Luke 15: 11-32

“Come home with me,” said the prodigal son.

“We’ll sing and dance and have lots of fun.

“We’ll wine and dine with women and song.

You’ll forget you’re a pig before very long.”

So the pig slipped out while the momma was asleep,

Shook off the mud from the mire so deep.

Around his neck was a bow so big,

He’s gonna show the world, a pig’s not a pig!

With his snout in the air he trotted along,

With the prodigal son who was singing’ a song.

It must be great to be a rich man’s son,

He would surely find out ‘fore the day was done.

It didn’t take him long to realize his mistake-

He’d been rubbed and scrubbed till his muscles ached!

He squealed when they put a gold ring in his nose

And winched with pain when they trimmed his toes.

He sat at the table on a stool so high,

A bib around his neck and a fork to try,

While the prodigal son, in his lovely robe,

Kept feeding his face, so glad to be home!

When the meat came around, the pig gave a moan-

It looked too much like a kind of his own.

He jumped from his chair with a grunt and a groan,

Darted through the door and headed for home.

His four little feet made the dust ride high

For he didn’t stop till he reached that sty!

It’s what’s on the inside that counts, my friend,

For a pig is a pig to the very end!

— Evelyn C. Sanders

“who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Brightness,” the outshining, brilliance, radiant splendor- Jesus Christ!

The rays of the sun gives warmth and light, revealing to us the physical sun. No one has ever seen God, but we can see God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Computers have been around for a long time¹.  Around 2000 BC the Chinese invented the Abacus board to calculate simple arithmetic solutions.  In 1642 Blaise Pascal developed the first automated mechanical calculator.  The Differential Analyzer appeared in 1930 as the first electrical computer, able to perform 25 calculations in a matter of minutes.  The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was built in 1946; a general-purpose device capable of adding 5,000 numbers per second.  ENIAC had no internal storage, so six women were assigned to write programs each time it ran.

Today, our cell phones have more computing power than these early machines.  Computers now drive our cars, calculate the route from one point to another, and even interpret medical X-rays.  A new term has been added to our vocabulary, artificial intelligence refers to a digital computer or computer-controlled robot that does tasks usually associated with human intelligence. 

Recently, a CBS News program, Sixty Minutes, revealed just how far artificial intelligence has come².   Google unveiled Bard, a machine that can teach itself to think.  For example, when programmed with basic chess moves, it played millions of matches per day, coming up with some winning strategies never encountered in human matches.  A similar approach was used in robots learning how to play soccer.

When asked to summarize the New Testament, it took Bard only five seconds to answer in 17 words, “The New Testament is the story of God’s love for humanity, which was revealed through Jesus Christ.”  It is the kind of reply you might find written on a seminary exam, but not in five seconds.  Bard’s artificial intelligence took a word, then searched its databases for the next associated word, and formulated its result into a concise sentence. 

The CEO of Google confessed artificial intelligence will only be as good, or as evil, as human nature allows.  Therein lies a caveat.  How you program a computer will influence the result.  For instance, an atheist might input different databases to arrive at a very different summary of the New Testament.  A scientific database can account for creation.  Disparate expressions of love exist through the ages and cultures.  Buddha, Confucius, and Gandhi spoke like Jesus.  Thus, the atheist computer states the New Testament is a fictional story.

Christians recognize the Bible as the authoritative revelation of God.  Suppose, though, a skeptic used algorithms to locate seeming inconsistencies in the Bible.  God’s love is inconsistent; He loved Abel more than Cain (Genesis 4:4) and the Israelites more than the Midianites (Numbers 25:16).  Jesus revealed a love for everyone; an adulteress (John 8:4) and enemies (Luke 6:27), but He also told parables about killing unjust tenants and servants (Mark 12:9; Luke 19:27).  The skeptic’s computer therefore concludes the New Testament is unreliable.

What would be the response if the atheist’s or skeptic’s viewpoints, mentioned above, were posted in an email or on Facebook?  I suspect there would be a few challenges; but many individuals might consider the ideas to be valid because they were generated by computer analysis. 

There is little value in debating a computer program; it is, after all, artificial intelligence.  A better choice might be to confront the computer programmer, who dwells in a darkness where we once lived (John 1:4, 5).  Our story is the story of the New Testament: by God’s love and through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we have come into the light (John 3:21).  It is a story of how God deprogrammed our artificial intelligence, rebooted our spirit, and gave us the storage capacity for the truth.  A truth we ought to share with everyone.

¹ https://www.toppr.com/guides/computer-aptitude-and-knowledge/basics-of-computers/history-of-computers²https://www.cbsnews.com/news/google-artificial-intelligence-future-60-minutes-transcript-2023-04-16/
—

Keep the SON in your eyes

Tom

‘And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. ‘ Luke 8:26 NKJV.

MAN OF THE TOMBS
Words & Music: Bob Bennett
© 1989 Matters Of The Heart Music (ASCAP)

Man of the tombs
He lives in a place where no one goes
And he tears at himself
And lives with a pain that no one knows
He counts himself dead among the living
He knows no mercy and no forgiving
Deep in the night he’s driven to cry out loud
Can you hear him cry out loud?

Man of the tombs
Possessed by an unseen enemy
He breaks every chain
And mistakes his freedom for being free
Shame and shamelessness equally there
Like a random toss of a coin in the air
Man of the tombs, he’s driven to cry out loud

Underneath this thing that I’ve become
A fading memory of flesh and blood
I curse the womb, I bless the grave
I’ve lost my heart, I cannot be saved
Like those who fear me, I’m afraid
Like those I’ve hurt, I can feel pain
Naked now before my sin
And these stones that cut against my skin
Some try to touch me, but no one can
For man of the tombs I am

“A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it. God Himself is here waiting our response to His Presence. This eternal world will come alive to us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality.” A. W. Tozer.

“So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.””
‭‭Acts‬ ‭23‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.””
‭‭Acts‬ ‭21‬:‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“The WILL of the LORD be done.” Amen…

Picture yourself tied to a tree, condemned of the sins of eternity.

Then picture a spear parting the air, seeking your heart to end your despair.

Suddenly-a knight in armor of white, stands in the gap betwixt you and its flight,
And shedding his Armor of God for you – bears the lance that runs him through.
His heart has been pierced that yours may beat, and the blood of His corpse washes your feet.

Picture yourself in raiment white, cleansed by the blood of the lifeless knight.

Never to mourn the Prince who was downed, For He is not Lost!

It is you who are found.

“Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭17‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Search the Scriptures!!!

“Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household.”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭16‬:‭30‬-‭32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Interest [on debt] never sleeps nor sickens nor dies; it never goes to the hospital; it works on Sundays and holidays; it never takes a vacation; it never visits nor travels; it takes no pleasure; it is never laid off work nor discharged from employment; it never works on reduced hours. … Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you. J. Rueben Clark.

“Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.””
‭‭II Kings‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge, One of those who is surety for debts;”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭22‬:‭26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭5‬:‭42‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.” F.B. Meyer

“praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Be persistent!!!…

“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

A couple of challenges given to the Chaplains, practice the “Theology of Presence,” and the “Ministry of Shut Up.”

“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Trust in God’s Will for your life.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Trust in God’s Word for your life.

The second session covered, “Theological Foundations for Religious Liberty.” Some take aways. Align with Truth and live it out in your life. Live it out sincerely. Temporary authority/Eternal authority.

“Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭15‬-‭22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
‭‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”
‭‭I Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭17‬:‭22‬-‭34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Be confident in the Gospel. Paul was. Use every means possible to get the Word of God out to our lost world. Take the Good News to where people are…

“So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭46‬-‭47‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Every morning and all hours and on the account of the goodness of God towards them they praise and laud Him… And if any righteous person of their number passes away from the world they rejoice and give thanks to God… If a child chance to die in its infancy they praise God mightily, as for one that has passed through this world without sin.” Aristide, a second century Athenian philosopher (not a church member) speaking of how the Christians of his day lived…

Live your life today with Jesus Christ in every thought and deed…

Halloween is a long-gone memory, but zombies are in the news.  Zombie debt and zombie debt scavengers are prowling in personal and corporate financial fields¹.  Zombie debt refers to obligations you once had, but thought the matter had been settled.   They are raised again to haunt you.  You may have legitimately had a debt discharged if you declared bankruptcy.  The statute of limitations (typically around 7 years) may have passed on an unpaid bill and you can no longer be sued.  Identity theft can result in you owing money on something you did not authorize.

Zombie debt scavengers are individuals or organizations that try to get you to pay on a previous debt you thought was not active.  Scavengers, both investment and fly-by-night companies, buy your old balances from the original creditor (or collection agency) for pennies on the dollar.  There are websites where you can purchase zombie debts.  Older and less collectible debts are the cheapest to buy.  Scavengers then try to make a profit by having you pay something. 

Tactics may include threatening to sue after the statute of limitations has passed, or scavengers may report an old debt as a new one; both tactics are illegal.  Commonly, zombie debt scavengers will use lies or harassment to get you to pay a small amount.  However, if you make even a small payment, the statute of limitations is reset and they can sue to collect the full amount of the debt.

There are times in our everyday life where we encounter zombie-like debts.  You may have offended someone, or even committed a sin against them.  They say you are forgiven of the trespass, but at a later time it is resurrected.  Often it is in the heat of an argument unrelated to the prior incident.  Maybe you have done the same thing to another person.  We pray sincerely to be forgiven of our trespasses and forget the proviso connected to the prayer (Luke 11:4), “for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”

If you are like me, you may have also met someone who is a zombie-like debt scavenger.  These individuals have learned something about your past and use it to harm or embarrass you.  Once, in a group of people, a man said to me something like, “Hey, didn’t you graduate from one of those Bible-banging seminaries?”  Clearly, the intent was not to congratulate me on my evangelical education.  Perhaps you have been confronted by an individual who suggested if you were nice to them they would not tell anyone you once were a ____ (fill in the blank). 

The Bible encourages us to confess our sins, to God (Matthew 6:12) and to other believers (James 5:16).  Jesus Christ is the mediator of the new covenant (Hebrews 9:15); His sacrifice paid the penalty for our trespasses, yet daily we must ask to be forgiven of our sins.  The good news is once we are repentant and forgiven, God will never bring our sins back from the grave (Isaiah 43:25).  However, we must remember the Lord has no statute of limitations on unrepentant sin (Romans 2:5-6).

If we love God for His grace and mercy to pardon us, should we not also love others as we have been loved (Mark 12:30-31)?  Stay out of zombie graveyards lest you see the settled trespasses of others and are tempted to become a zombie-like debt scavenger.  That’s not such a scary thought, is it?

Are you one of the elect? Can we look over God’s shoulder to see if our names are written in His book? Probably not. We can know, beyond a doubt, if we are one of the elect!

“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The elect are, “ALL,” “EVERYONE.”

““Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Everyone, an invitation to everyone/all. There is however, a qualifier, you need a thirst for the Christ. Jesus Christ, a stumbling block. What is He to you?

“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.”
‭‭John‬ ‭7‬:‭37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Anyone, any man, any woman any child- any and all that have a thirst. Exercise your will, your free will!

“The elect are the whosoever will, and the non elect are the whosoever won’t.” Henry Ward Beecher.

Who are you today? You can be one of the elect. Look to the cross and the One, Jesus Christ, that died for the sins of the world, your sins, my sins. All-everyone, believe on Him and you will be saved…

This was just too funny/true to not share. I really couldn’t find an appropriate photo…

A couple years into my medical residency, the stress of 105 hour work weeks, hospital food and too many carbohydrates caught up with me. . . 

One memorable afternoon, I found myself calling my gastroenterologist because of blood exiting from an orifice where blood should not be exiting. 

“It’s OK, Adam. We’ll get you taken care of,” he reassured me. “I’ve a cancelation tomorrow morning and I can squeeze you in to my endoscopy schedule. I’ve a garden hose with a camera on the end of it, and it has your name on it.”

I was light headed, but I was relieved. 

“Go pick up a bottle of Magnesium Citrate, drink it all down. And, I will see you in the morning,” he instructed. 

Being the good resident that I was, I followed his instructions to the letter. 

What happens when you drink 10 oz. of Magnesium Citrate?

I’m so glad you asked . . . 

12:05 pm: It’s time. You shotgun the 10 oz. bottle of the strangely un-fruity tasting liquid like it’s a lukewarm Power-Aide because you don’t want to be a pansy in front of your wife or your friends.

It’s suppose to be lemon flavored, however, it’s quite clear that whoever led the Wal-Mart R&D team on the day this flavor was approved has never actually tasted anything remotely like lemons in their life.

Hmm. . . You are already regretting this decision.

12:06 pm: You splurge, and down a cupcake like you’ve been saving it for the apocalypse because let’s face it…that special time IS HERE. And, if you studied 300 hours of anatomy and physiology, you know exactly what’s supposed to happen to that cupcake chaser. 

It’s going to turn to liquid before it even clears your throat but you really don’t care. All is right in the world at this moment. . .

However, hold on to that thought, because you’re about to enter a very dark period in your life.

12:37 pm: First sign of “movement.” The pressure is growing.

You know that you, and every other red blooded American on the planet, already have 3-5 lbs. of impacted stool in your colon, and you just drank the “safe for humans” version of Drano.

You feel a movement coming on, finally. You think it’s time. . . You’re wrong.

You get a little snaked band of feculence . . . just a teaser, an appetizer, if you will.

And yet, beware . . . this is the last semi-solid thing you will see leave your body for the next 24 hours.

12:57 pm: That little science experiment you started cooking 52 minutes ago is about to reach it’s boiling point.

Your stomach is angry now. It hates you…you can feel it.

You have exactly three tenths of a second to make it to the nearest toilet but you can’t run . . . do not run. 

I warn you now . . . NEVER run!

You pray to the Man Above that there is enough elasticity in your rectum to keep the gates closed for five more steps as you start to preemptively undo your pants to save valuable time.

Almost there. 

3…2…1…

12:58 pm: Sweet Mary,…is this real life!??

Your cheeks barely hit the seat as all hell breaks loose. 

The mixture coming out of your colon exits with such force that it actually sprays the back of the toilet bowl at a 45 degree angle, deflecting in every direction but down.

Is that blood? WHEW! NO, False alarm. Oh, wait, that’s the remnants of a cherry pie you ate at Thanksgiving . . . when you were 5 years old.

The smell . . . Oh, the smell is horrid . . .the sound is deafening . . . the look on your spouse’s face is ghastly. 

You try to clench what’s left of your rectal orifice to soften the blow but it’s just not working.

The whole house just heard you expel gas as if someone ignited a propane tank . . . followed by the sound of liquefied . . . 

HOLY COW, what was that!??

1:06 pm- 8:30 pm: Everything’s a blur. 

You realize that you have pooped out everything you’ve ever eaten since the day of your birth. You’re quite sure you even passed things your ancestors ate in the early 1800’s. 

Your rectum feels like a Flaming Hot Cheeto shedding the tears of a thousand Jalapeno seeds.

You curl up in the bathtub while ugly-crying, because you have to remain within arm’s reach of the toilet at all times.

The gastroenterologist never said anything about . . . 

Whoa . . . “poop sweats?! REALLY?!!”

You have now experience the “poop sweats.” 

And then . . .in your delirium, you think you meet Jesus.

8:37 pm: Your family will never be able to unsee the things they’ve seen in the last 8 hours.

You’re broken. You’re quite sure that your rectum will never be the same again.

Your spirit’s broken. Life as you know it will never be the same. 

However, . . . tomorrow’s a new day.

5:30am: You’re going to get up out of bed, throw on the only remaining pair of underwear you have that does not have permanent racing stripes. And, you’re going to run up to the nearby Wal-Mart with the last shred of dignity you have left . . .

Before your endoscopy, you buy yourself a new toilet brush. You’ve earned it. 

And, your wife refuses to let you come home without one.

Happy Monday,

Adam Nally, DO

““There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭16‬:‭19‬-‭31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“One of the most powerful stimulants to good and deterrents from evil in this life is a profound conviction as to the reality of the future life, and that our estate there will depend on our behavior here. A heart firmly fixed in heaven will surely mean a more careful walk in this world. This one has an end. That one lasts forever.” Henry H. Halley.

Live your life here with your life in the next world in mind. If you don’t know the Lord Jesus, seek Him now before it’s too late…

A parable with three men and three philosophies.

“Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭30‬-‭37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The first man is the Thief. The philosophy of the Thief is, “What you have is mine.” The other word for it, that we hear a lot about is Socialism/Communism.

The second man is the Priest/Levite. His philosophy is “What I have belongs to me.” Me, mine, I will get what belongs to me. A rough individualism that takes root. Capitalism void of God.

The third man is the Good Samaritan. “What I have belongs to you.” That is his philosophy. A Christian way of life. A person that puts the Lord Jesus Christ first in his life. “If I can help, you can have it.” A way of life that comes from the heart…

Do you have that kind of a heart? A heart that has been renewed, rebuilt by God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If not, believe on Him today…

Psalm 55 are words we can learn from and a promise we can claim. David cries out to God, all seems lost to him. He is in anguish and is paralyzed by fear.

Verse 1. “Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.“ No one is immune to trouble. Cry out to God. We can and should call on His name in time of need.

Verse 4. “My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.” Fight or flight, desire to flee- Call upon the Lord! Are you lost in the far country? You need to come home.

Betrayed by friends? Wounds often come from those that are close. (Verse 14). “As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.” Psalm 55:16. The Hope! Count your blessings, not your bruises.

Verse 22. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” A command! Unload it to the Lord. Your burden will not destroy you, God will give you the confidence you need…

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18.

The cross of Jesus Christ. What do you think about the cross?

Three words in this verse- “Message”- in the Greek means word. The word of the cross…The gospel facts: Christ died for our sins according to scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures. That is the gospel, all the gospel and nothing but the gospel. Anything else is not the gospel. “The gospel of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.”

“Foolishness”- from the Greek we get our words, “moron” or “moronic.” Something that is good for nothing, something stupid. For the gospel of the cross is good for nothing to those who are perishing. It means nothing to them. For most people the cross is stupid. The gospel of the cross is stupid to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

“Power“- from the Greek we get our word for dynamite. It represents power to the “nth” most powerful power.

Two groups come to the cross- one group thinks the cross is stupid, no good at all. The second group comes to the cross to discover the power of nth, the power of all power, the God of salvation!

Come to the cross today. Simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved…

Manching is a German town in the Bavarian region.  In 1999, while excavating at a site near the town, archaeologists made an unusual discovery.  U-shaped Celtic coins, dating back to the third century BC, were uncovered.  The museum in Manching placed 450 of the gold coins on display. 

On November 22, 2022 the museum was robbed of the Celtic coins, valued at several million Euros¹.  Thieves cut off phone and internet connections in the town, disabling the museum’s alarm system.  It took only nine minutes to remove the coins from their display case.  Museum officials stated the Celtic coins were a testament to the ancient history of Manching, and, therefore, are irreplaceable.  Worse, they feared the coins might be melted and sold simply for their gold value.

Stealing is taking something that does not rightfully belong to you.  The 8^th Commandment condemns stealing (Exodus 20:15).  Most of the time what is stolen is considered to have value by worldly standards: money, gold, diamonds, TVs, cars, paintings, etc.  Sometimes, though, people steal food because they are poor and hungry; an allowance, called gleaning, is permitted by God to gather what was left in fields after harvest (Deuteronomy 24:21; Ruth 2:2-3). 

Sadly, many things in modern society no longer have the value they once had.  Abortions and shootings are testament to how little human life is valued.  We throw away clothes and toys simply because they were last year’s fad.  Even money has lost some of its charm.  I once picked up a couple of pennies a woman dropped when receiving change; when I tried to return them to her, she told me to just leave them on the floor, they were of no real value to her.

We also experience attempts to devalue what we treasure in our spiritual life.  In the Bible, believers are urged to live by, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5).  The world does not want to steal our Bibles; they would never use them.  They simply want to deprive us of a closer relationship with the Lord by convincing us God’s word is not reliable.  To question the validity of the Bible opens doors to more than one Lord and one faith.  It is not uncommon to see people who have faith in many lords, one for each aspect of life.  The reference to one baptism is in the context of receiving the Holy Spirit when we confess Jesus Christ as Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:13).  Such a baptism, of course, is no treasure if you worship multiple gods.

Thieves of this world know it is easier to steal our faith if they can break the connection we have with God through prayer.  We are perhaps most susceptible to having prayer disabled when we cry out to the Lord in times of distress.  False teachers frame their tactics in the shroud of deception; if God does not answer a prayer quickly and in a certain way, then He either does not exist or does not care.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  When we wait on the Lord, He will answer our prayer (Psalm 38:15).  In His time and in His way, but always for our benefit (cf. Jeremiah 29:11-12).

How much value should we place on scripture and the privilege of praying?  Are they like fine pearls where we would sell everything to possess them (Matthew 13:45-46), or like lost coins where we would search high and low until we found them (Luke 15:8-10)?  The Bible and prayer are not relics to be worshipped, but rather are instruments to bring us into a better relationship with the Lord.  When our heart is heavenly directed, our treasures will be secure from thieves (Matthew 6:19-21).

The Bible is a love letter from God to us…

The Bible is a letter God has sent to us; prayer is a letter we send to him.
Matthew Henry

The Dead Sea (aka Salt Sea) is about ten times saltier than ocean water.  Since ancient times water from the Jordan River, and other smaller tributaries, flowed into the Dead Sea; but with no natural outflow, water evaporated, leaving behind minerals that increased the salt content.

At 1400 feet below sea level, the Dead Sea has been an important location since ancient times.  Egyptians gathered minerals there to be used in mummification.  King Herod the Great built a resort for people to float in the water and to cover themselves with mineral-rich mud, for recreational and medicinal purposes. 

Scripture suggests the central region of the Dead Sea was the location of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 14:1-3), once part of the cities of the plain claimed by Lot (Genesis 13:10-12).  Another city of the plain, Zoar, where Lot and his family fled when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:20-24).  Historically, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 in caves near the Qumran Valley on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea.

Today, for all its notoriety and importance, the Dead Sea is dying¹.  The oxymoron between dead and dying is due to human interventions.  Israel, Jordan, and Syria syphon freshwater input into the Dead Sea, causing the water level to drop about 4 feet a year.  In the southern region, where most resorts are located, a chemical company extracts minerals by evaporation.  The net result, over the last 50 years, is a reduction in surface area by one-third.  Human remedies for the dying Dead Sea are at a standstill.

The status of the Dead Sea can be compared to our own spiritual journey.  When God breathed His Spirit into Adam, man was given the breath of life (Genesis 2:7).  Unfortunately, since the time of Adam mankind has resisted the infusion of God’s Spirit (Acts 7:51), leaving us spiritually dead (James 2:26). 

It is bad enough to be dead, but many aspects of the world around us want us to keep dying.  Temptations abound for us to believe money is the source of happiness, rather than to trust in the Lord (Matthew 6:24).  We fret and worry about what to wear, to eat, to drink (Matthew 6:28-34).  Such worldly endeavors keep us dead and dying because we either do not know, or do not believe, God can provide not merely a life, but life to the full (John 10:10). 

A real danger is assuming the Lord is always going to keep His Spirit flowing into us, whether individually, as a family, or as a church.  Like Samson we fail to realize God can justly withdraw His Spirit (Judges 16:20).  When it evaporates, like the Dead Sea dying, we are doomed.  As Job put it, “the dead are in anguish” (Job 26:5). 

The remedy for being dead and dying is found in God’s Son, Jesus, who provides channels for living water to come into us (John 10:10-14).  The Lord said that whoever drinks His living water will never be thirsty again.  True, but I don’t think Jesus meant one drink is good for a lifetime.  If we don’t thirst for this righteousness on a daily basis (Matthew 5:6), we may stop drinking, only to find ourselves dehydrated; good works drying up. 

This parable of the Dead Sea paints the broad picture of salvation.  At one time we were a dead sea, in which no real life existed because of sin.  Graciously, God enables us to have faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8) by which sins are forgiven and eternal life granted.  Proof of genuine faith requires good works.  Though each day we face temptations that dry up our spirit, our thirst for the Lord’s living water, abundantly available, keeps us from dying.  From dead and dying to spiritually revived.

¹  https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2022/12/11/—

Keep the SON in your eyes

Tom

Someone has said that the reason a dog has so many friends is because he wags his tail more than his tongue…

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5

Do you know what wisdom is? Wisdom is seeing life from God’s point of view. When you pray and you have the Spirit of God and the Word of God in you, you will begin to have wisdom. Knowledge comes by looking around, but wisdom comes by looking up. God will lead you and give you wisdom. When a person is walking in the Spirit, he can say, “I have the mind of Christ.” He’s not afraid to trust what the Spirit says. That is not natural; it is supernatural. 

Wisdom is not a feeling like getting teary-eyed and warm around the heart. It is having a mind that is fixed on God, full of the Word of God, and led by the Spirit of God. The Bible says God will guide you with wisdom. 

Dr. Adrian Rogers.

This is from our former Disaster Relief volunteer and instructor…Thanks Tom…

It was the first Monday Night Football game of 2023. The Cincinnati Bengals, on top of the AFC North Division, were the home team against the Buffalo Bills, leaders in the AFC East. The Bengals scored a touchdown on their first possession; the Bills then kicked a field goal. At 5:58 in the first quarter, Cincinnati wide receiver, Tee Higgins, caught a pass and was promptly tackled by Buffalo’s safety, Damar Hamlin. Hamlin stood up after the tackle, but then collapsed a few seconds later.

Within 10 seconds after his collapse, Bill’s athletic trainers were treating Hamlin.  Five minutes later an ambulance appeared on the field.  For several minutes the trainers and paramedics were performing CPR.  Resuscitation was successful, and 16 minutes after his collapse, Hamlin was loaded into the ambulance and taken to a nearby medical center.

The crowd in the stadium was stunned into silence.  Distraught coaches and players from both teams gathered on the field.  Many of them were praying.  One ESPN commentator, former NFL defensive tackle Booger McFarland, spoke from his heart.  He said in his 9 years of playing in the NFL, you expect broken bones, concussions, and other serious injuries, but no one is prepared for a life-threatening injury on the field.  The thoughts of both teams were no longer on the game, but on their team mate, and the best anyone could do would be to pray for Hamlin’s recovery.

Kathie and I prayed in front of our TV.  We watched the ambulance depart.  The game, of course, was postponed indefinitely.  It was eerie to watch the fans leave, seemingly quiet and reserved.  The next day, news reports filled some of the gaps¹.  Damar Hamlin had apparently suffered a serious cardiac arrhythmia following blunt trauma to his chest.  CPR restored his normal heart beat, but he was still in critical condition in the ICU.  

Years ago, I read medical articles about blunt-force trauma that can be fatal in auto accidents, where the chest strikes a steering wheel and cardiac tissues are ruptured.  But cases were also reported among young athletes who had no obvious physical damage to the heart.  A few studies demonstrated a hard hit to the heart can induce an electrical abnormality which, in lay terms, stops the heart.  This is what may have happened to Hamlin. 

Damar Hamlin is a healthy, well-conditioned, 24-year-old.  He has been able to play sports for most of his young life.  Then, in an instant, everything changes.  What should have been a routine tackle left him unresponsive.  The frightening reality of what happened on the football field can likewise occur in our everyday lives.  

Risky activities, like combat or DUI, can prematurely end our lives.  But most of the time we get out of bed in the morning and think we will have a routine day.  We don’t expect to die while driving to work or when we are in a classroom.  Yet all of us, at some level, admit we will eventually die regardless of age, social status, education, or wealth (Psalm 49:10; Ecclesiastes 2:16; 3:2).  With few exceptions, we don’t know the day or the hour (Ecclesiastes 8:8; 9:11-12).  Living wills and estate plans exist to manage earthly matters after we die.  Preparations also must be made for how and where we will spend eternity after life on earth is over.

Those who believe they will simply go out of existence when they die are in for a big surprise.  The Bible tells us everyone, great and small, will be judged before the throne of God (Revelation 20:12).  If your name is entered into the Book of Life, you will live for eternity in paradise (aka heaven).  All others will experience eternal torment in a lake of fire (aka hell).  Professing faith in Jesus Christ, and what He has done for us (Romans 5:6-8), guarantees our name is written in the Book of Life.

Creedence Clearwater Revival’s song Bad Moon Rising may not be scriptural, but it states the solution to the frightening reality of death:  I hear hurricanes a-blowin’, I know the end is coming soon … Hope you got your things together, Hope you are quite prepared to die.  

Are you quite prepared right now?

“Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.” 1 Corinthians 10:33.

Whatever you do, eat, drink or whatever, do it all to the glory of God. Living like this makes us a testimony to the world. Those who are lost, might be saved…

I like to put tracts out everywhere I go. Most of the time, I just plant the tracts, like a secret agent, and then slink away. But, if the tracks of my life don’t match the tracts that I leave, I am not making the right tracks in this world. I am not being a witness for the Lord. We must give out the Gospel, sometimes but not always, by using words. As a believer, you are the only Bible most people will ever read…

“And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭30‬-‭34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Mine answer to them that do examine me in this, Have we not power to eat and to drink?” 1 Corinthians 9: 3-4.

The word ‘answer’ in the Greek means defense. Paul says, My defense to them… Like being in a court of law. We have the right to eat and drink, liberty. Liberty that is curtailed by others.

“Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”
‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭8‬:‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.

Free will- is it not? If you can do something but choose not to do it, that is free will! Liberty, maybe the highest liberty is to exercise this in your life.

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

If you have been married for 47 years today, (like us), you will have been together 17,155 days, 411,720 hours or 24,703,200 minutes, 1,482 million seconds.

Like us, you would have shared on average, over 128,600 hours sleeping, or about 14 years, 8 months.

We never worked together so we have been apart for over 99,376 hours which is about 11 years, 4 months.

By now, we have shared about 37,400 meals together!!!

Yesterday I was trying to think what I was doing the day before our wedding, those 47 years ago? I can remember almost all of our wedding day, but the day before, not so much…

Norm and I have talked it over for quite some time and have come to the conclusion that forty seven years ago, we made the right decision…

“Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.”
‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Six different materials to build on. Working in disaster relief on destroyed homes, we never find wood, hay or stubble. Often, if the property owners identify a specific area where gold, silver, or precious stones are located, more often that not, we find them.

Pondering these verses and rolling them over in my head, if your life would be the material things in your possessions, after a fire, there is very little left. The amount of gold, silver and precious stones is pretty small compared to what has to be hauled away. We can build with any of these six materials, as always, it is our choice to choose the foundation material to which to erect our spiritual home…

I am praying that my spiritual building is the opposite of my material building…

“God is faithful, by whom ye are called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Cor. 1:9.

In the first nine verses of First Corinthians Jesus is mentioned Nine times!

“God is faithful.” Men and women, not so much. Even other sisters and brothers in Christ, are not always faithful. But God is!

“By whom ye were called.” Called by God in Christ Jesus, a high calling. A fellowship, Koinonia, (Greek). If Jesus is your Savior, you are in partnership with Jesus. The True Owner of everything you and I own.

Marriage. In the Old Testament God says not to hitch and ox with an ass to plow. If you are married, hopefully you are not hitched to an ass. Marriage is a Koinonia, a partnership. Our relationship with Christ is a love relationship. We love Him because He first loved us.

Move ahead with God as your partner. We can face all of the worlds problems with God as our partner. Look to Jesus, He is the solution to all of our frustrations and problems of life. Swimming up stream in a sinful world is only possible in the Koinonia of the Lord Jesus Christ…

“Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭15‬:‭42‬-‭47‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Interesting to notice, Joseph asked for the body- ‘soma’ is the Greek word. Pilate gave Joseph the body- ‘ptoma’ is the Greek word. The word soma speaks of the total personality, a word meaning care and tenderness. The word ptoma that Pilate used just means the corpse or carcass. Two different viewpoints, two different attitudes toward death and the bodies of the dead. Joseph wanted Jesus, all Pilate did was give him a carcass. What a difference!!!

“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,”
‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

There is no Gospel without the Resurrection. The Gospel is a series of facts concerning Jesus Christ. Period…

The Gospel does not tell us what to do, it tells what Jesus has done for us…

“Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬-‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Money will buy a bed, but it will not buy sleep.

Money will buy food, but it will not buy an appetite.

Money will buy medicine, but it will not buy health.

Money will buy a house, but it will not buy a home

Money will buy a diamond, but it will not buy love.

Money will buy a church pew, but it will not buy salvation.

Jesus is inviting you and I to get rid of that which stands between us and Him. Jesus is God!!!

“Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?” So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭27‬-‭29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST?

“What think ye of Christ” is the test

To try both your state and your scheme;

You cannot be right in the rest,

Unless you think rightly of Him.

Who is Jesus to you? What will you do with The Christ, the Son of the living God???…Jesus is His name, Christ is His title. In the Hebrew, it is the Messiah, the “Anointed One.”

“They were completely amazed and said again and again, “Everything he does is wonderful. He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭7‬:‭37‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This guy came in for a landing, gliding, and looking very majestic and in charge…

“Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬-‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Rabbi, begone! Thy powers

Bring loss to us and ours.

Our ways are not as Thine,

Thou lovest men, we—swine.

Oh, get Thee hence, Omnipotence!

And take this fool of Thine!

His soul? What care we for his soul?

What good to us that Thou has made him whole?

Since we have lost our swine.

And Christ went sadly,

He had wrought for them a sign

Of love and hope and tenderness divine—They wanted swine.

Christ stands without your door and gently knocks,

But if your gold or swine the entrance blocks,

He forces no man’s hold—He will depart

And leave you to the treasures of your heart.

No cumbered chamber will the Master share, but one swept bare

By the cleansing fires, then plenished fresh and fair

With meekness and humility and prayer.

There He will come, yet coming, even there

He stands and waits and will no entrance win

Until the latch be lifted from within. Joseph H Odell.

“As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭35‬-‭41‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus, Savior, pilot me

Over life’s tempestuous sea:

Unknown waves before me roll,

Hiding rocks and treach’rous shoal;

Chart and compass come from Thee—-

Jesus, Savior, pilot me!—-Edward Hooper.

Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

But we never can prove

The delights of His love,

Until all on the alter we lay,

For the favor He shows,

And the joy He bestows,

Are for them who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5

Wisdom is seeing things from God’s point of view…

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.” Mark 1: 1-3

Three beginnings in the Bible- “In the beginning was the Word” John 1:1, is the first. The second is, “In the beginning God created the heaven and earth” Gen. 1:1. The third is, “The beginning of the Gospel…” Jesus Christ is the gospel!

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬-‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We left Fort Meyers at 0525 and with a time change, stopping on the west side of Pensacola around 1430….It is cold here, 32 degrees tomorrow morning! We are used a low of around 70…

Please keep all of the victims of the hurricane in your prayers…

Thanks…

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Come, Holy Spirit, every cloud dispelling, fill us with gladness, through the Master’s name; bring to our memory words that He hath spoken, then shall our tongues His wondrous grace proclaim.
Fanny Crosby

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6

You must… remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

The beach is very different today after Nicole passed by…

All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.
Cecil Frances Alexander

“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11.

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
2 Timothy 3:12

I had surveyed the danger, measured the obstacles, and counted the cost, and consider[ed] none of them sufficient to cancel the command, “Go ye into all the world.”
Jacob Chamberlain

 He who has been forgiven much, ought to love much (see Luke 7:47). We ought to be like that lamb with the broken leg that just nuzzles the shepherd and stays close to the shepherd so that He might lead it and guide it so that it will never go astray again. 

When are we going to learn? How many times are we going to slip and fall before we learn to stay close to the Good Shepherd? Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). Adrian Rogers.

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“St. Peter’s saying to Cornelius has been well noticed as a fit motto for this gospel: ‘God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power; who went about doing good and healing all those who were oppressed of the devil.’” Bernard.

I read in a book where a man called Christ went about doing good. It is very disconcerting to me that I am so easily satisfied with just going about.

“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
‭‭Daniel‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭KJV‬‬