Gotta Post Something... JK

Hey all;

I have been blessed to be inspired (complex sentence, but true) to do some real Bible diving; reading Romans and Ephesians and a bit of Old Testament and posting my thoughts in my journal, etc. But, I haven't felt inspired to add these thoughts and Scriptures to this Blog for a week now..... so, I better post something as I know you all (who?) are missing hearing from me. (well, good imagination anyway, lol).

Well, I was just reading an eNewsletter I have been receiving from Made to Matter, a work oriented devotional that, I believe, sprang out of the Park Street, Boston church when there was a ... yeah, I remember now, Marketplace Ministry headquartered there. If I'm off on this, sorry.

But, Randy Kilgore is a prolific writer and clearly has a gift to write on this important ministry... so here goes;

So, Who's Right?

This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! -Ezekiel 13:3

Jeff is facing a crisis of conscience at work. Looking for answers, he's been cruising the websites and blogs specializing in workplace faith issues. The trouble is, he's finding contradictory answers to his questions. So whose advice should he follow?

With the proliferation of websites, blogs and self-publishing, Christians are bombarded by people teaching them how to live out their faith at work and at home. Often the people... continue reading..

http://www.madetomatter.org/

Love you...

Bill

Life is grande

How much the Father loves us!! Even while we were sinners, Christ died for us.

Sunday School yesterday was delightful. It was the first time for us with this new group and they were lovely folks, similar in age and experience to Anne and me. We're studying Ephesians and the specific verses were; 14-20

"14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

What do you think is the most important part of the verses above?

We must Believe in Jesus Christ!! We cannot achieve the 'glorious riches', 'strength', 'power' ... in our inner being, nor have 'Christ dwell in our hearts through faith' and all the other wonderful attributes of a life of faith without believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior; the one who sacrificed himself to attone for our sin and allows us to enter into the inner sanctuary of a close and personal relationship with the God of the universe.

This is where the rubber-meets-the-road; we cannot partake in the life of God without surrendering to Him and believing the message of the Gospel; "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father, but through me." John 14:6

Come to the Father. How? Ask me!!!!!!

Love you....

Pure in heart... am I?

I'm in a bit of a funk this AM. Thinking about my sinfulness and the difficulty of being less than pure, tempted over and over throughout the day; succumbing and falling deeper and deeper into shame, but.... I was immediately encouraged as I confessed to God and was guided to the Word when I saw Sharra's Facebook entry;

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Wow, miraculous that I would be guided to that, just by spending a short time seeking Him and following the inspiration to His Word.

Verse 1 states; "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart." Whoops, that is just what I was lamenting; how impure I am. But, I am part of Israel through Christ. I am pure in heart because I believe in Jesus Christ as God's redemption for the lost; you and me!

The book goes on to identify the 'envy' felt by David toward the 'arrogant' (non-believers) as he speaks to God in this Psalm. He speaks of their 'apparent' peace and contentment in their sinfulness, but, they are not so and will receive their 'just' reward, similar to the way the flower fades and dies.

The bottom line for me in this is that God is our EVERYTHING and we are His people on this earth; redeemed, forgiven, enlivened by His Spirit and priests for Him.

Let's not let Satan convince us otherwise and let's maintain our focus on Him and His word to respond to His promptings for loving Him and others as ourselves. In this is the whole law.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2073&version=31

Love you.......

Romans 11: 32 For God has bound ALL men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[i] knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

34"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"[j]
35"Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"[k]
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Romans 12
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[d]says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."[e]

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Wise Long-term Investing

Another post from my friend, Bob McCook

Monday Morning
Challenging the way we think about the coming week

March 9, 2009

Wise Long-term Investing

Matthew 6:19-21 Don’t pile up treasure on earth, where moth and rust can spoil them and thieves can break in and steal. But keep your treasure in Heaven where there is neither moth nor rust to spoil it and nobody can break in and steal. For where your treasure is, you may be certain that your heart will be there too.” JB Philips

I must admit that when I looked at this command, I assumed Jesus was anticipating economic scenes like today… and then I laughed. Few are bragging about their wise investments. The mail or Wall Street Journal or the internet brings the news of painful losses and hopelessness for our earthly future… unless you know Jesus.

We, who are in Him, have hopefully learned the lessons of wise and unwise investing. Even if you invest your money well, it will remain behind. Don’t you agree that only those who hold their “riches” with outstretched open hands have a peace beyond measure? Paul writes to Timothy these words, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” Our contentment means nothing apart from Jesus. It’s just words.

You might think it unfair of me to write these words at this time. Perhaps you are right. With an economy going south, unemployment rising, and record government spending, perhaps I should be offering prayers for our economy but not today. God is in charge. No matter the end result, if we are “in Christ” we will not mind the outcome; it will not separate us from Him. He is faithful and has prepared a way out for His Children.

No one ever said that being a follower of Jesus Christ is safe or without risk. Words like safe, risk, trust or contentment have new meaning in the Kingdom of God. We are to risk everything for His sake. Live without fear as though He died yesterday and is returning tomorrow. Avoid risks like “sure-thing” investing but hold contentedly to Jesus’ hand. This is one investment that cannot fail.

Bob McCook
PO Box 634
West Chester, PA 19381
484-614-0367cell
610.429-4076 office
bmccook@priorityone.org
http://www.priorityone.org/
Ministering to men since 1982

I love how one Christian woman responded when asked what she did for a living. She said, "I am a missionary for Jesus Christ, cleverly disguised as a checkout clerk at Kroger's."
Doug Spada, hischurchat work.org 2009

Be strong and very courageous - in Him!!

Joshua 1:1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Joshua 3:15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

Joshua 4:24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God."

Hmmm, I am amazed when I go back and read these accounts in the Old Testament. We may have a faint memory of these stories from our Sunday School days, but, when re-read as an adult, they are so much more real and effective.

God's plan for His Chosen Ones (Israelites -which equals Believers in Christ today) is continuing to be played out here. Moses has died, Joshua chosen as the new leader and the Promised Land is in the process of being given to them.

God says; "Be strong and courageous!" and do what I told you to do.

1. Obey the Law of Moses

2. Do not let the Book of the Law depart from your mouth... meditate on it day and night (hello!!)

3. Have the Ark of the Covenant brought to the waters edge

4. Believe and have the Priests walk into the water

5. Send 40,000 soldiers

Later they became successful. WHY? "...so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God."

Why is America unsuccessful today? We took God out of our nationalistic lives. We took the 'Law of Moses' out of the schools and public places. We made Belief in God, especially through a belief in Jesus Christ, unlawful to profess in government activities (except in the halls of Congress, believe it or not..., but do they Believe?).

We hear alot about 'taking our government back' these days.

Let's start here.......... Believe, meditate on His Word, trust Him......

Be strong and very courageous!!

Amen, love you...

Bill/Dad

Wisdom.... the fear of the Lord

Job 28:

20 "Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds of the air.
22 Destruction and Death say, 'Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.'
23 God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,
24 for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters,
26 when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm,
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it.
28 And he said to man,

'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.' "

Job 42:

1 Then Job replied to the LORD:
2 "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
4 "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.'
5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."

Bill’s added……. “Repent and do good….”