cross; and how delightful is it to carry the cross of our Lord Jesus!
You carry the cross after Him. You have blessed company; your path is marked with the footprints of your Lord. The mark of His blood-red shoulder is upon that heavy burden. 'Tis His cross, and He goes before you as a shepherd goes before his sheep. Take up your cross daily, and follow Him.
Do not forget, also, that you bear this cross in partnership. It is the opinion of some that Simon only carried one end of the cross, and not the whole of it. That is very possible; Christ may have carried the heavier part, against the transverse beam, and Simon may have borne the lighter end. Certainly it is so with you; you do but carry the light end of the cross, Christ bore the heavier end.
And remember, though Simon had to bear the cross for a very little while, it gave him lasting honour. Even so the cross we carry is only for a little while at most, and then we shall receive the crown, the glory. Surely we should love the cross, and, instead of shrinking from it, count it very dear, when it works out for us "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."
Friday, April 4, 2014
Spurgeon's Daily Devotional; 2 Corinthians 5:21 "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."
"For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."
2 Corinthians 5:21
2 Corinthians 5:21
Mourning Christian! why weepest thou? Art thou mourning over thine own corruptions? Look to thy perfect Lord, and remember, thou art complete in Him; thou art in God's sight as perfect as if thou hadst never sinned; nay, more than that, the Lord our Righteousness hath put a divine garment upon thee, so that thou hast more than the righteousness of man--thou hast the righteousness of God. O Thou who art mourning by reason of inbred sin and depravity, remember, none of thy sins can condemn thee. Thou hast learned to hate sin; but thou hast learned also to know that sin is not thine--it was laid upon Christ's head. Thy standing is not in thyself--it is in Christ; thine acceptance is not in thyself, but in thy Lord; thou art as much accepted of God to-day, with all thy sinfulness, as thou wilt be when thou standest before His throne, free from all corruption. O, I beseech thee, lay hold on this precious thought, perfection in Christ! For thou art "complete in Him." With thy Saviour's garment on, thou art holy as the Holy one. "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Christian, let thy heart rejoice, for thou art "accepted in the beloved"--what hast thou to fear? Let thy face ever wear a smile; live near thy Master; live in the suburbs of the Celestial City; for soon, when thy time has come, thou shalt rise up where thy Jesus sits, and reign at His right hand; and all this because the divine Lord "was made to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."
Verse for the day; Matthew 4;1-3
Matthew 4:1-3 (NLT)Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to
be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and
became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, "If you are
the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread." Matthew 4:10-11
(NLT)"Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say, 'You
must worship the LORD your God and serve only him." Then the devil went away,
and angels came and took care of Jesus."
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Thought for the Day. Genesis 12:2-3
Genesis 12:2-3 (NLT) I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you
and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those
who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on
earth will be blessed through you."
Spurgeon's Daily Devotional: John; 19:16 "They took Jesus, and led Him away."
"They took Jesus, and led Him away."
John 19:16
John 19:16
He had been all night in agony, He had spent the early morning at the hall of Caiaphas, He had been hurried from Caiaphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod back again to Pilate; He had, therefore, but little strength left, and yet neither refreshment nor rest were permitted Him. They were eager for His blood, and therefore led Him out to die, loaded with the cross. O dolorous procession! Well may Salem's daughters weep. My soul, do thou weep also.
What learn we here as we see our blessed Lord led forth? Do we not perceive that truth which was set forth in shadow by the scapegoat? Did not the high-priest bring the scapegoat, and put both his hands upon its head, confessing the sins of the people, that thus those sins might be laid upon the goat, and cease from the people? Then the goat was led away by a fit man into the wilderness, and it carried away the sins of the people, so that if they were sought for they could not be found. Now we see Jesus brought before the priests and rulers, who pronounce Him guilty; God Himself imputes our sins to Him, "the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all;" "He was made sin for us;" and, as the substitute for our guilt, bearing our sin upon His shoulders, represented by the cross; we see the great Scapegoat led away by the appointed officers of justice. Beloved, can you feel assured that He carried your sin? As you look at the cross upon His shoulders, does it represent your sin? There is one way by which you can tell whether He carried your sin or not. Have you laid your hand upon His head, confessed your sin, and trusted in Him? Then your sin lies not on you; it has all been transferred by blessed imputation to Christ, and He bears it on His shoulder as a load heavier than the cross.
Let not the picture vanish till you have rejoiced in your own deliverance, and adored the loving Redeemer upon whom your iniquities were laid.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
These verses will bless you today.
John 8:29 (NASB) "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone,
for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him."
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 4:4 (NLT) "My father taught me, "Take my words to heart. Follow my commands, and you will live." Proverbs 6:20 (NLT) "My son, obey your father's commands, and don't neglect your mother's instruction."
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 4:4 (NLT) "My father taught me, "Take my words to heart. Follow my commands, and you will live." Proverbs 6:20 (NLT) "My son, obey your father's commands, and don't neglect your mother's instruction."
Spurgeon's Daily Devotional: Matthew 27:14: New teaching coming soon!
"He answered him to never a word."
Matthew 27:14
Matthew 27:14
He had never been slow of speech when He could bless the sons of men, but He would not say a single word for Himself. "Never man spake like this Man," and never man was silent like Him. Was this singular silence the index of His perfect self-sacrifice? Did it show that He would not utter a word to stay the slaughter of His sacred person, which He had dedicated as an offering for us? Had He so entirely surrendered Himself that He would not interfere in His own behalf, even in the minutest degree, but be bound and slain an unstruggling, uncomplaining victim? Was this silence a type of the defenselessness of sin? Nothing can be said in palliation or excuse of human guilt; and, therefore, He who bore its whole weight stood speechless before His judge. Is not patient silence the best reply to a gainsaying world? Calm endurance answers some questions infinitely more conclusively than the loftiest eloquence. The best apologists for Christianity in the early days were its martyrs. The anvil breaks a host of hammers by quietly bearing their blows. Did not the silent Lamb of God furnish us with a grand example of wisdom? Where every word was occasion for new blasphemy, it was the line of duty to afford no fuel for the flame of sin. The ambiguous and the false, the unworthy and mean, will ere long overthrow and confute themselves, and therefore the true can afford to be quiet, and finds silence to be its wisdom. Evidently our Lord, by His silence, furnished a remarkable fulfillment of prophecy. A long defence of Himself would have been contrary to Isaiah's prediction. "He is led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth." By His quiet He conclusively proved Himself to be the true Lamb of God. As such we salute Him this morning. Be with us, Jesus, and in the silence of our heart, let us hear the voice of Thy love.
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