Just sharing.

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“He shall choose our inheritance for us.”

Psalm 47:4

Believer, if your inheritance be a lowly one you should be satisfied with your earthly portion; for you may rest assured that it is the fittest for you. Unerring wisdom ordained your lot, and selected for you the safest and best condition.

A ship of large tonnage is to be brought up the river; now, in one part of the stream there is a sandbank; should some one ask, “Why does the captain steer through the deep part of the channel and deviate so much from a straight line?” His answer would be, “Because I should not get my vessel into harbour at all if I did not keep to the deep channel.” So, it may be, you would run aground and suffer shipwreck, if your divine Captain did not steer you into the depths of affliction where waves of trouble follow each other in quick succession.

Some plants die if they have too much sunshine. It may be that you are planted where you get but little, you are put there by the loving Husbandman, because only in that situation will you bring forth fruit unto perfection. Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there.

You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances, and if you had the choosing of your lot, you would soon cry, “Lord, choose my inheritance for me, for by my self-will I am pierced through with many sorrows.” Be content with such things as you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good. Take up your own daily cross; it is the burden best suited for your shoulder, and will prove most effective to make you perfect in every good word and work to the glory of God. Down busy self, and proud impatience, it is not for you to choose, but for the Lord of Love!

“Trials must and will befall—
But with humble faith to see
Love inscribed upon them all;
This is happiness to me.”

 

[beensetfree]

Black and Blue Friday


Which is Safer? The Running of the Bulls or Black Friday Shopping?
Running of the Bulls
I’ve seen some very close encounters of those who were participating in the Running of the Bulls. A few didn’t fare so well, and some were even sent to the hospital, but I wonder if it’s fair to compare Black Friday with the Running of the Bulls? For some, it’s slightly less risky than playing for NFL. I could even call it Black and Blue Friday or Black and Bruised Friday because some who went shopping on this day came back with a few bumps and bruises….and in a few extreme cases, some never come back, so my question is, is it worth all this?

Why do some people, exactly one day after Thanksgiving, make a mad rush to the stores, some even lining up Thursday night to get the best deals when the stores upon on the Friday after Thanksgiving…and just to save a few dollars? For me, it’s just not worth it. In fact, I believe it is too dangerous in some circumstances. Not only could someone get hurt…people do get hurt…some even dying…and for what? It reminds me of one of the food chains famous slogan: “31 Million Served – 57 Injured.”

Thankful to Thankless
In the last few years, some incidents where reported where they were fighting over one particular video game…in another case it was a new phone, and there were reports of people getting pepper sprayed for trying to cut in line, but other reports in recent years said that hostile customers are losing their tempers. In one case, a grandfather was trampled underfoot by shopper’s right after the store’s doors opened, but hundreds suffer injuries every year for the sake of being first in line. Not only that, but people are getting robbed, stun-gunned, beaten, and some even shot.

Also, on Black Friday, shop lifting reports in the hundreds overwhelm store security personnel, and most tragic of all, people lose their temper and actual kill over something they desperately wanted for Christmas, so here we go again…yet another Black Friday is coming, or as I like to call it, Black and Blue Friday, because you always hear accounts that make you say, “Really!?” It is just not worth it to me. All of this just to save some money? People have died from shopping on this day making it one of the most dangerous days of the year for shoppers. When the stores open their doors, it’s like, “release the hounds,” so I find it ironic that just one day removed from a holiday geared toward being thankful, we are anything but thankful, so stay out of their way of Black Friday, or take the risk of being trampled underfoot.

No Thanks
Why do we seem to be so desperate to save money at the expense of others? Do we really need “that thing” so bad that we don’t even care who gets hurt? I know it is tradition, but so is the Running of the Bulls. For growing numbers of shoppers, this tradition is just not worth it. Many choose to stay home and shop online. It’s a lot safer and certainly more peaceful. The fact that the store’s security is vastly overwhelmed might explain why there is more shoplifting on this day than almost any other day of the year. We are stealing, bullying, shoving and pushing, and doing anything we can to save a few dollars, and some don’t care who gets hurt.

Some of the stores this year open at midnight on Black Friday while a few even opened at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving evening…and all for the sake of saving some money on Christmas presents, and only because we’ve got to get that newest and latest gadget, whatever it is, and get it before anyone else does. In some cases, the stores are responsible for opening the “floodgates,” as some customers would tell you, and they are caught up in the mass of humanity. Are stores really that desperate to make money that they endanger the safety and welfare of their customers, and do customers really need something that badly that they’re willing to hurt someone to get it? Sadly, the answer to both is yes.

Loving our Neighbor
Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself. We read this when Jesus was asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matt 22:36-40), but Black and Blue Friday is anything but loving to our neighbors…particularly if they get in our way. For many, they’ve got to have it, and few cares who gets hurt or what it costs them in time or trouble. So much for finding peace on earth and good will toward men.

Conclusion
Which is safer; the running of the bulls or shopping on Black Friday? You probably already know the answer to that. If only we’d realize that believers already have the greatest gift they could ever have, and it was a free gift, but one that no one could afford (John 3:16; Eph 2:8-9). Even so, it seems that’s the furthest thing from people’s mind on Black Friday.

The Los Angeles Fire Department were the first responders on one Thursday night, responding to at least 10 people being injured who were simply waiting in line for a store to open, so if you’re going shopping on Black Friday, watch out for the millions of shoppers who go from a day thanksgiving to a day of wanton greed. It saddens me to see the thankfulness on Thanksgiving Day turn into a war zone the next, where the order of the day is “Get it, no matter what.” One day we are celebrating a day of thanksgiving to God, and the next day, it’s “God help anyone who gets in our way.”

 

[beensetfree]

He Loves Us!
"Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you."

Deuteronomy 7:12,13 NKJV

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The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing!

Zephaniah 3:17 RSV

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But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4-7 NASB

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For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 NKJV

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But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 NIV

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Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

 

[beensetfree]

“And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”

Luke 6:12

If ever one of woman born might have lived without prayer, it was our spotless, perfect Lord, and yet none was ever so much in supplication as he! Such was his love to his Father, that he loved much to be in communion with him: such his love for his people, that he desired to be much in intercession for them. The fact of this eminent prayerfulness of Jesus is a lesson for us — he hath given us an example that we may follow in his steps.

The time he chose was admirable, it was the hour of silence, when the crowd would not disturb him; the time of inaction, when all but himself had ceased to labour; and the season when slumber made men forget their woes, and cease their applications to him for relief. While others found rest in sleep, he refreshed himself with prayer. The place was also well selected. He was alone where none would intrude, where none could observe: thus was he free from Pharisaic ostentation and vulgar interruption. Those dark and silent hills were a fit oratory for the Son of God. Heaven and earth in midnight stillness heard the groans and sighs of the mysterious Being in whom both worlds were blended.

The continuance of his pleadings is remarkable; the long watches were not too long; the cold wind did not chill his devotions; the grim darkness did not darken his faith, or loneliness check his importunity. We cannot watch with him one hour, but he watched for us whole nights. The occasion for this prayer is notable; it was after his enemies had been enraged—prayer was his refuge and solace; it was before he sent forth the twelve apostles—prayer was the gate of his enterprise, the herald of his new work. Should we not learn from Jesus to resort to special prayer when we are under peculiar trial, or contemplate fresh endeavours for the Master's glory? Lord Jesus, teach us to pray.

 

[beensetfree]

Which One Are You?

Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.



A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.



But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'



"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"



The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."



Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."



Luke 10:30-37.



Though the details of this story are rooted in first-century life in the Middle East, the principle transcends time periods. We Christians need to ask ourselves, "Who are the 'young travelers' of today? Who are the 'priests'? Who are the 'Levites'? And most important, who are the Samaritans'?"



Everyone travels this long dusty road called life, none of us knowing when evil or misfortune will jump out from behind a rock to batter us into a ditch. Depending on the circumstances, the ditch may be a physical problem, a financial crisis, an emotional breakdown, a spiritual funk, or whatever epic battle life may orchestrate.



After having talked with hundreds of teenagers from all over the world, I can attest to you today that the ditch is a real place where people lie, longing for someone to notice and help them. In the teenage years the ditch may take the form of depression, an identity crisis, or a traumatic relationship with a mother or a father. In the adult years it may take the form of homelessness, prostitution, addiction, or homosexuality. Whatever the case, such issues can keep unsuspecting travelers down for a long time.



Obviously, a lot of people are lying in ditches, waiting for someone to help. The question is, which passerby will you be when you see someone in a ditch?

 

[beensetfree]

Concerning Cash...
But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.

Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 8:18-20 NIV

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He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread:
but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.

A faithful man shall abound with blessings:
but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

Proverbs 28:19,20 KJV

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As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches but on God who richly furnishes us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous, thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life which is life indeed.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 RSV

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"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.

"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'

"In tithes and offerings.

"You are under a curse-the whole nation of you-because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

Malachi 3:8-10 NIV

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Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

 

[beensetfree]

“Men ought always to pray.”

Luke 18:1

If men ought always to pray and not to faint, much more Christian men. Jesus has sent his church into the world on the same errand upon which he himself came, and this mission includes intercession. What if I say that the church is the world's priest? Creation is dumb, but the church is to find a mouth for it. It is the church's high privilege to pray with acceptance. The door of grace is always open for her petitions, and they never return empty-handed. The veil was rent for her, the blood was sprinkled upon the altar for her, God constantly invites her to ask what she wills.

Will she refuse the privilege which angels might envy her? Is she not the bride of Christ? May she not go in unto her King at every hour? Shall she allow the precious privilege to be unused? The church always has need for prayer. There are always some in her midst who are declining, or falling into open sin. There are lambs to be prayed for, that they may be carried in Christ's bosom? the strong, lest they grow presumptuous; and the weak, lest they become despairing. If we kept up prayer-meetings four-and-twenty hours in the day, all the days in the year, we might never be without a special subject for supplication.

Are we ever without the sick and the poor, the afflicted and the wavering? Are we ever without those who seek the conversion of relatives, the reclaiming of back-sliders, or the salvation of the depraved? Nay, with congregations constantly gathering, with ministers always preaching, with millions of sinners lying dead in trespasses and sins; in a country over which the darkness of Romanism is certainly descending; in a world full of idols, cruelties, devilries, if the church doth not pray, how shall she excuse her base neglect of the commission of her loving Lord? Let the church be constant in supplication, let every private believer cast his mite of prayer into the treasury.

 

[beensetfree]

Confidence in Him
May those who fear you turn to me, those who understand your statutes. May my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be put to shame. My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word.

Psalm 119:79-81 NIV

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For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Romans 10:11 KJV

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For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

2 Timothy 1:12 NASB

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He will keep you strong right up to the end, and he will keep you free from all blame on the great day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.

God will surely do this for you, for he always does just what he says, and he is the one who invited you into this wonderful friendship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:8,9 NLT

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Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

 

[beensetfree]

“And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.”

Genesis 29:26

We do not excuse Laban for his dishonesty, but we scruple not to learn from the custom which he quoted as his excuse. There are some things which must be taken in order, and if we would win the second we must secure the first. The second may be the more lovely in our eyes, but the rule of the heavenly country must stand, and the elder must be married first. For instance, many men desire the beautiful and well-favoured Rachel of joy and peace in believing, but they must first be wedded to the tender-eyed Leah of repentance.

Every one falls in love with happiness, and many would cheerfully serve twice seven years to enjoy it, but according to the rule of the Lord's kingdom, the Leah of real holiness must be beloved of our soul before the Rachel of true happiness can be attained. Heaven stands not first but second, and only by persevering to the end can we win a portion in it. The cross must be carried before the crown can be worn. We must follow our Lord in his humiliation, or we shall never rest with him in glory.

My soul, what sayest thou, art thou so vain as to hope to break through the heavenly rule? Dost thou hope for reward without labour, or honour without toil? Dismiss the idle expectation, and be content to take the ill-favoured things for the sake of the sweet love of Jesus, which will recompense thee for all. In such a spirit, labouring and suffering, thou wilt find bitters grow sweet, and hard things easy. Like Jacob, thy years of service will seem unto thee but a few days for the love thou hast to Jesus; and when the dear hour of the wedding feast shall come, all thy toils shall be as though they had never been—an hour with Jesus will make up for ages of pain and labour.

Jesus, to win thyself so fair,
Thy cross I will with gladness bear:
Since so the rules of heaven ordain,
The first I'll wed the next to gain.

 

[beensetfree]

Discovering Paul’s Secret Of Contentment


Why is there such discontentment in the world? What was the Apostle Paul’s secret of contentment?
Godliness is Contentment
America has just experienced its worst year as far as natural disasters is concerned, and the year’s not over yet, so how do so many believers find contentment in a world that’s under so much duress? It’s not that they find contentment on their own, but they learn contentment, and that contentment starts with Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul reminds us that “we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Tim 6:7-8), so Paul is trying to help those who are consumed by possessions and circumstances, because “those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (1 Tim 6:9). It isn’t that money is the root of all evil, but it can be a root of all sorts of evil (1 Tim 6:10), especially when money is pursed at all costs…and it doesn’t matter who gets hurt.

The God of Money
Money can very easily take the place of God because money promises, “I will provide for your every need, I can help you when you need something, I will take care of you in the future,” and so on. They say that money talks, but to me, it mostly says “Goodbye,” so we’re admonished to “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5). The author of Hebrews mentions the fact that God will never leave us or forsake us in the context of having money. Maybe it’s because we can start trusting money more than we do God because when our funds get low, we start to worry. The solution is found in contentment since we’re told to be content with whatever we have and in whatever state we find ourselves. Besides, our real contentment is not found in this world or in money but only in Jesus Christ.

Learning Contentment
Contentment is not a gift of God or something that you must acquire, but it’s a state of mind and it comes from a sufficiency found only in Christ, but it’s not really a secret…it is learned. Paul wrote, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Phil 4:11), so contentment is learned, but how do you learn it? Lots of practice in bad circumstances, and Paul had plenty of that.

If we understand that Paul was in a prison cell while writing this, it’s even more remarkable that he was content, but I notice that he says he had to learn to be content in whatever state he found himself, and what better place to learn that than behind prison walls? In many of these Roman prisons, there were nights that were freezing cold as sunlight rarely found its way to their cell, so they may have never known whether it was day or night, and there were probably cockroaches, human feces, flies, and every sort of stench and smell you could imagine, so Paul had to learn to be content. He didn’t allow circumstances to rob his contentment.

He knew that “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim 6:6), so Paul learned to be contented! He trusted God. Godliness with contentment is great gain because it tells God, “I am satisfied in You God, and satisfied with what I have. You have blessed me with so much. Thank you. I am grateful.” That’s contentment. A godly contentment is not dependent upon circumstances or suffering. It is precious in God’s sight to suffer for doing good because “when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God” (1st Pet 2:20).

John the Baptist
During John the Baptist’s ministry, many came to him, even Roman soldiers, who asked, “What shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14). It’s interesting that so many came to John the Baptist and asked “what shall we do,” proving they knew they had to do something. Why else would they ask such a question? Perhaps they saw that John was a godly man with a consuming passion for God, and his preaching must have convicted many.

John the Baptist had the same counsel for the Roman soldiers that Paul gave to Timothy, and that was to be content with what they had. Paul wrote, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:10), so it was only for Christ’s sake that Paul learned to be content, and even in his weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities, he was still content because he understood that God is more glorified in weaker vessels since His power is more easily displayed and made visible.

Our weaknesses provide God an opportunity to show Himself strong, but when we are feeling strong in our own strength, we limit what God can do through us. It was said that “Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah” (Ex 2:21), but Moses was also said to be the meekest man on earth (Num 12:3), but don’t confuse meekness with weakness, because it’s not. Meekness has been described as strength under control, but meekness also shows contentedness, because it tells God that you are satisfied in Him.

Conclusion
Contentedness is the opposite of discontentment which is caused by pride, never being fully satisfied in life by having enough, and by extension, it is not being fully satisfied in God. Moses went from the palace in Egypt to tents in the desert, but because of Moses’ humility, he was content; all the more remarkable because the Egyptians despised shepherds and considered them unclean.

It mattered little to Moses though. God knew who Moses was and what He thought of him…and that’s all that mattered. We can be content with persecutions, name calling, insults, and hardships because we have found our contentment in Christ, and no insult or slander or circumstance could ever destroy that. People who’ve lost everything have discovered that if all they have is Christ, they have all they need in Christ. They find their contentment in Him…and not in things.

 

[beensetfree]

Courage & Confidence
Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your
heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

Psalm 31:24 KJV

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He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might
He increases strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:29-31 NKJV

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I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the
goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall
strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Psalm 27:13,14 KJV

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Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

For You have rescued my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
My feet from stumbling.

I shall walk before the LORD
In the land of the living.

Psalm 116:7-9 NASB

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Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

 

[beensetfree]

''Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.”

Psalm 68:28

It is our wisdom, as well as our necessity, to beseech God continually to strengthen that which he has wrought in us. It is because of their neglect in this, that many Christians may blame themselves for those trials and afflictions of spirit which arise from unbelief. It is true that Satan seeks to flood the fair garden of the heart and make it a scene of desolation, but it is also true that many Christians leave open the sluice-gates themselves, and let in the dreadful deluge through carelessness and want of prayer to their strong Helper.

We often forget that the Author of our faith must be the Preserver of it also. The lamp which was burning in the temple was never allowed to go out, but it had to be daily replenished with fresh oil; in like manner, our faith can only live by being sustained with the oil of grace, and we can only obtain this from God himself. Foolish virgins we shall prove, if we do not secure the needed sustenance for our lamps. He who built the world upholds it, or it would fall in one tremendous crash; he who made us Christians must maintain us by his Spirit, or our ruin will be speedy and final.

Let us, then, evening by evening, go to our Lord for the grace and strength we need. We have a strong argument to plead, for it is his own work of grace which we ask him to strengthen—“that which thou hast wrought for us.” Think you he will fail to protect and sustain that? Only let your faith take hold of his strength, and all the powers of darkness, led on by the master fiend of hell, cannot cast a cloud or shadow over your joy and peace. Why faint when you may be strong? Why suffer defeat when you may conquer? Oh! take your wavering faith and drooping graces to him who can revive and replenish them, and earnestly pray, “Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.”

 

[beensetfree]

Throwing Away Marriage and the Gospel Was a Bad Idea

It’s been a fascinating few weeks of watching the daily dismantling of the facade of social order and goodness in Hollywood and in politics. Every day another man stands accused and myriad women come forward to tell of ugliness and harm. If you thought the Ashley Madison scandal was bad (which I did), you’re probably numb by now.

I’ve had two thoughts clattering around all week about this. Neither of them are novel nor particularly insightful. But sometimes saying again the most obvious thing is the only way.
The first is that the social contract upon which human civilization ought to be built is life long faithful Christian marriage between one man and one woman. It is very interesting to me that it’s Christians who have clung so tightly to this idea that have been so successfully marginalized and ridiculed, even by other so called Christians. The most ridiculous thing today is to say that there should be no sexual activity for anyone outside of life long, heterosexual faithful marriage. How dumb. How naive. How benighted, scream the angry throngs.

In fact, the thing no one wants to gamble on is marriage. That risk is too great. It’s for life, they cry, and what if I change my mind? And yet every day ordinary people rush into the risky proposition of sex untethered to anything except their changeable feelings at that singular moment. There won’t be any problem, they think. The social contract is If I Want It, It Will Be Ok.
Except that when a stronger person with power or money, or just a bizarre confidence in his own personality wants it, it doesn’t matter what the weaker woman wants. Or young boy. Or young girl. Or anyone who can’t get out of the room fast enough and is stuck, prey, victim to male sexual depravity.

Hugh Hefner and all his acolytes successfully made a mockery of a social contract that, far from being repressive, honored and protected not just the strong person, but the weak one as well. A man who understands that in order to get the one thing he most wants he must get out of bed, get a job, put on some clean clothes, speak kindly, earn money, and sacrifice himself always for her good, comfort and joy, begins to see that what he most wants isn’t just a few minutes of selfish pleasure, but another person in all the glory of herself. He might not see it right away. But as the years and the troubles mount up he will see that who he is is made stronger and better by her. Respect, honor and love grow. She is not his servant but rather he is hers.

Christian Marriage is hard. But it’s not as hard as recovering from abuse, from sexual depravity, from a generation of girls sold as property to a screen, the fantasy of socially isolated and morally broken men who don’t have to do anything but take.


Christian marriage is grounded in the personhood of both parties, of them both being made by God in his own image. Or it should anyway. That’s one of the things that it’s for.

The second thing I’ve been thinking is that while the law of Christian marriage is good and useful for protecting women and children, for civilizing men and channeling who they are into honor and goodness, the Christian gospel of grace, also much maligned, is too precious to cast aside.
If you’re a famous man–a politician or a comedian or a movie star–and it comes out that you’ve abused and hurt women and young girls and young men, you can go on twitter and make a confession. You can admit to what you’ve done. You can even take all 280 characters to do it. But then what?

Alarmingly to me, there doesn’t seem to be anything else. The world can respond to your confession, usually with revulsion, but then there’s really no way out for you. You have to retreat into the horror of yourself and what you’ve done.
This is a great tragedy. Confession requires the part that comes after to make the world go round and round. But our culture, turning its head to look always into the mirror, and never onto the page, has taken away this great and necessary gift.

Can a person who has done something unspeakable ever be restored to life? I’m not talking about coming back into the public eye and resuming a place of greatness and honor. I’m not talking about papering over the pain, the humiliation, the trauma. I’m not talking about trying to just make everything ok so we can go back to watching movies or voting in the next election. I’m talking about the foundational element of the universe, the reason we are all still here instead of burning up on a ball of fire. I’m talking about forgiveness.

Forgiveness is when you acknowledge the truth about what’s happened, you look at it squarely, and then you let the other person go free. It is costly and painful because it means absorbing the bitter sting of injustice and injury into yourself and not letting it live any longer in the heart or anywhere. In the case of Jesus, it meant absorbing the totality of human violence and degradation in his own body unto death.

It’s not easy. But it’s the only way to go on into life. If you confess your sins honestly, God, who is both faithful and just, will forgive your sins, even taking away the cruel and deadly stain of unrighteousness. When you go to him, he helps you to stop doing what you’re doing. If you’ve been hurt terribly, and you go to him, he can give you his own strength to move past what’s happened.

We’re in a terribly sick place culturally. But God is greater than our darkness. And considering again the flung aside solution that he provides for our wickedness, pain, and despair might be humiliating in the moment, but ultimately, is the only way to be healed our spiritual and cultural diseases.

 

[Psalm23]

Brother Beensetfree, Bless you for this great and timely message!

" We’re in a terribly sick place culturally" - it's true but really a gross under-statement! We are truly sick in almost everything. Many of us including Christians are calling Good Evil and Evil Good.

One extremely comforting note on this is that we are now very close to the coming of our Lord Jesus who always pointed to his disciples "Look at the days of Lot" when they asked Him when are you coming back.

In fact, we are worst then the days of the Lot. On the pointed day when God, just wanted only 10 good men (although God's first demand was 50) and He would spare the people of Sodom and Gomorrah from hell fire of sulphur. Lot couldn't find even 10 but only 3 and God sent judgment of hell fire of sulphur because the atrocities committed by Sodom and Gomorrah were too much for God.

We are now worst then the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In the words of great evangelist Billy Graham: "If God does not punish America, God needs to apologise to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah." That's be fair to America, every countries are living in the state of godliness and lawlessness not just America.

The coming of Christ is much overdue!

Psalm23

 

[beensetfree]

hi brother Psalm 23....nice to hear from you again.....pray that all is well with you and your family and pray for healing for the people. Many blessings.

Brother Beensetfree, Bless you for this great and timely message!

" We’re in a terribly sick place culturally" - it's true but really a gross under-statement! We are truly sick in almost everything. Many of us including Christians are calling Good Evil and Evil Good.

One extremely comforting note on this is that we are now very close to the coming of our Lord Jesus who always pointed to his disciples "Look at the days of Lot" when they asked Him when are you coming back.

In fact, we are worst then the days of the Lot. On the pointed day when God, just wanted only 10 good men (although God's first demand was 50) and He would spare the people of Sodom and Gomorrah from hell fire of sulphur. Lot couldn't find even 10 but only 3 and God sent judgment of hell fire of sulphur because the atrocities committed by Sodom and Gomorrah were too much for God.

We are now worst then the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In the words of great evangelist Billy Graham: "If God does not punish America, God needs to apologise to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah." That's be fair to America, every countries are living in the state of godliness and lawlessness not just America.

The coming of Christ is much overdue!

Psalm23

 

[beensetfree]

Eternal Life!
"Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night within his temple; and he who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Revelation 7:15-17 RSV

__________________

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 KJV

__________________

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

1 John 5:11-13 NASB

__________________

Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

 

[beensetfree]

“Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty.”

Isaiah 33:17

The more you know about Christ the less will you be satisfied with superficial views of him; and the more deeply you study his transactions in the eternal covenant, his engagements on your behalf as the eternal Surety, and the fulness of his grace which shines in all his offices, the more truly will you see the King in his beauty. Be much in such outlooks. Long more and more to see Jesus.

Meditation and contemplation are often like windows of agate, and gates of carbuncle, through which we behold the Redeemer. Meditation puts the telescope to the eye, and enables us to see Jesus after a better sort than we could have seen him if we had lived in the days of his flesh. Would that our conversation were more in heaven, and that we were more taken up with the person, the work, the beauty of our incarnate Lord. More meditation, and the beauty of the King would flash upon us with more resplendence.

Beloved, it is very probable that we shall have such a sight of our glorious King as we never had before, when we come to die. Many saints in dying have looked up from amidst the stormy waters, and have seen Jesus walking on the waves of the sea, and heard him say, “It is I, be not afraid.” Ah, yes! when the tenement begins to shake, and the clay falls away, we see Christ through the rifts, and between the rafters the sunlight of heaven comes streaming in.

But if we want to see face to face the “King in his beauty” we must go to heaven for the sight, or the King must come here in person. O that he would come on the wings of the wind! He is our Husband, and we are widowed by his absence; he is our Brother dear and fair, and we are lonely without him. Thick veils and clouds hang between our souls and their true life: when shall the day break and the shadows flee away? Oh, long-expected day, begin!

 

[beensetfree]

What Difference Does It Make If the Holy Spirit Is Impersonal?


A mosaic representing Pentecost on the ceiling of the cathedral; By Pete unseth – Wikipedia;

Sometimes I hear people talking about the Holy Spirit as if the Spirit is impersonal. How does that view line up with the Bible, and what difference does the answer make? First, let’s take a look at Scripture.
While some may find it difficult to think of God’s Spirit as a distinct person in the Godhead in relation to the Father and Jesus who are also divine persons, it is difficult to envision the Spirit as impersonal given how the Scriptures refer to the Spirit and the Spirit’s activity. For example, how could someone lie to the Holy Spirit if the Spirit is impersonal? According to Acts 5:3, Ananias and Saphira do just that—lie to the Holy Spirit. Moreover, Acts 5:4 signifies that the Spirit is God. Luke’s account records the Apostle Peter declaring, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God” (Acts 5:3-4; ESV).

There are other texts that also suggest that the Holy Spirit is personal. Ephesians 4:30 speaks against grieving the Spirit: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30; ESV). How can one grieve the Holy Spirit if the Spirit is impersonal?
Moreover, the Lord Jesus informs his disciples in the Farewell Discourse recorded in John’s Gospel that he will send his disciples another Counselor (one who is like himself, specifically, another Counselor of the same kind), the Spirit of truth. Jesus says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper [Advocate, Counselor], to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17; ESV).

How can this Counselor be parallel to Jesus, that is another Counselor of the same kind, if the Spirit is not personal like Jesus? On an even more basic level, how could an impersonal spirit or Spirit serve as any kind of counselor, even as one who will teach and remind the disciples of everything Jesus said? And yet, the Spirit does just that. The Lord’s comfort to his disciples entails that this same Spirit, who is aligned with him in every way, will teach and remind them of what Jesus has shared with them: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26; ESV).

Furthermore, although the word for the Spirit is neuter in Greek, and takes a neuter definite article (in Greek, pronouns agree with their antecedents in gender, number, and case), personal rather than neuter pronouns are used at times in reference to the Spirit (Reference John 16:13-14 {ekeionos} and Ephesians 1:14 {hos}).
Lastly, one must account for the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20: the Spirit shares the divine name with the Father and Son. Jesus proclaims, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19; ESV). The Spirit who comes upon Jesus’ followers at Pentecost (Acts 2) mediates his presence to them: Jesus is with them always (Matthew 28:20).
These passages present the Holy Spirit as personal. But what difference does it really make for our salvation and growth in the Christian life that the Spirit is personal rather than impersonal? On my account, if the Spirit is impersonal, the salvation that the Spirit mediates would also be impersonal and lead us down the path toward sin management.

Those who simply seek to manage relationships are never truly in relationship, especially when what they seek to manage is their sin. The interesting thing about trying to manage sin is that it never really works, but appears to get more embedded in our lives. Change has to come from within, and not by some impersonal means, but by a change in our hearts through the Spirit of God’s outpouring of love. More on that in a bit.

For those like the rich young ruler in Matthew 19 and those immersed in a world of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, where sin is not so traumatic, sin management is not viewed as such a significant problem.[1] But for those like myself who believe we are in need of transformation from the inside out, the subject is critically important. After all, as Jesus tells his disciples following the encounter with the rich young ruler, salvation is possible only through God. Even the rich person, who is supposedly blessed in amazing ways by God, cannot be saved apart from God’s intervention (See Matthew 19). As Ezekiel 36 and John 3 reveal, the Spirit is indispensable. The Bible reveals that the Spirit alone is able to turn us from our selfish, individual and less than humane desires upward toward God and outward toward others. Only as God intervenes in our lives by God’s Spirit do we become truly personal and relational.


According to Jesus, the flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit (John 3:6; see the background context of Ezekiel 36). It is the Spirit who mediates God’s love (Romans 5:5). The Spirit gives us spiritual gifts (See 1 Corinthians 12 and 14) of which the ultimate gift is love (1 Corinthians 13). The Spirit fills us with the divine fruit rather than the fruit of the flesh (Galatians 5:16-21). The fruit of the Spirit makes it possible to live well interpersonally: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23; ESV). It is no coincidence that given such qualities, the Spirit descends in the form of a dove on Jesus (Matthew 3:16), and not as a bird of prey. The Spirit brings hope and peace and life, not death and despair.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29). Apart from the gracious working of the Spirit in our lives, we cannot be saved. As Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6; ESV). Paul puts it this way: “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5; ESV).

Jonathan Edwards claims that the Spirit of God is God’s grace and love. The Spirit of God who is God’s love is poured out into our hearts, leading to a change of nature and affections. This change in nature and the heart’s affections depends wholly upon the divine Spirit of love who dwells in our hearts, not upon the enablement or determination of the human will. In no way is the Spirit’s operation inherent to our human nature. The divine Spirit, not a created quality inhering in the soul, is God’s grace.

As Edwards notes, God is essentially pure love. Moreover, the three persons of the Godhead share all the divine perfections. And yet, for Edwards, the Spirit, who is the third person of the Trinity, is identified specifically with God’s love, as noted above. For Edwards, the Spirit mediates the love between the Father and Son as well as mediates that love to the creature.[2]

In the development of his argument, Edwards draws attention to 1 John’s account of God as love and the Spirit’s unique identification with God’s love. God’s being is essentially love: “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8; ESV). We know we abide in God and God in us because God has given us the Spirit: “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:13; ESV). God is love. Those who abide in love abide in God, and God in them: “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16; ESV).

If love and grace are essentially divine and personal, our salvation is personal. Such personal salvation is the immediate working of God’s personal Spirit through whom God’s gracious love is poured out into our hearts (Romans 5:5). This divine outpouring of gracious love creates faith and leads to lives of obedient gratitude (See Galatians 2:20). The Spirit, then, does not enable us to manage sin and keep it at bay, but casts out sin by penetrating our souls and every area of our lives so that the triune God of holy love might dwell fully in us by faith.

 

[beensetfree]

The Value of Work
Lazy hands make a man poor,
but diligent hands bring wealth.

He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son,
but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

Proverbs 10:4,5 NIV

__________________

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need.

Ephesians 4:28 RSV

__________________

He who tills his land will have plenty of food,
But he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty.

A faithful man will abound with blessings,
But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.

Proverbs 28:19,20 NASB

__________________

The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

Proverbs 13:4 NKJV

__________________

Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity,
but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.

Proverbs 21:5 NLT

__________________

Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

 

[beensetfree]

“He that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.”

Ecclesiastes 10:9

Oppressors may get their will of poor and needy men as easily as they can split logs of wood, but they had better mind, for it is a dangerous business, and a splinter from a tree has often killed the woodman. Jesus is persecuted in every injured saint, and he is mighty to avenge his beloved ones. Success in treading down the poor and needy is a thing to be trembled at: if there be no danger to persecutors here there will be great danger hereafter.

To cleave wood is a common every-day business, and yet it has its dangers; so then, reader, there are dangers connected with your calling and daily life which it will be well for you to be aware of. We refer not to hazards by flood and field, or by disease and sudden death, but to perils of a spiritual sort. Your occupation may be as humble as log splitting, and yet the devil can tempt you in it. You may be a domestic servant, a farm labourer, or a mechanic, and you may be greatly screened from temptations to the grosser vices, and yet some secret sin may do you damage. Those who dwell at home, and mingle not with the rough world, may yet be endangered by their very seclusion.

Nowhere is he safe who thinks himself so. Pride may enter a poor man's heart; avarice may reign in a cottager's bosom; uncleanness may venture into the quietest home; and anger, and envy, and malice may insinuate themselves into the most rural abode. Even in speaking a few words to a servant we may sin; a little purchase at a shop may be the first link in a chain of temptations; the mere looking out of a window may be the beginning of evil. O Lord, how exposed we are! How shall we be secured! To keep ourselves is work too hard for us: only thou thyself art able to preserve us in such a world of evils. Spread thy wings over us, and we, like little chickens, will cower down beneath thee, and feel ourselves safe!