If you are going to attempt to make a brand new recipe that you have never tried before, what is a good thing to do before you start? You need to make sure that you have all of the ingredients. If your recipe is a loaf of bread, you will need your flour, yeast, oil, water, etc, all ready to go. You will need your measuring cups, your baking pans, among other things, so that when you put everything together you will achieve the end result: a perfect loaf of bread.

You need to understand what it is that you need to do when you start something. I have been out fishing in a boat during the summer, pulling fish after fish out of the water, when suddenly I realize that I do not have enough bait to continue filling my limit of fish, and I had to go home early. I didn’t “count the cost.” I wasn’t prepared. 

Well, you need to be prepared as a Christian, and recognize what it is that you are committing yourself to. You need to understand what it is that Jesus requires of you, and how it is that He wants you to live. When you begin your life as a Christian, you need to be able to finish what you have started. 

Luke 14:26-33  “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 

Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”

To truly be a Christian, we need to give ourselves wholly to the service of Christ. All 110% of how we live needs to be surrounded by the word of God, and we need to put Him above everything and everyone else in our life.

Jesus told the parable of the sower and this parable also illustrates what Jesus had taught in like 14. The seeds which feel into the stony places are those people who hear the word of God, but they do not endure. Because of tribulation and persecution they fall away, and they become unfruitful, while those who receive the word into good ground and produce thirty, sixty, one hundred fold are those who understood the choice that they had made, they endured the persecution, and they made it to the end.

Matthew 13:18-23  “Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

So have you counted the cost? Have you put the Lord above the other things in your life? Jesus wants your all. He wants your best. Have you done everything that you can to give it to Him?

In Christ,

Andrew

Matthew 5:7  “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”

Once again the holiday season has come upon us, as well as the holiday rush in the box stores as people purchase their gifts for their friends and family. But what too many people today fail to comprehend is that the greatest gifts that they can give another person are not bought with money, but are the gifts of love, in the form of forgiveness and mercy. 

Mercy is defined “forbearance to cause or allow harm to another.” To show “forgiveness or compassion, especially toward those less fortunate; forbearance.”

Mercy is something that Jesus is filled with, and commands His followers to be filled with as well. When you show mercy to others, just as you have received mercy, you will be blessed by God. When you show compassion and forgiveness to others, you are showing the exact same treatment that you have been given yourself by Jesus. 

The book of Psalms is filled with verses about asking for mercy, asking the Lord to bestow upon us His mercy and forgiveness. Here are just a few:

Psalms 4:1  “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.”

Psalms 25:16  “Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.”

Psalms 27:7  “Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.”

Psalms 51:1  “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.”

Psalms 103:8  “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.”

We all make mistakes. We have all sinned. We all need forgiveness, and mercy. Just like a fish needs water, we need mercy, and we have it through God’s Son, Jesus. We need to take the mercy that we have in Christ and give it to others. 

That is why Jesus died, to offer forgiveness for the sins of the world. An amazing, selfless gift. A gift of love. Mercy. 

Colossians 3:13  “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”

Is it hard to love? Is it difficult to forgive? Is it a burdensome thing to show mercy? Everyone wants to be loved in this world, but sadly not everyone is willing to do the same for others. Not everyone is willing to give that gift of mercy, but just know this, that, if you do, God will do the same for you.

In Christ,

Andrew 

Goodmorning 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 share something with you.

Many times when people decide to get married, they will go in search of a diamond ring.  But how would you like to purchase a ring, only to realize later that it was a complete fake?

This reminds me of a Christian Life.

There are many people today who profess to be Christian, who are actually fakes.  They appear like sheep, while the truth is that they are only a wolf on the inside. What do you think a wolf wants to do to the sheep?  They want to steal them away from faithfulness to Christ.  They do this by preaching a false gospel of lies. They appear as ministers of righteousness, but their goal is to trick and to deceive you.  They do this by getting you to believe things that are not scripturally true, turning you away from the true faith.  They make the attempt to lead you away from obedience to God, just as the devil did in the Garden of Eden.  Eve actually believed his lies.  This is why I’ve always said that the best defense against the lies of this world, is to be filled up with the truth of God’s Word.  Many people today are false imposters, only professing to be believers of God, while the truth is, they only want to lead the sheep away from love for Christ and keeping His commands.

2 Peter 2:1-3  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

When something is false, it means untrue.  God’s Holy Word is our source of truth, and this is why we need it filling our hearts and minds each day.  When somebody is false, it means that they utter a purposeful falsehood that leads others to believe a lie, such as bearing false witness against others.  In this passage, the Apostle Peter warned about these types of false prophets and false teachers, who would only try to deceive you and get you to believe a lie.  When somebody is caught up in heresy, they willingly choose to believe a lie over the truth of scripture.  

2 Thessalonians 2:10-13  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.  But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

Many people are going to follow the pernicious ways of false teachers. Like yeast in bread, these false unbiblical churches are going to explode in growth.  The reason why is they preach a candy coated false gospel that people don’t have to turn away from their sins.  Remember that we live in a world that is filled with sinfulness.  If a person can get to heaven and not change their ways, they are more than likely going to attend that church group.  They will flock to it like birds who find a dead carcass on the highway.  All it is, is Christianity without repentance and contrition, that would lead them to a genuine change of heart and a changed life.  These same people are so far away from the truth of scripture, that when you tell them what it says, they call you an evil liar. They blaspheme against the things of God.  They turn these false churches into a money-making scheme, a business that is made for the purpose of increasing their own wealth.  Those who follow them are like unto them, only deceiving others and being deceived themselves.  When they preach that sin is acceptable, everybody shows up.  But all it is, is church filled with sin and disobedience.

2 Peter 2:19-22  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.  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.

The Lord Jesus commanded men to preach the Word of God.  It is by an acceptance of biblical truth that we can repent and do the right things. Sexuality is meant to be used in a Christian marriage between a man and a wife in their bedroom, but in these latter days, many people have turned to divorce, adultery, promiscuity, fornication and lasciviousness, encouraged by wicked men.

Jude 1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Women are now heretically teaching and preaching God’s Word, usurping over mens duties, and the commands of Christ.  They wilfully choose to live like this and attend false churches that promise them that they will be in heaven.  It’s not a true church, it is a church that is filled up with worldliness and wickedness.  It is a church where people are puffed up with the pride of their own sinful living, impenitent and unremorseful.  The Apostle Paul warned Timothy that there was going to be a time that these things would happen.  

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.

So when it comes down to it, If you take somebody to scripture and they reject wholeheartedly what it teaches, then you will know in your heart, the people who are just……

…..Fakin It

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 recorded diary lessons, distributed through certain carriers, or by getting our entire podcast feed directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com, or I suppose, you can find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods.  Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

tlkjbc.com

Goodmorning 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 share something with you.

Over the years, I’ve worked with many young children who would at certain times have a spat with each other, while playing on the playground.  One of the children would fault the other for doing something that hurt their feelings, or performing something that they didn’t really appreciate.  But when the offending child asked the other to humbly forgive them, by apologizing for their fault, The other child would walk off refusing to forgive from their heart.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

The problem is that with this philosophy, the next time that you make a mistake during your life, you will not be forgiven by God.  If you cannot forgive someone else when they apologize, you are preventing your own salvation with God. We cannot undo certain sins that we have committed, but they can be forgiven and washed away through the blood of Christ, never to be remembered or spoken of again.  In my own mind, this is one of the most serious issues in the scriptures that needs to be pondered on deeply.  Without God’s grace, none of us would get to heaven, and neither will you, if you simply stand in judgment over others, and refuse to forgive them from your heart.

James 2:10-13  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.  For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.  So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.  For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

The Bible is clear that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and the only way that anyone will be able to access eternal life is through God’s mercy found in Jesus Christ.  James is warning the church about standing in judgment over others, because each of us are in the exact same boat together.  Refusing to kindly and quickly extend mercy to others who ask for it, is to reject the teachings of the Christian Life. Apologies happen within the church, so that grace can be given, so reconciliation can take place.

The moment you stand in judgment against others, without even offering them grace, the next point in your life when you make a mistake, you only condemn yourself.  If you have made just one little mistake in your life, then you are just the same as everybody else, a sinner in need of God’s mercy.  Self-righteousness is a killer.  We learn that in the parable of the proud Pharisee.  He stood in judgment over his fellow man, exalting himself, but he missed out on something that he needed more than anything else, forgiveness with God.  It’s the,..I’m better than you attitude. No one kept the law in the sight of God.  We are not justified by the works of the law, but through the faith of Jesus Christ.  This is the reason why you had better be merciful with others, if you want to be shown mercy from God.

If you are truly a Christian, and have ever asked God to forgive you for something, and then you stand in judgment over others who have asked for mercy from you, you only condemn yourself, because you come under the judgment of God.  You violate God’s law of Liberty, which is the law of forgiveness.  Mercy always rejoices against judgment, because mercy can cover the multitude of sins.

Luke 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

This is why the church is commanded to be so forgiving with each other. Sometimes people make mistakes, and do things that they regret.  All of us have.  We’re imperfect people who can be made perfect when we walk in God’s grace.  This is why the refusal to reconcile with others and forgive the penitent brother, (as God Himself does)….that kind of false teaching violates all that we learn in the Christian Life. Warnings for this behavior will surely follow.

Matthew 18:23-35  Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.  And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.  But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.  The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.  Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.  And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.  And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.  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.

Being merciful is to be forbearing with others, and to extend to them compassion.  It is to show them pity in the same manner that the Lord has shown pity to you.  It is to be reconciled with them in the same way that we are reconciled to God through Christ Jesus.  We are to be reconciled with them just as the prodigal son was with his dad.  His dad didn’t resent him, but when he confessed his faults he simply forgave him. People in the church need to be that forgiving, if you are truly gonna call yourself a follower of Christ.  The facts of the matter are these.  There are going to be times that you make mistakes in your life.  If you want God’s mercy to be shown to you, then you had better show it to others, otherwise, you will be dealing with God’s wrath.

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.

Our God is very merciful.

James 5:11  Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Make sure, that you are not one of those, who are only….

……Acting Like Children.

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching tlkjbc, or by going to hipcast, buzzsprout or amazon, or by going to our blog at tlkjbc.com, or I suppose, you can find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods.  Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

tlkjbc.com

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven…”

Anyone can claim to be anything that they want. Walk up to a random person on the street someday and ask them, Are you a lawyer? and they may respond, Yup, I sure am! Now, it is definitely a possibility that they truly are a lawyer, and that they really are what they say they are, but isn’t it also possible that they are not being honest, that they are just telling a lie? That they only want to have the appearance of a lawyer? Unless they faithfully follow and practice the law as other lawyers would, and actually represent a client in a court of law, they are nothing more than a fake and a fraud.

The real, determining factor of a Spirit-filled believer in Jesus Christ is what? Whether they believe in Him and if they do His will for them. That is the definition of a Christian, “a person who believes in and seeks to live his or her life according to the principles and values of Jesus Christ.” Jesus Himself teaches that not everyone who claims to believe in Him are real Christians in their hearts. 

Matthew 7:21-27  “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.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

Jesus taught that there are few that will be saved. Few, not many. An entire bowl full of candy in front of a child, and their parent tells them that they can have a few, how many is that? Not all of them, but two or three usually. Few will be saved. Many are called but not many will be chosen. 

Matthew 22:1-14  “And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.

But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:

And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 

But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.

Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:

And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Anyone can say that they believe in Jesus, but does that belief reveal itself in their life by their actions? It says in the Bible that the devils believe in Jesus, and tremble. Even the devils believe in Jesus, but they certainly will not be in Heaven, and why? Because they do not keep His word.

You can say that you believe in Jesus, and then you can actually believe in Jesus and that belief will be shown by your obedience to the words of Christ. Judgement Day will be a great wake up call for many people, but on that day the time will be up. Their time to change and live for Christ will have come and gone, and they will find themselves shut out. Do not be among these people on that day.

In Christ,

Andrew

Good morning and welcome in today. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from 1st Peter chapter 2, but before we do that…

For many years now, we’ve had a lot of chickens on our property. We go to the feed store occasionally and buy a hundred pounds of corn, oats, and layer feed. We eventually mix these ingredients all together, and then in the morning we head out to the chicken pen.

The chickens always seem to know when their food is coming. They line up around the chicken feeder like they haven’t eaten in a month. They desire that food so bad that sometimes you have to dump it on top of their head to get it into their feeder!

When we desire something, it means to have a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. When we desire something, it means to want or to wish for something earnestly.

1 Pet 2:1-3

Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

² As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

³ If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Have you ever filled up a baby bottle and warmed it up on the stove? When you bring that newborn child that warm milk they go absolutely crazy for that milk! You can take the end of the bottle and slowly pull it away from their mouth but they will grab harder with her hands, just like a pair of vice grips that you would grab from the toolbox. They do not want to release their grip on it as you pull it out of their mouth. Each of us need to have that same kind of desire for God’s Holy Word.

Just as a child desires milk, each of us should desire the sincere milk of God’s word.

Each year living out here in the wilderness, the kids always have a strong desire to go out and look for raspberries. We get on the four-wheelers and take a little trip through the woods. Eventually we find a big patch of them somewhere.

It seems like none of the raspberries ever seem to make it home with us. The reason why is the kids sit down by the plants and they eat them all while we are there. That is the same desire that we are supposed to have for the milk of God’s word.

Milk causes a baby to grow. When a mother feeds that little infant breast milk, it provides the ideal meal and perfect nutrition. I’ve read that it has nearly a perfect mix of vitamins, fat and proteins and everything that your baby needs to grow. The interesting thing is it’s provided in a form that is very easy to digest. Breast milk also contains antibodies that helps your baby fight off viruses and bacteria.

Look at all the benefits that milk provides for a child. In the church, you can also apply all these things to the Word of God in our lives.

The scriptures are the perfect nutrition for those who have become born again christians. When we become born again, we are like a child all over again. We need to start spiritual growth and it begins with biblical nutrition. Nutrition is the process of providing or obtaining the food that is necessary for our health and grow up. The Bible does all these things for us when we study it and hear it preached. It helps us to become stronger in our Christian faith.

As a baby consumes milk through it’s mouth, we consume God’s word through our ears and our hearts and our minds. It’s spiritual food for us. Just like babies milk helps them fight off viruses, God’s word helps us to fight off all the lies of the devil.

We’ve milked goats on our property for years. I laugh each time when I see one of the young babies underneath their mother banging her milk bag with its head. It’s like they’re screaming I need milk I need milk more more more! Those little goats would proceed to drink that mother until she’s almost dry. They are thirsty aren’t they!

That is the desire that we want to have for God’s word. The more milk you get, the more you’re going to grow. Makes sense doesn’t it.

Have you ever grown pumpkins? A pumpkin blossom will drink up milk without ceasing. It drinks and drinks and drinks. The extra nutrition allows the pumpkin to grow even bigger and heavier then the pumpkins that grow without milk.

I read recently read that there was a 2600 pound pumpkin. That’s amazing isn’t it!

Matthew 13:31-32

³¹ Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

³² Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

We all need the milk of God’s Word so that we can grow into a spiritual adult. We start out as a small little child in this world but just like a child needs milk every day, we need Scripture every day to grow.

Some people only hear the Word of God preached once a month. Some only hear it once a week. The scriptures teach us that we need it every single day.

Hebrews 3:13

¹³ But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

We are exhorted through the teachings of scripture. To exhort means to strongly encourage or to urge somebody to do something. That is done by the preaching of scripture.

It means to urge strongly to do the right thing or to give warnings and advice. That’s why we need to have milk every single day to grow. Imagine giving your little infant milk once a month or once a week. What’s going to happen? They are going to grow weak. You need to have God’s milk every day.

In the church we need to hear the preaching of Christ and the teachings of scripture every single day otherwise people can become weak in their faith.

1 Timothy 4:13

¹³ Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

The more food you get, the more you’re going to grow. In the church the ministers are supposed to be exhorting the church from the scripture. (2 thess 3:12)

You are supposed to use the faithful Word of God that you have been taught to exhort and convince the gainsayers. (Titus 1:9)

I guess I think of ministry as having a huge bottle full of milk, and you’re giving that bottle full of milk to the church. But remember Jesus taught that it would be like the days of Noah before his return. Before the return of Jesus Christ, how many people are ctually going to have a desire for scriptural truth? Not many.

God’s word has to be provided but it’s up to the church people if they’re going to come and drink it up, so that they can grow into a spiritual adult.

If you take that milk away what happens? People become weak. You need to have a strong desire for that milk and somebody needs to be there to provide the milk for others.

God is helping us to grow into what He wants us to become. He does this through the teachings, corrections and admonishments found in His Word.

Jesus is a spiritual dad who is placing us on a new path in life. There are a lot of children who have grown up in this world with parents who didn’t lead them to Christ and his truth. They’ve had role models that lead them in the wrong direction and point them to evil. In the church we are led by somebody who is perfectly righteous and good. His name is Jesus Christ. He is guiding us and showing us the right way to live.

Just a personal story before we part today,…

many years ago I got up really early in the morning and I was at a neighbor’s place and I went out to the barn. They had a pile of milk cows. I can never forget when they began milking those cows. Standing in the rafters and by the stanchions we’re about 50 or 60 cats watching as that milk begin to flow. Their mouths were practically drooling as they saw it going into the buckets. They couldn’t wait to get some spilled milk or any leftovers that were placed outside. Cats love milk. It seems like the more milk that you give them the more cats there are around.

Milk causes each of us to grow into maturity, but like we talked about the other day, you need to seek after what you really want in life. You need to go looking for it. You need to desire it because just like a tree that needs water to become big and strong, we need to be thirsty for God’s Word so that we can become big and strong in our faith.

Have you ever noticed how the military feeds their people? They feed them very well. In the church we need to be fed with the Holy scriptures so that we can become big strong soldiers for Christ in this world. Are you thirsty for some milk today? Are you men ready to be a soldier for God?

I

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching tlkjbc, or by going to hipcast, buzzsprout or amazon, or by going to our blog at tlkjbc.com, or I suppose, you can find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods.  Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

tlkjbc.com

For some people, they want to have everything now. They want to have the best things that they can attain, now, for themselves. They want a brand new car, or a giant house, so they go and take out a loan from the bank to get it immediately, and then spend the next ten, twenty, thirty years paying off those loans. All because they wanted it now.

I have certainly felt this was as a child, as I’m sure many of you have as well: As children, even we see something such as a small package of cookies at a convenience store, we want it so badly! Our parents might tell us that if we can wait a short while we could get a far larger bag of cookies from the grocery store for the same price, but No!! we want those cookies now so we end up getting that smaller, less cookie-filled bag which will very shortly become emptied, and quite possibly a feeling of regret as we realize that we could have had so much more.

As simple as this example is, it is extremely similar to the choices that people make in regards to their faith, or in some instances, I guess, a lack of it. Ask the large majority of people today if they would like to live forever in a place a paradise and most likely most of them would say that they would want that. But upon learning that they need to follow a few simple rules and be patient as they wait for it, there are some people who decide that they do not want to wait for that, that they do not want to follow those rules, and it is these people who will not receive the promise that they could have.

Romans 8:23-25  “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”

In order to get from one city to another in your car, you need to stay on that road they leads to it. You cannot turn off onto a different road that leads a completely different direction and expect to get to your intended destination. You have to stay on that road. WE have to stay on the narrow path that leads to Christ if we want to live forever someday with Him in His kingdom. 

Depending on how you look at it, life is a multiple choice test, however, there is only one choice that is the correct one that will lead a person to salvation. God gives everyone on this Earth the ability to make their own decisions, and it is up to that person if they are going to make the right one. It is up to that person to decide, What is most important in my life? Is it Jesus? or is it the temptations and pleasures of the world? Is a person going to give their life wholly to the Lord and His Word, or are they going to be like a child choosing cookies, and choosing to live for themselves?

There is only one way to Heaven. It is through Jesus and His teachings. There is no other way. Can you be the one who can deny themselves and come and follow Christ, waiting patiently for that day? 

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 ask you a question.

Have you ever taken your bike to the library in the summer, and then locked it up outside with a chain and a combination lock? Have you ever locked up your luggage when you left home on a trip?  Each day many children go to school, and in order to get into their locker at school, they have to enter a certain combination before it opens up.  Combination locks have been around a long time.  It has been said that the earliest known combination lock was excavated In a Roman period tomb in Athens.  On it, were several dials instead of key holes.  To open locks like these, you needed the right combination.

This reminds me of the Christian life.

In order to someday enter into eternal life, we need a combination of certain things.  Remember that the Lord Jesus died on the cross to provide us with forgiveness.  God’s forgiveness is given to us so that we can turn from our sins and become obedient to His will.  One of the very first things that we need is faith.  Like a combination lock, you can have all the other numbers correct, but if you miss the first one, it isn’t going to matter, because the lock won’t open. Faith is the very first rung on a ladder.  If it is missing, you won’t be able to progress and eventually get all the way up on top the roof. 

First of all, you need to place your faith In what Jesus did for us at the cross.  You must believe that he died for our sins, and was risen from the grave for our justification. This is a Historical event.  Let me ask you a question. Do you believe that Abe Lincoln was shot?  Do you believe in the signing of the Declaration of Independence?  How many eye-witnesses actually saw these events happen, yet as historical events, we believe them. The life of Jesus Christ was documented by numerous people, being seen after His death by as many as 500 people.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:  And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:  After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.  And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

Faith In this event is so important, that without it, you cannot proceed any further down the Christian path.  The Christian life is about becoming obedient to the Lord, but without genuine faith inside of a person’s heart, it’s impossible to please God.

Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

It is through faith that our hearts can be purified.

Acts 15:9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

To eventually become overcomers of the sinful nature, we must possess faith.

1 John 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

When we have faith it means to believe in something with all of your heart.  If we genuinely believe in God, we will certainly have a desire to become a doer of His will.  It is only through faith, that one will truly repent. Repentance is another part of the combination.  It is so important that without it, you will perish

Mark 1:15  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

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

Many people only think about the 10 commandments, but there are numerous other commands found in the New Testament. One of those commandments is for all men to repent.

Acts 17:30  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Contrition is another part of the combination.  When someone is contrite, it means that are sincerely penitent, with evidence of regret and sorrow for their own actions, insomuch that it causes them to confess to God or to others that they have wronged.  They are apologetic and remorseful.

Psalms 34:18  The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Psalms 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Isaiah 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Conversion is another part of the combination.

Matthew 18:3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Acts 3:19  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

We must also go through the process of transformation which is required to obtain eternal life.

Romans 12:2  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.

Submission is also a requirement of the Christian life.  It is through faith and submission that we can humbly do the will of God.

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

Ephesians 5:22  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

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

Obedience is one of the most important part of the combination.

Romans 2:8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

Romans 6:17  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

Philippians 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

So you see, if we truly possess biblical faith, it’s going to result in a process of sanctification  and obedience.  If you possess these qualities, then you certainly have found…..

……. The Right Combination.

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching tlkjbc, or by going to hipcast, buzzsprout or amazon, or by getting our podcast feed directly at tlkjbc.com, or I suppose, you can find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods.  Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

tlkjbc.com

Good morning and welcome in everyone.  Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from Luke 7.

Luke 7:36-50  And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.  And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,  And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.  And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.  There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.  And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?  Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet  with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.  Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.  My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.  Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.  And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.  And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?  And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

In this passage the woman displayed works of love, the evidence that showed that a change had happened in her life.  Sincere love towards others is what the gospel is all about.  The end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart.  It doesn’t matter how we lived in our past, what matters is what we become in the future. Each of us are sinners, who have come short of the glory of God, and we all need to receive the forgiveness of Christ through the blood that He shed for us at the cross.  It is only through doing this, that we can begin the process of becoming transformed from being malicious creatures, into creatures of love.  Genuine faith will also result in works of love that this woman possessed, because if they are missing, faith is dead.

James 2:14-20  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?

Again, in our study passage, the woman manifested works of love.  Over the span of many years, I have watched as many people who profess to be Christian, fight and bicker among themselves about being saved by God’s grace, or salvation by works, but what they really don’t understand is that these two concepts are intertwined with each other as much as two threads in your shirt.  They are both required to inherit the kingdom of heaven. In Judaism, people were attempting to attain salvation by the works of the law, apart from faith and grace found in Christ. In Christianity, some people are attempting to attain salvation by grace alone, without any evidence of love and obedience. When you become a Christian, works of mercy and love need to be a part of your life, otherwise you are denying divine charity towards others.  Can you see in this passage how her works of love, along with God’s grace and forgiveness both played a part in her faith and salvation?  We are to abide in faith, hope and charity, but charity is the greatest.  If genuine love towards God and towards others never manifests itself in deeds, then faith itself is dead.  We are not justified by faith alone, but through sincere works of a converted heart.

1 John 3:17-18  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.

This is why faith without works is dead, being alone. The woman in our study was filled with loving works and submission towards God, because of which, she was forgiven.  She showed contrition, just like the humble publican.  The works of the Apostle Paul were also generated out of a love for the Lord.  Loving works towards God and others, shows that His grace is working in your life

1 Timothy 1:12-16  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

The Apostle Paul was a man who had been forgiven for a lot of things, and the life that he lived afterwards, was the evidence of how much he appreciated the mercy that the Lord had extended unto him. The more things that you have been forgiven by God, the more love that is generated in your heart for Him.  God can take a chief of sinners, and through faith and an abundance of grace, can transform men into an Apostle, and a servant of Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:8-10  And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.  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.

Remember, that the woman in our study was filled with humility and contrition, which is one of the first steps towards finding mercy with God.  If you have truly been forgiven in your heart, then your life will have evidence of God’s grace at work in your life.  Sincere love for God and others is more than just words, but requires deeds of submission, first of all to the will of God, and then to those who are over you in the Lord.  As a Christian wife must submit to her husband in everything, if she genuinely wants to please God, we too must submit to God’s purpose in each of our lives, which will be evidenced by obedient and faithful…..

….Works of Love

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching tlkjbc, or by going to hipcast, buzzsprout or amazon, or by getting our entire podcast feeds directly at tlkjbc.com, or I suppose, you can find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods.  Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

http://www.tlkjbc.com

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.

Many years ago, when I became a Christian, and was baptized by submersion, I found a fluffy cat that I decided to bring home.  For some reason, I named him Zoe.  He was was a long-haired and extremely furry cat who really enjoyed when you would run your fingers through his hair. Each morning when my alarm went off, reminding me to get out of bed, Zoe would crawl up in between my wife and I.  From what I remember, my wife explained that Zoe would constantly try to wake her up by pounding her on the head with his paw, or licking her until he eventually aroused her from her sleep.  He was relentless and would continue this behavior until she eventually got out of bed, and got up to make breakfast.  When she finally left, Zoe would come up to me and curl up in my arms, in an attempt to show me that his love for me was greater than any other, even greater than my own wife.  He only wanted to be near me.

This reminds me of the Christian life.

Although I love my wife dearly, and we have laughed about this story, the love from this cat was unprecedented, reminding me that our love for God needs to be greater than any other relationship in our lives.  This cat was willing to push my own wife out of the way in order to attain access unto me, which is the same way we all should feel towards Christ Jesus. I learned that our love for God has to be greater than anything else in this world.  Very similar to my cat’s love for me, each of us need to love the Lord Jesus more than any other relationship that we could ever possess. It must be greater than your wife, greater than your children, greater than your neighbor, greater than your own mother.  Obedience to the will of God is the proof of our love towards Him.  

Matthew 10:34-37  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.  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.

To make oneself unworthy of eternal life, all one needs to do is to love relatives and family members more than the truth of scripture.  As we grow up in an earthly family, there are going to be close daily relationships that develop each day, because of your close proximity to them.  These relationships can never hold a candle to our loving obedience and faithfulness to Christ our Lord.  It isn’t your wife, your brothers or sisters, or even your children who were nailed to a cross in Jerusalem. Although we love and care deeply for family members, we must understand that some of them are simply not going to have what it takes to inherit eternal life.  This is because they don’t love the commands of Christ, because of which, without repentance, they will be damned.

Matthew 8:21-22  And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.  But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

People will eventually die upon this earth, but while they were here, some never became converted and born again through the truth of scripture. They never truly repented and walked according to God’s will, while they had the opportunity to do so.  They really didn’t love Christ and humbly submit to His commands and teachings.  Such will be raised up at judgment day, only to be damned to a lake of fire, along with the false prophets that some off them choose to follow.

Such are ear-ticklers, who advise the simple-minded that they are on their way to heaven, while the truth is, both they and those who follow them are on the wide road to hell.  Ear ticklers don’t preach the truth, although many of them claim to. They want your money.  They want your possessions.  They want your children and your family.  They are thieves, stealing what belongs to you and will receive the greater damnation. They are agents of the devil. They claim to preach the truth, but God is watching them and their lying hearts.  Sudden destruction will come upon them, both here upon the earth, and then they are raised up to damnation at judgment day.

Blood relatives don’t matter a hill of beans in the Christian life.  It doesn’t matter if your dad was a famous preacher.  It doesn’t matter if your dad was a pastor.  We do not inherit eternal life because of the lives of others, but because of our own own obedience and eventual submission to the will of God in Christ.  If you don’t submit to the will of God, it doesn’t matter who you were related to. Scripture clearly teaches that we are supposed to be completely unconcerned with genealogies and family trees.  The thing that matters at judgment day, is if you served God’s purpose and became a part of His family through faith in His Word.  It doesn’t matter who you are related to, or the life that others have lived, what matters is what you do, and how you lived your own life.  Some people worship their mommy rather than God.

Matthew 12:46-50  While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.

Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.  But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?

And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!  For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

As children grow up in a home, they are required by Christ to obey their parents.  God has placed a dad in the house as the head over the entire home.  If a wife departs and takes the children from the dad, she violates the command of Christ.  To depart your husband is the same as murder in the eyes of God.  She also defiles the hearts of the children because they cannot possibly fulfill the will of God by obeying their own dad, because of the malicious behavior and treachery of a wife.  People who exhibit this kind of behavior and those who support them are completely worthless in God’s sight.  They cause children to offend God’s commandments.  

Matthew 18:6  But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Christian discipleship is something that cannot be dictated by the opinions of your wife or your own children.  Although we are called to love one another, none of these relationships can provide you with what Jesus did for us at the cross, eternal life.  As I have always taught, genuine love for Christ will result in obedience to His will.  Many times the desire to please Jesus will be in direct opposition with the desires of family and relatives.  Today in society, many people actually worship women.  They serve and worship a wife more than Christ. In many homes that profess to be Christian, male leadership has gone out the window.  By their own actions they prove themselves unworthy of God and becoming a disciple of Christ, although out of their own lips they claim to be.

Luke 14:25-26  And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

A man who chooses love for Christ over all other relationships in his life, will inherit eternal life.  Be careful of the distinction between love and worship.  Worship is to love something more than anything else.  Men need to worship God, not women, not children, not money, and not the world.  Those who are capable of doing this shall inherit eternal life.

Matthew 19:27,29  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have  therefore?  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Zoe, although he was just a fluffy cat, loved me even more than my own wife, which is a lesson in my own life of how we are to love God.  If you have ever had a pet that cared about you, maybe you can relate with the things that I’m talking about today. In our relationship towards God, each of us need to develop…..

…….The Heart of Zoe

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching tlkjbc, or by going to hipcast, buzzsprout or amazon, or by getting our entire podcast feeds directly at tlkjbc.com, or I suppose, you can find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods.  Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

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