When was the last time that you willingly gave up something that you normally have or do, for someone else? Maybe your weekend thing is going out riding ATVs in the forest, but you gave it up and instead used that time for someone else. This is, in a way, a form of fasting.

To fast means to abstain or restrict one’s self from doing something, usually used in reference to eating food, but can also be used to abstain from other things as well. If I said that I am going to “fast” something such as coffee, for example, it means that I am going to refrain myself from drinking it. If I am going to fast all food completely for a day, then I am not going to eat anything at all for that day. 

Now used in the Bible, the practice of fasting is done as a show of our love to the Father, to show Him that our love for Him is greater than our belly. It shows that we are able to give up certain things for Him and that those things do not control us, and we want to give up food for a time to show the Lord that He is Who we serve, and not our stomachs. 

But just as there are those who will only try to act like they are Christians when around others and can be seen, there can be people who fast, but only do it to look pious and holy. They don’t actually abstain from eating food because they want to be pleasing to God, but they instead do it just to look “righteous.” This is not the reason to fast, and Jesus called these kinds of people hypocrites in Matthew 6.

Matthew 6:16-18  “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”

Just to look at two different people as you pass by them on the street, you can’t really tell if someone has just eaten or not, can you? But if someone had kind of a scrunched up, distorted face it might make you go up to them and say, “Are you all right?” “No, no, I’m okay, I’m just fasting.” Do you see the problem here? The real reason they are fasting isn’t because of their love for the Lord, it is for the admiration of men. That is their motivation. To be seen by others.

When we fast, it is for God to see, not others. No one else needs to know but Him, and this is why the Lord taught that if we fast we should anoint our head, presumably with something like oil, and to wash our face, because just as when you don’t go outside too often your skin becomes very light looking and pale, when you don’t eat for a while you can start to look a bit paler and maybe an bit haggard, and washing your face and anointing your head will bring that color back into your skin. 

Once again, when we fast it is a show of our love to God, for Him and Him alone to see. It is our secret, between Him and us, and that secret will be rewarded.

Colossians 3:23-24  “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

It doesn’t even have to be food that you give up. You could give up other things as well. Your time spent doing other things that your normally do you could instead set aside and give to the Lord. But the same rule applies as with eating or drinking: no one needs to know. This thing that you chose to give up for the Lord is for Him to see, not others. We want the rewards that come from Jesus, not others. 

No one else needs to know.

In Christ,

Andrew

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 tell you a little story.

About 2 hours south of Seattle, in Longview Washington, stands a common tourist attraction that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Back in 1960, some of the local community members were saddened by the death of numerous squirrels who were trying to cross Olympia way so they could gain access to the trees on the other side.  The city took action to remedy the problem.  For $1,000, some aluminum tubing and an old fire hose, some architects, working on behalf of these little creatures, designed a 60 ft bridge to span the gap between the sides of the congested road.  It was designed as a catenary bridge with a center section resembling a small suspension bridge. It was open for business in 1963, and ever since, has been happily used by numerous squirrels to cross over to the other side. It has been aptly named, the world’s narrowest bridge.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

We too need to find a way to get across to the other side.  We need to get from this world to the next.  Jesus came to this world on behalf of sinners to provide us with a path that is found through faith in Him, and the teachings of His Holy Word.

Matthew 7:13-14  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

The path to Heaven is a very narrow walk.  To obtain eternal life, Christians are called to a much higher standard than others. While the world might choose to live in fornication and adultery, the Christian Life is restrictive of numerous activities that are outside the teachings of our faith.  Our moral compass is found through faith in the narrow passageway of scripture.  When others claim that certain behavior is acceptable, the Bible teaches otherwise.  When one church group might claim that.something is permissible, the Bible clearly condemns it as wrong.

As a Christian, we must become narrow-minded, because the path to heaven is much narrower than you think. We must be focused on doing the will of God, rather than the will of the world. Many people who profess Christianity don’t like the control and restrictive teachings found in God’s Word, so they try to combine worldly lifestyles with a spiritual one. Instead of being submissive and meek, they have a rebellious streak, and want to live their lives the way that they choose, rather than being conformed to the truth.  Here begins the downfall of the Christian Life.  It’s the first step onto the wide road. They attempt to keep one foot in the church, and one foot in the world.  They want both, but if they truly want to obtain paradise, they will have to get off of the fence, and reject the ways of the world for the way of Christ Jesus.

The Christian walk is a narrow and restrictive path of self-denial.  It is walking the straight line of truth, without veering to the left or to the right.  It is turning from sinfulness, crucifying the wicked deeds of the flesh.  Like a tightrope walker, we need to keep completely focused on the narrow path in front of us.  God’s Word is a lamp, to guide us through the darkness of this world. It can save us only when we submit to its restrictions, and allow it to convert our souls. Obedience to God will lead to salvation and a better life.  We don’t want to surround ourselves with those who are still living in the worldliness of sins, but join with others who call on the name of the Lord Jesus out of a pure heart.

The church is like a spiritual reform school, where sinners come to learn obedience to God.  It is a spiritual correctional facility, where souls are transformed through adherence to God’s Holy Word. In these latter days, many false churches preach tolerance of sins, rather than the gospel.   Sins are not tolerated within the true church, but rebuked, for the purpose of keeping us on the straight and narrow.  The Apostle Paul had an impenitent fornicator removed from the church.  He didn’t allow the leaven of sin to continue in the church, so as to permeate its borders.  The church is like a room full of children who need discipline and correction from time to time, so that they can spiritually mature into obedient servants of Christ.

It is the narrow path of goodness, righteousness and truth that leads to eternal life, which very few are going to find.  While others choose to walk on the plateau of sin, God calls us to climb a Spiritual mountain of divine morality.  While others choose to walk in the darkness, it is the Christian who must walk in the light of God’s truth. The path to Heaven is very narrow, and with a steadfast heart and through a disciplined mind, we must strive to run that race, inflexible, unwilling to change or compromise, completely focused on performing the will of God. Many people call Christians narrow-minded, and this is the mindset that we must possess, not allowing ourselves to be led astray from the course that God has placed us on.Our opinions are structured through faith in God’s teachings.  As His Word is unmovable, we too must become unmovable, resisting the works of the flesh, and meekly submitting to God’s purpose and control in our lives.

There are many people who really believe that they will be in heaven, including those who profess to be followers of Christ, but will come short of the goal.  This is because the way of Christ is too narrow and confined for them.  They disguise the virtues of Christian Liberty as an excuse to abide in their sins, blinded to the true freedom which only comes through obedience to God’s will.  They don’t want to be constrained or held back by certain passages found in Scripture.  They want to live their lives with a much wider view of salvation, and for others to embrace their unbridled opinions with them, because this would mean that they wouldn’t have to repent or change the way that they live.  This attitude is a broad way of thinking, and unrepentef of, will only lead to destruction.

The carnal nature doesn’t like to be controlled by someone or something else.  It doesn’t like to submit or conform to regulations or authority.  The sinful nature will rebel against their dad.  It rebels against their husband.  It rebels against a teacher.  It rebels against the policeman. And it rebels against the teachings and commands of Christ.  It desires to be in control, but does want to submit and be controlled by others.

Sometimes children will attend a school, but when they are enrolled, the principal gives them certain rules that they need to abide by.  The children are required to wear uniforms and abide by certain dress codes.  They might have to wear their hair a certain length.  They are required to wear appropriate clothing that does not reveal any sensuality.  They might be given rules that they must not speak without raising their hand, and to remain in their seats until the teacher releases them from class.  Some students cannot handle having to submit to the control of others, and like some people in the military, they wash out.

We learn rules each and every day as a child growing up.  Your dad might impose rules that you cannot use the car unless you keep your grades up.  Your mother might tell you that dirty boots are not allowed in the living room.  Some parents don’t appreciate elbows on the kitchen table during dinner.  Rules are a part of life, beginning at a very young age. Whatever they may be, they help form a structure of obedience, so that we can lovingly obey authority, and most of all to obey God.  When a wife obeys her husband, she does the will of God, and proves her love towards Him.  When the children obey their dad, they please Christ and prove their love towards Him.  Obedience is the evidence of love.

In the carnal state, people don’t like rules and regulations.  They don’t want to be controlled or restricted from living their life their own way.  They don’t like the narrow and restrictive lifestyle that is taught in scripture, and want to embrace a wider view.  This philosophy has carried over to numerous places that profess to be followers of Christ.  They do not want to be restricted by biblical truth, so they open up the door of their Church to a wider interpretation of scripture.  It’s an interpretation where sin is permissible, and even accepted as the standard. For a Christian we must understand that God has raised the bar.  When the world comes short of vaulting over sin, when people in the church claim that scripture is too difficult and restrictive, a man of God must succeed, as an example that it can be done. It may be a high calling, but it is attainable.  It may be a narrow path, but it’s doable.  

Proverbs 16:25  There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Not everybody will be able to do it, but in order to obtain eternal life, we must choose the narrow way of Christ so we can cross over into Paradise, just like the squirrels going over the…..

……Nutty Narrows Bridge

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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Growing up I loved to read books. Picture books, mysteries, adventure books, animal books-I read all kinds of books. I had a large bookcase in my room that reached to the ceiling, and it was filled to the very top. I bet I had over a thousand books of different types.

But as many books as I had and read, they are nothing compared to the amount of books that are contained in the Library of Congress(LOC). Currently the LOC contains over 160,000,000 items, with an approximate 15,000 new items added each day. About half of all of those items are printed in English, with the other half printed in nearly 500 different languages. In order to hold all of those books it takes over 800 miles of bookshelves!

But of all of those books on all of those miles of shelving, there is only one book that really is important. Just one. The King James Bible.

You could spend your life reading every book that you could get your hands on, reading every novel, learning every odd fact and memorizing all sorts of information, yet all of that knowledge is, in the big picture, unimportant. And do you know why? Because you could read every other book in the LOC, yet skip the Bible, and you would find yourself lacking the single key thing that is vital to your salvation.

The Word of God has all of the information that you need for any situation in your faith that you find yourself in. Need to learn about Godly love? Read the Bible. Need to learn how to overcome temptations? Read the Bible. Want to learn how you can live forever? You aren’t going to find the answer that you are looking for in a medical journal. You will only find it inside the pages of the Word of God.

The world may scoff and ridicule the idea that the only book that you need is the Bible, but the truth is that the knowledge that you can learn from the Bible is worth more than all of the other books in the world combined.

1 Corinthians 1:19-20  

“For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?”

1 Corinthians 3:18-19  “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.”

I personally learned all of the countries in the world while in school, and could point out each one on the globe. I learned all of the elements on the periodic table. I learned all kinds of information, some of which I have admittedly forgotten over the years, but even if I could remember everything that I had learned in school, none of those bits of information will matter or benefit my spiritual life with Jesus.

Until you have made the decision to believe in Christ and His teachings, you will just not understand the meaning of what is written in the Bible. I have heard several times people who do not believe in Jesus try to explain what is written in the scriptures, but they have no idea what they are talking about because they don’t have the Holy Spirit inside of them that gives them the understanding of what is written. It is this lack of the Holy Spirit that makes the world misinterpret and misunderstand the Bible, and because of this it seems like foolishness to them, when in fact those who think the wisdom of the world is true wisdom are the ones who are truly foolish. 

You can read all of the books in the world but the information inside of them is nothing compared to the knowledge that is found in God’s word. So if you don’t have one yet, go out and get yourself the greatest read that you can ever get, and get a King James Bible today, the only book you will ever need.

Psalms 119:18  “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”

In Christ

Andrew

(Andrew is no longer a part of this ministry, as he purposely lied, deceived me, and then betrayed me. These actions were done willfully and with intent. Although many of these writings are helpful, he completely abandoned this calling, and joined up with the world instead. Nothing can dictate Our lives more than a love for Christ Jesus and being chosen to His service, but he chose to love the world instead.)

Good morning and welcome in everybody.  Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 4:1  Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

First of all, when you come up short, it means that you didn’t have enough to finish what you started.  Some people go off to college for a few years, but then lose interest and they quit midstream. Certain athletes will train for a marathon, only to give up halfway through the competition.  Others might try to climb a mountain, but realize that they just don’t have what it takes to get to the top.  Coming up short is not having enough stamina to complete the task that you first began.  Some people will start the Christian Life, but will come short of paradise, as evidenced in the parable of the sower.

Luke 8:11-15  Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.  And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

We are given the promise of eternal life through the gift of God’s grace in Christ, but some will come short of paradise because they neglected that gift. They never really transformed and became a new creature.  They never repented from dead works and moved on unto perfection.  They never truly converted from darkness to the light.  They might claim to be a Christian, but won’t follow what He taught, because of which they will come short of the finish line.

Matthew 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

1 Timothy 4:14-16  Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.  Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Hebrews 2:1-3 – Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.  For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

As the Apostle teaches……”Let us therefore fear…..”

In order to cross the finish line and someday enter into eternal life, we must possess Godly fear.  Without any fear and reverence for God, people will be unconcerned about the eternal consequences for how they choose to live their life.  The Lord Jesus taught that unless people repent they will perish.  A fool arrogantly resists the will of God, and will reap the reward of disobedience.  It is by the fear of the Lord that sinners depart from evil.  This is because we understand that punishments will happen because of rebellious behavior.

Proverbs 14:16  A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.

Proverbs 16:6  By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

Proverbs 28:14 – Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

The Apostles preached that men should fear God.

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.

Hebrews 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

1 Peter 2:17  Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

Romans 11:20 – …….Be not highminded, but fear:

It is the fear of God that leads us to submit to His will. Submission is the action or fact of accepting or yielding to a superior force, or to the will or authority of another person. For example, a woman who submits to her husband shows that she fears Christ and His commandments. Submitting to those who are over you in the Lord shows that you possess Godly fear. The fear of God will result in obedience and yielding to the control of a higher power.

Ephesians 5:21-24  Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

God is not mocked, and what you sow you will reap.  

Galatians 6:7-8  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Once again He says,………Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.  

We are offered a promise by God that He will save us, but we must act according to His purpose in order to eventually reap the promise that He has given.  We must not receive His grace in vain, but repent, transform and convert to His will.  

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

1 Corinthians 15:10  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.

If I was to hire you, and promised you that someday I would give you a store of your own, would you trust me enough to go through the training course?  Would you do what was required of you by learning how to do the books, hire employees and ship and receive inventory?  In order to eventually reap the promise that I gave you, certain duties were required of you.  You must show up each day, learning how to become a manager. In a way, you would be transforming from a regular employee, into a leader and successful businessman in society.  This is essentially what the Apostles did, they were saints in training, being transformed from catching fish, to catching men.  Timothy was also going through the same training, being discipled by the Apostle Paul.  Christianity is a process of converting from a sinner into a saint.  By the grace of God we are given a promise that He will save us, but it is mandatory to transform from the old sinner that we used to be, and conform to the way of Christ.  In order to enter a kingdom of saints, you are going to have to become one too. That process needs to begin today, if you will hear His voice, and harden not your heart.

Sadly, there will be some people who come short of eternity, because they wouldn’t submit themselves to biblical truth.  They didn’t go through that process of conversion, because they loved the world and their sins more than God.  The standard of the Christian Life and the high calling of God becomes unattainable for them, because of which they give up the fight against sin, and……

……Throw in the Towel. 

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by Google searching, tlkjbc  where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms, such as Amazon, Spotify or Google podcasts.  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 if you really want to locate us,  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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Have you ever done something, which at the time you didn’t know was wrong, but later you found out that it was? 

Have you ever raised a dog up from a puppy? The raising of a puppy can be a great instructional process, as we can learn many things which we could also apply to our own lives. One of these is learning the ability to tell the things that are right from the things that are wrong. As you will know if you have raised a puppy, a puppy will like to chew on many different things as their baby teeth are slowly replaced with their adult ones. They will chew on shoes, furniture, toys, basically anything that they can fit into their mouth. But obviously we don’t want them to just chew on anything they want, so we try to train them which things they can or can’t chew. Hopefully it doesn’t take a long time, but they will eventually learn. 

Now, when your puppy has grown into an adult, they should know by that time what they are allowed to do, and what not to do, and in the case of biting or chewing on things, what they are allowed to chew on. It always brings a smile to me when I think of a memory of one of our dogs, who once did something that he wasn’t supposed to do, and when we walked into the room and saw what he had done, he lowered his head down to the ground, clearly knowing that he had done something wrong. 

It is really incredible that a dog can know when they have done something wrong and feel sad about it, but some humans can’t. 

Luke 12:42-48  “And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?

Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.

But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;

The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 

But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”

In the case of the parable that Jesus spoke, the steward had been given a job to do. He had been given the task of watching over the lord’s household, and all of the servants and property were under his supervision and rule until the lord returned. But this steward didn’t do as was instructed to him by his lord. He knew what his commands were but he didn’t follow them. 

This is different than someone who doesn’t know what they are supposed to do. When you have the knowledge of what is right and wrong, of what you should do and what you shouldn’t, then you have no excuse when you receive the punishment for your actions because of your willful sin.

Hebrews 10:26-31  “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

You can know what you are supposed to do and what is right and wrong, but if you choose to do the things that you know to be wrong, you should not be surprised when you receive punishment. We are commanded to keep ourselves from sin. Throughout the Bible you can find these instructions, and those who know what is written should abide by them, or else they are certainly deserving to be punished by the Lord.

When we come out of the world and separate ourselves from it’s sinful influences, turning ourselves into sevants of Christ, it is imperative that we do not go back. To go back and turn away from Christ after we have been saved from our sins is like throwing yourself back into the fire once you have been saved from it. Peter likened it to a pig going back into the mire once they have been washed.

2 Peter 2:20-22 – “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”

Jesus calls us to be wise stewards for Him, and to do this we need to follow His Word. We need to keep ourselves free from sin, but in the chance that we do happen to sin we need to readily recognize it so that we may immediately repent and get those sins forgiven. 

The Bible is right within your fingertips for you to read, study, and apply to your life. Jesus is calling you to be a wise steward for Him, so the question is…

Are you?

In Christ,

Andrew

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 tell you a little story.

Many years ago, there was a woman who liked to make Kool-Aid for us.  She was attempting to do something really nice, but the first few times that we drank it, we knew that there was something off about it.  When she poured it from the picture into our glasses, it sure looked cool and refreshing, but as soon as you tasted it, you could tell that something was wrong.  We realized later that she was missing a good portion of the main ingredient, sugar.  Appearances sure can be deceiving. Although at first glance, it appeared to be Kool-Aid, when you tasted what was on the inside, you quickly realized that it was only red colored water.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

Sometimes in life, things don’t appear to be what they seem.  Someone may be dressed in terrible clothes, but on the inside, they might be the nicest person that you have ever met. At other times, you can meet people who appear loving, kind and sincere on the exterior, but it’s only a hoax because deep within the hidden part of their heart they are filled with bitterness and hate. They are a complete fraud.  This is why you should never judge by outward appearances, because what you see is not always what you get. 

John 7:24  Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

There are many people who profess to be Christian, who flock to follow others, simply because they wear a robe or a three-piece suit.  There is an old saying that clothes don’t make the man.  Others can appear like one of God’s sheep, while the truth is that they are only a ravenous wolf on the inside.  They are filled with deception and trickery, which is a work of the devil.   Jesus gave many warnings about these types of people.

Matthew 7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

As I have said for many years, the wolf wants to get into the barn to steal sheep. The devil wants to get into the church and lead people astray from faithfulness to Christ.   These religious frauds are all over today, and growing in number, but they are easy to identify if you simply take them to scripture. If they openly reject God’s Will from His Word, no matter how religious they may appear on the outside, no matter how many times they go to church, no matter how many Bible studies they might attend, they certainly are not of God. Remember that there were numerous people who came out to hear Jesus preach, feigning themselves to be just men, but there were actually wolves in sheep’s clothing.  They were spiritual frauds. They didn’t come to hear God’s Word preached in order to grow in their faith.  They only wanted to find fault with Jesus. God’s Word is truth, so when people reject it, you know that they are living and believing a lie.  

John 8:47  He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

There is a great difference between hearing something with your ears, and hearing it with your heart. Some people have ears, but they hear not.  You can give one of your children instructions, and then ask them if they heard what you said, but it is their obedient actions that really proves that they heard you with their heart.  When people hear the Word of God preached, and they don’t want to do what it says, they only prove that they really didn’t hear it at all. 

1 John 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Many people profess to love the Lord Jesus, but they deny obedience to the life of a Christian.  As the old saying goes, it goes in one ear and out the other.  Instead of accepting the truth, some of them try to justify their own sinful living.  They try to twist scripture so it fits their own lifestyle and worldly ideologies.  

John 14:23-24  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.

God loves us in the fact that he gives us the opportunity to repent and transform into people who do His will.  Those who reject that process are going to be turned away at the judgment and be punished eternally.  As the Apostle taught, God is no respecter of persons.  Scripture is a rock that cannot be moved, yet some people try to explain that it has somehow evolved since it was written, and that we are now living in different times. Oh,we are certainly living in different times, times of great spiritual wickedness and rebellion against God.  Times of great spiritual disobedience, just as the Apostles warned would come.  Times of a great falling away from the truth.  They have a form of godliness even appearing to be Christian, but they deny the truth of the Christian Life.

2 Timothy 3:1-5  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

God’s Word hasn’t changed, it is the world around us that has changed.  It is the world that must submit and convert to the teachings of Christ, not the Church converting to the world. These things happen because people love their sins more than Christ. As the Lord Jesus taught, will there be faith on the Earth when He returns?  It’s not going to get better, it’s going to get a whole lot worse, led by spiritual frauds, false prophets, Jezebel the rebellious woman bible teacher, and grievous wolves among the sheep.  Never judge by outward appearances. Use the sword of God’s Word to determine the state of the heart underneath. Take them to scripture to determine those who want to be faithful to Christ, and those who are frauds.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

So what you see on the exterior, is not always whats inside, just like……

……Karen’s Kool-Aid

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by Google searching, tlkjbc  where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms, such as Amazon, Spotify or Google podcasts.  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 if you really want to locate us,  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

Millions of people play the lottery every week as they hope to be the lucky winner of a grand prize. They will head on over to the convenience store, buy themselves a ticket or card, and hope to receive the promised amount of money.

They are hoping to win that prize, but in the event that they should win, what if they chose to refuse to believe that they actually had won, and never came forward to receive their prize? All of that money is right there, waiting for them to come and get it, but because of their unbelief they will never get it.

The promise of eternal life is a great thing indeed. Even ask someone who doesn’t believe in any kind of religion, and they will say that sure, the ability to live forever sounds amazing, but they still will refuse to believe in the things that will grant it to them. 

Well, Jesus offers us the opportunity to receive eternal life. It is available to anyone and everyone, with the simple requirement that you believe in and have faith in Him. This should be incredible news to everyone! The chances that someone wins the Powerball lottery in the United States is 1 in 292 million, and those millions of people play to try to win that prize, but sadly they do not all have the same kind of seeking attitude to get the greatest prize in everlasting life. They have the ability to win, just like everyone else, yet because of their unbelieving and impenitent hearts they will never get it.

Hebrews 4:1-11  “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 

For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.

And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.

Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

I certainly want to live forever, don’t you? People are always trying to discover new ways to increase the length of their life, through medicine, exercise, or healthy eating, but in actuality their life and the length that they live are not determined by anything they can do. It is God who created life, and it is He Who is in control of it, and He is in control of giving eternal life as well. In fact, He wants to give everyone eternal life, but they need to believe in His Son Jesus or they will not get it.

You can have eternal life. You can live forever, just not on this Earth, just not in your current body. You must believe, and when you do your chances are far better than one in 292 million.

In Christ,

Andrew

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 tell you a little story.

One year, Andrew and I were walking down a trail deep out in the woods, when all of a sudden he tripped over something. Because we worked out there almost every day, we wanted to keep the trail clear from obstructions, so he looked around to try to find what he had fell over. Lo and behold it was a huge moose antler! I think it was roughly 3 ft long. He decided that it would be great to have the other one, then we could put them up in the house somewhere.  But no matter how hard we searched for the other, we couldn’t find it. We only had the one.  Some people have claimed that sometimes they can be right next to each other, but at other times, they can be as far as a half a mile apart, or even further I suppose, depending on if somebody else already found the other one!   

This reminds me of the Christian Life

If you’re going to go through the effort of putting up a nice moose mount on the wall of your hunting shack, you really need to have both of them. They are two things that go together, like peanut butter and jelly, cookies and milk, a husband and a wife, or faith and works.  You are going to need them both, if you truly desire to enter into eternal life. Without both of them, the Christian walk is incomplete.

James 2:14-26  What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?  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?  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.  

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

First of all, there are numerous people who teach that it is by faith alone that we inherit eternal life, but this concept is a false teaching according to the Apostle James.  The word alone, is actually defined in the dictionary as being by itself. It’s like having just one deer antler, and missing the other.  It’s incomplete.

The beloved James was one of the original Apostles, chosen by Christ Jesus, so we need to take great heed to what he teaches.  If faith is alone, without any works to accompany it, then it’s really not faith at all. It’s just professing faith, but not living by the faith that you profess. It’s claiming to believe in Jesus, but having no desire to become sanctified or transformed.  It’s claiming to believe in God, but there is no evidence of a changed life, or doing His will.  It’s just words, and words by themselves cannot save you, neither can faith without works. It doesn’t even matter how much of the scriptures you know.  It doesn’t matter how much head knowledge you may have, Salvation has to do with becoming a doer of God’s Word.  Without that kind of faith, people are going to miss out on paradise.

James 1:22-25  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

We must go on unto perfection, but that won’t happen until you repent, turn from your sins, and focus on doing the will of God from the heart.  Unless repentance happens, people will certainly perish.  In order to inherit eternal life we must become overcomers of the sinful nature and this will only happen when you choose to do the will of God and submit to his purpose.  Even if a person claims to love God, the evidence of true love for Him is keeping His commandments, and abiding in the truth.  If they don’t become obedient, they are only lying to themselves.

The Apostle is teaching us that faith is something that you can see, evidenced by works of love and obedience in a person’s life. People might claim with their lips that they believe in God, but the devils do too.  What sets a Christian apart from them, is repentance, conversion and transformation.

Romans 10:8-10  But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

This passage also teaches that the Christian life is more than just confession.  It is about believing in your heart that God raised Christ from the dead.  If you really possess that kind of faith, your life is going to go through a life altering change, just as the lives of the Apostles did. You willl turn from darkness to light.  You will turn from disobedience to obedience.  You will turn from doing your own will to the will of God.  You will  turn from rebellion to submission.  You will abandon dead works for good works.  If your faith doesn’t result in these kinds of activities, then it truly is dead.

Abraham was justified by works of faithful obedience when he did the will of God, by taking his son to the altar.  Noah was justified by faith when he built the ark to save his family from the deluge.  God’s grace was working in the life of the Apostle Paul, and he was justified by works, evidenced by his writings in the New testament.  Obedience results in perfection.  How can you become perfected if you continue to live in sin everyday?  How can you become perfected if you continue to resist the will of God each week.?  That’s not perfection, it’s only disobedience and a refusal to submit to the truth of scripture.  This kind of Faith won’t save you and that’s why faith without works is dead. 

The process of getting a moose mount on our wall never came to fruition because we missing one of them.  It just sat out in the shed, all by itself, alone and incomplete. The only way we can go on onto perfection, is by possessing faith and works together.  I’m not talking about works of the law,…I’m talking about works of obedience and love towards the will and purpose of God.  You’ve got to have them both, and I remember that each time I think about …..

…..Our Moose Shed.

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.

tlkjbc.com♥️

Note: Any copies may be printed and freely distributed among those who have no internet service. There is no AI creative involvement in my writings, and must be left intact because they are very personal to me. These are not to be sold, and are made public only for the free benefit of Spiritual knowledge to those who are genuinely seeking the will of God.

As Christians, the greatest command that Christ teaches is what? To love. To love God the Father, first of all and above all, and to love you neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39). These are the two greatest commandments, and obviously they should be followed exactly as Jesus taught. 

But some people want to try to skip the second command to love your neighbor. They want to still say that they love God, but they don’t want to have to love certain other people who they may not “like.” But is that how our Lord Jesus treated others? Did Jesus love a specific group of people and hate others? Of course not! Jesus loves each and every person on this Earth. He does not love the sin that happens, but he loves the sinner just the same, and He asks that we do the same.

John 14:23-24  “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.”

This is how to know if someone loves Jesus: if they keep His words. The Apostle John wrote repeatedly about love in 1 John, and he echoed the same teachings that Christ taught. He especially explained in these next two passages that if you claim to love the Lord, but you hate your brother, then how really can you love God?

1 John 3:14-17  “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

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?”

1 John 4:15-21  “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

We love him, because he first loved us.

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”

No one has seen God at any time, save for Jesus, but as Christians we believe that He is real through our faith in Him. We haven’t seen God, but we love Him. But what John was teaching is that how can you love God when you can’t see Him, when you cannot even love the people who you can see?

In order to fulfill Christ’s command to love the Father, we need to be able to show love to others, and this is such an important thing that Jesus said that even before you came to offer anything to God (such as an offering) that you first needed to be reconciled back to a brother between which there may be ill feelings.

Matthew 5:21-24  “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”

You cannot claim to be a chef if you can’t cook! You cannot claim that you are a mathematical genius if you don’t even understand what 6×7 is! You cannot love God if you can’t even love a brother in the faith. One can try to convince themselves all they want that they love God, but when they choose to ignore this single important command to love your brother they show that they clearly don’t love God at all.

Dear reader, love is your command. Please, please show it!

In Christ,

Andrew 

James 4:7  “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

In most areas of the world, mosquitoes are present for at least a short while of the year, and here in Minnesota it is no different. While they aren’t actually too bad for most of the summer, when they first come out in the spring they are almost unbearable, especially in the lowlands and around small ponds. I have been walking outside in the evening and found myself completely surround by literally thousands of mosquitoes as they try to get a taste. This may seem like an over exaggeration, but until you see it yourself you just need to picture a cartoon picture of a swarm of bees and you aren’t too far off.

The main reason that mosquitoes are despised so much is due to the main fact that when they bite you the ensuing result is that you begin to develop an itch in the area of the bite. It is really quite an annoyance. What happens is that when the mosquito bites you, it injects some of it’s saliva into your skin, and the itching sensation happens because your body reacts to the saliva and it causes the bump and itching to start. However, there is a key to making that itching go away, and it is simply not scratching. It may seem hard to do because your skin is so itchy, but you need to resist that urge to scratch if you want it to stop and go away.

To resist something means to oppose, withstand, or to attempt to counter the actions or attempts of. Antonym of resist being obey or submit.

But do you want to know what you really need to resist? The devil, and his deceiving ways. Like those pesky mosquitoes, the devil is out there trying to get to you and inject the teachings and cares of the world “into your skin” in an attempt to get you to sin against God.

The devil may come in any form: from the shape of a complete stranger to a trusted relative, to even appearing as an angel of God. But just as the Bible teaches, you can tell someone by their fruits, and by their fruits you will know them. When we encounter a situation where we can feel our faith being tempted, we need to remain vigilant and resist the works of the devil

1 Peter 5:8-9  “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

Temptation and sin are just like those little mosquito bites. They are annoying and unpleasant, and make you want to scratch them, but you need to not allow yourself to do it. As always, our Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate example who we may all mirror ourselves after, as He showed us how to resist the devil in Matthew 4.

Matthew 4:1-11  “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”

Jesus resisted the devil and looked what happened. He left! After the devil failed repeatedly to get the Lord to sin, he gave up! 

It may seem like an insurmountable task at times, but through Christ we can become overcomers of sin and temptation. We can resist the devil. We can keep ourselves from sin, just like the Lord did, because through Him we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37).  With God, nothing is impossible (Matthew 19:26). With His help, we can keep ourselves from scratching that itch.

In Christ,

Andrew

(Andrew is no longer a part of this ministry, as he purposely lied, deceived me, and then betrayed me. These actions were done willfully and with intent. Although many of these writings are helpful, he completely abandoned this calling, and joined up with the world instead. Nothing can dictate Our lives more than a love for Christ Jesus and being chosen to His service, but he chose to love the world instead.)