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 ask you a little question.  

How many of you have transferred files from your computer, onto another removable hard drive or storage unit? How many of you have transferred files from a USB stick onto your computer? If you have ever done this, you were simply making an exact copy, and duplicating the file somewhere else. Have any of you ever worked at a printing plant? When a page of a book is ready to be printed, the pressman will begin to duplicate that page.  After the machine is up and running the operator will check occasionally to make sure that each of the pages are exactly the same.

This reminds me of the Christian life.

The transfer of information was exactly what the disciples and Apostles of the Lord were doing. Although they didn’t have computer’s back then, they were taking the things that God had given unto them, and transferring their knowledge into the minds of others.  Instead of using a USB cord, they used the power of speech. The preaching of the gospel doesn’t require a fancy microphone with a spit guard.  It doesn’t require an expensive studio and a producer.  It doesn’t even require money, if you are willing to give up your time, to God. When you transfer something digitally to a computer, it is an exact copy of the original.  Everything that the Apostle Paul knew and understood about the Christian faith, was instilled into the hearts of Timothy and the other disciples that Paul had reared up. Like a copy machine, the Apostle Paul was duplicating his faith in the lives and the minds of others.  To meet Timothy was to meet the Apostle Paul, because everything that Timothy believed, was an exact replication of Paul’s faith.  They were truly of one mind and one Spirit.  

Philippians 2:19-22  But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.  For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.  For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.  But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.

Up here in the woods, there are many loggers who haul wood for pulp, lumber, and firewood.  Many of these families are multi-generational.  Their businesses were started by their great granddad, who handed down everything that he knew to his sons.  Over the years that followed, his sons then handed everything they knew about the business to their sons, and so on and so forth.  All the knowledge and information that was accrued about their business, was poured into the minds of their children.  This is the same way that our faith is handed down to others.

Day by day, for 23 years, whether in the truck or at home, whether on a trip or out fishing, I have poured everything that I have learned from Scripture into Andrew.  We certainly look different on the exterior, but we are the same inside of our hearts Spiritually.  This is because we both believe God’s truth.   We are in complete agreement with everything that we have learned together from scripture. Whatever I have gone through, whatever persecutions I have had to endure, Andrew has always been right there, and has seen it all.  Whether it was going door to door, or handing out Bibles on the street, whether it was preaching on a payphone, or in a shopping mall, or at a flea market, whether it was on a Navajo reservation or even at the library, Andrew has always been there.  As a wise master builder, I have given him the most important treasure that I could ever give him, the knowledge of Jesus, and His Holy  Word.  

2 Timothy 3:10-15  But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,  Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;   And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Throughout the centuries, God has provided us with men, whose purpose was to guide us into the truth of God’s Word. Men of God, such as Elijah, Moses, Noah, and the apostles of Christ, whose faith we are to follow.

Hebrews 13:7  Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

These men are set forth as examples to all of us, to preach God’s Word, and to help others prepare themselves for God’s Coming Kingdom.  

Philippians 3:17  Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

1 Peter 5:2-4  Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

From John the Baptist to the blessed Apostle Paul, each of us are called to mimic and copy the faith of these men, because they are gifts that are sent from God, to help the church grow in knowledge and wisdom.  This is so that we can be perfected into what God wants us to be, eventually becoming joined together in perfect unity in the brotherhood of faith, through faith and the teachings of scripture.

Ephesians 4:8-15  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

The laborers are few, and there is a great need for men to rise up to the calling of God in these latter days.  Like soldiers who stand on a wall to defend the country from an enemy, men need to preach God’s Word and defend the true faith.  The time to enlist is right now.  What are you instilling into the hearts and minds of other people?  Are you feeding the flock of God with biblical truth? Is it in agreement with the teachings of the Apostles and disciples found in scripture?  As Paul poured his faith into the heart of young Timothy, will you do the same? Will you become a part of……

…….The Upload

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. ❤️

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.

Over the century is there have been numerous shipwrecks around the world.  In the year 1394, the Gabrielle wrecked on at Wolf rock between Cornwall and the isles of Scilly.  Her cargo was washed ashore in Cornwall.  On April 8 1304 The Mariote from England, a Portsmouth ship, was carrying five bushels of wheat from the Kings Manors on the Isle of Wight, to Bearwick-upon-Tweed when she was wrecked near Newport, Isle of Wight. In 1468 the Raphael from the kingdom of England was lost in Bude Bay, Cornwall while heading for their home port of Bristol from Danzig. And in 1492 on December 25th The well-known Santa Maria from Spain, which was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage across the Atlantic, ran aground off the present day site of Cap Haitien. The United Nations estimates that there are at least three million shipwrecks somewhere on the ocean floors.

This reminds me of the Christian life.

Thats a lot of ships that have been lost at sea isn’t it,  but remember, they are nothing in comparison to those who are going to shipwreck their faith. A lot of people who profess to be Christian simply will not be able to enter into eternal life, because the gift of faith that God planted in them, will be brought to ruin, run upon the rocks because they have turned away from both their conscience, and from biblical truth.  

1 Timothy 1:19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

There have been numerous shipwrecks throughout the centuries, some of them worse than others, but when somebody is involved with a shipwreck, their vessel is beyond repair and is abandoned.  The same thing can happen to a person who started out in the Christian life, but they willfully turn away from the will of God, and bring ruin to their service to Christ.  Imagine a shipping company, who kindly gives you a free ship to transport goods across the ocean.  Although it was given to you freely, you didn’t exercise due diligence to take care of the gift that was given to you, eventually running it upon the rocks and ruining the vessel.  

How many of you children have been given an expensive gift by your parents, and when they gave it to you they said, make sure that you take care of it, so it lasts a long time.  I’ve noticed in my life that sometimes when people receive a free gift, it’s not as important as one that you have gone out and worked for themselves. When we think about the free gift that God has given to us through his grace, you must remember what Jesus did, so that we could have that gift. The gift that he extends to us is the most expensive gift that you could ever imagine, because it cost the life of God’s only begotten son.  Imagine yourself being nailed to a cross, surrounded by people who despised and mocked you.  Imagine yourself being scourged and spit on by the political leaders of His day. Imagine yourself having a crown of thorns pounded upon your head.  When you think about these things, then you can come and tell me what the gift of Jesus Christ is worth to you.  Someone who has been given the free gift of God’s grace, and then turns away from the Christian life, only proves that they are worthy of damnation.  I guarantee you, they have earned it.  They turn away from the God who loves and cares for them, they turn away from the God who bled and died at the cross for them.  Because they love their sins more than Christ, they are like a dog who returns to his own vomit, or a pig who returns to the mud.  

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.

Many people really want to believe that they are going to be in heaven, but as the Lord Jesus taught, many are going to come up short.  I hope that I get to be there.   Many people in the days of Noe felt the same way, but the flood came upon them quickly and destroyed them all.

Luke 13:23-27  Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,  Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.  When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:  Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.  But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

If a dad tells you to do something, and you disobediently rebel against him, telling him to take a hike, do you really think that somehow your actions please him?  When a husband commands his wife to do something, and She completely rebels against him, do you think these actions somehow please him?  If people did these kinds of things in the courtroom, the judge would probably have them thrown in jail for the weekend for contempt,  but yet all over this entire world, people treat God in the same manner,  in their contempt towards Him and performing His will.  Shipwrecking your faith is to ruin the things that you were instructed in from scripture. Instead of departing from iniquity, you return to iniquity.  Instead of becoming transformed to God’s will, they revert to the will of the world.  The vessel of mercy that has been instructed in God’s Word, now turns away from scriptural truth, allowing both their faith and their lives to be destroyed on the rocks of destruction. Once a vessel of mercy, now becomes a vessel of betrayal, wickedness, cruelty,  hatred, and evil.  Esau cried about what he did, but his life was over, only walking this world waiting for eternal damnation.

Hebrews 12:16-17  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

If somebody gave you a $20,000 truck would you be careful not to hit anything with it? Christianity is about being given the greatest treasure that you could ever receive.  It is a treasure of God’s grace in Christ.  It is about abiding in the gift that God has given us.  It is about taking care of the ship of faith that He has provided us.  Those who turn away from God’s will, choosing to rebel and live a life of sin and disobedience, will more certainly reap the reward of sin and disobedience.  After all, they’ve earned it, and they will received a just recompense for their actions.  

Hebrews 10:26-29  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?

Jesus taught In the parable of the sower that not everybody who attempted the Christian life is going to make it. Their faith will only last for a certain amount of time, like a dog that returns to their vomit, or a pig goes back to their wallowing in the mire.  Like the Gabrielle, they will completely destroy their ship of faith, when they eventually run aground on……

……Wolf Rock

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. ❤️

tlkjbc.wordpress.com

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.

When we look at the world today, there are many events that can be classified as a calamity, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and landslides, hurricanes, wildfires, droughts and even volcanic eruptions.  During the days of Moses, Pharoh was resisting the will of God.  Because of his rejection to submit to God’s will, and obey the prophet that God had sent, God sent unto him calamities.  He turned his life into a place of chaos.   He and his nation dealt with numerous plagues and pestilence.  Because of his mocking attitude of rebellion towards God, he even lost his own son, and his army.

This Reminds me of the Christian Life.

God has not changed, and he is certainly is not mocked .  He can punish people in numerous ways, and continues to do so today.  Calamity is an event that results in distress and great loss. God is watching every moment of the day?  Those who cause God’s faithful to suffer, will enter into a calamity that is sent directly from the Lord.  

Deuteronomy 32:35  To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

When you begin the Christian life, you most certainly are going to enter into persecutions and sufferings, if you truly desire to do the will of God from your heart.  It will begin with your relatives and close friendships that you have developed over many years of your life. You must be prepared and ready for them to spread gossip and lies about you.  If you believe and stand up for biblical truth, you must brace yourself to get shot at by the enemy. Some of them will be of your own household, betrayed both by wives and family members.

You must be ready for people who know you in the past, when they began to call you a cult or God freak.  Be ready as the falsely accuse you, and only wish that you were dead.

Matthew 5:11-12  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

When you become a sincere Christian, persecution doesn’t come from just unbelievers. It can come from people who profess faith in Christ, who really don’t believe in scriptural truth. They have a form of Godliness, but they reject the power of God.  Some of you that are listening today have come out of heretical forms of Christianity, while others have turned away from false religions.  In that simple act of turning away from those things, you condemn those who are involved with it, because of which you will be hated by them.  The same persecution happened to Noah. The hatred manifested toward the faithful, is a result of their willful disobedience and unfaithfulness to Christ.  

John 15:20-21  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

Many people in the world profess some kind of belief in God, whatever that may be to them, but for a Christian, we know that there is only one God, the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In order to inherit eternal life, we need to keep His sayings and teachings, abiding in the doctrines of Christ.  When you begin to obey the teachings of Jesus, and have to suffer or be persecuted because of your obedient conscience towards God, you find great favor with the Almighty.  Some of your own family members will betray you, just says Judas did to Jesus, but God is watching and He will punish their actions here upon the earth.  He punished Goliath, He punished Pharoh, and He punished the lying hearts of Ananias and Sapphira his wife with immediate death.  Many people don’t fear God, and to those people I warn, you better.  Some people won’t believe in a lake of fire, but to those people I warn, your out of your mind. Some people don’t believe in eternal punishment because they have been loved a little too much in this world.  When people don’t believe in damnation anymore, it’s probably because this is what’s going to happen to them. Like everyone, someday they too will have to stand in judgment before Christ the Lord, for their actions here upon the earth.

1 Peter 4:1-5  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.  For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:  Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:  Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

When a Christian has to suffer because they want to obey the teachings of Christ, when a person has to suffer because they want to do the will of God, they are truly blessed by God, and the Lord Jesus sees their obedience  and will avenge those who unjustly suffer because of their conscience towards God.

1 Peter 2:19-20  For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.  For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

The court of Christ Jesus is the highest court there is, or ever will be.  The highest authorities scattered throughout this entire world, will eventually be bending the knee before Christ Jesus, and will have to account for what they have done while here upon the earth.  The day of accounting came early for Pharaoh in Egypt, but He mocked the will of God, because of which, he was punished severely.  

2 Thessalonians 1:4-6  So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:  Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;

Many people were persecuting the Apostle Paul and speaking evil things about him, but you certainly didn’t want to offend the Apostle, lest he call upon God to punish you, or in the case of the Apostle Peter, to kill you because of your lying heart.

2 Timothy 4:14-15  Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:  Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.

Luke 18:7-8  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.

Whatever wrongs people do to us, or the sufferings and persecutions that we must endure because of our conscience towards performing the will of God, we can know that God will punish all those who are willfully involved.  We need not avenge ourselves, because God will do it for us.  If they had no fear of God before, they will now.  Like Pharaoh, God can punish their families and relatives with plagues and sickness and disease, and their communities with both hunger and pestilence.  

Hebrews 10:30-31  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.

God knows the heart and the intentions of every person on the face of the earth.  When people persecute us and cause us to suffer, we are not to retaliate or return evil for evil. We are not supposed to avenge ourselves in Earthly lawsuits, because the judge of heaven and earth will doubtless take care of the matter.

Matthew 5:39-40  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

The evil and suffering that others have done to you, will come right back on them. Their foot will slide in due time, for the day of the Lord has come.  For the time is now, when the Lord shall rise up in vengeance, and put the wicked into a place of…….

 …… Calamity

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.wordpress.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.

Over the years, our family has raised a lot of chickens, both for eggs and for meat.  There have been numerous occasions that some of them rose up in rebellion, and somehow managed to escape out of the safety of their pen.  I would watch them as they ventured out into the woods behind our house, oblivious to the many dangers lurking out in the forest.  For many years, Andrew and the other children would have to go and try to catch them in the woods.  This all changed when my wife and family repetitively petitioned me for a dog.  I had been raised with dogs, and was very tired of having them, but like children constantly pulling on a mothers skirt trying to obtain something from the store, I gave into their requests and bought a black lab. I had never shelled out money for one, but he turned out to be worth it, because he has a special gift that I had never seen in a dog before. Whenever a chicken gets out of the pen, Jack will go out in the woods and find it.  His presence invokes so much fear in the bird that it freezes in its tracks.  He then grabs it gently by the neck in his mouth, making sure not to hurt it, and brings it all the way back home for us to put back into the pen.

This reminds me of the Christian life.

Out of all of the chickens who were dwelling in the safety and security of their pen, some of them would occasionally escape, thinking that they would somehow find freedom outside of the confines of their wall of protection.  The truth is, that it was more dangerous for them to be outside of the pen then within. When those few hens would venture out into the world and get lost, they would be found and safely returned by my dog Jack.

Matthew 18:12-13  How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?  And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

When we are missing a couple of chickens, we are not overly concerned with those that are faithfully abiding in the pen, because they are safe and sound at home.  The ones that we focus our attention on, are those that have gotten lost in the woods.  When Jack finds them and brings them back home, all of us are very happy, because they were spared from getting killed by a coyote, a wolf or some other animal.  People in the church who have undergone a conversion, and are believing in scriptural truth, don’t need as much attention as those who have gotten lost out in the world.  The ones that need to be found and located are those who have separated from the safety and security of Christ and the church.  Each of us are like sheep who have wandered away from the flock, and become lost in the world for a season, but now it’s time to come back home.

1 Peter 2:25  For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Jesus was preaching to the world, people who above and beyond all others, were the most needful of the truth, so that they could come to a place of repentance.  Jesus was preaching to publicans and sinners, but we must remember that it was they, who were receiving and hearing His Word.  

Matthew 9:10-12  And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?   But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

It’s very interesting that the religious leaders of Jesus day called other people’s sinners, yet they wouldn’t take a look inside of their own hearts to accept the fact that there were sinners too.  As people began to follow the teachings of John the Baptist, guess who showed up?  It was the religious leaders, many of which were more interested in fame and being noticed by the world, rather than self examination and repentance.  

Matthew 3:1-10  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.  Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,  And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

The world may have called them publicans and harlots, or evil and wicked people, but the truth is, it was they who were turning away from the lives they had lived in the past, to do the will of God.  I am certain that in the kingdom of heaven, you are going to see many people who the world deemed as wicked, who actually turned their lives completely around.  I also believe that you will find many people who appeared very religious while here upon the earth, even professing to be Christian, but they refused to repent and believe the truth of God’s word.  Because of this they will be cast away from God’s presence.

Luke 15:1-10  Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.

And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.  And he spake this parable unto them, saying,  What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?  And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.  I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.  Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?   And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.  Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Many people are involved out in the world saving lives, but a true minister of God is trying to save people by trying to get them to convert and inherit eternal life.  If you can get them to convert and believe the truth, they truly shall be saved eternally.

James 5:19-20  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;

Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Like the prodigal son, all of us are sinners who have gone astray, who have wandered off and got caught up out in the world at one time or the other,  but the responsibility of a preacher is to reach out to the lost, and make the attempt to bring God’s sheep back home where they belong.  I’m reminded of that when I think about….

…… My Dog Jack

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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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.

On March 18 1965 Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov left the Voskhod 2 spacecraft, and became the first person to float in open space, protected only by his space suit. He experienced some trouble getting back into the ship, but he managed to get back inside unharmed. It was just one year earlier, they had developed a space suit with a backpack oxygen supply.  The berkut spacesuit had a removable hard helmet, and many different types of protective layers, even providing thermal protection for the astronaut.  The backpack provided from 30 to 45 minutes worth of oxygen, something that he would desperately need in order to survive.  

This reminds me of the Christian life.

When divers submerge beneath the ocean, they need oxygen to live.  In order for any of us to live upon the earth, we must have oxygen too.  It is something that is required in order to survive.  Likewise, in order for any of us to live eternally in paradise, we are going to require something that is just as important as oxygen.  We must have faith. Faith is the oxygen that we must breathe every day, and just like the astronauts, we’re gonna need a tank full of it.

Romans 1:16-17  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

The Apostle teaches that the just shall live by faith. Genuine righteousness in someone’s life, can only be achieved by walking down the avenue of faith in Christ.  Faith is what causes us to become a doer of Gods will, rather than our own. Faith is what causes us to repent.  Faith is what causes us to prepare ourselves for God’s coming kingdom. It is what causes us to depart from iniquity.  When we speak about Christian faith, it involves believing in the things that Jesus and the Apostles preached, coupled with a heartfelt desire to do it.  When we have faith, we will possess an obligation of loyalty and fidelity to the teachings of scripture.  Many people will quickly claim that they believe in Jesus, but a faith that leads to salvation, is more than just saying something with your mouth.  When you possess genuine faith, it will result in you becoming a doer of the will of God. Without this type of life altering faith, you can never become pleasing unto God, and eventually become an overcomer of the carnal nature.  Overcoming the sinful deeds of the flesh is required in order to enter into eternal life, and it can only happen if you possess true faith in your heart.

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.

Doing the will of God, and pleasing Him perfectly, is the a goal of a faith-filled Christian.  The Lord Jesus has always pleased the heavenly father perfectly, as an example of how we should live our lives.  

Romans 8:3-4  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

God extends to us a promise of eternal life, but to reap this promise at judgement day, there is something that is required on your part.  One must turn their life around and do the will of God from their heart.  If you never go through this process of repentance, that leads to loyalty and faithful obedience to the teachings of Christ, then you are only deceiving yourself.  Salvation requires turning from the flesh, and walking in the Spirit.  Those who are capable of doing this will someday hear, well done, thou good and faithful servant.  Those who faithfully prepare themselves now, will someday enter into a kingdom that has been prepared for them.

2 Peter 1:10-11  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:  For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Obtaining the promise of eternal life requires obedience to the will of God.  It is only through genuine faith that one will do this. People who profess to be Christian who turn back to a life of disobedience, are going to end up like Judas and Esau, and are similar to a pig who returns to the mud after getting cleaned up.  They are similar to lots wife who was saved out of Sodom, but then decided she wanted to go back.  

Hebrews 10:36-38  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.  For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.  Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

Many children have an allowance that is given to them regularly by a parent.  If the child has a good week at school, and if they display good behavior both at home and in public, they can receive the promise of their allowance at the end of the week.  An employer may promise to pay you are monthly salary.  In order to reap the reward of that promise, you need to show up for work, you need to clean the store, you need to pay the employees, you need to stock shelves, and oversee any other varies duties that are required to your specific job.  If you’re not gonna do anything, how can you possibly expect to obtain the promise of receiving a paycheck?  The same is true of the Christian life. We are given a promise of salvation, but in order to reap it, you need to do the will of God.  If you’re not going to do God’s will, in only shows that you don’t really love God, and you will only come up short of eternal life.  You were given a promise but you did nothing required on your part to obtain it.  That’s because of a lack of faith.

Hebrews 4:1-2  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. 

Like an astronaut lives by oxygen, the just will live by faith.

(Ha-bah-kuck)    Habakkuk 2:4  Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

Galatians 3:11 …….The just shall live by faith.

Genuine faith will result in having a desire to please and obey God. It will cause one to become loyal and devoted to the cause of Christ.  Just like oxygen keeps us alive here upon the earth, faith needs to be alive in our hearts each day.  The kingdom of heaven is that hand and we all need to be prepared, having our oxygens tanks filled with faith, so that we can step through that door, leaving this world and eventually obtaining that new world that is coming.  It requires a walk of faith, very much like the walk that he took when he exited…..

…..Voskhod 2

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. ❤️

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

Many of you probably have a computer of some sort in your home, but did you know that the first modern automatic electronic digital computer was called the Atanasoff-Berry computer or otherwise known as ABC.  It was the brainchild of physics professor John Vincent Atanasoff and his graduate student Clifford Barry, conceived back in 1937.  The main purpose that it was used for was solving linear equations rather than a general purpose computer.  They claim that this computer is integrated into every modern processor’s design.

This reminds me of the Christian life

Although many people have been involved in the development of electronic computers, each of us need to understand that God designed a computer too, and it was actually the very first one that was ever created. He gave it to Adam.  It is extremely powerful, with incredible amounts of storage capacities, and it is found right inside of your own head.  It is the computer of your mind.

Philippians 4:8-9  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Like a television, our minds have an input, to which you can attach many different outside sources.  TVs receive information from a satellite, the internet, a DVD player or from a VCR.  Once these things have been inputed into the TV, they are outsourced onto the display screen.  Whatever you put into your mind, will most certainly be displayed in the way that you live your life outwardly.  In order to please God perfectly we have to be very careful about what you place your mind on.

Romans 8:5-8  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Maybe you go to a job somewhere, and on your 10-minute break, you begin to search the scriptures and to fill up on some spiritual food that will carry you to your next break.  I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love jerky.  The harder and more flavorful it is the better.  When we work in the woods, I like to put a piece in, and enjoy it for the next hour.  This is the same way that we need to feel about God’s Word.  We take little nibbles off of it during our day, and then we go and constantly think about, as we enjoy it’s wonderful flavor of truth and hope.  We can think about scripture, we can pray about scripture, and we can sing about scripture, and nobody has to know a thing about it because we do it inside of our hearts minds towards God.

Colossians 3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Our mind is kind of like an empty 2 liter bottle.  You can either fill it back up with water or with lemonade.  You could fill it milk, or with pop, but whatever you put inside it, that is what it contains.  The things that we pour into our minds each day, is very important to our spiritual life. There’s an old saying…..garbage in, garbage out.  The more of the world that you place inside your brain, the more of the world is going to be inside of your head.  Am I getting too simplistic again?  I hope so.  It’s the simplicity of the gospel.  What we think about each hour of the day is very very important to success in the Christian life.  This is why we need to input God’s Word regularly into our lives, and meditate on scripture.  We need to exhort one another daily while it is called today.  The more scripture, the merrier, enjoying an unending daily revival of God’s Word!

1 Timothy 4:15-16  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.

Many conservative Christians are turned away from the word “meditation” because many people of different religions are involved with it.  Meditate simply means to contemplate, to keep the mind fixed upon something, or to deeply study.

We meditate each and every day, on numerous different things depending on the lifestyles that we come from.  Many many years ago I remember someone telling me about a very good guitarist.  He was so good that people used to say that he slept with his guitar at night.  He was constantly trying to perfect himself to become a better musician.  His mind was completely focused on reading, practicing and thinking about ways that he could improve on his guitar.  You could very easily say that this was a form of meditation in his own life.  

A lawyer is meditating constantly upon the law, because it is something that they think about during a lot of their day.  A mechanic does the same when he thinks about how he’s going to fix a car as he begins to research the vehicle online.  A general on a battlefield might meditate deeply, thinking about how He will have his army fight the next battle.  A student might meditate on passing a history final as they cram for it over the next week.  Even a housewife can practice meditation by simply spending her day thinking about what she’s going to prepare for supper for her husband and her children.  So you see, each of us meditate about something.  Meditation is simply thinking deeply about certain things during your day. Over the years, this word has become offensive to certain Christians because it has been used in a lot in other religions, so I will simply say, that we need to think deeply about the things of God’s Word.  We need to place our minds on the good things of scripture, not once a month, not once a week, but each and every day.  It is only through the constant exposure to the truth, that our minds can be renewed and transformed to the will of God

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.

We need to be careful about what we put inside the computer of our mind.  In order for us to produce the perfect will of God, we need to input the truth of scripture.  God has created us with quite the hard drive, just make sure you store the right things inside of it.  God has given us an amazing and free computer inside of our heads, and it was created long before they invented…..

…..ABC

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. ❤️

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The other day I overheard someone talking about how they were trying to learn another language, in this case it was Japanese. To myself I thought, wow, that’s kind of cool and interesting, but right after that I had a question pop into my mind. Being that we live in the United States where probably 99% of the population understands and speaks English, my question was, Why learn a language that likely no one will be able to understand what you are speaking? I can understand if you are going to go on a trip somewhere where they speak a different language, then your language study may then pay off, but someone speaking in Japanese in the United States will most often go “un-understood.”

This is similar, in a way, to what the Apostle Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 14, but about the speaking of tongues in the church. The speaking of tongues is an entirely different thing than just learning a second language, however, as it is the speech that comes from the Holy Spirit in a person as they communicate to the Lord, sometimes in words that may not be understood by those who do not possess the gift of interpretation of tongues. 

The next passage of scripture is from 1 Corinthians 14:1-19.

“Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.

For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.

But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.

Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?

And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?

For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?

So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.

There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.

Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.

Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.

Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.

For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.

What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?

For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.

I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:

Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.”

And what Paul was teaching is that if someone completely new or who knows completely nothing about the Christian faith came into the church and heard a bunch of people speaking in tongues, with no interpretation of what was being spoken, that they will not understand anything of what is going on or being said. 

The speaking of tongues is a spiritual gift, to be certain, and is obviously a wonderful gift to possess, but in the church, if there was no one to interpret what was being said, Paul wrote that he would rather speak just five words that everyone could understand and grow from in than thousands of words that maybe would only edify himself.

So if you do have the gift of tongues, that is awesome! That is a very good gift to have. One just needs to remember that, in the church, there needs to be someone who is able to interpret what is being said so that the rest of the congregation may too be edified in the Spirit and may have their faith strengthened.

In Christ,

Andrew

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, I can remember someone telling me about an officer who had pulled over a young man for speeding on the highway. The young man apologized profusely and asked if the officer would please let it go, but he continued to write up the speeding ticket anyway, handing it to the driver and telling him to slow down and have a good day.  Ten miles down the road, the same officer pulled over another vehicle, this one being driven by a young woman. She too apologized profusely, asking if the officer would just let it go.  He smiled and ripped up the ticket in front of her, reminding her to make sure to watch the posted speed limit.

This reminds me of the Christian life.

It’s a wonderful thing to show mercy and forgiveness to others, but this is and example of partiality.  The officer in the story could have extended mercy to both people equally, but he didn’t.  If you are going to extend forgiveness and mercy to one person, then it needs to be extended to all.  This same kind of issue was going on in the early Christian church.  They were clearly treating the rich better than the poor.  They were playing favorites.

James 2:1-4  My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.  For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;  And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:  Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

This passage has to do with giving preferential treatment to those who were wealthy. Instead of treating everybody equally, they were catering to the rich, and hating the poor.  The beloved Apostle speaks about respect of persons.  Respect is defined as possessing an attitude of high regard and admiration for someone else.  You treat them with honor, and have a good opinion of them. You regard them as worthy of special consideration.  It’s like giving a wealthy man a padded front row box seat in the church, while the poor have to stand in the back without a chair at all. We must remember, when you strip everybody’s money away, when you take all of their possessions and belongings from them, when you remove all of their fancy clothes, we are all the same In the eyes of God.  God judges the heart, not what’s on the exterior.  

James 2:5-13  Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?  But ye have despised the poor.

It is the poor who are rich in faith, because they love the Lord Jesus Christ more than amassing temporal gain and Earthly possessions.  Remember that Moses turned away from all the wealth and treasures of Egypt, choosing to become poor, so that he could become rich in Spiritual things.  This is because he loved God more than the world.  He wanted to attain spiritual things, rather than attaining worldly possessions.  This is why the love of money is the root of all evil.  Instead of seeking after God, this misguided love only focuses on increasing one’s personal wealth.

Matthew 13:22  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.

This world treats the wealthy with great respect, but looks down upon their poor neighbor with contempt.  This might happen in the world, but it is not supposed to happen within the church.  Love your neighbor is a command that is supposed to be applied to all the members of the church, not just the rich.

………..Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?  Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?  If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:  But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 

Giving preferential treatment to somebody, just because they are wealthy is wrong.  In recent days I have noticed that there are people who hate the rich too, which also is wrong. A wealthy person can be hated because they are surrounded by covetous people.  Whether one is rich, or whether one is poor, we are commanded to love one another, and it is by this rule that we must all give an account to God someday.  In the church, you will be responsible to account for the distribution of temporal riches that God has given you.  Others will be responsible to account for the distribution of Spiritual riches and knowledge that God has given them.  Either way, freely you have received, freely give.  

2 Corinthians 8:13-15  For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:  But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:  As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.

God made both the rich and the poor.  The worldly wealthy are to help the poor, and those who are wealthy in spiritual treasures, are to help the poor in Spirit.  This is equality.  Playing favorites in the church just because of someones pocketbook is downright wrong.  All of us are the same, sinners who are being saved through faith in Christ.  Sometimes I envision the church as a gathering where each one of us wear the exact same t-shirt, like soldiers in the military who are all dressed the same.  No one’s better than the other, and no one worse.

Proverbs 14:20  The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.

Luke 6:24  But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.

Some people who are rich, desire the poor to get a job in order to increase their wealth just as they do, but the truth is, certain people have chosen a life of poverty to increase their wealth spiritually.  The Apostles left their occupations to do this very thing.  Whatever you seek after in this world, is what you will be filled up with, either Earthly wealth, or the riches that come through seeking Christ.

In the church, we want to love one another equally, and certainly don’t want to be…..

…..Playing Favorites

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.wordpress.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.

In 1869 at Promontory Summit in the Utah territory, a well-known event in history took place.  As two locomotives were drawn up face to face, Leland Stanford, using a silver spike maul, drove a 17.6 Karat gold spike to join the rails of the Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento, and the Union Pacific Railroad from Omaha, creating the first transcontinental railroad across the United States.  The spike is now displayed In the arts center at Stanford University. One of the engravings says, ” May God continue the unity of our country as this railroad unites the two great oceans of the world.

This reminds me of the Christian life.

As they drove in that final spike, uniting two oceans by rail, Jesus took the spikes at the cross so that man could be united with God.  Jesus is the binding tie that came to join and reconcile the world to God the Father.  Taking the nails at the cross, the access point to God was now complete, finishing the passage way from Earth to God through Himself. Jesus truly is our golden spike.

Because of our sinful condition, this world has been estranged from God.  It began in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve were separated from Him in paradise. God is in heaven, and we are here upon the Earth.  We have been disconnected from Him, like a railroad that is disconnected, separating two parts of the country.  This is why Jesus came to this world, to reconnect us back to God the Father.  This is what is known as reconciliation. Jesus is the binding tie between our world and the heavenly, completing our pathway to God.  Just as those on the west coast, were isolated from those on the east coast until the railway was finally completed, Jesus connects humanity with God.  The spikes that Jesus took on the cross reconciles us and rejoins us in a relationship with the heavenly Father, through His forbearance and grace.

2 Corinthians 5:18-20  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

Estrangement from God means to be alienated, isolated or excluded from having a close relationship with Him. Estrangement happens because of our sin, or sinful living.  Like people who lived on the west coast were separated from people who lived on the east coast, it was that final spike, that brought these two distant parts of the country back together.  The spikes that Jesus took on the cross, and the grace that He provided, is what joins man and God together once again.  Forgiveness is now available through Christ, who has paved the way to heaven through His mercy.  Now it’s up to you, if you’re going to take that ride of faith, all the way from coast to coast, but what you must do, is make sure that you stay on the train of faith, until that day that you arrive to see Him.

Colossians 1:20-23  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:  If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;  whereof I Paul am made a minister;

Reconciliation is to restore to a friendly relationship once again, as taught through the relationships found in the parable of the prodigal son.  Spiritually, reconciliation is the end of estrangement between a human and God, through the atonement of our precious Lord.  It is to rejoin and return to the relationship that you had with Him In the past.  Reconciliation is a huge part of the Christian life, because this is the reason why Jesus came to the Earth.  He came to reconcile us to God. Reconciliation is so important in the Christian life, that God doesn’t even want a gift from you, unless you first reconcile with a brother you having knowingly wronged.

Matthew 5:23-24  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.

A wife who departs her husband is in open daily rebellion against the command of Christ.  If she truly believes in Jesus, she will repent, return, reconcile, and obey her spouse in everything, otherwise she is rejecting God’s ordained head of the house.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11  And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:  But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

By God’s grace, Jesus can present us holy and unreproveable in his sight, but we must continue in the faith.  This requires turning from sin, and doing His will.  If you choose to continue to live in sin, and won’t bother to repent, then you will only appear at judgment day, as a sinner who wouldn’t bother to repent.  God is watching, and He is not mocked.  What you sow you will also reap.  This is why we need to continue riding the train of faith, all the way to our final destination.  As a bridge, Jesus has connected both railways, and has provided us a way to get all the way to heaven.

Continuing in our faith means to do the will of God from the heart.  Continuing in our faith means to obey the teachings of Christ.  Continuing in our faith means to submit and to serve God’s purpose for us.  Those who choose to live a life of disobedience to God’s will, are only proving themselves to be disobedient.  It is what it is.  Our obedience to the will of God proves our love for Him.  It pleases Him completely, just as Jesus pleases the heavenly Father perfectly.  A woman who departs her husband, is not pleasing to her husband.  She only proves by her actions that obedience to the will of Christ, is not the guiding factor in her life.  We must prove our love in our obedience to Christ whose nails opened up the door of salvation to us all.  Be reconciled unto God and others.

Like this spike joined two Earthly oceans together, the spikes that Jesus Christ took at the cross brings two worlds together, heaven and Earth.  Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ truly is, Gods……..

……..Golden Spike

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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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.

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.

Andrew and I do a lot of seasonal work out in the woods.  One evening, we were anxious to get home for supper.  I was driving back on our three wheeler, probably going a little faster than I should have, because I didn’t notice the small little branch leaning over the narrow trail.  It was only a tiny little twig, but as I drove by it, It swatted me right square in the eyeball.  Maybe some of you have had this happen to you, but I guarantee you it didn’t feel very good.  My eye immediately started to water and weep and I couldn’t even see out of it.  That night when I finally went to bed, my eye was swollen and completely bloody and blurred, unable to focus and unable to see.

This reminds me of the Christian life

When you have a small twig hit your eye, you really can’t see where you’re going.  The Lord Jesus taught that some of the religious leaders of his day were blind leaders of the blind, because they had a huge log in their own eyes.  It was a log of self-righteousness, rather than the righteousness that comes through faith and love for Christ.  They only desired to be religious on the exterior, rather than becoming transformed in their own hearts.  They were very jealous of Jesus, and only wanted to find some fault with Him, rather than judging themselves.

Matthew 7:1-5  Judge not, that ye be not judged.  For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.  And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

The religious leaders of Jesus day were judging Him, because they were hypocritical fault finders. The simple definition of a hypocrite is a two-faced person.  They appear one way on the exterior, but on the inside of their heart, they are the complete opposite.  There are numerous examples found in the scriptures of people who were filled with religious hypocrisy, who only wanted to find some kind of fault with both the Lord Jesus, and His disciples.

Luke 20:20  And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.

Let’s look at another example.

Matthew 12:1-8  At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.

But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.  But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

When we are baptized by submersion into the Christian life, we begin a new walk as a born again believer. We are in the process of transforming and converting into what God wants us to become. You might make a misstep along the way, but this is why God provided us with forgiveness. We can come boldly to the throne of grace in time of need.  The church is filled with imperfect people who are beginning to be perfected by the truth. Remember that the Apostle Peter was chosen by Christ to lead the church, but he made some mistakes along the way too.  He felt very penitent about the wrongs that he had committed, but he did go to Christ Jesus and got forgiven and restored.  The church is led by sinful people, but there is a difference between a sinner who feels bad about something that they have done, and a hypocrite.  A hypocrite does not believe in their heart in scriptural truth, which would lead them to a place of contrition.  They may sit in a church pew, and hear the Word of God preached, but they really don’t believe the things that they hear, because of which, there is no inward penitence. Because they don’t believe in God’s Word inwardly, they won’t confess their faults and get forgiven by Christ and others whom they have sinned against.  A hypocrite is not sorry for anything.

Luke 18:10-14  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

The proud Pharisee is an example of a hypocrite who had a huge log of self-righteousness In both of his eyes.  On the other hand, the Apostle Peter was not a hypocrite.  He was a sinner like then rest of us, whos heart was in the right place.  He made a mistake in his life that he regretted, but got forgiven for it, and went on to do the thing that Christ called him to.  A hypocrite won’t do this, because they don’t believe in the truth enough to repent and be converted inwardly.  They want to maintain their religion and the relationships that they’ve developed with others in a church, but on the inside, they could care less about the way that they live.  Their hearts simply are not broken enough to feel inward sorrow for the misdeeds that they have committed.  They feel no godly sorrow, that would lead them to undergo a heartfelt transformation.  Instead, the religious things that they do, are not motivated out of an inward love for God, but out of a love to be seen.  

Today,  these blind leaders of the blind still exist, filled with prideful religion on the exterior, but refusing to accept the fact of the sinful lives that they continue to live in.  Instead of pulling the log out of their own eye, they are blindly focused on someone else, and their….

……… One Little Twig

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.