He is Alived!

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Matthew 28:5-6 says, “And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.  He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

     So, my psychologist says to me one day, “Have you thought about death?  I replied, “Yes I have and I have read the last chapter of the Bible.  I believe what the Wor d of God says  about life, death and what happens after one dies. He writes more stuff in his notebook and the conversation goes on.

     One thing has always amazed me about  the history of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.  There is the book titled, “Foxes Book of Martyrs.”   The word ”martyr” is from the word “witness” in Acts 1:8.   All of the remaining apostles died a horrible death, Peter being crucified upside down.  Some disciples were beheaded, some were burned alive, some were quartered and not one of them renounced their belief in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and not one of them said that Jesus was not God.  They publicly died for their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.   We know the story of the Apostle Pete and how he had denied even knowing Christ three times while Jesus was being tormented by unbelievers the night before His crucifixion.  Yet, this same apostle, after Pentecost changes as He is filled with the Holy Spirit and lter will give his life for the belief that he had for Christ.  Not one of them said, “Oh, it was just a hoax.”  They don’t say it because they do know the truth and to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  We proclaim the same message.  The Lord Jesus Christ is alive as He promised, the grave is empty and He is coming back.  Every promise and prophecy  is guaranteed by the resurrection.  I have done  many funerals and not one of the bodies sat up in the coffin.  If they did, the funeral would be over, but they didn’t.  The Lord Jesus Christ didn’t just disappear into the night, but stayed around for forty days appearing to many believers.  He passed through locked doors, stood and ate fish in front of them and showed His apostles his hands, feet and the wound in His side and finally after forty days, He ascended into heaven right in front of them.  So, no one needs to tell me that death is the end of existence or that we come back as a butterfly or some other creation.  The words of the angels  are still echoed today around the world as they proclaimed, “He is not here.  He has risen as He said.”  Praise God for the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is alive as  He was raised from the dead.  The tomb is empty.

Garbage in, Garbage out

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Philippians 4:8-9 says, “ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.   Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”

     Computers are doing a lot these days  and now they are talking about artificial intelligence and how they will be active in the future.  Some concern has been stated about whether or not the advance in technology will be harmful to humanity or if it will help.  There is  statement that goes, “Garbage in, garbage out.” I have said to “Siri” “Shut up.”  My wife responds, “You should not talk to her that way.”  If I touch my glasses, which then activates my hearing aids, which activates my phone and Siri begins to expound information in my head which only I can hear causing me to  try to get the phone to stop talking to me.

     There is however, a computer that is more fantastic and which evaluates more information than any cpu and at a faster rate of speed and more accurate and it is called the human brain.  Unfortunately it is also affected by the rule, “Garbage in, garbage out.”  What you put into your brain by  your senses will determine the output.  We have the ability to hear, to see, to smell, to touch and to taste.  The five senses make a statement to the brain.  Some have added a sixth sense, and it is “faith.”  The world has a problem with that one.  The Apostle Paul in the above passage describes what we should do as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ in regard to the input of the brain.  The other night, my brain seemed to be overactive until I said to myself “This has to stop.”  I began to do what always sends me to sleep and I began to quote Scripture.  I remembered the next morning that I had quoted only three verses, a passage i love, First John 5:11-13.  I must admit that there is usually more verses than those three but this last time was a tad shorter.  I do not need to be putting things in my thoughts that I can do nothing about.  I need to not think of fear of what might happen where I live or around the world.  I do not need to think about the evil that exists in those around me or those who are committing atrocities all around the globe.  I do not need to think about  anything that is impure or vengeful towards others.  Paul closes his statement hee with the word, “do.”   The result is then seen as, “You will have the peace of God.”  Now, how great is that.  It  is far better than “garbage in, garbage out.”  If your mind causes you some dismay on what you are feeling or imagining, begin to apply the eighth verse and as Paul state, “Think on these things.”  Praise God for His Word.

Are You Getting What You Desire?

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Psalm 137:1-8 says, “ Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.  For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.  Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.  Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.  And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.   Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.  Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.”

     Ever get overwhelmed with things in your life?  It happens to me now and then.  Yesterday i was feeling a little extra tired as I had very little no sleep the night before  You have to remember that I do not  of activities at my age.  Most of my appointments anymore are medically related.  At least some of them come to me  and anything else that takes place is due to going to an activity  at the facility or preaching on Sunday morning.  The actions contained in the above passage are nonetheless important not only to me, but to all of us.

     I would like to dwell on that one sentence that says, “Delight yourself in the LORD…”  Most men and women and even children will see to find something in which to delight themselves.   Many find delightment in some things that are from the package of possessions.  I often see children playing a game on their phone or on a small electronic device.  Nothing else is invading their game as their fingers fly  over the controls, trying to reach a higher score than before.  Musicians play music on some instrument any chance they can get.  Writers write poems and such most of the time or read a lot.  The object or practice  is what  “delights” them  in the daily routine.  These things listed above however are not the things of importance. Inverse four, we see that we are to delight  ourselves in the Lord.   There is a direct result of this practice and it is that He will give you the desires of your heart.  God gives me new desires .  i don’t think it is saying that God will give me anything that I desire, but that He will give me new desires.  Did you ever get a love letter while in school or in the military?  How many times did you read it?  Where did you keep it?  I kept them in my wallet and they were opened so many times that they began to tear at the creases.  Sometimes you can tell how much a person loves God by how their Bible looks.  If it always look new, they are not spending too much time in it.  Once you have a personal relationship with God, you find that He is the One Who gives you  new desires because you are delighting in Him and you main desire is to know Him more deeply than the day before and to find out what He meant to you with what He said in His letter to you, the Bible.  Praise God for the New Desires that He gives to us.

     

     

Purpose

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Romans 10:9-10 says, “ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”     

     I have these sessions with a psychologist that comes to me every two weeks to listen to whatever I want to say.  He writes a lot in a notebook and says something now and then and one comment he recently said to me is that I seem to have a “purpose in life.”  He seemed to be surprised that a person who is 84 years old can find some purpose in living on this earth.  Well, he is right in that I do believe that God has given me a purpose even in these seemingly last days of my life.

     The above passage is the last section of the “Roman’s Road.”    You can relay the plan of salvation in the Book of Romans with the other passages found in 3:23, 6:23 and 5:8.  My purpose is to share the gospel with as many people as I can in the days that I have left.  It  is what I endeavor to do and the tempter is always present to try to prevent me from doing it.  We have been on quarantine for the past  week due to a stomach virus and my contact to the outside world, so to speak, is  limited to social media, email, devotions, and the occasional visit of a nurse, psychologist , social worker, therapist or some other person from the medical community.  I usually ask two questions when I meet a person, “Where are you from?  What  do you think about church?”  The second question is simply a way to get  into the gospel with people who are new to me and need to be prayed fro in one way or another.  It seems that the majority of medical workers do not attend church as the work schedule often makes it hard to be in church on a regular basis.  Many will say that they went to this or that church in their youth but not so much now.  If a person is going to get the gospel message, it will need to people like you and me and not those who are going to be sitting in a comfortable pew in the local church.  The key part of the above passage is “...shall believe in thine heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…”  Once more we notice that everything depends on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  If you don’t believe that important fact, there is no salvation.  It is the same message that was given to the Philippian Jailor in Acts 16:31 and the same message given in John 20:31, and many other passages in God’s Word.  I have a purpose and you have a purpose also.  According to Ephesians 2:10 you have been saved in order to do God’s work wherever you are.  Have I missed some opportunities?  I am sure that I have, but i keep on keeping on with the message and to recall what my purpose is in this life; to share the good news of the message of salvation with whomever I meet.  Praise God for giving us a purpose in life.

The Resurrection of Christ

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     First Corinthians 15:1-4 says, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how 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:”

     “Did George Washington really become our first president?”  I wasn’t there.  “Did our astronauts really walk on the moon?”  I wasn’t there.  “Was President Kennedy really assassinated inDallas, Texas?”  I wasn’t there.  There are many events that took place in history where I was not present, so why should I believe that they really happened.

     “Did the Lord Jesus Christ really rise from the dead?”  I wasn’t there.  The Gospel, which means “good news” was preached around the world and many have believed  what was and is being stated right now in the world.  Verses three and four define the “good news” in that Christ , died, was buried and that He rose from the dead, victorious over death.  The tomb is empty.  The fact of this glorious event was witnessed by  many people for forty days after the resurrection.  It is stated that over 500 people were present at one event in which Jesus was present.  Well, I wasn’t there either, but I believe it.  I accept many historical events because I read about them in books.  There is also those accounts of historical people who testify that what was stated is true.  We accept much of history on just a few documents such as Caesar’s Peloponnesian wars  which have been accepted as truth based on just four historical documents.  The Biblical account as stated in the New Testament  is based on over 5,000 fragments of the Greek New Testament.  Based upon this overwhelming evidence, I accept the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead  and therefore the Bible is an accurate record of what was, what is and what is to come.  Every claim of Christianity is authorized by this one event  and while I was not there, I believe it to be true and have staked my hope of life after death, in heaven, with God for all eternity and while men and women with a long list of degrees tell me I am wrong, I still put my trust in the Word of God.  The reason for all of these events is seen in John 3:16 where God stated that He loves you and me and all of the world so much that he sent His Son to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  He who had no sin, took all of our sin and paid for it on the cross.  That’s why He died.  Our sins were put on Him and He, being that perfect sacrifice, could and did pay the penalty for all of them.  The resurrection proved it.  He is Risen!  He is risen indeed!  Praise God today and everyday for the Risen Savior, God the Son.  “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”  John 20:31.

Priorities in Life

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Deuteronomy 6:4-6 says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:”

     How many rules do you have to obey?  Our  place of residence is under new management and when they took over as the owners of the place, the instigated a number of rules for the staff.  At first, everyone compiled with the rules whether they liked them or not.  Certain shirts were to be worn  and certain rules applying to the hair were stated along wit h the fact of no body piercing.  Well, things went along for a while but then slowly they began to be  ignored by many of the staff members as the “corporate” people are not here most of the time anyway.  Sometimes the following rules in our everyday lives reflect how we follow the rules that  God has set in place years ago.

     God often spoke to Israel and in many instances, it would be after some calamity or special need for the large group of people moving about in the wilderness.  The people would often quickly reply that they would do what God commanded them to do.  When you read the Old Testament, you see that they were continually disobeying  and then having to say again and again that they would do what God had commanded.  Does it sound familiar?  The New Testament reminds us that we are to learn from the Old Testament.  The events of the wilderness are often reflected in our own lives.  The above passage is repeated by Christ in the New Testament and in fact is a summation of the Ten Commandments.  I have used the passages many times if not for devotion material, but for my own life.  What are the things that you cannot live without?  One preacher recently stated that the thing you can't live without has become your idol. The things that have been accumulated over the past 80 plus years will all be gone someday, or at least, I won’t  have them.  Much of it is g one already  and not missed that  much.  They have been replaced with bandage supplies, creams, pills, Ben Gay, Tums and compression socks.  The items mentioned in the fifth verse of the passage above is what are important in all of our lives.  “ And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”  The israelites would often say, “Yes we will do it.”  and then fail to do so after a few short days or weeks.  Remember that our  souls are going to live in one of two places for all eternity.  Praise God today that He has supplied all that  we need.  May we all desire to be with Him for all eternity.

Straddling the Fence

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     James 1:6-8 says, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.  A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

     We have a lot of things in our lives that give us choices.  I can either go or stay.  I can either stop or go.  I can eat or not eat.  I can flip a coin and get  either heads or tails.  I can say one thing at one time and say another thing the next  time.  

     We find that many people we know or come across, will change their opinions on this or that at will.  I used to walk on a 2 x 4 piece of wood and pretend it was fifty feet off the ground when it was just two inches.  I was unsteady, or “wavering” back and forth and would often fall off the board, either to the left or to the right.  We can do that quite often, only not just on a balance beam but in every affair of life itself.  The above passage describes the manner of many people who are wavering in their faith and for many, it will depend on to whom they are speaking.  James describes this person as one who is like a wave that is driven by th wind and will bend in whatever direction is moving it.  James also describes the person as one who is unstable and vacillating between two different and often opposing opinions.  Simply put, the person is unstable in all of his ways.  While a person may not suffer too great a consequence in some things, other things, such as salvation  or eternal destiny is one thing you don’t want to vacillate in.  I have heard of prominent people who confessed to be believers and suddenly change their mind and reject the Bible as the Word of God.  I seriously doubt that they really knew the Lord in the first place, but just a form of worship which meant nothing to them.  Foxes Book of Martyrs is filled with the account of people who died for their faith and who refused to waver in it even to the point of death.   The person who  stands firm in their beliefs is said to have convictions while the person who wavers in his or her faith is said to have preferences.  If I say I will obey the government and then fail to drive under the speed limit and therefore break the law, i will be guilty of breaking my conviction of obedience to the government and therefore have a “preference” about driving that may change from day to day.  There are those things that are non negotiable as far as wavering is concerned.  Don’t waver over the Word of God so that pretty much convicts us all right from the beginning.  I heard one simple statement tha went,”If God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.”  Praise God for His standard.  May we not waver from it.