Monthly Archives: January 2014

Give

Posted on by

In the recent past we were asked to help someone who was in need.  We love to help others.  It is better to help someone else than to need help.  We have been on both sides of this issue.  We love to help others.  We look forward to what God is going to do with the small gifts we give.

Interestingly enough, this time what we gave came back to us.  The great thing is that it came back with interest so to speak.  In what was given to us there was a package of men’s socks that will fit our son.   His mother just threw away all of his black sport socks due to holes in them.  Once again, God met our needs right on time.  This awesome and nearly brought us to tears.  Yes, over six pairs of socks.  You see, Jesus cares so much about us that He meets even the seemingly small needs.

Look at Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”  Remember, you cannot out give God.  He will be a debtor to no man.

So, how are you doing?

 

Eat Your Words

Posted on by

The other night my wife made one of my favorite meals, spaghetti.  We warmed up some leftover sauce from the freezer and she cooked pasta that had been given to us as a gift in a food basket from our Church.  I had thawed some Hawaiian Sweet Rolls and she put garlic butter and cheese on them after cutting them all in half.  I could not wait for them to warm up in the oven.

As dinner was warming up my wife came and sat down for a moment of much needed rest.  I began to smell the rolls and I commented on the pleasant odor.  My wife jumped up and went to the kitchen and took the rolls out of the oven.  Well, you know how this scenario ends.  Yes, burned rolls.  Some were more accurately cremated.  My wife made some comments on the burned rolls.  I just ate the lesser burned ones that she put on my plate.  I have done worse in cooking and I decided that it was better not to say anything even trying to be funny and lighten the moment.  I just ate them.  Yes, with no complaints at all from me.

Sometimes; in life, it is just easier to keep your mouth shut.  Someone said that it is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.  This is true.

The Word of God speaks to my particular situation in Proverbs 27:7, “The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.”  Burned can be turned into sweet.  It is all in your perspective.

So, how are you doing?

The Bible

Posted on by

A few days ago I saw .a video on social media.  You can view it here.  After I finished this one minute video I sat and wept for a moment because of what I saw.  We take for granted so much in life.

I have to ask you something.  How many Bibles do you have in your home?  The best I can figure we have well over a dozen Bibles in our home  This is really nice.  How many of the Bibles that you and I own are covered in dust?  How many are packed away never to be used?  Now we are down where the rubber meets the road.

There is an old bluegrass song that I love titled “Dust On The Bible” and if you listen to the words it can be deeply convicting.  Far too many people look at the Bible as inaccurate and this is far from the truth.  People think is is out dated.  Wrong!  The Bible is a Supernatural Book and should be read and obeyed.  Look at Jeremiah 15:16, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.”  What is your attitude?

The Bible will change your life and I think this is the reason that people refuse to read It.  They are happy living their life the way it is and they don’t want to upset their own apple cart.  It is high time to upset some apple carts.

So, how are you doing?

The Blood Of Jesus

Posted on by

I have to admit, in our lives autism is a peculiar thing.  There are bad days, no doubt.  There are good days and even great days too.  It is the great days and the good days that help you make it through the bad days.  There are other things that that sustain you too.  God’s Word, presence, people and many others.

With autism comes peculiar (to you and I) behavior.  Our son loves to watch videos.  He also loves to rewind them and rewind them and rewind them.  You get the point.  Yesterday I was watching a video in the living room fighting to keep warm.  The Collingsworth family were on.  They were singing an awesome song titled “The Blood Of Jesus”.  I think Kim Collingsworth wrote it.  To say it is powerful is a great understatement.  When the song concluded here came our son.  Yes, he hit rewind from the edge of the living room..  This scenario played out several times.

I thought to myself, “I wish he would quit.”  Then it dawned on me.  What he was doing is spreading the message of the blood of Jesus.  No matter who had been here it would have been rewind, rewind and rewind.  Sometimes God’s Holy Spirit uses the little things in life to get the message out.  Look at I Peter 1:19, “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”.

What can wash away my sin?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

So, how are you doing?

Within The Covers

Posted on by

reaganquote

Comedian Mark Lowery in one of his routines remarks that he was doing accountability work with his Pastor.  Because this usually meant a phone call earlier in the morning than Mark liked he decided to rename his bed “The Word”.  This way when his Pastor called and caught him still in bed he could honestly (or not so honestly) say, “I am in The Word.”

This really made me angry.  Not only is it deceptive; but, it is just plain sin.  Yes, I said that it is sin.  The Word of God is so precious and so important I don’t understand how someone that is supposed to be a Christian can do such a thing.  I guess it brings in money at concerts.

Within the covers of the Word of God is infinite wisdom, comfort, rebuke, and even the ultimate love and so much more.  It is a gold mine and it is up to you and I to get busy and mine out all the treasures that are held for us.  Will you take time today to do just that?  I sure hope that you will.  It will change your life for all eternity.

So, how are you doing?

 

The above picture was taken from the Independentbaptist.com e-mail newsletter.

 

Go Home

Posted on by

What is the first thing you do when you find a stray dog or cat in your yard?  Some of you my readers would take it in as your own.  Those of us on the other side of the fence normally yell in an authoritative tone, “Go home!”  We do this because we want this stray animal to do just that, go home.  It is not that we don’t love it.  It is not that we are trying to be mean.  We just want it to leave and go to it’s own home.

Jesus had an experience with a man in the New Testament that might seem strange.  Look at Mark 5:19-20, “Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.  And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.”

This man was possessed by demons.  Not just a couple either.  His name is “Legion”.  The Bible tells us that is because the demons were “many” or abundant.  After Jesus cast out the demons this man was obviously thankful and wanted to follow Jesus; but, he was told “go home to thy friends”. Jesus had disciples traveling with him.  He gave this man a ministry to go back to his friends and share the truth with them of what had happened.

The Bible tells us that he left and “began to publish…”.  My friend; we, just like this man have been sent to our “friends” to tell them about Jesus.  In this dark day we need to let our light shine brightly.  Time is short and we must share the gospel with others.

So, how are you doing?

Throw Away

Posted on by

Many years ago there was an automobile called a Yugo.  They were basically a throw away car.  Someone remarked that “Dorito’s” actually had the slogan that Yugo needed.  It said, “Go ahead and crunch them.  We will make more.”

Our society has become a throw away society.  We buy things and it is cheaper to throw them away than it is to have them repaired.  The problem is that this frame of mind has crept into other facets of life.  Life it’s self is now deemed throw away.  We abort millions of babies in the name of choice.  This a human life!  This is a tiny soul that Jesus died for!  Yet, count it as a blob of tissue.  God forgive us!

I watched a video on social media the other day.  It was about an orchestra that is made up of kids with instruments made of recycled materials from the garbage dump they live in.  Yes, in a country where one man said, “A violin is worth a house.”  They have what is called The Recycled Orchestra.

I offer you a quote from their video:  “People realize that we shouldn’t throw away trash carelessly.  Well, we shouldn’t throw away people either.”  From a member of the Recycled Orchestra in their Landfill Harmonic video.

Look at Jeremiah 18:4, “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”  Nobody is worthless.  Jesus gave His life for every human being; past, present and future.  What is a soul worth to you?

So, how are you doing?

To Tell The Truth

Posted on by

While looking at social media yesterday I came across a site that had a slideshow of notes from children that were straight to the point.  I am sharing one of these here:

“Dear Uncle Bryan,

I hope you have a good birthday.  I love you uncle Bryan.  How are you?  Have you Hird of saten?  he makes you do bad thagings.

Love,

Rebekkah”

You can see more in a slide show here.

This young lady shared more spiritual truth in her note than some so-called Churches share in a week.  I think you and I can take some lessons from this dear heart.  We need to be sharing the truth with others.  We might not want to make it so blunt; but, there are times for that too.

The truth is that we have an enemy he seeks to destroy us.  He will use anything he possibly can to do his dirty work.  We must be prepared to stand against him in the power of Christ.

Look at I Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”.  I am told that this lion is an old lion that lays in wait in the high grass waiting for prey to get close.  He then roars and scares the prey and the younger, more able lions make the attack.  This should sound familiar.  Our enemy uses the same tactics.  You and I need to heed the admonition of the Scriptures and “Be sober, be vigilant;”.  Your life could depend upon it.

So, how are you doing?

 

All Because Of Another 6

Posted on by

As I was reading I had to go back and read over a passage.  It was Exodus 12:3, “Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:”

As I have been dwelling on the thought “All Because Of Another”, I could not pass this verse over.  I was thinking of this lamb.  It was brought into the house and would have become like a pet.  When I think of a lamb I am immediately drawn to The Lamb of God.

The lamb in our Scripture today would be slain and it’s blood spilled “All Because Of Another”.  The lamb was to be slain and it’s blood was to be sprinkled on the door posts and the lentil.  This is a picture of Jesus coming as The Lamb of God and shedding His blood to pay our debt of sin.  When the people put the blood on the door posts and lentil the death angel would pass over them.  It is the same in reality today.  If we have the blood of Jesus applied to our soul then the death angel will pass over us.  We will all die; but, we who have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus will only pass on to Heaven.  Those who do not have Jesus’ blood applied will pass on to hell.

You can know for sure that the blood of Jesus has been applied if you call up Him for salvation.  If you would like to do this, please contact me and I will help you.

So, how are you doing?