The Honor Role

May 31st, 2007

The Honor Role

I can’t sleep. In fact, last night to now, I haven’t slept a wink. I’m just in that much pain right now. And so, what am I to do? Wait. Really, that’s all that I can do. I will say this; I’ve had a productive night. I have worked out my school schedule to almost completion. The only thing lacking is the discussion with my wife before I move forward. I am dreading not sleeping. With my medicine, I either take too much sleeping medicine and don’t get up in the morning or don’t take enough and end up in the situation that I am in now. Seriously, the problem tonight isn’t sleeping medicine but pain.

Psalm 3:1-8
O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side. Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.

Psalm 4:1-8
Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him. In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD. Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Sleep is a wonderful thing. It really is. The Bible does talk about the good and bad that sleep can have with it. And it is a very simple idea, but when people become involved, it gets messed up. It really does. Layman terms, the Bible says to not sleep too much. Bible also says that when I trust in God, my sleep will be peaceful. I guess that since I didn’t grab any sleep, I’m not trusting God enough. That could be true. I’m so tired now, that I’m not really sure. I have just a few working brain cells, and they are all laughing at each other (AAAHHH!!!). Seriously though, here it is at 5 O’clock in the morning, and I’m actually thinking of a neighbor here that hates me for no reason. I think he hates me for his sins, but I am not sure. I’m praying for the guy.

Proverbs 6:1-35
My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another, if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands: Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor! Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler. Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest - and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. A scoundrel and villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth, who winks with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers, who plots evil with deceit in his heart— he always stirs up dissension. Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy. There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life, keeping you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife. Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes, for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life. Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished. Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving. Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house. But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself. Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away; for jealousy arouses a husband's fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge. He will not accept any compensation; he will refuse the bribe, however great it is.

Yes, this is great stuff. I am not sure if there is any knowledge or wisdom that I can add or say about this in reflection. And I shouldn’t necessarily have to… I mean, this is Proverbs, the same Proverbs that comes right out and says: Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. So… I guess I am going to make breakfast for my wife now. Johnny Out.

The War Within – Part VI

May 28th, 2007

The War Within – Part VI

I can make decisions to do wrong:
• I can tear down road blocks so that when I want to do wrong, it isn’t as difficult.

I can make decisions to do right:
• I can put up road blocks so that when I want to do wrong, it is difficult.

The issue is road blocks that help or hurt. It’s good to have accountability. It is also good to the right heart about things. And let’s face it, it isn’t easy to have the “perfect” heart all the time, so when the heart takes a downward slide, albeit in the momentary lapse of weakness, it is wonderful to have a road block and accountability to help save what would be a horrible situation.

Ephesians 2:11-22
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men) - remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Proverbs 18:10-12
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an un-scalable wall. Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

Ecclesiastes 10:8
Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

Isaiah 30:12-14
Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit, this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly, in an instant. It will break in pieces like pottery, shattered so mercilessly that among its pieces not a fragment will be found for taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern.”

Psalm 69:21-23
They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst. May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.

Romans 11:7-10
What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.” And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.”

Ezekiel 3:20-21
“Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”

2nd Corinthians 6:3-10
We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

Now, this is a ton of scriptures… all great stuff! God puts up stumbling blocks for me, you, everyone, and that’s good. But with all these scriptures, walls and stumbling blocks, I think this is going to take a great deal of thought. I gather that there are two walls and two types of stumbling blocks.

First: There is a wall to keep OUT sin and a wall to keep IN sin.
Second: There is a stumbling block to PREVENT sin and a stumbling block as a CONSEQUENCE to sin.

I’ll be honest, I am not sure I know how to even explain it all to myself, much less to whoever reads this…

I will make an effort, however. Ezekiel 3 speaks of a stumbling block put up by God himself. The Hebrew is as defined:

Stumbling Block (noun):
Mikshôl (pronounced mik-shole')
• A stumbling block, literally or figuratively (obstacle, enticement (specifically an idol, scruple): - caused to fall, offence, no-thing offered, ruin, stumbling-block. (Strong’s)
• A stumbling, means or occasion of stumbling, stumbling block (stumbling, fall, means or occasion of stumbling, stumbling block) – (BDB)

This is what was used in Ezekiel 3. God put up a stumbling block after the person has done evil. That’s how I am reading it, although I am not sure this is entirely right. I would think that the Ezekiel 3 is the “consequence” stumbling block. 2nd Corinthians 6 is the “preventing sin” stumbling block.

I tell you what… I am going to post this, and I will repost it again tomorrow once I’ve studied more and prayed more about it all… but that post will just be the additions. I guess I should title it PART VII… yeah, that’s what I will do. Johnny Out.

Communion

May 27, 2007

Communion

I had the pleasure of delivering communion today at our house church. This is what I covered…

Genesis 6:5-7 (NCV)
The Lord saw that the human beings on the earth were very wicked and that everything they thought about was evil. He was sorry he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, “I will destroy all human beings that I made on the earth. And I will destroy every animal and everything that crawls on the earth and the birds of the air, because I am sorry I have made them.”

Genesis 6:11-13 (NCV)
People on earth did what God said was evil, and violence was everywhere. When God saw that everyone on the earth did only evil, he said to Noah, “Because people have made the earth full of violence, I will destroy all of them from the earth.”

Genesis 7:4 (NCV)
Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth. It will rain forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe off from the earth every living thing that I have made.

Genesis 7:17-24 (NCV)
Water flooded the earth for forty days, and as it rose it lifted the boat off the ground. The water continued to rise, and the boat floated on it above the earth. The water rose so much that even the highest mountains under the sky were covered by it. It continued to rise until it was more than twenty feet above the mountains. All living things that moved on the earth died. This included all the birds, tame animals, wild animals, and creatures that swarm on the earth, as well as all human beings. So everything on dry land that had the breath of life in it died. God destroyed from the earth every living thing that was on the land -- every man, animal, crawling thing, and bird of the sky. All that was left was Noah and what was with him in the boat. And the waters continued to cover the earth for one hundred fifty days.

In the time of Noah, everyone was evil. Imagine everyone being evil. Imagine your family, friends, public officials, the people you see at the grocery, everyone is evil. Every thought, evil little itty bitty thing that they do, is evil and wicked. This isn’t a compliment of what happened. People talk about being wicked now and it is a compliment. And because these things happened then, God flooded the world. God looked at them and they did not have a bit of good in them, so he whipped them away with a flood. So what happened is this: All Sin – No Repentance – New Start. The flood is like a baptism that “cleans” the earth and gives it a new start.

Matthew 13:47-50 (NCV)
“Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was put into the lake and caught many different kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled the net to the shore. They sat down and put all the good fish in baskets and threw away the bad fish. It will be this way at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the good people. The angels will throw the evil people into the blazing furnace, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”

Matthew 25:40 and 45 (NCV)
“Then the King will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.’” … “Then the King will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, anything you refused to do for even the least of my people here, you refused to do for me.’”

The angels will come and separate the evil people from the good people. This is comforting simply due to the fact that there are good people to take out of the group. They separate the righteous from the unrighteous. And the scriptures from Matthew 25 show a detail of what the righteous and the unrighteous do. The righteous will even do the smallest of things for the “lowest” or “least” of people. That is an indication of how loving and serving the righteous person is for God. They do the little things that end up making a huge difference. The unrighteous will not do these things. What I believe to be interesting is that the unrighteous will still serve, but it will be “big” things, like in groups or such, and will not necessarily take on an individual effort. The unrighteous will make a show to look righteous, but will be far from it. But the fact still remains; there are righteous people out there in the midst of the unrighteous people.

1st Peter 3:18-22 (NCV)
Christ himself suffered for sins once. He was not guilty, but he suffered for those who are guilty to bring you to God. His body was killed, but he was made alive in the spirit. And in the spirit he went and preached to the spirits in prison who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah. God was waiting patiently for them while Noah was building the boat. Only a few people -- eight in all -- were saved by water. And that water is like baptism that now saves you -- not the washing of dirt from the body, but the promise made to God from a good conscience. And this is because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. Now Jesus has gone into heaven and is at God’s right side ruling over angels, authorities, and powers.

The water is like baptism – it cleans you from sin. In fact here it says that baptism saves you. It is a promise from me to God from a good conscience.

Hebrews 5:7-10 (NCV)
While Jesus lived on earth, he prayed to God and asked God for help. He prayed with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him from death, and his prayer was heard because he trusted God. Even though Jesus was the Son of God, he learned obedience by what he suffered. And because his obedience was perfect, he was able to give eternal salvation to all who obey him. In this way God made Jesus a high priest, a priest like Melchizedek.

The focus on this scripture right now is this: he (Jesus) was able to give eternal salvation to all who obey him. This is why the criminal on the cross next to Jesus could be saved without baptism. Jesus could give it to him, because he could. I follow Jesus, who gives salvation to the obedient, then I would do what the Bible says and be considered righteous. I do not follow what the Bible says, then I am not following Jesus and would be considered unrighteous. It’s that black and white. Jesus is the High Priest. He is the ultimate example. Communion is about remembering him and my conversion to him. Johnny Out.

The Grades are In and You Scored…

May 24th, 2007

Degauss (verb):
• To neutralize the magnetic field of (a ship, for example).
• To erase information from (a magnetic disk or other storage device).

The Grades are In and You Scored…

“When I arrive will God be waiting and pacing around his throne? Will he feel a little Old Testament? And will he celebrate with fire and brimstone? Yeah, I admit, I am afraid of the reckoning.” And later in the song: “When we were made we were set apart, but life is a test and I get bad marks. Now some saint got the job of writing down my sins. The storm is coming; here is your storm again.” Lyrics by Brand New (the song is titled Degausser). If you really, really want to check out their website, I shall warn you, it is a little dark. But if you do, here is a link: http://www.fightoffyourdemons.com/

I’ve heard this song for a few days now, and I really thought I would be talking about their song “Jesus Christ”, and yet I find myself drawn to this song instead. “When we were made we were set apart, but life is a test and I get bad marks. Now some saint got the job of writing down my sins.”

Life is a test. Life is a test… it really is a test. Think about it… however I choose my actions now will determine my fate with God later. If I make decisions now that are un-wise, I may suffer later. If I make wise decisions now, I may reap later. It all depends on if I repeat those actions over and over and over again.

1st John 3:4-6
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

Simple enough, if you or I keep on sinning, then we won’t have any part of God, because it says “no one who continues to sin is known by him”. It doesn’t sound like a “good job, good and faithful” statement, but more of an “I never knew you” statement to me.

Psalm 69:1-36
Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal. You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you. May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me, O Lord, the LORD Almighty; may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me, O God of Israel. For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face. I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother's sons; for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me. When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me. Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards. But I pray to you, O LORD, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation. Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters. Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me. Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me; redeem me because of my foes. You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you. Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst. May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them. May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt. Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation. May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous. I am in pain and distress; may your salvation, O God, protect me. I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs. The poor will see and be glad - you who seek God, may your hearts live! The LORD hears the needy and does not despise his captive people. Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them, for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it; the children of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will dwell there.

Now, the phrase “book of life” is only used once in the Old Testament, which is in Psalm 69:28… and the following verse, I felt that is necessary to grasp, at least comforting to read knowing the since we all go through pain, distress, etc., that salvation from God can protect. Now, these are enemies of David, the ones he asks to be knocked out of the book of life. There are seven other scriptures using the phrase “book of life,” six of which are in Revelation and one other in Philippians.

Before I check out Philippians in detail, I want to check this first…

Revelation 20:7-15
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

So, God has a book with my name on it. And in that book, it tells of the deeds I have done: the good and the bad. Let’s change it from a book to a hard-drive to a computer, or for even a better argument, a computer disk. On the Day of Judgment, God plops the disk into his computer. He starts looking through every thing and then finally looks into the “Book of Life” to see if I get thrown into a lake of fire. Do I stay or do I go… well, if the sins can be degaussed, or whipped away, then it is a sure fire deal (no pun intended, but you can laugh anyway) to get that done. What is a sinner? A sinner is someone who isn’t God, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit. And the last time I checked, I’m not them. There are two types of sinners, the ones who practice sinful things with the intent to continue, and the ones who repent. Keep this in mind when you read this passage…

Philippians 4:2-3
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

This scripture is the most essential of my QT, since Paul is explaining that certain people are written in the book of life. It’s a bold thing to say. But, Paul is a bold man, and he was considered righteous by what he did.

I know that there are several books at play, the Holy Bible, the Book of Life, and other books not mentioned… at least in Revelation. But I would think that the Book of the Law, and some others would be sitting at the Judging bench with God. But when the timed test is over, what marks will I have on the work I have done? How degaussed will my sin be? Will I get it all out, will I be clean enough to sport a white robe in heaven, or will I end up swimming in a fiery lake?

And why am I up so late? I am in pain and distress. I’m asking that God’s salvation protect me. It is time to take another pill and push on to a snoozing goal. Hopefully I can get something in before Mackenzie’s test later this morning. Johnny Out.

Does it feel lukewarm in here?

May 20th, 2007

Does it feel lukewarm in here?

Revelation 3:14-22
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I 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.”

I was able to have the privilege to see a video at church today that showed (in a funny sort of way) what a “Me Church” is versus the church Christ died for… if you are interested, simply check out this link. It’s convicted and funny at the same time. (Link: Church Commercial)

Lukewarm (adj.):

• Moderately warm; tepid
• Having or showing little ardor, zeal, or enthusiasm; indifferent
• Moderately warm
• Feeling or showing little interest or enthusiasm
• Slightly warm

Now for the Greek definitions:

Lukewarm (adj.):
Chliaros (pronounced khlee-ar-os'):

• From chliō (to warm); tepid: - lukewarm.
• Tepid, lukewarm; metaphorically of the condition of the soul wretchedly fluctuating between a torpor and a fervor of love

I believe the English dictionary is a good representation of the Greek meaning. Lukewarm is the opposite of showing emotion, it is a lack of enthusiasm. And as a disciple, I am supposed to be full of zeal for Christ. WHERE IS IT?! Maybe it slowly crept out of me without me even knowing. I don’t know, but I need to find it. And find it quickly, that’s for sure.

Romans 12:9-13
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

It says to never be lacking in zeal. It could also say to never be lukewarm and to keep a spiritual fervor. And what is fervor?

Fervor (noun):

• Great warmth and earnestness of feeling
• Intense heat
• Great warmth and intensity of emotion
• The state of being emotionally aroused and worked up; excitement

This is a great practical. How do I move out of being lukewarm? How do I have a zeal back for God? I need to get excited again. I need to have intensified emotions for the Lord. And that I can most definitely wrap my brain around and understand. I can regain excitement again, because let’s be honest, I haven’t been on the poster for zeal in quite some time. It may coincide with my pain, but I don’t believe that. Pain didn’t stop me anytime before and it shouldn’t be an obstacle now. I am going to change my ways on this – period. And it will hurt until the surgery, but AMEN. Repentance sometimes shouldn’t be easy and pain-free. Johnny Out.

Painful Gratitude

May 19th, 2007

Painful Gratitude

I guess I should simply say that I am in pain. I’ve had this pain for close to three years now. It’s been almost constant since it has started, but it hasn’t stopped for what I would say to be the last two years. And when I have my right hip replaced with an hour and a half surgery, my problems should diminish quite quickly. If I am to be blessed with no pain what-so-ever, then it will be a first in a LONG time. This thing started before I had my last surgery, which was to stop my acid reflux. So, it has been years since I have been pain free. YEARS. What is my response to being pain free? Gratitude – gratitude that should never be forgotten. In the NIV, there are two scriptures that use the very word gratitude. I’ll share one of the two, and also check out some other scriptures…

Gratitude (noun):

• A feeling of thankfulness and appreciation
• The state of being grateful; thankfulness
• The quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful

Grateful (adj.):

• Warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful
• Pleasing to the mind or senses; agreeable or welcome; refreshing
• Appreciative of benefits received; thankful
• Affording pleasure or comfort; agreeable
• Feeling or showing gratitude

Grateful Dead, the San Francisco rock band, took its name, according to Jerry Garcia, from a dictionary entry he saw about the folk tale motif of a wanderer who gives his last penny to pay for a corpse's burial, then is magically aided by the spirit of the dead person. A different version of the concept is found in the Hebrew Kaddish and the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

I was interested in checking out this story of the Grateful Dead and the dictionary from which it came… and then I realized it was taking too much time to find. So I moved on, it’s not really important.

Gratitude is thankfulness. In the story above, the guy pays for the burial or the debts of the man, and then the spirit of the fellow is grateful, or thankful, and helps the guy out in a later situation. The spirit may have even saved his life, although I am not completely sure since I have only read bits and pieces. The thing is, the ghost appreciated the kindness and expressed thankfulness.

Colossians 3:15-17 (NIV)
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:15-17 (NCV)
Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking, because you were all called together in one body to have peace. Always be thankful. Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.

Colossians 3:15-17 (TMB)
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father by Him.

OK, whatever I do, I have to give thanks to God. When I sing, there should be gratitude and thankfulness and grace in my heart to God. And this is whether I have pain or not. But there is more to the pain of gratitude. Remember that thanks and gratitude are pretty much the same…

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 (NIV)
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 (NCV)
Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus. Do not hold back the work of the Holy Spirit. Do not treat prophecy as if it were unimportant. But test everything. Keep what is good, and stay away from everything that is evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 (TMB)
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesying. Test all things; hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.

OK, here’s the kick that I’ve had (and really the whole passage given is a struggle at times) is give thanks in all circumstances, in any and all situations. And that goes for kidney stones, nasty acid reflux, a garden hoe through the foot, and a painful joint rubbing up against the hip socket. And praying without ceasing; that would mean to pray when the leg hurts, praying when the leg feels better. It means to pray when times are good and bad, and everything in between. Plus, the end all be all, to be joyful always. I have to rejoice evermore. But it is not rejoicing on how I am feeling, but rejoicing that I simply know that this is temporary and the afterlife in heaven is eternal. And that is what hope is all about. There is always someone who has it a little worse than me. There are places in this world like Cambodia and Africa where there is limited healthcare at best. And I am sure someone may have what I have and simply have to “suck it up” for most likely the rest of their lives. With that thought, it is easy to be grateful for my situation. Johnny Out.

The War Within - Part V

May 18th, 2007

The War Within – Part V

I can make decisions to do wrong:

• If I want to do wrong, I can and sometimes will go out of my way to make it happen.

I can make decisions to do right:

• If I want to do right, I can and sometimes should go out of my way to make it happen.

May 18th, 2007

Mark 7:20-23
He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”

See, the battle to do right or wrong comes within a person, being evil thoughts, deceit, and everything else in the scripture above. We know what a thought is and what evil is (or at least I would hope so…), so I am going to define deceit from the dictionary and Greek to grasp a larger picture.

Deceit (noun):

• The quality of being fraudulent.
• A misleading falsehood.
• Deliberate and misleading concealment, false declaration, or artifice.
• A stratagem; a trick.
• concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading; duplicity; fraud; cheating

Deceive (verb):

• To mislead by a false appearance or statement; delude.
• To cause to believe what is not true; mislead.
• To give a false impression.
• Be false to; be dishonest with.
• Cause someone to believe an untruth.
• To cause to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid.

Synonyms: cozen, dupe, fool, gull, hoodwink, trick, defraud, outwit, entrap, ensnare, betray, fraud, misrepresentation, deception, insincere, disingenuous, false, hollow, designing, wily.

Deceit (Noun):

Dolos (pronounced dol'-os):

• Meaning to decoy; a trick (bait), that is, (figuratively) wile: - craft, deceit, guile, subtlety. (Strong’s)
• Craft, deceit, guile. (Thayer)

Leviticus 19:11
“‘Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.’”

It sounds simple enough. And yet it happens. People prance around not wanting to deceive anyone, to not steal or lie, and yet it happens day in and day out. We had a President who slept with a woman, or at the least, committed sexual acts with her, and then he lied about it. That was Clinton. The “best president ever”, as some would say, slept around with a woman, he would even sneak out of the Whitehouse to do so, and the people were deceived about his actions. And both of these men sported themselves as devout Christians. I’m just pointing out that whether I have an important high class status with a good deal of money or a low class status with a little deal of money, the opportunity is always there to deceive and lie.

Proverbs 14:5
A truthful witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.

Proverbs 24:28-29
Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, or use your lips to deceive. Do not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me; I'll pay that man back for what he did."

Obadiah 1:2-7
“See, I will make you small among the nations; you will be utterly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, 'Who can bring me down to the ground?' Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.

“If thieves came to you, if robbers in the night, (Oh, what a disaster awaits you) would they not steal only as much as they wanted? If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes? But how Esau will be ransacked, his hidden treasures pillaged! All your allies will force you to the border; your friends will deceive and overpower you; those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, but you will not detect it.”

Genesis 4:1-7
Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

What is right? Not the opposite of left, right, but the right as in doing it God’s way right.

Right (verb):
Yâṭab (pronounced yaw-tab'):

• To be (causatively) make well, literally (sound, beautiful) or figuratively (happy, successful, right): - be accepted, amend, use aright, benefit, be (make) better, seem best, make cheerful, be comely, be content, diligent (diligently), dress, earnestly, find favor, give, be glad, do (be, make) good (-ness), be (make) merry, please (please well), show more kindness, skillfully, surely, make sweet, thoroughly, tire, trim, very, be (can, deal, entreat, go, have) well said, seen. (Strong’s)

Romans 13:1-7

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

If I do right, my demeanor will show it - I will not be downcast, I will be commended by God and I will not have any fear exhibited in my nature. If I do wrong, my demeanor may show and I will be downcast, if ever be it so slightly. I will have everything to be afraid of, the sword and captivation by my sinful nature. My heart will have me decieved, so that I will be susceptible to deceptions from others, especially my friends. There are plenty of other consequences to the wrong side of things... but I will address those (maybe) in another edition of the War Within. Johnny Out.

The Pharisee vs. The Disciple

May 17th, 2007

The Pharisee vs. The Disciple

Luke 11:42
“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.”

Luke 11:39-41
Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.”

Luke 18:9-14
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’”

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’”

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Hebrews 7:1-10
This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.

Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, their brothers—even though their brothers are descended from Abraham. This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater. In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

Matthew 11:16-19
"To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”

Matthew 21:23-32
Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?”

Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn't you believe him?’ But if we say, 'From men'—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." Then he said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.

“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”

Notes:
Here’s what a Pharisee does:

• They give their money – a tenth.
• They like to look good for others. In fact, they look down on others who aren’t as righteous as they believe they are…
• They consider themselves as humble and loving, when in fact they are quite the opposite.
• They do not want to hang out with sinners, thus they never have fruit.
• They fast, or do what is considered righteous activities, and they build themselves up by thinking just how righteous they are…
• They say they will do things but then never do them.
• Pharisees demand proof which negates faith. Pharisees are very demanding people when their faith is challenged.

Here’s a snapshot of a disciple:

• A disciple knows they are a sinner.
• They are a friend of sinners and have fruit.
• They sacrificially give, whether a tenth or more, of their money.
• They do righteous activities, fasting and praying, and build others up in the process.
• They say they will do things and fulfill the promise.
• They believe they are not as humble and loving as they believe they should be…
• Disciples cling to faith and hope, plus exhibit love through humility.
• They consider everyone equal, no matter the “tax bracket”.

Now, what list would I place myself in? Honestly, it is hard to say. The true test is what is in the heart. And right now, I am not sure what my heart is like. I used to be able to say “disciple”, but I have Pharisee tendencies. Especially the “they say they will do things but then never do them.” I haven’t been on that ‘ball’ to get those things done like I should. And I can’t tell you the last time we gave a full tithe (whether gross or net). That’s sad to me to admit to that. I could come up with excuses about my health and other things, but that would be working the plow and looking back at my checkbook and creating an agricultural mess. What I like about Dave Ramsey is that he says to not consider the tithe as part of the budget… just take it out and get rid of it right away by giving and work the rest of the budget as if the money was never apart of the budget. And he said to not worry about net or gross, just give and the rest will take care of itself. That I can get on board about… that was a great financial class. When the church offers it again, I highly recommend any and everyone to take it. Anyway, see you tomorrow, Lord Willing... Johnny Out

The Ceiling Fan

April 20th, 2007

May 4th-5th, 2007

May 13th, 2007

The Ceiling Fan

by Johnny Ray

The fan up top is my heart

Constantly moving, constantly turning

Never resting, with never a break

Until a fateful day, when the blades

Stop turning, stop the motion, in which

The rotation has always known.

Should a mechanic be present on the fateful day,

Repairs can be made immediately and the

Heart is saved. Others not trained in fan

Mechanics help by turning the blades

Until the mechanic arrives.

There are many mechanics and even more

of the others who help turn the blades. It is

important to have the blades turning.

This is a little poem or parable I wrote this morning. I actually thought of it last night and shared it with my wife, as I was on the floor staring at my ceiling fan, of all things.

Matthew 8:18-22

When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."

Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

The blue part is also repeated by Christ in Luke 9:58.

Isaiah 29:13-21 (NIV)

The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish. Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, "Who sees us? Who will know?" You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me"? Can the pot say of the potter, "He knows nothing"? In a very short time, will not Lebanon be turned into a fertile field and the fertile field seem like a forest? In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. Once more the humble will rejoice in the LORD; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. The ruthless will vanish, the mockers will disappear, and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down- those who with a word make a man out to be guilty, who ensnare the defender in court and with false testimony deprive the innocent of justice.

The part in red is quoted twice in the New Testament by Christ: in Matthew and Mark.

I am sure I had something brilliant and deep with all this, but I can not remember what it was. As it is right now (on Mother's Day), I still can not focus. Oh well... I am going to have to come back to this later. It's great stuff, the passages... Pray for me. Johnny Out.

Hunger Pains (Kosher Edition #2)

May 8th, 2007

Kosher (adj.):

• Conforming to dietary laws; ritually pure.
• Selling or serving food prepared in accordance with dietary laws.
• Legitimate; permissible.
• Genuine; authentic.

The verses in the Book of Matthew (18 verses):

• "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" (6:25)
• "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'" (6:31)
• When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" (9:11)
• For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions." (11:18-19)
• At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. (12:1)
• Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." (15:2)
• "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" (15:20)
• "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." (15:27)
• Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way." (15:32)
• For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; (24:38)
• And he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. (24:49)
• For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. (25:35)
• For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. (25:42)
• On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" (26:17)
• And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." (26:21)
• While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." (26:26)

Matthew 6:25-34 (NCV)

"So I tell you, don't worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. Look at the birds in the air. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds. You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it. "And why do you worry about clothes? Look at how the lilies in the field grow. They don't work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be even more sure that God will clothe you. Don't have so little faith! Don't worry and say, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' The people who don't know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them. The thing you should want most is God's kingdom and doing what God wants. Then all these other things you need will be given to you. So don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Thoughts:

• Do not worry about food or eating - it takes away from my faith in God.

U R What U Eat

May 5th, 2007

What is kosher? The Bible talks about eating laws and what is clean and unclean... and even though in Christianity, these laws do not particularly apply to us today, I am sure that if a Jew became a Christian, the person would still struggle with it. I've recently heard the word "kosher" and it seems to keep popping up in places that I go and in conversation. I honestly do not know the meaning, although I have an idea.

Kosher (adj.):

• Conforming to dietary laws; ritually pure.
• Selling or serving food prepared in accordance with dietary laws.
• Legitimate; permissible.
• Genuine; authentic.

And when I looked up this in the dictionary, I am only showing you the definition according to the Jews. The slang use is also the same as the Jewish use (partly), and only applies to the last two definitions.

In this study, I am looking at the word "eat" and just in the New Testament, there are 150 verses that use this word in one form or another. That's just the NT, which by volume is roughly a third of the length of the Old Testament. So how many verses in the Old Testament? Multiply it by three and it still isn't enough. Close though, with 467 in the OT totalling 617 in the entire Bible (I used the NIV for this search - other Bibles will vary in one way or another). The NIV doesn't use the word kosher, however. It does, however, spell out the Jewish Laws for eating.

I've decided that this is going to be a bit of a little series, just because it is interesting and I can. I'm going to approach this differently than other things I have done in the past, just to shake things up a little.

The verses in the Book of Matthew (18 verses):

• "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" (6:25)
• "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'" (6:31)
• When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" (9:11)
• For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions." (11:18-19)
• At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. (12:1)
• Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." (15:2)
• "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" (15:20)
• "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." (15:27)
• Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way." (15:32)
• For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; (24:38)
• And he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. (24:49)
• For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. (25:35)
• For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. (25:42)
• On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" (26:17)
• And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." (26:21)
• While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." (26:26)

O, this is going to be enlighting to me, I can already tell. What's fascinating is how food and eating are tied to everything. I'll elaborate more on this as I go along, but really, it is pretty clear in the scriptures in Matthew.

Making the 110% Effort

April 26th, 2007

May 1st, 2007

"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no will see God". (Hebrews 12:14). Often times I can get discouraged that I do not see God acting in my life or feel His presence. Although our holiness/sanctification comes solely through Christ, we are called throughout the bible to strive for holiness in all thoughts and actions. The Holy Spirit inside me grieves when I choose sin over righteousness. Truly, it is only when I "make every effort" and do not compromise in my convictions that I see God in my life. Below are a few scriptures to consider.

Rom 5:19; 1 Pet 3:18; Heb 10:5-10; 1 Thess 4:7; 1 Cor 1:2; Eph 1:4; Titus 2:11-12; Jam 2:14-26; 1 Jn 1:3-7; Ps 15:1-5; 2 Tim 2:21; Eph 4:30; I Jn 3:3

Well, this was sent to me from someone, actually that I don't think I've even met. But it was sent in the way of a friend - and that's good enough for me.

Romans 5:19 (NIV)

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

1st Peter 3:18 (NCV)

Christ himself suffered for sins once. He was not guilty, but he suffered for those who are guilty to bring you to God. His body was killed, but he was made alive in the spirit.

Hebrews 10:5-10 (New Living Translation)

That is why Christ, when he came into the world, said, "You did not want animal sacrifices and grain offerings. But you have given me a body so that I may obey you. No, you were not pleased with animals burned on the altar or with other offerings for sin.

Then I said, 'Look, I have come to do your will, O God - just as it is written about me in the Scriptures.'" Christ said, "You did not want animal sacrifices or grain offerings or animals burned on the altar or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them" (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he added, "Look, I have come to do your will." He cancels the first covenant in order to establish the second. And what God wants is for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.

1st Thessalonians 4:7 (NCV)

God called us to be holy and does not want us to live in sin.

1st Thessalonians 4:7 (GOD'S WORD)

God didn't call us to be sexually immoral but to be holy.

1st Corinthians 1:2 (NIV - emphasis mine)

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ--their Lord and ours:

Ephesians 1:4 (NLT)

Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

Titus 2:11-12 (NLT)

For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. 12 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God...

James 2:14-26 (NCV - emphasis mine)

My brothers and sisters, if people say they have faith, but do nothing, their faith is worth nothing. Can faith like that save them? A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person, "God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat," but you do not give what that person needs, your words are worth nothing. In the same way, faith that is alone -- that does nothing -- is dead. Someone might say, "You have faith, but I have deeds." Show me your faith without doing anything, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe there is one God. Good! But the demons believe that, too, and they tremble with fear. You foolish person! Must you be shown that faith that does nothing is worth nothing? Abraham, our ancestor, was made right with God by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. So you see that Abraham's faith and the things he did worked together. His faith was made perfect by what he did. This shows the full meaning of the Scripture that says: "Abraham believed God, and God accepted Abraham's faith, and that faith made him right with God." And Abraham was called God's friend. So you see that people are made right with God by what they do, not by faith only. Another example is Rahab, a prostitute, who was made right with God by something she did. She welcomed the spies into her home and helped them escape by a different road. Just as a person's body that does not have a spirit is dead, so faith that does nothing is dead!

Psalm 15:1-5 (NCV - emphasis mine)

Lord, who may enter your Holy Tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? Only those who are innocent and who do what is right. Such people speak the truth from their hearts and do not tell lies about others. They do no wrong to their neighbors and do not gossip. They do not respect hateful people but honor those who honor the Lord. They keep their promises to their neighbors, even when it hurts. They do not charge interest on money they lend and do not take money to hurt innocent people. Whoever does all these things will never be destroyed.

2nd Timothy 2:21 (Weymouth New Testament)

If therefore a man keeps himself clear of these latter, he himself will be for specially honourable use, consecrated, fit for the Master's service, and fully equipped for every good work.

2nd Timothy 2:21 (NCV)
All who make themselves clean from evil will be used for special purposes. They will be made holy, useful to the Master, ready to do any good work.

Ephesians 4:30 (Bible in Basic English)

And do not give grief to the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were marked for the day of salvation.

1st John 3:3 (NCV)

Christ is pure, and all who have this hope in Christ keep themselves pure like Christ.

Now, my goal is to come back on these scriptures and look at them even closer. I liked the "beginning stages" of looking at these, but I want to check into them a little further. Just a little bit - I want to make the effort, give it 110%, you know. Johnny Out.