Good morning and welcome in everybody.  Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to ask you a little question.

If you were drowning in a lake somewhere, would you want someone to reach out and save you?  If you were a young child who got hurt on your bicycle, would you want someone to lift you up? If you fell down in your home and needed help, would you want somebody to assist you?

This reminds me of the Christian life.

How would you treat yourself, if you were in the same situation that someone else was in? God commands us to treat others in the same manner that we want to be treated. To do this, you really need to ask yourself this question. If that was me, how would I react?  If that was me, what would I do? Will you treat them the same way as you treat the person who is looking back at you, every time you look into the mirror?

Matthew 7:12  Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

We naturally care about ourselves. For example, when we are hungry we find ourselves something to eat. If we are thirsty, we will get ourselves a glass of water. When we are cold, we find warmer clothing. As a Christian, we are supposed to love others in the same way that we love ourselves.  If you do it for yourself, then you should be able to do it for others too.  This is what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.

Galatians 5:14  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

The carnal nature is very selfish. Instead of thinking about others, it only thinks about itself. When it sees someone who is struggling, it turns the other way.  It provides for its own needs, but then closes up to the needs of others.  It is more concerned about what will benefit itself, rather than benefiting others.  To truly love others is to think about them, rather than focusing just on yourselves.

Philippians 2:3-4  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Scriptures teach us that the love of money is the root of all evil. This misplaced love will cause someone to close off their heart, when the opportunity to help somebody presents itself.  Time will be used to further one’s own interests, rather than helping others with what God has given you. How can you possess earthly wealth, and ignore the cries of the poor that surround us every day? Easily, when somebody’s heart is void of love for their neighbor.

1 John 3:17-19  But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.

James 2:15-16  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,  And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Jesus gives an example of treating others the way that you would want to be treated.

Luke 10:26-37  He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,  And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Like shutting off a sink faucet, some people completely shut off compassion for others.  Nowadays, people will quickly say, ” it’s not my problem, I’ve got enough things going on in my life as it is.”  The Samaritan was compassionate towards the suffering of another person, giving freely of his time and possessions to help somebody else.  In the following passage, it teaches about the eternal consequences of not caring about others by turning away from them in their time of need.

Luke 16:19-31  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:  And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,  And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.  Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

From the highest in society to the lowest, whether rich or poor, we are all members one of another. Those who profess to be Christian need to open their hearts to the needs of their neighbors.  Look at them as if you were looking at yourself.  Care about them the way that you care about yourself.  Granted we won’t always be treated the way that we want to be treated, but what matters is how you have treated them.  If you desire mercy, then be merciful. If you desire kindness, then be kind. If you desire love, then show love to others.  

When you gaze into the eyes of your neighbor just ask yourself this question.  Will you treat them the same way as you treat the person who is looking back at you, every time you….

 ……Look into the Mirror.

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

tlkjbc.com

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Good morning and welcome in everyone.  Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.

One weekend when I was very young, I was able to take a trip to Duluth Minnesota, a destination that I had never seen before.  I waited with great excitement to take a tour of some old sailing vessels that had been completely restored and were docked in the harbor.  Although sailing is very interesting to me, something else completely dwarfed my attention that day.  I was able to see the largest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Superior.  This lake is over 31,000 square miles in size, and is approximately 1300 feet deep.  No wonder why they call them the Great Lakes.

This reminds me of the Christian life.

When something is considered great, it is going to stand out as being more prominent than others in matters of importance, and position.  God created these great lakes, but just as Lake Superior stands out above the rest, one of God’s commandments stands out above all the others, and is the greatest commandment of all.

Matthew 22:36-38  Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.

Every day, there are certain things in each of our lives that are of greater importance than others.  For example, rather than going to the hardware store after work, you might need to pick up your child at school instead.  Rather than going to your friends for a sleep over over the weekend, you might choose to go fishing with your dad instead. Rather than spending a limited supply of cash on cookies, you might choose milk at the store instead.  Many of the simple choices that we make each day will take precedence over others.  Even when you make a to- do list, things that stand out in your mind as the most needful things, will cause you to place them at the very top, putting them in a certain order based upon their importance.  Many people don’t even think about it, but God has done this very same thing.  God has placed the commandments in order for a reason.  The very first thing on our spiritual to-do list that God wants us to complete, is to focus our undivided love and attention completely upon Him, because if you truly love Him with a pure heart, everything else is going to follow suit.  Love for the Lord is truly the first and great commandment, and everything else is subsequently linked to obedience to that commandment.

Many times, people will place an important event on their refrigerator door.  It is a constant reminder to them every time that they go into the kitchen to grab some food.  In the same way, the first commandment needs to be prominent each day in our minds.  It must be the most important thing, so important that it comes before all others.  If you were going to prepare a meal for supper, the most important thing to do before anything else, would be to wash the dirty pots and pans from the day before. If this isn’t done first, nothing else is going to happen. If we can love God perfectly and obey the first commandment, everything that is required in the Christian life will fall into place. Obedience will be motivated through a Spirit-filled love for God. 

Vices that we thought impossible to overcome, can be defeated, out of love for Him.

Behavior that we felt was unchangeable, can be corrected, out of love for Him.

Victory over sin can be achieved, out of love for Him.

Many people will claim that they love others. Although love for others is a huge part of the Christian Life, our greatest love must be placed on God to attain salvation.  If we love anything else just a little more, it can divert our hearts from perfect obedience to His will.  Love for others is secondary in comparison to the first commandment.  

Matthew 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

In the days of Noah people loved each other. They were getting married and being given in marriage, but the love between them was not enough to save them, because they all perished in the flood.  This was because God was not their greatest love.  Love for God was greater than anything else in the life of Noah.  Noah loved God so much, that even when the whole world was against him, he stood alone upon the ark, continuing to preach God’s truth.  When the floods finally came, God delivered him. It is only when God is our greatest love will we stand up for the truth, speak the truth, and live the truth.

We are required to love others, but never at the expense of obedience to the will of God.  Solomon loved his wives too much, and it resulted in him burning incense to false gods.  His love for them became greater than God, turning his heart away from perfect obedience to the Lord.  God must be the most important relationship in our lives. He must be first in our hearts If we truly are going to fulfill His will.  Many people will profess that they love God with their lips, but when all is said and done, genuine love for God will result in perfect obedience and submission to His commands.  Obedience is the proof of our affection and love for God, who laid down His own life that we might live.  Submission to God’s purpose is the evidence that you are keeping His great commandment.

John 14:15, 21, 23-24  If ye love me, keep my commandments.  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

John 15:9-10  As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

John 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

1 John 2:3-4 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Jesus loves the heavenly Father perfectly, and obeys Him in everything.

John 15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

The heart can lead a person astray when it is misplaced on others rather than on God.  It can cause your faith to become subverted, when you choose to listen to others, rather than listening to God.  The heart can lead you in the wrong direction, when you love them more than God.  Our precious Lord deserves all of the love that we can possibly give Him. Our hearts for Him must lovingly glow like a burning lamp that can never be extinguished.  Of all the commandments ever been given, the great commandment is the one that stands out above all others, just like Lake Superior and the rest of….

….. The Great Lakes

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

tlkjbc.com

Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today I’d like  to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story. 

Can you imagine walking into a county courthouse to appear for a traffic violation, and when you talked to the county clerk, you recognized her from the school bus.  Your kind of shocked that she’s working there because after high school, she got herself involved in prostitution. When you saw the bailiff, he too looked very familiar.  You realize that he was a classmate of yours from college, but he later went to jail for stealing cars.  When the judge finally appears you immediately recognize him from the newspapers, because he had been dishonorably discharged from the military and served some time in prison. 

As you stand there, you’re wondering to yourself, why would people like this be working here, and put in charge of judging me?

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

Do these events sound a little far fetched? Maybe it does here upon the Earth, but someday, the same kind of thing is going to happen in the Kingdom of heaven. Many people who you might expect to be in heaven, will be denied access, and others who you might deem as a worthless sinner, are going to enter into eternal life.  It all comes down to whether or not they converted, and did the will of God from their heart.  A saint is just a sinner who repented, and became humbly obedient to God’s purpose and calling. It is the saints who will judge the world, and they are certainly worthy of that honor.  This is because they chose to repent at the preaching of God.  Because of this, they will rise up to judgment and condemn those who repented not.  Someday, things are going to be all turned around.

Matthew 12:41-42  The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.  The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

To repent means to feel pain, sorrow or regret for something wrong that you have done or omitted to do.  It is to be sorry for a sin or an evil act that you have committed, and to seek forgiveness.  Ninevah was a city that openly displayed their repentant hearts towards God.

Jonah 3:2-10  Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.  So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.  And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.  So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.  For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.  And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:  But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.  Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?  And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

The process of repentance begins with a change of heart which is led by Godly sorrow for sin. God sees inside of our hearts and knows if we are sincere.  When we approach Him with a humble and contrite heart, only then can we find a place of mercy in His sight.

James 4:8-10  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, the Prophets and Apostles of the Lord were warning people about God’s punishment against sin and impenitence.  Someone who is impenitent is incapable of apologizing or even feeling sorry for wickedness that they have committed towards God or others.  Without repentance, they most certainly will be damned. If they hold that frame of mind, they will perish, and punishment will be unavoidable.

Romans 2:5, 8  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;  But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

Luke 13:3  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 13:5  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Acts 26:20 …… repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

When the Son of God preached God’s Word to the people, certain cities we’re lofted up in their own spiritual pride and refused to repent. Today there are many cities who are doing the exact same thing and unless they repent of their deeds God’s punishment will certainly come upon them.  

Matthew 11:20-24  Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:  Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.  And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

Repentance is to overcome the desires of the carnal nature and to do the will of God from your heart. It is to submit and obey His purpose rather than your own.  Many religious leaders in high places of authority, both then and today, refuse to repent and submit to the truth.  They exalt themselves in their own spiritual pride, and in their own mind are above repentance, which is one of the snares of the devil.  Interestingly enough, those who they looked down on and deemed unworthy of salvation, we’re actually the ones who were repenting of their sins.

Matthew 21:28-32  But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.  He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.  And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.  Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

To inherit the kingdom of heaven requires doing God’s will, and this will require repentance.  Why should those who arrogantly refuse to repent be allowed in heaven? Well I guarantee you they won’t.  

Jude 1:14-15  And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,  To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

Who better to stand in judgment over them, than those who have repented themselves? I think some people are gonna be in for a big shock because someday, things are going to be…..

……..All Turned Around

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc  where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

tlkjbc.com

Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today I’d like  to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.

Many years ago when I was in high school, I took a class that I really enjoyed.  If I remember correctly I got pretty good grades because at the time, the subject matter interested me greatly because it dealt with living creatures and organisms. The course was biology.  A lot of our class time was spent outside because we got to go into the woods doing environmental studies or finding different plants and insects. There was one aspect of the class that was difficult for many of us to do.  Occasionally we are requested to dissect frogs or rodents on our examination table so that we could look at what was inside.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

Even though it was difficult for many of us to examine one of these little creatures, it can be much more difficult to examine the inside of one’s own heart.  Many times when someone peers inside of their own soul they are not going to like what they find.  Buried deep within, if someone willingly ventures into that chasm, they might find unconfessed and secret sins.  To be followers of Jesus we are required to depart from sin and to transform our lives. This is why if we are going to confess Christianity as our faith, we need to regularly inspect our hearts, looking deep inside the place where other people cannot see.  We must judge ourselves, performing a self-examination, to know if we are truly walking in the faith.

2 Corinthians 13:5  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

If you examine something it means to inspect in great detail, so as to determine the condition of something.   It means to look at something very closely, to probe or to investigate.  Spiritually, this is what each of us need to do. We must look inside of our own hearts, and examine if our personal beliefs genuinely line up with the truth of scripture.  We must consider what we are doing, and how we are living our lives for the Lord.

Haggai 1:5 – Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.

Haggai 1:7 – Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.

If someone is honest with themselves, and humbly takes a good look inside of their heart, sinful mannerisms can be changed and backsliding can be corrected.

Lamentations 3:40 – Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.

Psalms 119:59 – I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.

Have you ever taken an examination while in school?  A teacher occasionally would give us a test to see if we were retaining the knowledge in the subject that we were being taught.  Although numerous tests are administered by the teacher, at certain times, we could test ourselves.  We would read a chapter, and on the final page, there would be a self test that you could take. It wasn’t given to you by the teacher, it was an exam that you gave to yourself, and all of the answers were written right in the back of the book.  You corrected and graded it yourself.  This self-test was a way of looking inside of your own mind to see if you really had learned the things that you had just read.  In the end, you were the only one who really knew if you were progressing, or failing the course.  Christians need to walk and abide in the truth of our faith.  If you were to take a moment right now and examine yourself, what kind of grade would you receive?  Would you be passing, or would you be failing?

1 Corinthians 11:28,31 – But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.    For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

There are hidden things inside, that other people cannot see; things that need to be changed, bad habits that need to be corrected, and ungodly behaviors that needs to be altered. Not everything that someone sees on the exterior, is actually what’s going on inside. When you examine yourself it means to judge yourself, and it’s always easier to be judgmental of another person than yourself.  It’s always easier to find the faults in someone else than your own.  It’s always easier to call someone else a sinner then yourself.  Many people in the church were doing that very same thing by looking at the Apostle Paul’s activities, rather than taking a hard look at themselves. 

A lot of people don’t want to look inside themselves, because if they started turning over rocks inside of their heart, they would find a lot of hidden sins underneath.  So instead, they choose to find faults in others, because it takes the attention off of the things in their own life that need to be corrected, changed and repented of.  It is one thing to be rebuked by another, but a completely different matter when you rebuke yourself.  It’s one thing to be reproached by someone, but a completely different matter when you are filled with self-reproach.  When you look into your own life and pick out faults and problems with your own behavior, this is called a self-examination, which was commanded by the Apostles.

Jesus taught this concept in Matthew chapter 7. 

Matthew 7:3-5  And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Our faith is derived from the teachings of God’s Holy Word.  It is scripture that forms and molds our faith in our conscience and hearts.  There is only one gospel, which was originally handed down from Jesus to His own disciples.  Each day the Apostles were right next to Him, listening and absorbing everything that He taught. Later, the disciples handed down the teachings of our faith to the church.  So when someone claims to be in the faith, they need to examine themselves whether they are walking in the true faith that was once delivered to the saints.

Jude 1:3  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Have you ever ordered something through the mail? Maybe it was something that was considered very fragile or breakable such as glass, computer parts or even a new cell phone.  When you finally got the box delivered in the mail, did you inspect and examine the contents closely?  Did you look everything over to make sure that nothing was broken or missing? As eagerly as someone checked out the contents of that box, we need to look inside our hearts in the same manner.  We need to open them up and take a look inside, making sure that our faith is intact, and that nothing is misplaced or damaged. Just as a package is addressed and belongs to you, so does your heart.  You are going to be the one who needs to open up that package, and check it out.

Paul was not with the church every day, just as a dad is not with his children all the time.  We have numerous moments in our life that are private, that no one else sees or knows about.  We cannot read people’s minds and we cannot see inside their hearts.  This is why it’s up to you, to critique, and judge yourself whether you are truly in the faith.  Today is the day to put yourself under the microscope of God’s Truth, and begin doing your own……

….. Self-Examination

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc  where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

tlkjbc.com 

The process of water purification involves the removal of any and all foreign substances that are mixed with the water. While there are actually a few methods that can be used to purify water, they all have the same goal and purpose of making the water clean.

After a heavy snow storm here in Minnesota we will sometimes grab some snow from outside and put it into a pot to melt on the stove, and after it is melted it is some of the best water that you will ever taste. This may not be a method that I would recommend to those who live in a highly populated urban area, as the snow may collect pollution and other toxins on the way to the ground, but where we live it is very, very quiet and rural, so the snow is very clean. But before we drink some of that freshly melted snow water we will still filter out any of the pine needles, twigs, and bits of tree bark that may have been mixed in the snow. What we are doing is transforming that snow into water, and filtering out all of the impurities in the process.  

Just as a water filtration/purification process removes all of the undesirable things that make the water dirty, we need to use the same kind of a process to remove all of the sins that make us impure in the sight of God.

The first step is obviously that we need to recognize the truth that we are sinners, and that we need the forgiveness that comes from Christ to have those sins taken away. After we have done this we need to then work on perfecting those areas in which we had failed, removing the things which cause us to sin, altering our lifestyle to be in accordance with the will of God.

Romans 12:1-2  “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

When we become a Christian, it means that we have become a follower of the teachings of Christ. To do this means that we need to put away the sinful deeds and actions of our carnal nature, and become transformed into a holy servant of God. We need to go through a purifier, so to speak, and remove all form of sin and iniquity out of our lives, putting off the “old man” and becoming new.

Ephesians 4:22-31  “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Neither give place to the devil.

Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:”

This is the natural state of a person without Christ, to lie, to hate, to gossip, to steal. But to “put on Christ” a person needs to cut all of those sins out of their life, and become purified through the blood of Christ, and to keep themselves pure. 

It is a process that we all need to go through, and it will require a change. You just need to go through through that filter.

In Christ,

Andrew

Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today I’d like  to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.

One day back in the early 1980s, there was a young girl who was playing outside her uncle’s home, located in what we now know as the modern-day Republic of Congo. She was enjoying herself by looking through a pile of rocks that was apparently discarded from a nearby diamond mine. Mixed in with all of the rubble, she laid her eyes upon a large gold colored Stone. What she had found that day would later turn out to be one of the greatest finds in history. She had discovered an 890 carat rough diamond, one of the biggest ever seen that her uncle would eventually sell to some local diamond dealers. It was displayed at Smithsonian’s national museum of natural History, and referred to by many as the largest uncut rough diamond known to exist in the world.  Yellow diamonds are very rare to begin with, and to find one that is flawless, is nothing short of miraculous.  Throughout its life, this stone went through a few transformations.  It was cut into 15 finished stones, one of them resulting in the ” incomparable diamond” which was 407.48 carats. This diamond was eventually cut down, and resulted in the modern day Golden Canary diamond, which is the largest internally flawless diamond that has ever been graded by the gemological institute of America. At 303.10 carats, it was recently auctioned off at a sale in New York City where it sold for 12.4 million.  

This reminds me of the Christian Life

In order to take a rough diamond and bring it to a place of absolute perfection, its going to require some work. Certain undesirables will need to be removed, while other parts will need some fine polishing. It is for this purpose that God has provided the church with certain men, who possess certain gifts, for the spiritual improvement of our lives.  They correct, reprove and encourage with God’s Holy Word, for the growth and perfection of the soul. Their purpose is to correct the flaws of our human nature and point us towards the divine.  For many of us, it requires a lot of patience and hard work to get us to that place of moral and spiritual perfection, but if we willingly submit ourselves to the will of God, like a perfectly cut and polished diamond, we can eventually overcome the sinful nature and become faultless in the sight of God. The responsibility of spiritual leadership in the church is to perfecting of diamonds in the rough.

Ephesians 4:11-15  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Many years ago I had a young friend who really enjoyed bowling.  I went to the bowling alley so many times with him, that I eventually started bowling myself, but my game was in desperate need of improvement.  When I first started, my friend would raise his dark black eyebrows, and then give a little chuckle, because If you want to be technical, what I was doing really wasn’t what you would call bowling. Most people would identify it as throwing horseshoes. I really didn’t know what I was doing and would throw the ball halfway down he lane, but each week, he and his friends would give me pointers to help correct the things that I was doing wrong, and encourage me in the areas that I was doing right.  After many months of practice, I eventually got to the point that I could actually compete with, and beat other bowlers.  That could have never happened If I didn’t apply the things that I had been taught, and go on on to perfection.  Men of God are placed in the church for the very same reason, to help us to achieve what God wants us to become, by guiding us into the truth, by pointing us down Gods path, and by rigorously polishing us until we are perfect.

1 Corinthians 12:28  And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

As a child, I grew up hearing the same thing over and over again.  People told me that you can never be perfect, so why even attempt to try?  When people pound those concepts into somebody’s head, no wonder why so many people are underachievers.  If you truly want to begin the Christian walk, you will need to take the things that you have learned in this life, and basically throw them out the window.  When you live in the world for such a long period of time, you begin to accept and believe it’s philosophies, but as a Christian we need to reject them. The responsibility of men of God, are to guide, teach and lead the church into biblical truth, so that God’s sheep can become perfected in His sight.  

Matthew 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection……

As Jesus is perfect, we want to strive to attain the same perfection.

Luke 6:40  The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.

2 Corinthians 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The disciples wanted perfection from the church members.

2 Corinthians 13:9  For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.

Colossians 1:28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

Blameless means without fault and perfect, or without any defaults in character or mannerisms.

Philippians 2:14-15  Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke,……

2 Peter 3:14  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

To truly claim that you love the Lord Jesus, means to obey and do His, which will result in purifying yourself from sin and attaining perfection

Ephesians 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Men of God are supposed to feed the sheep consistently with the truth of God’s Word, so that the sheep are not are not deceived by false teachings and heritical doctrine. As I have always taught, the best defense against all the lies of the world is a liberal dose of scriptural truth.

2 Timothy 4:1-4  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Titus 1:3 But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;

The completion of the Christian faith, is the perfection of the soul.

Colossians 1:28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

Like laborers who are working on a diamond, Spiritual leadership within the church are doing the same thing.  They are laboring to purify and perfect souls through the preaching of scripture.  Each day they spend polishing, God’s……

……. Diamonds in the Rough

Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.

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Have you ever known someone to say or make a claim about something which they insist is the truth, but in reality it is completely false, and untrue? Someone may claim that they are a direct descendant from a royal family, or that they are a very famous person. They may even tell themselves this so much that they actually believe it is the truth, while the actual truth is that they are only deceiving themselves. 

People can do the same thing when they say that they are not a sinner. They may make a claim to everyone that they have never sinned, and that they have nothing to truth repent of. They may constantly tell themselves this so much that they believe it to be true, when they are only believing a lie?

1 John 1:5-10  “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

If thousands of years of the Judaic Law taught anything, it should be the evident truth that there was no one who was able to keep the entire Law, perfectly, and without failing. At least once in someone’s life they failed at some point, and that single failure is enough to insert the title of “sinner” next to a person’s name. 

I have used the example before, but in the game of baseball, a perfect game is a game in which the pitcher does not allow a walk, hit, hits batsmen, or error to occur during the entire nine innings of the baseball game. If he allows just one player to reach first base safely, in whatever manner it may come, that perfect game is gone. They could say all they want that they had pitched a perfect game, but they will only be lying to themselves.

Likewise, when someone lives their life, you could think of each day as another pitch being thrown at a batter. There certainly may be days where we may have been perfect, for that specific day, but the absolute truth is that eventually one of those pitches, one of those days, you are going to fail, and sin. It only takes one bad pitch to ruin a perfect game, and it only takes one small mistake to make you a sinner.

Not everyone will believe this however. Not everyone will actually bring themselves to make the admission that they are guilty of sin, and continue to believe that they are sinless, deceiving themselves. Everyone is a sinner, and the Bible proves it.

Romans 3:21-25  “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”

The ability to admit one’s sins is an absolute must, as it is only after the admission of guilt and sin that different forgiveness can take place. It is only after you admit to yourself that you are a sinner that you can receive the forgiveness to take away that sin. Jesus wants to forgive you of your burden of sin that you carry, but you need to make the first steps of admitting that you need His forgiveness. Don’t believe a lie, and deceive yourself, confess your sins today.

In Christ

Andrew.

Good morning and welcome in. Today I wanted to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.

Imagine if you came up to me and asked me if I would get you a paintbrush, so I went to the hardware store to purchase one and then gave it to you for free.  Logically I would assume that my gift was going to be used to paint something at your place.  But when I stop by your house a few months later, I only find that the paintbrush that I gave you was never used and is sitting on your deck in the mud and in the rain. You received the free paintbrush in vain, because it never produced results for which it was first given.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

God’s forgiveness is the greatest treasure that one could ever possess, and one must always remember that it took the suffering of Jesus to obtain it for us.  We must take the gift that he has given us and use it to its greatest potential.  The Apostle warned the church not to receive God’s grace in vain.  It needs to produce a converted and changed life.

2 Corinthians 6:1-3  We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

When you receive God’s grace, it means to get forgiven for your sins.  Forgiveness is a free gift that is offered to each of us through faith in God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  When you forgive someone, it means to pardon and to completely wave any negative feeling or desire for punishment, retribution or compensation.  No one on this planet deserves forgiveness from God, because each of us are sinners who have come short of the glory of God.  We are all worthy of punishment because of the various sinful deeds that each of us have committed. But because of God’s great love, He grants us an opportunity, through His grace, to begin to walk in a new direction.  He gives us a chance to have our past life completely expunged, deleted and forgotten in his sight.  He extends to us the free gift of His mercy, but there is a reason why He grants us the remission of sins.

Grace is provided so that we can become an entirely new creature in Christ.  Grace is provided so we can undergo a complete conversion and transformation.  Grace is provided so we can submit to His will and walk in His purpose for us.  Grace is provided so we can become His faithful and obedient children.  Grace is provided so that we can walk in the light of His truth.  Grace is provided so that we can undergo a change, from a sinner into a saint.  Grace is provided so we can walk each day in the perfect will of God. To inherit eternal life, each of us will have to go through this process of change.  God doesn’t want people to perish, He wants them to repent of their sins. There is a purpose in everything that God does, and there is a reason why He grants us the free gift of grace.  It is so we can turn from the wrongs we have committed, and follow the path of Christ.  When someone receives God’s grace in vain, it means that they get forgiven for their sins, but it doesn’t serve the purpose for which it was given.  It doesn’t result in a changed life. God grants us the gift of grace so that we can grow into what He wants us to become.  He wants us to cease from sin.  

1 John 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.

John 5:14  Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

John 8:11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

We are in the age of Grace. Instead of punishing us for our sins, He offers forgiveness for them.  He forgives us, so we can change our sinful ways and become new creatures who are prepared for His coming Kingdom in Heaven.  The wages of sin is death.  Those who continue to live in sin will reap sins reward, eternal punishment.  Once we come to God and get forgiven for our sins, why would we continue to live in them? It only shows that God’s grace is not producing the result for which it was intended.  It is frustrating and hindering the conversion process.  That is receiving God’s grace in vain, because it doesn’t have a cause and effect result in your life.  It’s abusing the precious gift that God extends to us.  Sin must come to an end, and righteous living must begin.

Romans 6:1-2  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

The life of the Apostle Paul is an example to each of us of what can happen when you use God’s forgiveness to start over. He refers to himself as the chief of sinners, who at one time was attempting to prevent the spread of Christianity.  Later on he recognized the error of his way and got completely forgiven by God.  At that point, his life went in the opposite direction.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10  For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Instead of destroying churches, he began planting them. Paul used the measure of God’s grace that was given to him, for the purpose for which it was intended.  He used it to do an about-face, to obey God’s will, and to submit to God’s purpose.  His life is a blueprint of what each of us must do if we truly intend to be in paradise. We must not receive God’s grace in vain but allow it to transform and convert our behaviors, habits, actions and lives.

There are certain times that a judge in a courtroom might extend grace to an offender. Instead of opting to give him jail time, he will give him probation instead.  He does this to give the offender an opportunity to change things in his life that need to be corrected.  He also watches to see what they will do with this gift.  If there are no results, and they continue to live their life the exact same manner, what do you think is going to happen to them in the end? More than likely they will end up in jail because they abused the gift that they had been given. Likewise, God gives us a free gift of mercy, but he too is watching to see if it will produce a new creature.  The proper usage of grace is when we allow it to get us to the place in our lives, where we don’t need to repent anymore.  This is because we consistently do the will of God, proving our love towards Him each day with appreciative hearts. It is the top of the mountain and the final plateau of successful Christian living.  It is using God’s mercy to go on to perfection, turning from our faults to fruitfulness.

Have you asked God for forgiveness? What things have you changed? In what ways have you submitted to His purpose? Has it resulted in becoming obedient to His will and His Word? 

Be not deceived, conversion is required to get to heaven and the only way that it will happen, is if you take God’s grace and start a new life of loving obedience towards Him.  He gives us a free gift.  What are you going to do with…..

……The Paintbrush

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc  where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

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Do you have a brother, or a sister? How about a cousin, a niece, or a nephew? Maybe you have a son or daughter of your own, and if you do, what would you say to someone if they asked you if you did or not? Would you immediately say, Yes I do! Or would it be a source of embarrassment to you if others found out? Hopefully your answer would be the former, as it is simply the truth, and the truth should not be something that is kept hidden, but known, just as our belief in Christ should be known to others.

Philippians 1:20-21  “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

When we think of the word magnify, we usually think of the magnifying glass, which makes things appear larger, but when this passage of scripture was written, magnify means to extol, or glorify. To praise, bless, worship, or adore.

Paul wrote that he would not be ashamed of Christ and His gospel, and that he would boldly preach Christ so that He would be magnified by his life. However the Lord was magnified, whether it was through the life of Paul or through his death, he wasn’t ashamed of his faith in Christ.

If you are unashamed of something, or someone, you will not be embarrassed if other people find out. In fact, you will readily let this information be known if asked by others, and it will be shown in your life. To be unashamed of the Lord is something that each believer of Christ needs to be, as it is written throughout the Scriptures. 

1 Corinthians 6:20 – “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Romans 5:5 – “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

1 Peter 4:16 – “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.”

Philippians 1:14 – “And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”  

Psalms 25:2 – “O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.”

When the Lord of Heaven is your God it should be something that you are very proud to let others know, and your life should back it up in an evident way, whether it is through your speech with others or your actions for everyone to see. Even if others hate or dislike you for your belief in Christ, we need to never allow that to cause us to feel ashamed. Faith in Jesus is something to be proud of, and we need to continue to let our faith in Him show, so that others may believe as well, and give glory to Him.

The expression “wearing your heart on your sleeve” generally means that your emotions and feelings are well known, that they are not hidden, and this is exactly the way that every Christian should act/feel if they are truly someone who is unashamed to call Jesus their Lord and Savior.

So let your light shine, as Jesus taught. Don’t hide the fact that you believed in the Lord, let it be out there for all to see!

In Christ,

Andrew

Good morning and welcome in. Today I wanted to take a look at a few passages of scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.

In these modern days, a soldier will go into battle with guns and grenades, but in years past they used things like bow and arrows, spears and hatchets. A lot of people don’t know it, but there was a centuries old custom where people literally buried their hatchets in the ground! It’s been claimed that this practice was seen among native American tribes of North America.  The Chiefs from certain tribes would meet and as a symbolic gesture of peace and reconciliation they would bury their weapons in the ground.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

Many people claim that they forgive others with their lips, but scripture teaches us that we need to forgive with our hearts.  Forgiveness that is led from the heart will have outward evidence to prove that fact.  Heartfelt forgiveness will offer complete remission of sins and possess the outward evidence of a reconciled and restored relationship with those that have wronged you.  Reconciliation is the proof that you’ve truly buried the hatchet.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

God forgives us when we confess our faults to Him.  As we were once separated from Him because of our sins, we can now confess our faults and rejoin our close daily relationship with Him once again.  This is all a process of God’s divine grace.  If you have requested and received mercy from God, God commands that you take the free gift of His grace and give it to others who request it from you.  When you lovingly keep His commands, personal relationships can be restored, in the same way that we are restored in a relationship with God.  Reconciliation is the outward evidence that you have truly forgiven someone from your heart.  

God offers us complete remission of sins which is the canceling of a debt, charge or penalty.  Remission is to grant forgiveness of sins or a complete pardon to an offender.  If biblical forgiveness has taken place, it will result in a reuniting of parties who were once at enmity and separated.  Where there was once estrangement, there is now reconciliation.  Many false forms of Christianity teach that you can forgive others and not reconcile with them again. For those who truly believe God’s Word, this is a heretical belief, because it is contrary to biblical teachings on forgiveness, that are exemplified in the life of Jesus Christ.  When God forgives us, He completely forgives and forgets our sinful deeds when we confess them to Him.  Does that sound too easy?  Jesus taught that His yoke was easy.  Sometimes people will say that there is more to it than that, but remember that there are severe condemnations to those who add to scripture.  God does not make it difficult for us to obtain forgiveness.  What He desires is a contrite and penitent heart that is humble enough to look inside and admit the truth by confessing your faults.  If we cannot admit our faults we can never learn from our faults.  We also need to confess and apologize to people that we have knowingly wronged in the church.  If you’re aware that somebody is upset with you because you have wronged them, then you are not ignorant of that fact.  God does not even want a donation from you until you first reconcile with a brother that you have hurt.  Just in that statement we learn how important reconciliation is to God.  Reconciliation is the evidence of divine love and forgiveness present in someone’s heart.

When God forgives us, He completely forgets our sinful deeds upon our humble confession.  If you truly forget something, you will cease to remember the event anymore, nor bear it in mind.

Hebrews 8:12  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

Hebrews 10:17  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Imagine somebody claiming to forgive you, but every few weeks they remind you of your past fault.  If you cannot forget someone’s sin after they have apologized for it, then you really never forgave them at all.  If you cannot forget the past, then you cannot call it forgiveness.  forgiveness.  You need to call it what it is; bitterness and grudge keeping.  When you cease to remember sin, it means that you completely forget that it ever happened. It is deleted in your mind, just like deleting a file on your computer, never to be seen again.  Many heretics preach that love forgives others, but it does not forget. They are blind leaders of the blind.  They probably agree with women preaching God’s Word, or usurping over men, and are completely ignorant and non-spiritual anyway.  To hold this unchristian belief only proves that they are cold-hearted and bitter people, utterly cruel and unforgiving, hateful and hating one another.  They completely deny biblical truth in their hearts.  Numerous people actually believe this false teaching, and their lives are the evidence that we are in the latter days.  Each day the love of many is waxing colder and colder. The way of Christ is to forget sin not to relive it.  To truly forgive others in this manner you must possess Divine charity in your heart.  To reconcile with others, you must be filled with the attributes of God.

Psalms 32:5  I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There are many people who want forgiveness from God, but they won’t show forgiveness to others.  They want grace and love from God but they won’t show Grace and love to others.  They want to be in a reconciled relationship with God, but they will not reconcile with others.

Upon a confession of fault, we are required to forgive others in the same way God forgives us.  We must forgive, forget and reconcile with others so that we can move forward in our lives from the point where estrangement began.  Some people don’t want to forgive, but rather want you to suffer somehow because of what you did to them.  In their bitterness, they refuse to accept a heartfelt apology because of the sufferings that the offender has put them through.  They do this because they don’t recognize the fact of what they have put others through.  They don’t even think about the nails and the horrible death that Jesus suffered at the cross because of their sins.  He endured the suffering, so that reconciliation with God could take place for them.

We cannot go back and change what we did in the past.  You cannot undo the event.  When we sin, all we can do is admit our fault and apologize to God or others. If you have already expressed regret and apologized, but the offended party refuses to reconcile with you, there really is nothing else that you can do.  As a sinner, you have done what is required by God and you can be at peace with that, but because of their lack of forgiveness and unmerciful heart, they will incur the wrath of God.

Matthew 18:32-35  Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?  And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.  So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Imagine having a child at home who did something wrong and made you really upset.  When they approached you and regretfully apologized for what they did, would you be a gracious parent and forgive them from your heart? Would you give them a big hug and put the past behind you, or would you proceed to kick them out of the house? Sounds pretty sad and unloving doesn’t it, but there are adults that do this to each other every single day, and many of them profess to be followers of Christ.  It really sickens my heart.  

Matthew 6:14-15  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

In order to receive forgiveness from God we must confess our faults to Him. When someone confesses faults and apologizes to you, it is required for you by God to forgive them. Reconciliation is the proof that you forgave someone in your heart.  It is the evidence that you choose to finally…….

……Bury the Hatchet.

Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.

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