The Race

The Bible talks about our journey here on earth as a race, a challenging effort to succeed and accomplish and to finish.  We will look at a few of the references in this week's blog entry.

Hebrews 12:1 starts:  "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross...."

1Corinthians 9:24, "Do you not know that in a race all of the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

But Ecclesiastes 9:11 shows us that this is not about a physical race:  "Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift..."  Solomon goes on to stress the importance of wisdom over speed. 

And finally, we read in Philippians 4:13:  "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

We know that success in this life is not about physical prowess or winning races.  But the Bible gives us guidance in winning the race of life.  And we must continually remind ourselves that this life is about bringing glory to God....so that we can have the life eternal.

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

Strangers..........

We are to be as strangers in this world.....That is to say, we are not to be conformed to this world, to our society, to the mores of our society, but rather to be strangers to it.  There are a lot of passages that relate to this subject in the Bible, but we will look at a couple.

I Peter chapter 1 gives us some detail on the matter.  Note the wording:

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written, be holy for I am holy."

Then it says: "Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear."  We are to be strangers to this unholy world.

We see a similar thought pattern in Hebrews 11 where the teaching is about Abraham.  It says of him: "By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents.....for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose object and builder is God."

This is the lesson that we must learn.  There are no real foundations in this life.  Sometimes we live good lives, in good homes with real foundations...and substance; but there is no substance here.  Life is like a vapor we learn in James.  It may seem stable today, but will be gone tomorrow.  We must live like strangers, like sojourners, like tent-dwellers, realizing that this life is temporary and brief.  This is how the great Abraham lived, like Jesus lived.....how we must live.  And, of course, I am not speaking literally, but figuratively.  It is a state of mind, a desire to move from this life to the greatest city, the greatest place of all....with God...and our Lord Jesus.

Thanks for reading again.  May God bless you!

The Secret of Life

I have said a number of times to people who were not Christians that I know the secret of life.  I know where we came from, I know why we exist and I know where we are going.  This may sound boastful; but if so, it is only boasting in the Lord.  Every follower of God, every person who has studied the teachings in the Bible, has available to him the secret of life.  The New Testament sometimes calls it the mystery.  Knowing this great mystery is a wonderful thing and should be shared........so here it is:

Over and over again in the Old Testament, the Lord said, ".....I AM the Lord!"  He would say, "I am doing this so you will know that I AM the Lord!" or something similar.  The importance of this statement to us cannot be overstated.  Some 88 times in the OT alone this is said. (e.g., Exodus 6:7, 7:5, 7:17, 8:22, 10:2, 14:4, 14:18, 16:12, 29:46, Deuteronomy 29:6, 1Kings 20:13, etc).

In the NT, Jesus said many times, "I AM........."  For example, "I AM the bread of life;"  I AM the good shepherd:"  I AM the way, the truth, the life..."  The point here is that God always is.  It is not "was" or "will be," but "is."  And the main point is that it is about Him, not us, but HIM.

Solomon summed it up well in the book of Ecclesiastes.  All through the book he talked of the vanity, the uselessness of the things that we typically consider important, like work, money, comforts, recreation.  Then he says in the final verses: "Let us hear the conclusion of the matter.  Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." 

Again, the main point of all this is that our lives must be about serving Him.  It is about God.....not us.  It is not about this life, the comforts, the happiness, or the length of life.  It is about the eternal life he offers.  Regardless of what our life here is, there is real life to each of us if we "fear God and keep His commandments."  That is the whole duty of man. 

This is the secret of life....the answer to the mystery of life.  Let us take heed.......

Thanks for reading!  Have a great week........and feel the love.  

"Acting Like Mere men"

It is interesting to look at 1 Corinthians to see all of the problems that the Christians were facing there.  It is true that the environment at Corinth at this time was quite vile.  People were doing whatever they felt like doing...and worshiping idols as well.  This was an attitude that was creeping into the church, affecting the spirituality of the Christians there.  While there were many problems cited in the letter, we will focus on the brief statement recorded in Chapter 3:

"Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ.  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.  Indeed, you are still not ready.  You are still worldly.  For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?  Are you not acting like mere men?  For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not mere men?  What, after all, is Apollos?  and what is Paul?  Only servants..."

There are several lessons that we can derive from this passage:

1. Obviously, we need to not be following after men.  The New Testament, and certainly the teaching of 1Corinthians,  is clear on this point.  The Lord never intended that we Christians should splinter....and disagree.....and denominate (perhaps a new word but not a new concept).

2.We need to mature.  There is a danger in being immature...to the point of having to feed on "milk" instead of meat.  Paul wanted Christians to grow up, to be mature, strong.

3. We must avoid thinking like the world.  We must think in spiritual ways.  We must put God first, realizing the brevity of this life and the importance of eternity.

These thoughts seem obvious, but they are much harder to put into practice.  Let us all learn to do all to God's glory....not our own.

Have a great week...a blessed week!

Jesus and the Donkey

There are many passages in the Old Testament that tie into the New Testament, prophecies made in the OT that are fulfilled in the NT.  It is always interesting to note these, knowing that the prophecies were made hundreds of years before the fulfillment.  There are so many examples of this that we could never cite half of them in an article of this type.  But we will look at one here that involved a donkey.

When Jesus was approaching the time of His death, He arranged for the use of a donkey for His entry into Jerusalem.  This was in fulfillment of the passage in Zechariah 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is coming to you;  He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey."  This is clearly a messianic prophecy and given certainty by the reference to the old scripture in the NT.

We see the events unfolding in Luke 19, starting in verse 28.  This so-called triumphant entry into Jerusalem is often referenced as "Palm Sunday."  Jesus sent two of His disciples into a village and told them that they would find a colt, the foal of a donkey, that had never been ridden.  This brings to mind the perfect sacrifices that the Jews were to make under the Old Law; the animals that were brought to sacrifice to the Lord were to be perfect, the best of the flock.  "Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as He had told them.  As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, 'Why are you untying the colt?'  They replied, 'The Lord needs it.'  They brought it to Jesus...."

Jesus rode the colt into Jerusalem with great acclaim, with people putting down their cloaks for the donkey to walk on, singing and shouting "Hosanna' to the Lord.  But it wouldn't be long before all would disappear, all support, all encouragement.  The Lord went to His trial and death alone; and He did it for you and me.

The story of the donkey shows one more example of how Jesus fulfilled the many prophecies of the OT.  It strengthens our faith to see the perfection and completeness of God's Word.  Let us all learn it.....and follow it.

Have a great week!

Women Supporters of Jesus

We know that Jesus formed many friendships during the short 3 years of His ministry.  For sure the apostles were close to him throughout this time.  But we know that there are special relationships shown in the Bible between Jesus and certain women.

We see the closeness that Jesus felt toward His friends, Mary, Martha and their brother, Lazarus.  Many times did Jesus enjoy their company and receive strength through the association. 

Certainly Jesus' mother was important to Him.  She is at the cross along with His good friend, John.  She likely was a source of strength to Him throughout His ministry.

We read in Matthew 27:56 about other women: "Many women were there, watching from a distance.  They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for His needs.  Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses (John), and the mother of Zebedee's sons (Peter and Andrew).  We don't read what kind of care these women were giving to Jesus, but it must have been substantial.  They traveled from Galilee up to Jerusalem to see to Him.  This kind of support must have meant a great deal to Him in His time of trial and death.

We don't have the opportunity to care for Jesus directly, but we can indirectly by serving others who are in need.  And frankly, most people are in some kind of need.  So it is important that we serve.  Jesus said in Matthew 10:42,  speaking of His righteous followers, "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

Jesus had lots of loving women to help Him through the dark times.  Let us do likewise.

Thanks for reading.  Hope your week is good.

The Towns of Jesus

There are some facts that are common knowledge about the towns of Jesus and some that are not so well known.  Most people would be aware that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  It was prophesied in the Old Testament that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; He fulfilled this prophecy, just as He did all of the others that had been made down through time in the OT.  And, of course, He had no control over where He would be born, the same as you and me.

Jesus grew up in Nazareth.  He fulfilled the prophecy that the Messiah would be a Nazarene.  Matthew 2:23 says, "..and he (Joseph) went and lived in a town called Nazareth.  so was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."  It can be noted that Nazareth was not a respected town by the Jews.  There are numerous negative references to Nazareth in the New Testament.  If you want to research that, you could look at Nathaniel's comment in John 1:46, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" It is in Galilee, which is referred to as "Galilee of the Gentiles" in Matthew 4:15.  There likely was a negative feeling toward Galilee by many of the Jews because of the fact that it was in the North where there had been a lot of faltering by the Jewish nation throughout history, and a tendency toward idol worship as well as occupation by pagan nations.

And even the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus.  It is recorded in Mark 6:1-6 that "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor."  This is said also in Matthew and Luke.  The people of Nazareth had seen Him grow up; He was simply the carpenter there.  They could not accept His divinity.

So He moves his home base, his hometown to Capernaum, as recorded in Matthew 4: 13: "Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 'Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.' "  Matthew 9 also makes reference to this new hometown.

Thus we see that Jesus was born in a barn in Bethlehem, grew up in the disrespected region of Galilee, in the lowly town of Nazareth, and ended up in the great city of Jerusalem....but was crucified on a cross there.  He did His work throughout a region that was barely a hundred miles long.  And yet He changed the world.....and He changed me.  What a wonderful story; and a wonderful salvation that He offers.

Have a great week!  Feel the love.

"Oh LORD, get me through this one......"

This will be a different kind of story this week, but the story must be told.  I was following a semi truck, driving my little Mazda Miata, heading North on I-75 at about 65 mph on Thursday night.  The truck braked suddenly, so I moved to the left lane to avoid his problem.  He lurched to the left, started to jack-knife and almost toppled right into me.  With nowhere to go, I lost control, shot under him, under the semi trailer, coming out the other side, slid to the right, across the other lanes, down an embankment and came to a stop in a ditch.  As I was approaching the semi, about to crash into him, I must have bent down...and I called out to the Lord for help.  The impact smashed the windshield throwing glass everywhere; I later found glass in my shoes.  As the car came to a stop, it was eerily quiet...and dark.  I was alone, the truck didn't stop and no one else could be seen.  Then I looked ahead about 150 yards where a lone car had pulled over.  I got out of my car, could walk, in fact, I didn't have a scratch on me.  I had just had a major wreck, drove under a semi, and didn't even have a scratch.  Now you are seeing why this story must be told.  I called out to the Lord for HELP!.....and got it in a dramatic way.

I walked up to the stopped car where a black woman and her 9 year old daughter were standing, looking at me as though a ghost.  She was on the phone with 911; I told her not to send an ambulance.  When off the phone, she told me that she saw the whole thing, that the semi almost rolled, apparently trying to avoid something ahead.  I told her that I must have ducked, and began praying as I crashed into the truck.  She said, "God is so good!"  What kind of lesson that must have been for that 9 year old daughter.  And what a lesson to me.....

Deputies came, followed by a trooper and a fire truck.  Everyone was amazed that I was alive.  I was more amazed because I had just seen and felt the impact with the underside of the semi; a major crash.  The car was towed; might be totalled.  The trooper took me home and I was alive and well.

Romans 8:28 says "All things work together for good for those that love God..."

Psalm 119:65 "You have dealt well with your servant, O Lord, according to Your word.  Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe your commandments.  Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.  You are good, and do good...."

"God is SO GOOD!

Redeeming the Time

It is interesting that the subject of redeeming the time shows up in more than one place in the New Testament.  It is emphasized in the Bible and we need to emphasize it in our lives.  Note a couple of places where we see the phrase:

Ephesians 5:15  "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

A similar passage is recorded in Colossians 4:5, "Walk in wisdom toward those who are  outside, redeeming the time.  Let you speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."

"Redeeming the time" is a phrase that simply means to use our time well.  In the first passage it is telling us that the days are evil.  As Christians, we must be careful how we walk in this world that has given itself over to the evil one, Satan.  And Satan is real.  Note 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

While the passage in Ephesians takes a defensive position, the Colossians passage takes the offensive, positive stance, telling us to positively affect the world around us. 

And in talking about time, we must conclude with the verses in James 4, where it says, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit;' whereas  you do not know what will happen tomorrow.  for what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.' "

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!  Let's use our time well. 

Walmart

I am standing in Walmart, holding a couple of items, waiting on my woman to show up with the cart. A man in his upper 30's approaches me and says, “ Excuse me, sir, but I would like to ask you about Jesus for a few moments.” I said sure, ok." He said, “Do you know beyond any doubt that you would go to heaven if you died tonight?” Now I see where this is going so I said, “Well, frankly, I am a Christian, and I would guess that I know as much or more of the Bible as you do. Yes, I have a strong faith.” “Let me ask it this way; on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is absolutely on fire for Jesus, where are you?” I said the only thing appropriate at this point: “Well, you came up to me in Walmart; I didn't come up to you. So I would give you a 5 and me a 4.” He says, “Can we pray together?” I said the only thing that could be said at that point, “Sure.” We bow, still standing in the middle of the largest aisle in Walmart, near the check out. He says, “Oh Lord...” Long pause; he says again, “Oh Lord...” I look up and say, “Oh, you want me to repeat.” He says, “Oh Lord.” “Oh Lord.” “Come into our hearts.” “Come into our hearts.” “Help us to be on fire for you.” “Help us to be on fire for you.” “Forgive us, Lord.” “Forgive us, Lord.” “We repent of all our sins.” “We repent of all our sins.” “Thank you, Lord, in Jesus name.” “Thank you, Lord, in Jesus name.” “Amen.” “Amen.” He took our a rough piece of folded paper, made a mark near about 20 others, said goodbye, and left the store. Now, I know the reader is wondering why I told this story, what is the moral here? I suppose that a lot of morals could be found.  But I will mention two:

I thought of a passage in 1 John 4 that says, "These things I write to you who believe in the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life."  There is great confidence in these words....for Christians.

The second thought of all of this is that the man who came up to me was truly a 5 in being fired up.  But he failed in following the Biblical pattern of how to help people become Christians.  Never in the Bible do we see someone becoming a Christian through a simple prayer.  In Acts 2, when the people realized that they had sinned and asked what to do, they were told to "repent and be baptized."  In Acts 8, the Ethiopian was told about Jesus, and as they came upon water, he said, "What hinders me from being baptized?"  In Acts 22, we see Ananias saying to Saul, or Paul, "Why do you delay; arise and be baptized and wash away your sins."  We see a different process in the book of Acts than what this man was practicing.  But I'll give him a 5 for effort.  

Enough for now.  Thanks for reading.  Have a great week! 

Church Membership

There is not a great deal said in the Bible about church membership.  What is said is mostly by example; examples given that we can follow.  But we can note a few passages that give us some direction for our participation in the church today.

We can notice some things from the very first church, the Jerusalem church, as recorded at the end of Acts 2.  We see in the last few verses that the new Christians were hanging together, spending time together, eating together and sharing.  The final verse says, "And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."  This "adding" was being done by the Lord.  The people were becoming Christians, doing what verse 41 says, "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."  The people were responding to the Gospel message, but they weren't adding themselves; they weren't joining the church; they were being added.  The Lord was adding them.  This usage relates to the overall church, what is sometimes called the church universal.  But they were a part of the Jerusalem church, the local church, as well. 

As we go on through the New Testament, we see a great deal of emphasis being placed on the churches.  Virtually every book is either written to the churches or references the church in a specific area.  We realize that the churches are just people, Christians, who are meeting together, worshipping together and carrying on God's work on earth.

Another passage that is noteworthy is in Hebrews 10, beginning in verse 24, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another..."  By being a part of the group, we can offer the support to other Christians that is often so badly needed.

I will confess that sometimes I don't do my part in the "spurring one another toward love and good deeds."  and there is a tendency to put too much emphasis on attendance at worship services.  I do believe that the Lord expects that of us; but we all know that is only a small part of serving God, of living the Christian life.

Thanks for reading again.  Have a great week!

Maturity

The Bible calls for the followers of Christ to be mature.  Every person who becomes a Christian begins as a newborn, a babe in Christ.  This babe has limited knowledge of the Bible and even limited understanding.  Just as a newborn baby is born without maturity, so is the new Christian.  This comparison between babe and mature is made in several places, one being Hebrews 5, beginning with verse 12: "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's Word all over again.  You need milk, not solid food!"  It is important that we concentrate on maturing in our knowledge and faith. 

As we read on in Hebrews chapter 6, we see more specifics on what this maturing process is.  "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands,the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment."  Some of these subjects seem rather deep to me; but we are told to mature beyond these things.  As it says at the end of chapter 5, "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."  It would seem from this statement that it is important to train ourselves more and more to "distinguish good from evil."  Another verse in this passage says that the "infant is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness."  It seems clear that the mature person is one who is focused on teaching about "righteousness." 

So it is interesting to see how the NT shows that our emphasis changes with the maturing process.  It isn't that we aren't concerned with the elementary principles stated above; it is just that we have dealt with these things and then moved on to more important subjects, focusing on righteousness and discerning good from evil.

This is not a directed message to any one person.....at all.  This is a lesson for us all to keep our focus, keep on maturing, learning, growing, and especially seeking; seeking God, seeking righteousness, seeking salvation where we can live forever with Him!

Thanks for reading again.  Have a great week!

The Bible is Fair

The Bible can be described in many ways.  It could be described as historically correct, the most read book of all time, an interesting account, salvation providing, the Word of God.  But for this article, let us establish that it is fair.  No other book is more fair in its presentation of the main characters, the heroes.  Other books that men write tend to give some leeway to the heroes of the book, giving emphasis to their strengths and overlooking their faults.  The Bible is different is this.

We see in the Bible many heroes of faith, people dedicated to God.  But in the stories that are recorded of them are the weaknesses as well as the strengths.  No other book is this fair.  Let's look at a few examples.

Adam--Adam is quite  important, being the first man.  Yet we see him in the light of failure.  He fails to remain strong in his trust of the Lord, is banned from the garden and spends his life in toil.

Abraham--Abraham is the father is of the Jews.  He is given much approval by God for his great faith.  Many times he stood up for what was right.  But he lied under pressure when he called his wife his sister.  There was some truth in the lie, but he still lied.

David--King David, the greatest of all kings in the Old Testament, was called a "man after God's own heart."  But he committed adultery and murder....and the whole account is recorded in all of its sordid detail in the Bible. 

Peter--In the New Testament we find that Peter denied even knowing Jesus when Jesus was being tried and was about to go to His death.  Peter was a great servant of the Lord....but his weakness is clearly shown.

There are many more examples that could be given to show that the Bible is more than fair in its presentation of its main characters.  One might ask why this is done so openly.  I would say that it shows us that these were mere men, people like us who had weaknesses and struggles in their lives.  They were not perfect....and we are not perfect. 

In the cases of so many of the great people of the Bible, people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, the many prophets, Peter, Paul, Barnabus, and on and on, the Lord recognized their weaknesses, but also their faith and obedience.  And He gave them salvation. 

We need to be sure that our faith and obedience override our failures, our sins, and serve our God now while we have the chance.  There is a heaven, a life after death, where we can spend forever with the one who has all power, all knowledge, and all glory.  Let's be there!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

Sunday

Christians worship on Sunday.  It is interesting to see how the day of worship changed from Saturday, under the Jewish system, to Sunday as Christianity began.  And the timing of this change is also telling.  So we will look a bit further in this brief study of worship.

It is noteworthy that Jesus was a good Jew.  He kept the Jewish Law during His lifetime, including worshipping on the seventh day of the week, Saturday.  Emphasis on Saturday worship was instituted by God, setting this day aside to remember that God created the world in 6 days and rested on the seventh day.  During Jesus' ministry He never taught His followers to change from this day of worship, or really to make any change in following the Jewish Law.  But a big change was coming....

Jesus left the beginnings of the Christian Way to His apostles and other disciples.  Jesus was crucified on Friday and raised on Sunday.  He instructed His apostles to wait in Jerusalem for power to come to them from the Holy Spirit.  This occurred on Sunday.  Then as the apostles begin their work, they bring a total new Way.  A part of this Way is the beginnings of Sunday worship...and the putting away of all Jewish worship and following the Jewish Law.  We see Christian worship after Jesus left the earth always being on Sunday.  An example of this is shown in Acts 20:7, "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread....." (take the Lord's Supper). 

Today there are still people trying to hold on to parts of the Jewish Law as Christians.  But the NT is clear that the Old Law, the Jewish Law, has been fulfilled, has been replaced by the Christian Way.  If anyone tried to serve God by keeping the Jewish Law, they could not keep it perfectly anymore, making it ineffective.  The only way to God now is through Jesus; and Jesus made this clear through His teaching. 

There is a trend today to worship God on Saturday instead of Sunday.  Many do this on Saturday night out of convenience, freeing up Sunday for other things.  This is not following the NT pattern.  There was a reason that the Christians in the Bible made a point of worshipping on Sunday, the first day of the week.  We need to follow this pattern to be pleasing to our God.

Thanks for reading again.  Feel the love.

Prophesies of the Messiah to Come

The Old Testament is full of prophesies about the Messiah, the Christ, to come.  It would be impossible to cover all of these in this short blog.  But we will mention a couple to give examples.

Psalm 22 was written by King David many hundreds of years before Christ, yet it refers to the words that would be spoken by the Christ as He approached His death.  "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?  ...dogs have surrounded Me; The assembly of the wicked has enclosed Me.  They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones.  They look and stare at Me.  They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots."   This, of course, is exactly what happened as Jesus was about to die, as we read in the NT. 

Another good example of the OT prophesies is Isaiah 53.  Isaiah was a prophet, spokesman, for God approximately 700 years before Christ.  He may not have understood what he was writing, but listen to his words about the coming Christ:  "He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief......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.....and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

In the NT, we find an Ethiopian nobleman reading this passage from the book of Isaiah, (Acts 8), and asking Philip, 'who is this talking about?'  Philip proceeds to explain that this is Jesus.  And he preached to him about Jesus.  As they rode along on the nobleman's chariot, he asked to be baptized.  Then it says that they "went down into the water, and he baptized him."

These passages show the continuity of the Bible, the continuity of God's plan, the fulfillment of prophecy that only God could accomplish....and it gives us increased faith that our God is real; and as Hebrews 11:6 says, "...and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." 

Now that is Power.  God is Powerful.  Jesus is real.  And we are blessed.  May God bless you this week as you continue to fight the devil and serve our God and Savior.  Praise be to Him!

Paul's Farewell Talk

A very touching occurrence in the book of Acts is where Paul calls a meeting with the elders of the Ephesian church.  Paul is in a hurry to get to Jerusalem for the time of the Jewish feast of Pentecost.  He wasn't observing the Jewish feasts or keeping any of the Jewish Law.  We know this from his other teachings.  But he felt he needed to be there then.  He knew that he could be going to his end.  "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there." (Acts 20:22) 

Paul points out several things to these men.  And what he says is of great importance for he knew that he would never see them again.  He tells them to keep watch over themselves and over the flock, the church there in Ephesus.  He calls them overseers and shepherds.

He then warns them of "wolves" that will come in among them and "will not spare the flock.  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth..."  This has always been a problem and continues to be so today.  We must always be watchful. 

He concludes by telling them "to help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "

This touching farewell of Paul was a most emotional event for these men.  But it was words that they needed to hear.  And it was important enough for Paul to ask them to travel to meet him.  The words are as true today.  We should note carefully, appreciate Paul for his goodness, and hold fast to the truth, living it out in our lives.

Have a great week!

Direct Commands of Jesus

It would be difficult to cite all of the direct commands that Jesus made as recorded in the New Testament.  But we will mention a few in this blog to demonstrate the nature of His teaching.

"I tell you: Love your enemies.."  Matthew 5.  This was a tough command for anyone to do.....but He had no problem making this a direct command to His followers.

"I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear..."  Matt. 6.  He certainly knew how hard this was for us mortal humans.

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."  John 15. 

"..Stay in the city (Jerusalem) until you have been clothed with power from on high."  Luke 24.  Said to His apostles before He left them.

"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved..."

" 'Who are you Lord?' Saul asked. 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' He replied.  'Now get up and go...."  Acts 9.  This is the account of Saul's conversion, later to be called Paul.

While this last verse is taken out of context, actually they all are, the teaching to "get up and go" might be a good one for us all.  There is a need to follow all of these teachings, but certainly we need to get up and go, get to work, do it now, serve Him, for the time is short on this earth.  I need to heed this as much as anyone.

Ok, thanks for reading.  Serve the Lord.......feel the love.  

The Jewish Law

The study of the Jewish Law that God gave to His people through the man of Moses is important and interesting.  I cannot even begin to cover all aspects of the Law in this blog; but lets look at some of the basic facts about it.

Jesus said, as He began His sermon on the mount in Matthew 5, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."

Jesus kept the Law during His lifetime.  He was born a Jew, of the tribe of Judah, a descendant of king David.  He demonstrated His keeping the Law, even to the last, as He took the passover feast just before His death.  But His death was to begin a totally new era.  As he took the Passover feast, He instituted the Communion, the Lord's Supper.  "..this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."  There never had been remission of sins under the Jewish Law.  But Jesus was bringing a "new covenant."

In Colossians 2, Paul compares the circumcision of the flesh, the Law (Jewish) to a new circumcision "made without hands.."  He says in verse 14, "..having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us.  And he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."  The conclusion here is that the Law of the Jews has now been "nailed to the cross," taken out of the way, fulfilled, to be followed no more.  It ended with the cross, the death of Jesus.

The entire book of Hebrews is a treatise that makes clear that Jesus has replaced the old Law, the old covenant with a new one, with a new way.  Hebrews 7:22 says, "..Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant."  Hebrews 8 and 9 give much more detail and explanation of the significance of this change.  In discussing the old covenant made with the Jewish people, he says at the end of Hebrews 8, "In that He says, 'A new covenant,' He has made the first obsolete.  Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."

So what good was the Law?  Was it never useful?  This is answered in Galatians 3:19-29.  Verse 24: ".the Law was our tutor (schoolmaster) to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  But after faith (in Jesus) has come, we are no longer under a tutor."  Thus it is clear that the Jewish Law has been fulfilled, and was fulfilled with the death of Jesus.  It is no longer in effect....and is no longer to be followed....and was not followed by the apostles.

Thanks for reading and have a great week.

Organized Religion

Many today are disappointed in "organized religion" for various reasons.  Often people feel that today's denominations are not meeting their needs.  Looking at the religious world today, it is easy to see why people feel that way.  There is such a splintering of beliefs, and often disagreement between religious groups.  The religious world, and Christianity in particular, looks more contentious than loving and supportive.  To see the best answer to the question of what is right, we should look at what the Bible, God's inspired Word, tells us about the need, or lack of, for organization of His followers.

When we look at the beginnings of the book of Genesis in the OT, we see a rather disorganized form of worship to God.  These early people knew that they were to worship God, and we see that they even knew what was expected of them; what was good worship, pleasing to God, and what was not.  An early example of this knowledge can be found in Gen. 4 where Abel gives a better sacrifice to God than Cain does. 

As time goes on, God gives His people a Law to follow, and it is a highly structured Law, complete with many do's and don'ts.  Their religion at this time is definitely well organized. 

When we come to the New Testament, we find that Jesus is with man to bring us a new Law.  Jesus lived during the time of the old Jewish Law; He was a Jew and kept the Jewish Law during His lifetime.  But He came to bring something better; a new law of faith.  He told His disciples in Matthew 16, "..On this rock (that He is 'the Christ, the Son of the living God') I will build My church."  During the life of Christ, He had not built His church yet.  As we read in the book of Acts, He would leave it to the apostles to build it, building it on their faith in Jesus.

As we follow the acts of the apostles, we see them going about setting up an actual organization of the church.  Each church is watched over by elders....and each church is autonomous, self governing.  There is no other organization in today's church.  And, in fact, there wasn't any other organization in the church of the NT except for the guidance given by apostles.  If we had apostles today, it would be appropriate for them to be watchful over the various churches, aiding and instructing the elders of the churches.  But with the death of all the apostles, the churches are now self governed, following simply the teaching of the New Testament.

The problem today then, is not "organized religion," but rather the way churches are organized.  It is important that we just follow the examples given in the NT.

Enough.  Thanks for reading again.  May God bless you.

Non-Recurring Events

To understand the New Testament development/flow, it is helpful to note the non-recurring events.  There are some that are obvious, like the birth of Jesus, the death of Jesus, His resurrection.  And in a sense, the resurrection of Jesus can be looked at as a recurring event; He only rose once, but He showed that we would follow.

As we look further at non-recurring events, we see that the apostles were appointed, they were given power by the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 after Jesus had left.  There was the appointment of the 12th apostle after Judas had betrayed Jesus and died (Acts 1), and Paul being visited by Jesus in a miraculous way, allowing Paul to meet the qualification of being an apostle (recorded in Acts 9, 22, 26).  These events are key to the development of the church and Christianity, but we don't find a continuation of the appointment of apostles.

Another example of non-recurring events is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  This occurred in Acts 2 in Jerusalem bringing miraculous powers to the Jewish converts to Christianity.  It occurred a second time in Acts 10:44, "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.  And all the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles also."  The fact that these events never occurred again in the Biblical record has been missed by most Pentecostals today.  They still believe that God is pouring out the Holy Spirit powers in the use of speaking in tongues, healings, and other "miracles."  That is not happening today.

The Jerusalem conference in Acts 15 is a further example of non-recurring events of the NT.  Dissension occurred in Antioch because some were teaching that Christians needed to be circumcised according to the Jewish Law.  To solve this problem, men were sent up to Jerusalem to the apostles there for a discussion and decision.  Note the letter that was sent back to Antioch: "The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings.  Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, it seemed good to us, having become of one mind......"  This is a one time event, orchestrated, solved, by the apostles.  The reason that one church appealed to another here is that they had apostles who were being led by the Holy Spirit.  They knew that the apostles in Jerusalem would have the answer, so they went to them.  We don't have apostles today, nor do we need them.  We have the Bible given to us through the works of the Holy Spirit, God-breathed.  Churches today are autonomous, self ruled according to the pattern given in the NT.  We don't have Jerusalem conferences because we don't have apostles.....and we don't need them. 

Things were different in the early church.  They had apostles still alive, eye-witnesses of the teachings of Jesus, miraculous gifts--the ability to do miracles, no Bible.  We have to realize that was then, this is now.  For direction, we have all that we need in the written Word.

Thanks for reading with an open mind.  Have a great week!

Relationships

The Bible teaches us a lot about the importance of relationships and how we are to conduct ourselves.  Ephesians 5 and 6 in the NT tell about our responsibilities toward others.  In Eph. 5:15, Paul makes the general comment, "Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise, making the most of every opportunity..."  He then goes on to discuss the responsibility of wives to husbands and husbands to wives.  And the Bible talks a lot about the importance of each loving the other and respecting each other.  This is covered in detail at the end of Ephesians chapter 5.

In a very practical way, the New Testament discusses in some detail some of the other common relationships that we form in life.  Eph. 6 begins with teaching to children: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother.."

Fathers--"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."  For this to be addressed to fathers shows that it can be a common problem.  It is important that fathers consider carefully their responsibility to the children.

Slaves--"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.  Serve wholeheartedly...."   This teaching would apply to anyone who works for another.  This teaching is not given to support slavery, nor for that matter to abolish it; but realizing that it was a common practice, it teaches how one, anyone, is to serve.

Masters--"And masters, treat your slaves in the same way.  Do not threaten them, since you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him."  We see how people who have others working under them are to treat those.  It could be summed up by treating others in the way we want to be treated.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His might power."  It certainly isn't always easy to serve the Lord in His way, but it is what we must do.  Have a great week!

What God Wants Most

It is interesting to note what God says when He speaks.  To look at this, we should summarize the progression of how God speaks as it is recorded in the Bible.  As the Bible begins, it shows God speaking to early people directly.  And we see people worshipping in a rather simple way, using altars and often offering animal sacrifices.  As time progresses, God brings the Law, a special law for His special people, the Jews.  This law becomes the standard all of the way through the rest of the Old Testament.  As the NT begins, we find that God is not speaking directly to His people, but does so through His Son, Jesus.  Then as Jesus departs the earth as finally recorded in Acts 1, God through the Holy Spirit speaks to and through the apostles.  Knowing that these men will not live forever, God through the Holy Spirit, has these men and a few others write words approved by God, breathed in by God; thus, the NT books.  God now speaks to us through His Word which has been completed and provided for us to follow.  It is a beautiful progression....and produces a beautiful result in us.

Now with all of that summarization completed, I want to focus on a couple of common things that God would often say.  Many times, over and over in the OT, God would say these two things when He began to speak to His people:

1)  "I Am the Lord your God....." (Note Exodus 20:2 where God gives the 10 commandments). And:

2)  "...who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."

It was very important, imperative to God, that His people understand and believe that HE IS GOD.  And secondly, He wanted His people to remember that He is a god who takes care of them.  This brings to mind Hebrews 11:6 in the NT:

"...he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."  This is a restatement of exactly what God said in Exodus 20.  It is obviously important to God for us to remember these two things: that He is....and that He is a rewarder; He was then; He is now. 

A final thought is that when God speaks/spoke, He never said was or will be about Himself.  It was always is IS.  God IS.  "I AM!"  This seems to be the definition of His name, Jehovah: I AM, emphasizing that God always IS.  And remember that Jesus said many times about Himself, "I AM......"   I am the light of the world, etc.  Let us always honor Him by observing these two things about the Lord, our God. 

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

Romans Chapter 6

Romans 6 is an interesting place to go for an explanation of what baptism really means.  Really, the discussion is about sin, a continuation of the discourse on sin and grace from chapter 5.  Note the final words of chapter 5:  "...just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Then as chapter 6 begins, the discussion continues.  "What shall we say, then?  Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means!  We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?  Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection."

There is a figurative relationship established by the physical act of baptism.  That is, by being baptised in the physical act, we are figuratively joining in the death of Jesus.  And just as He was raised from the dead, we are joined with Him in being raised up out of the water.  It is an interesting concept that is carefully detailed in this one place of the New Testament.

But the main point of the whole discussion is that since we Christians have given up the old life of living in sin, we have no right to go back to it, counting on the grace of God to save us.  We know that God wants to save us through His grace.  But the message here is that we shouldn't try to play games with God, keep on sinning, living the life of sin, thinking that He will overlook whatever we do.  Galatians 6:7 says, "Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows."

So the warning is clear that we must not try to play games with God.  Some people believe that once a person has been saved, has become a Christian, there is no being lost.  But the Bible surely does not teach that.  He wants to save us, but we must be diligent, diligently seeking Him, and truly trying to serve Him.

Thanks for reading.  I hope you have a great week.  Feel the love. 

The Most Powerfull Message of the Bible

The most powerful message of the Bible can be summed up in one word: Resurrection.  Jesus came to earth to save those who would follow Him.  When we say, "save," we mean beyond the grave.  There are many clear passages throughout the New Testament that show the significance of "beyond the grave," but let's look at the words of Jesus as recorded in John 5:24.

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears My Word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will be not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.  I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.  And He has given Him authority to judge because He is the Son of Man."

"Do not be amazed at this, for time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned."

This teaching of Jesus shows clearly that there is salvation in Jesus for those who believe...and follow.  That is, that there is a resurrection to come for every person, and a judgment by the Lord Himself.  Jesus proved that there is a resurrection by overcoming death Himself, showing that if He can come back from the dead, we can also, through His power. 

There is no more powerful message than that of the resurrection.  Many of the Jews did not want to hear it, and Jews today persist in that opposition.  It is important that we see the significance of the resurrection, the eternal life that Jesus offers us.

Have a great week!

Truth

It is always important to tell the truth....in whatever setting we find ourselves.  But in dealing with God and His Word, it is especially important.  Many people look at God as a God of love; and of course, He is.  And they feel that He is a patient and understanding God; and of course, He is.  But He is a God that expects us to do things His way.  He establishes what is truth, and right, and what He wants by giving us instruction through His Word, the Bible.  But the first question to answer is, Does it really matter?  To answer this question we simply go to the Bible, and we find out that it matters a lot. 

Many places in the New Testament talk about the importance of doing things God's way.  It also talks, warns, of those who would not do so.  Jesus Himself talked of false teachers, warning His disciples to be on guard.  Note these passages:

Matthew 7:15  "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  .....Therefore by their fruits you will know them.  Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

2Timothy 4:3 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth...."  Paul is warning Timothy about false teachers....and false teaching.

1Timothy 2:1  "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies...."

Acts 20:29-31 "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.  Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.  Therefore watch...."

2Peter 2  "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.  And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed."

With all of this teaching by Jesus, Paul and Peter, it is clear that false teachers and false teaching were, and still are, a real concern.  Let us care about the truth....and stick to it.

Thanks for reading again.  May God bless you!

Adoption

As Christians, we are adopted children of God.  This is an interesting relationship in that we aren't the born children of God, but have to be adopted in.  Let's look at a few Bible passages that talk about this adoption principle.

Galatians 4:4, "But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons."  We aren't actual descendants, aren't blood kin, aren't direct descendants of Abraham.  But previous verses say that we are "heirs,"  heirs according to promise, that is, according to the promise that God made to Abraham in Gen. 12, that all the world would be blessed through his seed, Jesus.  This is stressed at the end of Hebrews 11, the faith chapter: "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them (OT characters) received what had been promised.  God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

John 1:12, "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God--children not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

Romans 8:14, "..those who are led by the Spririt of God are sons of God.....The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ..."

Those of us who have been involved with adoption know that an adopted child is very special.  It really can't be fully described, put into words.  This is the effect that we see with being adopted into God's family.  It truly is a blessing, one that almost goes beyond description.  It is powerful, it is special, it is amazing.  We are God's children!

Have a great week.  Feel the love!

Question Regarding Denominations

I recently received a question regarding denominations, wanting scripture that deals with denominations.  There has been previous discussion about this subject in this blog, but lets review a few basics.

That there are many Christian denominations is a clear fact; Wikipedia says that there are 41,000 in existence today, though this obviously cannot be an exact count, and some of these are not significant. The question is: Does God approve of this arrangement?   Just by our math background, we know that the word means division.  And if we research where all of these different groups with different names and beliefs, at least to some extent, came from, we must conclude that these are started with men, men with different ideas of what the church should be.  In many cases, the beginnings came with a split off of another group, sometimes due to doctrinal issues, sometimes personal. 

We can note that there is no scripture in the Bible that specifically supports denominations.  But there is a lot said about the opposite, stating the importance of unity in the Lord's church.....and denouncing division.  So here are a few thoughts from the New Testament on the subject:

John 17: Jesus was saying a prayer to the Father just before going to His death.  He is speaking of the apostles; "My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in Me and I am in You."  Several times in this one prayer, Jesus prays that in in the future His disciples would be "one." (Unified, not divided, not denominationalized).

Ephesians 4: Paul teaches the Ephesian Christians; "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."  It is clear that with God there is "one." 

1 Corinthians 1:  Paul taught the Corinthian church; "I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.  My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.  What I mean is this: One of you says, 'I follow Paul'; another, 'I follow Apollos'; another, 'I follow Cephas', still another, 'I follow Christ.'  Is Christ divided?"  He makes clear here that division is unacceptable in the Lord's church. 

The first century writers were working to ensure that all churches were following the same gospel, the same pattern.  The NT is compiled of these writings to give us a pattern to follow today, that we might all be a part of a unified church following the same Bible guidelines. 

With all of this teaching, there is no way to conclude that God wants a splintered church....with 41,000 branches.  This practice of denominations is unacceptable and contrary to God's plan and His Word.

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week,  a great 4th of July week!

Lessons from Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11 is often called the faith chapter.  Here we will look at a few key points that are particularly significant.  In fact, the whole chapter is especially powerful and worthy, for sure, of our more close examination. 

The chapter begins with the definition of faith.  And we should note that when we read here of faith, it is talking about the specific faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.  Note verse 1:  "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  In other words, if we know something to be true, there is no faith required.  But here faith is defined as being certain of something that we cannot see.  That takes faith. 

Then in verse 6, we read:  "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek him."  It is not enough to believe that God exists; we must believe that He is a rewarder of His people.  And another important point here is that He rewards those who "earnestly (or diligently) seek Him."  We have to be people who believe in Him, believe that He rewards His own, and we must be earnestly seeking Him. 

Most of the rest of the chapter deals with Old Testament characters, great men and women, who served God and sacrificed greatly to follow Him.  These include Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and even many unnamed men and women who were great in their faith; many even gave their lives for the cause.  But.............

The final key point in the chapter is very powerful.  Listen to the end of the chapter:  "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.  God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."  As great as all of these people were, they didn't receive the very important "promise" of God.  This refers to the promise from Genesis 12 where God told Abraham that through his "seed," his descendants, all of the world would be blessed.  This would come in the form of Jesus....and of course, would come much later, much after all of these great people were dead.  This final point says "God had planned something better for us..."  This is Jesus.  The people of old did not get the full blessing of having Jesus; but we do!  And that is the main point of all of Hebrews chapter 11.  We are blessed people.....but we must be people of faith....and followers of Him! 

Thanks for reading.   Come again!

Some Characteristics of God

We learn a lot about God and His nature by studying the Old Testament.  We know from our study of the NT that God brings about His new way in the NT, through Jesus.  But God is still the same God in OT times as in NT times; He doesn't change.

And we learn throughout the Bible that God is love....and forgiveness, and patience, and tolerance...to a point.  But God is also a specific God.  We see that in the NT in the teachings of Jesus.  Jesus made it clear that only those who truly followed Him would enter His kingdom. And in Acts 5, we read of 2 people who lied to God and He killed them.  God has a specific and demanding side; after all, He is God.

In the OT, we read of many examples where God didn't put up with disobedience.  He loved His people and showed that over and over again through His patience and His leadership.  But as an example, Saul in 1 Samuel 15, did not follow God's specific commands and he was removed from being king.  Another case is Naaman in 2 Kings 5, where Naaman was told by God's prophet that all he had to do to be cured of his leprosy was to dip 7 times in the river Jordan.  Naaman was furious about this, thinking this to be a silly request--dip in a dirty river 7 times.  But God is a specific god, and Naaman was not going to be healed until he did exactly what God said. 

We could go on and on with examples of God's expectations of man; how He required that man submit to His way, and His way only.  God has that right, of course; and it is imperative that we understand this key characteristic of Him....and do what He says.  That is not always easy, because we want to do things our way; still we must realize that he is serious about His will being done.

Once again, thanks for reading.  Feel the love.

Church Organization

I makes sense to have the church today be like the church of the Bible.  There are many logical challenges to this: customs have changed, 2000 years have passed, life is much different now, there are no apostles today.

Let's review the situation with the church in the Bible.  Much of what we see of the church is covered in the book of Acts, though the letters to follow give additional detail.  The first four books of the NT, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John tell about the life and death and resurrection of Jesus.  Acts then tells of the beginnings of the church.

Here are some basic facts:

Jesus had, and still has, all authority.  "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth."(Matt.28:18).

He left the apostles to teach all people and to establish the church.  (Matt.28:19)

The apostles could pass on the ability to do miracles.  (Acts 8:14)

Other Christians could do miracles but could not pass it on.  (Acts 8:16)

The apostles went about establishing churches and appointing elders in each church. (Acts 14:23)

Meanwhile, the Lord knew that the apostles and those blessed with spiritual gifts (ability to do miracles) would not live but so long.  He saw to it that the entire record would be written to provide eye witness accounts to those of us who would follow.  It began as writings that were circulated among the churches.  These writings provided teachings and continuity for the church after the apostles and others were gone.  Perfection followed when these writings were compiled into the Bible.

Today we only need to follow the Bible pattern.  We continue to have elders in the local churches to provide leadership and oversight there.  And the Bible provides all that we need:  "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy3:16)

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

Things

Things, the desire for things, materialism, is a problem for all of us.  We live in a rich society; we all know that.  And there is nothing wrong with having things, having money.  The problem comes with our attitude.  It is the wanting of things and money and more and more that gets us into trouble. 

Note the passage in 1 Timothy 6:6-10:  "But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.  People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

And the words of Jesus fit that perfectly.  Note Matthew 6:25:  "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.......But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."

In Luke 12:16, Jesus told this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.  He thought to himself, 'What shall I do?  I have no place to store my crops.'  Then he said, 'This is what I'll do.  I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I'll say to myself,"You have plenty of good things laid up for many years.  Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '  But God said to him, 'You fool!  This very night your life will be demanded from you.  Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?  This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.' "  Being "rich toward God" is not so much in money; it is about attitude, love, commitment, a desire to serve. 

Let us have this attitude within us.  Have a great week.  And feel the love........

Authority

A question has been raised about authority in the Bible, and more specifically, about the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.  I don't know if I can hit this question on the head, since I am not sure what the question is; but I'll state a few truisms that might ring a bell.

First, it can be noted that Jesus made it very clear that He has all authority...period.  "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."  (Matthew 28:18).  He then follows that with His charge to the apostles:  "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them..."  And in Acts 1:8, as Jesus is about to leave the apostles for the last time here on earth, He says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses..."  Jesus for sure had/has all authority; but He gave what I might call reflective authority to the apostles, since they were eyewitnesses of Him and were able to go forth with the power of the Spirit. 

But we don't have any of that now....except that we have the written Word, given to us by the Spirit who directed the writing of the Bible.  There is no man on earth today who has any authority.  The only direction we get is through the Word, the Bible, which is plenty powerful enough to provide all that we need.  We can read about God's authority through Jesus, and we can know exactly what He is wanting of us today.

And speaking of the Word, we can see a powerful statement at the end of the book of Revelation: "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.  And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."  This statement refers specifically to the book of Revelation; don't add or detract.  But it applies to the whole Bible itself. 

Thanks for reading.  Feel free to send any questions. 

God is an Exacting God.

We, the people of this earth, tend to make God out to be what we want Him to be.  We worship Him in ways that we want; we form our own opinions as to what He is, what He expects of us, what He will do with us when we pass from this life.  But the truth is contained in the Bible, His Word, given to us as a pattern to follow. 

We can learn a lot about God and what He wants of us by reading the Old Testament and the New.  What we find after doing that is that He is an exacting God.  He is God, and He has a right to make the rules, if you will.  Let's take a look at a couple of examples from the OT; and keep in mind that there are endless examples, but we will let a couple suffice. 

In Leviticus 10, there are a couple of priests who took it upon themselves to worship God in a little different way that they had been told.  They burned incense before Him in an act of worship.  The Lord was displeased and had them killed immediately by fire.  The point was clear that one doesn't worship the Lord in a false way, an unauthorized way. 

In 2 Kings 5, we read of a noble man from Syria who was told by a prophet in Israel that God would heal him if he did exactly as God instructed.  He was told to go dip in the river Jordan 7 times and his leprosy would be healed.  The man, Naaman, was very angry.  He said, "We have better rivers in Syria than this dirty river Jordan."  But his advisers convinced him that he should try it.  (If you don't know this story, read the details in 2 Kings 5--it is quite interesting.)  So he dipped once, twice, three times, and so on and nothing happened.  But on the seventh dip he was completely healed.  The point here is that we must realize that when God gives instruction, we must follow it exactly.  The Lord means business.

And God doesn't change.  He tells us in the NT, sometimes by example, what it is He wants from us.  We should take that seriously.....and do it His way.....not ours.  That is true in our worship, our lives, the church, and in every way that we read in the NT.  The NT is God's Word, His plan for man; and He tells us a lot there.  Yes, there are some things that require judgment; but there is a lot given for us to follow.  Let's do it His way.

Thanks  for reading.  Have a great week....and feel the love.

The End of the World

The New Testament talks a good bit about the end of the world.  Note these passages: 


1Corinthians 15: "Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and authority and power.  For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.  The last enemy that will be destroyed is death."

1Thessalonians 5: For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.  For when they say, 'peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.  And they shall not escape.  But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.  You are all sons of light and sons of the day.  We are not of the night nor of darkness.  Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.  But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.  For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ..."

2Peter 3:  "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.  There fore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness..."

These verses point out that just as God created the earth, He will destroy it.  It will not be destroyed by man, not by excessive emissions, not by global warming or wars.  It will be destroyed by fire, brought on by the Lord.  His summary point is: "Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness..."  We don't know when He will do this.....but we know that He will.

Thanks for reading again.  Have a great week.   

Why People Reject Jesus

There are lots of reasons that people reject Jesus.  With some effort we could name perhaps dozens of reasons.  But the first chapter of 1 Corinthians sums it up into two categories.  And to be fair, we must recognize that this is Paul writing to the Corinthian Christians, dealing with some of the problems they were facing.  Still, people are much the same today and have much the same problems.

We actually see three categories of people in 1 Corinthians 1; note this verse: "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."

So it seems that Paul is summarizing these three categories of people:

Jews--They always wanted a sign.  But Jesus gave them plenty of signs; miracles that proved He was from God, that He was God.  Still, they wanted more.

Greeks--(non-Jews)--To them the Gospel of Jesus was just foolishness.  It didn't fit with their own thinking, their own reasoning.  And the Greeks were big into human reason; note Acts 17, when Paul went to Athens and spoke with them.

Believers--The above passage shows that, while Jews always wanted another sign (miracle), and Greeks called it "foolishness," there would be people who believed in Jesus, who knew Him to be the Christ, the Savior of the world.

The passage goes on to say, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."  God has no foolishness or weakness, but this passage just shows that if He did, it would put man's to shame.  We need to recognize that God is God, He has the power, and He will use it on us.  He will use it to raise us up.....or to bring us down.  Let's be in the 3rd category that Paul was talking about.  Praise be to God.

Thanks for reading.  Feel the love. 

Church Unity

There is a great deal said in the New Testament about church unity.  This was important to God and to His Son Jesus.  We will look at a couple of verses that relate this point. 

In John 17, Jesus prayed there for the apostles and all of His people who would be left behind, that they would be unified in their faith and practices.  Jesus was about to leave this earth and He appealed in prayer to the Father that "they may be one" as He and the Father are one.  

The subject is well discussed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1, where it has been reported to Paul that the Christians in Corinth were quarreling.  Beginning in verse 10: "I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.  My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.  What I mean is this: One of you says, 'I follow Paul'; another, 'I follow Cephas'; still another, 'I follow Christ.' Is Christ divided?"  Obviously, Paul is upset over what he has been hearing regarding the dissension going on in the church.  He is telling them to stop it.

When we look at this teaching of Paul to this Corinthian church, we realize that the truths he was teaching apply to us today.  When one looks at "Christianity" today, do we see splintering, division, and quarreling?  of course we do.  There must be over 1000 different denominations of so called Christians.  And it is all about division.  Would Paul be upset with what he would see in this regard today were he here?  You know he would, based on his teaching.

In the message of 1 Corinthians 1, we can see that Paul did not want different names put on Christians.  He said no Paul Christians, no Apollos Christians, no Cephas Christians; just Christians.  And it can be noted that he never wanted unity at the expense of truth, at the expense of doing His commandments, doing things His way.  But as he teaches here, we must seek to get along, agree, and not divide.

Paul wrote to the Philippian church, "..make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose."  This must be our goal.  We can start by just being Christians and wearing no other name. 

Have a great week!

The Commandments of God

God, and His Word, the Bible, is very clear that He wants and requires man to keep His commandments.  This is not a request, but a demand.  Obviously, people don't have to heed this demand; but He makes it clear that if we want to realize the rewards He has prepared for us, we must do things His way.

The book of Psalms begins with these words: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night."

Psalm 112 says, "Praise the Lord.  Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands."

Psalm 119 begins with this, "Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.  Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart."

Psalm 119:105,  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.  I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow Your righteous laws."

These are just a sampling of the hundreds of verses that are contained in the Bible regarding the importance of following His commandments.  And we know that Jesus said a lot about this subject.  He said in John 14:15, "If you love Me, you will obey what I command."  And in John 14:23, He said, "If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching."

Our lives will be better if we keep His commandments.  And doing so will bring eternal life.  There will be no fear of death, no sadness, or sickness, or pain, or tears in heaven.  Let's do this!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

 

Openings

In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus talked of the ease of salvation....and the difficulty of salvation; and He did it by discussing "openings."  In 7:13 He said, "Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."  This statement by our Lord contradicts the common thinking of today.  All one must do is read the obituaries to see that almost everyone that dies didn't "die;"  they passed, or "went to be with the Lord" or "are in the arms of Jesus."  The thinking is that almost everyone is safe, saved and in heaven with God.  But in the aforementioned verse, we see that the gate is narrow and not many will enter that one.

One the other hand, we see in the same chapter just how easy it is to be in the right place after we die.  In verse 7, Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."  This shows just how willing God is to have us follow Him.  The point, of course, is that the choice is ours; it is purely a matter of choice on our part.  God has done His part in sending His Son to die for us.  Now we must make the right choice.

And Jesus recognized the point that we see in the obituaries when He said in 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'  Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.  Away from Me, you evildoers!' "  This is a hard saying, but it shows that only the true followers of Jesus will enter the narrow gate, will knock on that door, will be accepted into heaven by our Lord.  Let's you and I be there!

Thanks for reading again.  Have a great week!

Victory

The Bible is all about victory.  All through the Bible we see people struggling in all kinds of ways.  In the Old Testament, there are struggles and difficulties from the first people, Adam and Eve, on.  And it can be said that the primary reason for all of the problems that people face is due to sin.  Sin entered the world during the time of Adam and Eve, and it has persisted in being a problem since.  We see this in the Jewish people of God throughout the OT; over and over they fell into trouble because they didn't put their trust in God.

When we come to the time of Jesus, as reported in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we see that the Jewish religion is a mess.  They are not following the true Jewish Law as given to them by God; and Jesus was strong in telling them so. 

Then as people began to believe in Jesus, to follow Him, and to become Christians, as we read in the book of Acts, they started struggling with persecution.  The Jews and the Roman government were persecuting Christians in terrible ways; beating them, having them jailed, and often having them killed.  Persecution was a horrible and fearful thing for the Christians.

In the New Testament, we see many statements given to provide the Christians hope and strength in the face of all this.  It seems that the book of Revelation was written to give them confidence that victory was coming.  It would not be necessarily in this life, but it was coming.  The book shows the evil of Satan, the devil; but it shows that God will overcome for those who follow Him.

In Revelation chapter 7, beginning with verse 9, we see a strong statement made to show that victory is coming.  It shows God's followers eventually ending up in heaven, and describes those who are victorious.  Verse 14, "These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple.  And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.  They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."  Victory in Jesus......to those who follow Him.

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week.......and feel the love. 

Difficulty in Being a Christian

When we read the words of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we realize that being a Christian is a great opportunity; i.e., peace is given to us in this life, and we are promised the beautiful life beyond this one.  But it is also often difficult.  An example of the kinds of things that the Bible teaches against is given in Romans 1:28, ".....things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful...."  These are all things that we are to avoid.

But we see later in this same book, Paul's letter to the Roman Christians, that Paul is struggling with a lot of moral issues himself.  Note Romans 7:15, "For what I am doing, I do not understand.  For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do."  And later, "For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."  I do not know all that Paul is struggling with here; but it is obvious that he is having great difficulty with some things.

But life is like that; and sin is like that.  We struggle in this life; yet we are to strive to do right, to live right, to do others right, to think right.  We know from further reading the words of Paul that he conquered these challenges to his faith.  And we need to conquer our challenges. 

Jesus promises life, eternal life in heaven, with Him if we follow Him; if we live for Him.  This is our challenge.  Let's meet it!  "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.  To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne; as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Revelation 3:20)

Have a great week.   Feel the love.

Truth

Truth brings lots of questions.  What is truth?  Does truth really exist?  Is it within us...or without?  It is interesting that the Bible answers all the major questions of life:  Where we came from, the purpose of life, where we are going, and, yes, what is truth. 

When Jesus was about to meet His death, He stood before Pontus Pilate, the Roman governor, to be tried.  In John 18:36, Jesus said, " 'My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews.  But My kingdom is not from the world.'  Then Pilate said to Him, 'So you are a king?'  Jesus answered, 'You say that I am a king.  For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.'  Pilate said to Him, 'What is truth?' "  At this point, Jesus could have given him an answer, but Pilate would not have benefited from it, for his heart just wasn't right.  But we know what Jesus would have said; just read on. 

In John 14, Jesus was talking with His apostles about having to leave them and what would happen to them.  Thomas said, "Lord, we do not know where You are going.  How can we know the way?"  "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."  This is the answer that Jesus could have given Pilate; "I AM the truth!"

The importance of truth is shown in John 8:32.  "If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  Those listening then asked what He meant by "free," whereupon He explained that He meant free from sin.  When people sin, they become a "slave to sin." Jesus came to provide a solution to this slavery; He came to free us from this.  But Hebrews 10:26 points out: "..if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment...."  So Jesus saves us....but only if we follow Him. 

And finally, "Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God..."  (1 Peter 1:22)

Truth matters.....and it is only found in the Bible.  God gave it to us through His Word.  Have a great week.  You matter......

What is a Christian?

There are so many ideas and opinions in today's world as to what makes a person a Christian that it seems appropriate to examine the Bible concept, since this is what matters anyway.  Some would say that a Christian is a member of some "Christian" church.  Others might say that a Christian is one who holds to certain Christian beliefs.  And others might say that he is a good person, kind, considerate, giving, having lots of good qualities.  Perhaps all of this is true; but let's look at the Bible for some guidelines.

Jesus talked a great deal about what He expected His followers to be.  We see much of this teaching in the sermon on the mount, as recorded in Matthew 5-7.  It would be impossible to properly summarize all of these thoughts in a paragraph or two, but let me do so anyway.  He taught that He wanted our heart. our commitment completely, our whole self.  He summarized it in Matthew 7:24, by saying:  "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock, and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house; and it fell.  And great was its fall."  The emphasis of Jesus was always placed on obeying.  He wanted followers, disciples, but He wanted them to be obedient. 

Then,  as Jesus was about to leave the earth, He instructed His apostles to carry out His mission:  "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."  This shows the way He intended for people to become Christians. And we see this carried out in the book of Acts, which covers the period after Jesus leaves the earth and goes to heaven.

Much of the rest of the Bible is dedicated to showing how a Christian should live.  Notice these words in Hebrews 10:23-25:  "Let us hold fast the confession  of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  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...."  It is not enough to become a Christian, and to be a good person, striving to be like Christ; we need also to be a part of His church, assembling with other Christians to build up, encourage, each other.

Let's do it!  Thanks for reading again.  Feel the love.