.

What happens when you take a hand saw and cut a branch off of a tree? The branch dies. It dies because it has been separated from the main tree which brings the branch the water and nutrients that it needs to grow and survive. The water in the tree sort of acts like the blood in a person, delivering that necessary life force throughout the body. 

Just like a tree branch, the same will happen to an arm, hand, finger, or foot of a person. All of these limbs and appendages are connected throughout the body through a series of blood veins and vessels, as the heart pumps that oxygen rich blood from your head to your toes. In the unfortunate event that a hand, finger, foot etc becomes and remains disattached from the rest of the body, it will die just the same as a twig or branch would. 

Once again, these things die because they need to have that thing which gives them “life” so that they can live. Without it they will die, and it is through these examples with which we can understand the importance of one of the greatest things of our faith, in the partaking of the body and blood of Christ during Holy Communion.

John 6:53-58  “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.”

In this passage Jesus was explaining to the Jews to whom He was speaking that it was through Him that everlasting life was found. They seemed to have a difficult time understanding this however, not understanding what Jesus meant. But you see, a body without blood is dead, and without partaking in the body and blood of the soul is dead also.

Without the blood of Christ no one is saved. Without partaking of the life that is in His blood during Holy Communion we can have no life in ourselves, and will die. We will not have everlasting life unless we have Him in us. Jesus is the life (John 14:6) and to have His life in us we need to believe in Him during Communion.

John 15:1-8  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”

In Christ we have life, eternal life. There is nothing else that can make you live forever. It seems like every year they come out with some kind of “miracle” drug that is supposed to help you live longer, be stronger, and more healthy. Every year more people bend their ears to a doctor who tells them that they absolutely have to take this little pill twice a day, or if they don’t they will die. People are so focused on trying to live longer in their physical bodies that they fail to realize that what they should be doing is making sure that they are getting ready for the real life that matters. Eternal life. 

Do you want this eternal life? It is only found in one place, the blood of Christ.

In Christ

Andrew

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

From an hourglass to a digital watch, time keeping has always seemed to be very important to many people, especially an employer.  It’s been claimed that somewhere around 1880, Willard and Harlow Bundy invented the key recorder, which was basically a machine that would track the amount of time that workers were on the clock. It registered when they punched in and when they punched out of work, using a time card, and then the employer would pay them according to the correct amount of time for their labor.  I think that one of the things that we learn in this life, is that your time is rewarded, according to the time that you invest in something. It just depends on what you’re going to invest it in.

This reminds me of the Christian life.

There are many of us who don’t have to punch a time clock each day, but there are numerous unregistered hours during each of our days when we need to ask ourselves a question, how are you utilizing the time that God has given you?  If somebody were to give you ten dollars, how would you spend it?  Would you spend it wisely?  Maybe you would buy some beef jerky, a can of pop, and some peanuts, but at the end of the day, a receipt would show exactly what you spent your money on.  What will you use your time for while here upon the earth? Will it be spent for God’s purposes, or your own?

As the Lord Jesus walked from place to place, He called out to men to preach God’s Word. The thing that is required to preach God’s Word is your time and energy, which is something that a lot of people in this world refuse to give up.  They choose to punch the clock for their own benefit, rather than Gods.   Each day, many people want to use their time for various activities that are meaningful to them rather than in service to Christ.  They focus on amassing earthly riches, or building an expensive home, and become swallowed up in the temporal cares and concerns of this world, rather than pursuing the teachings of our faith.  Many people are not preaching God’s Word, simply because they don’t want to make the time, and won’t forsake the things of this world.  Time is a very important commodity, and many people are so focused on the world and it’s affairs that they are incapable of becoming a servant of God.  It comes down to what is going to be the most important thing in your day, serving yourself, or serving God. It comes down to doing your own will, or doing the will of Christ Jesus.  In order to serve Christ perfectly, we must be capable of forsaking the world.

Mark 10:28-31  Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.  And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,  But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.  But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

Remember, that in this passage, there is no mention of the word ” husband.” The reason why, is because it’s forbidden for a wife to leave or forsake her spouse. It’s a commandment of Christ.  A man of God is led by Christ, not by a wife or his family.

1 Corinthians 7:10  And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:

When I first read this passage from Mark 10, I wholeheartedly believed this promise, and shortly after I was baptized by submersion into the Christian life, I forsook everything that I owned.  I even left the new home that I had been working on and improving.  This is how I eventually ended up where I am today.  Because of the circumstances, God took me full circle, to the place that He wanted me to be. Because of faithfulness to this passage, I have reaped over 100 fold blessings, and watched this promise come to pass in my own life.  In order for these things to happen, your love for God and His Word has to be the greatest love of your life.  It has to be greater then anything, or anyone. Discipleship is a high calling.  The word forsake means to abandon or to leave.  You must be capable of walking off on possessions, belongings, jobs and relatives. Your love for Jesus has to be greater then your children, and even your own wife.

Luke 14:25-27  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. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

The Lord Jesus needs to be the greatest love of our life. Love for the things of the world only pulls each of us away from a closer relationship with God.  Instead of focusing our eyes on Him, they become focused on the world.

1 John 2:15-17  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

To preach God’s word requires that you love Jesus more than anything else, but for some, their family just gets in the way

Luke 9:59-62  And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.  And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Did you notice in this passage what was first in these men’s lives?  It was family relationships.  First means above all others in importance.  Some people are just not fit for God’s kingdom because God does not take precedence over all others in their life.  Men need to get up and preach.  God has picked our draft card, and it’s time to enlist and show up for duty.  God calls on to men to preach His Word and become a soldier for Him, but in order to do so, you must deny yourself and turn away from the affairs of this world.

2 Timothy 2:4  No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

Consider God’s soldiers in the Old Testament, who denied themselves, forsaking the world in order to serve the Lord Jesus.  Instead of seeking after the riches or pleasures of this world, they chose to be filled with the riches found through a relationship with God.  Moses did the same thing. He left his entire earthy inheritance behind, in order to obtain the inheritance of eternal life.  The Apostles left their earthly occupations in order to follow Christ, forsaking everything to follow Jesus.

Today I ask you, are you serving the Lord Jesus Christ? What have you given up in this world, in order to devote yourself wholeheartedly to God? Will you men preach the Word as commanded by Christ? God doesn’t need our money and possessions, He wants us to preach.  He wants laborers, who are ready to fish for men.   Are you willing to give back the life, that He has first given to you?

How are you going to utilize……

……….Time

Let’s think about these things for today.

We can be found on your web browser by searching tlkjbc, or by going to our blog at

tlkjbc.wordpress.com , or 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

Please take note that we have absolutely no affiliation with any advertisement you might find on our posts. Thanks!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Where do you go to learn about something? You usually head to the source of that information, right? To learn mathematics one generally goes to a math book. To learn how to plant a field of corn you go to a farmer, not a lawyer or a dentist. You go to the source of that knowledge and information.

So if you were presented with a situation where you had to make a decision on something, but you didn’t know the answer to, who would you listen to? If you had to stop the bleeding of a wound on a person and the only two people whose phone number you could remember were a doctor and a gas station attendant, whose advice would you listen to and follow? The doctor’s. Why? Because it is the doctor who went to medical school to learn about that very thing, and knows what to do in that situation.

And that is going to lead me to the next question that I have for you today: Where should we go to learn and obtain information on how to live our lives? Whose advice and instruction should we be looking to? Some people may say that they looked at their parents for life advice and inspiration. Some may follow the advice of “self-help teachers” or psychiatrists, even close friends, in the effort to make their life decisions. They try to model their lives to be in accordance with the general public around them, and what the world teaches. 

But what an individual needs to understand is that the decisions in the life of a Christian are not based on what the world teaches, but on the word of God. As the Creator of life and all things, God is the source of all knowledge, and the highest place of authority in a Christian’s life. In that place of authority, God has laid out His commands for His believers and has shown them how they need to live and act.

As Christians, we do not base our decisions and live our lives based on what the world deems to be right or wrong, we base our life on the Holy Scriptures. We make our decisions on what we have learned from Christ, regardless of what the rest of the world thinks is right. 

Psalms 1:1-6  “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

The world will teach things such as “homosexuality is a perfectly normal thing, and there is nothing wrong with it,” while the Bible teaches that it is a sin. The Bible teaches that homosexuality is immoral. The world believes that the universe was created in a dust and gas explosion in outer space. This is being taught in public schools today to children every year, but the Bible teaches differently, and as Christians we believe the words of God over the teaching of the world. 

We cannot allow ourselves to forget Who it is that we need to be obedient to and model our lives after. It is Jesus. Not the world. The world may hate you for the stand that you take in your faith in Christ, but it doesn’t matter. It only matters that you are obedient to God’s holy word.

So who are you going to listen to and learn from? The world or God?

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 share something with you.

For many years my family has enjoyed certain types of meals, some of which I would never partake of myself.  One of them is the delicacy of peanut butter and banana sandwiches.  I understand that a lot of people like these interesting concoctions, but in my own mind, I think it’s one of the grossest things that I could ever eat.  Our family has eaten quite their fill of them.  I know it’s a special treat for them, but each time I smell the peanut butter, I tend to quietly walk away so that they can enjoy them privately.   Granted I’m not tempted to eat one of these sandwiches, nor would I feel like I was sinning if I did so, but the point is, that I allow my family to eat things that they desire.

When I was a child we had a garden, and we were required at harvest time to snap green beans at the picnic table. This was so that they could be canned up and saved for the winter.  I can remember sitting down at the supper table for a meal of potatoes with fresh green beans, but when nobody else was looking, I would put the green beans into my pocket.  One by one they disappeared under the table,  until my plate was completely clean and thus, I became eligible for dessert!  After supper, into the bathroom I went, locking the door, and putting all of those green beans down the toilet, to be used, in my mind, for a better purpose.  As fertilizer in the septic field.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

Not everybody can eat the same thing. It all comes down to your personal preference and your own convictions towards God.  One thing is for sure, we should never tempt other people to eat or drink something that they feel is wrong in their own mind. Neither should we stand in judgment over others, who partake of things that we don’t.

Romans 14:1-4  Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.  For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.  Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.  Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

Sometimes people will find fault with you, just because of what you eat. They did the exact same thing to the Apostle Paul. 

1 Corinthians 9:3-4  Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, Have we not power to eat and to drink?

Whether you eat certain foods or whether you do not, does not determine the kind of person that you are in your heart.  Neither should we make judgments about others based on food intake.  This is the way certain people judged John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 11:18-19  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.  The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

The Lord Jesus explains that it is just food.

Matthew 15:17-18  Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? (Draw-ft) But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

In the latter days, some people will actually teach that’s it’s required for you to become a vegetarian, forbidding you to eat meat.  Have you ever had somebody tell you what you could and couldn’t eat in your diet?  People such as these are more focused on the flesh, rather than things of the spirit. God is the one who ultimately determines the length of a person’s life, not what you eat. 

1 Corinthians 8:8  But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.

1 Timothy 4:1-5  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:  For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Judgements must happen in the church for the purpose of correcting sin issues, but judging over eating, or not eating certain foods is wrong.

Romans 14:10-13  But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.  Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

The other issue is that not everybody can eat what you eat.  Some people in the church have come out of false religions, and if they ate some of the things that you ate, they might feel in their conscience that they are sinning against God.  Some people may have completely given up alcohol, so you certainly don’t want to partake of it around others who are convicted by it, or might consider it a temptation. All things are good, but to some people, in their own mind, they feel it’s wrong.   To cause someone to stumble or to offend, is to lead them into a place where their weak conscience is defiled.  Remember that this doesn’t pertain to just food alone, but anything that would cause someone to feel weak.

Romans 14:14-23  I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.  But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.  Let not then your good be evil spoken of:  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.  For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.  Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.  For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.  It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.  And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

As a Christian, the Apostle Paul was able to eat a lot of things that he wasn’t able to eat growing up as a Jew.  When we enjoy Christian liberties, we must always consider the conscience of those whom you are with.  After all, some of us just can’t stomach…..

……Green Beans

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

“He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” Proverbs 18:13

When was the last time that you opened you mouth to say something, but right before you spoke you stopped, realizing that you probably shouldn’t say it? Your conscience convinces you that it is better to remain quiet for a while and think before you speak.

This is a very good quality to have, although it is a quality that not everyone possesses. Some people just seem to love the sound of their own voice sometimes it seems, as whenever a question is asked they immediately feel the need to speak regardless of whether they have any real knowledge of the subject or not. They just desire to receive admiration and praise from others and to feel “big” or important. 

But the Apostle James taught in his letter that we should be slow to speak, but swift to hear. 

James 1:19 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:”

Swift means quick, fast, or rapid. If you walk swiftly you are walking at a quick pace. Opposite of that is slow, and when used in the verse above means to act with deliberation. It is not done hastily without thinking it through.

We need to be swift to hear, but slow to speak. It teaches us in the Bible, that if don’t know or undertand certain questions, to avoid them. This is especially important when it comes to our salvation and faith. If you are going to talk about something that the Bible teaches, make certain that you understand what it means before you speak, because otherwise not only will you look very foolish, but you could also mislead someone else into a belief that is not true.

“But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.” 2 Timothy 2:23

Think before you speak. Is what I am going to say correct and accurate? Will the thing that I am about to say hurt someone else? Is what I am going to say in agreement with God’s word? As the Bible teaches in Proverbs, a fool will say whatever is in his mind, not caring about the result, but a wise man will wait to speak.

“A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.” Proverbs 29:11

Remember when the Jews wanted to stone the adulterous woman, Jesus didn’t answer them right away. He picked the correct words and convicted them they were sinners too. 

We need to be quick and ready to hear the word of God. The Proverbs are full of verses about hearing instruction.

“Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.” Proverbs 8:33

“Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.” Proverbs 4:1

The next time someone asks you a question or your thoughts about a matter, think before you speak. Make certain that what you are about to say is good and true. Be quick to listen and hear instruction, but do not speak hastily about the that you do not know.

“Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.” Ecclesiastes 5:2

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 share something with you.

Up here in the woods, if you’re gonna decide to load up the truck and go camping for the weekend, you really need to prepare some things ahead of time.  You will need to pack up all of the required camping equipment, some food, matches, and of course a flashlight.  A lot of us keep flashlights in our closets at home, in our garages, and even in the fishing boat.  I read that flashlights have been around for over 100 years, ever since they were first created back in the late 1800s.  In 1896 the first dry cell battery was made, and the flashlight quickly followed suit, being created a few years later by the English inventor David Misell (me-cell) in 1899.

He actually used three large “d” batteries to form the handle of the light, and it had a switch, so you could turn it on to illuminate your surroundings.  But the early versions of this invention showed that it was going to  require a lot of improvement.  They became commonly known as a flash – light, because of a temperamental reason.  Apparently, The light would flicker on and off at times, causing quick bursts and flashes of light.  When you were young, can you remember smacking a flashlight on your hand to try to get it to work?

Things sure have progressed since then, both with the advancement of his innovation, and with the storage capacity of batteries.  Nowadays many of us go camping using a convenient light known as a headlamp. The headlamp was also created by David Misell (me-cell, )but the technology has come leaps and bounds since then.  All you have to do is strap it on your head, or on your baseball cap and you’re ready to go.  One thing is for sure, if we head out into the woods, we are going to need fresh batteries, if we are going to see where we are going.

How many of you have gone to sleep in your tent, only to find out that when you reached out for your headlight during the middle of the night, the batteries were completely dead. Nobody had even bothered to prepare beforehand to make sure it was charged and ready to go,which made it impossible for you to see as you stumbled around your campsite in the dark.  

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

Our hearts are very much like batteries, but they need to be charged up routinely. Each one of us is like a flashlight in this world, but in order for us to shine, we need to be charged too, so that we can see, as we walk through the darkness of this place.  We must be powered up with the Holy Spirit, filling up our hearts and our minds each and every day, preparing ourselves beforehand, so that we can find our way home.

Matthew 25:1-13  Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.  

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.  Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Symbolically, to take oil in our lamp, is to fill up our hearts with the things of the Holy Spirit.  Our bodies are vessels that need to be burning brightly with spiritual fuel, so that we are ready and prepared to be with the Lord Jesus someday.  The Apostle Paul refers to himself as a vessel.

Acts 9:15  But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

Each of us are vessels too.

1 Thessalonians 4:4  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

The wife is known as the weaker vessel.

1 Peter 3:7  Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

The main thrust of this passage is that the wise virgins were prepared for what was coming.  They had oil in their vessels because they had gotten themselves ready beforehand.  Think of it like this.

How many of you have children who have missed the schoolbus because they didn’t get their backpack ready the night before?  They kept putting it off, waiting until the very last minute.  They didn’t prepare until the moment that the bus driver arrived in the driveway to pick them up.  Only then, did they frantically run to their bedroom to quickly pack up their items, but by then, it was too late.  Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

Some dictionaries define procrastination as the act of delaying or putting off tasks until the very last minute or past their deadline. Others clarify it as the action of unnecessarily and voluntarily delaying or postponing something, despite knowing that there will be negative consequences for doing so. I guess it all comes down to how important something really is in your life.

How important is it for you to get to work in the morning?  Would you set your alarm clock the night before in order to get there on time?  Think about the numerous excuses that employers have heard from employees who forgot to prepare beforehand.  Think about how many bosses have explained to their tardy workers that they needed to decide if this was a job that was important enough for them to keep.

Granted, not all kids want to show up in school, and for them, the last thing that they are concerned about is getting their backpack ready.  Some people could care less about keeping their job, so they don’t bother to be prompt, but this is the main point of this passage.  This attitude might be displayed towards the things of this world, but never in regards to our salvation and our faith in Jesus Christ.

How important is it to you, to see in the middle of the night at a campground?  Would you charge the batteries right now for the weekend?  How important is eternal salvation to you?  Are you preparing yourself right now for the judgment that is coming in the future? 

Luke 12:35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

Today is the day of salvation.  Today is the day to get ready for God’s coming Kingdom.  Are you filling your heart and your mind each day with God’s Word?  Are your batteries charged up and ready to go, in your……

…….Headlamp.

Let’s think about these things for today.

Our diaries can be found on your web browser by searching tlkjbc, or by going to our blog at

tlkjbc.wordpress.com , or 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

Please take note that we have absolutely no affiliation with any advertisement you might find on our posts. Thanks!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I once was outside one summer day when I heard a kind of a chirping noise. Curious as to what was making this noise I eventually traced the sound back to it’s source, and I found that it was coming from a frog that had gotten caught by a garter snake, as it was preparing to eat it. I decided to free that frog from his untimely demise and extracted him from the snake’s mouth, separating the two of them from each other and went back to my business.

Well, about five minutes later I heard that same chirping noise again, and yes, once again, that frog had been captured by that same snake. In disbelief of how ridiculous and foolish this frog was, I also once again freed him and went back to work. 

Do you know what happened five minutes after that? You guessed it. Chirp, chirp, chirp. He had gone back and gotten himself caught a third time! However this time I simply gave up on freeing that frog because he clearly was just going to keep on going back to there once again after he was freed. My efforts to try to save him were pointless because of his insistence to return back to his previous place. 

Similar to that frog, some people can be freed from something, only to go right back to it once again. This is what was happening in Galatians 5, as Paul in his letter explained to them that they had been set free from the Law by Christ’s death on the cross.

Galatians 5:1-6  “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”

If you are going to try to keep the Jewish Law, then you are bound to the entirety of the Law, and not just one or two points. What one must realize is that the Old Testament Law and the New Testament (grace) are two separate things. The Old is Judaism, the New is Christianity. And while it is the same God for each, the New Testament is the law that God has now implemented, and is in force.

As no one could keep the law, no one was made justified, and so this was why it was needed for Jesus to come and take it away through His death. Upon His death when He said, it is finished, that marked the end of that era. The Law became the Old, and Jesus instituted the New. 

Paul explained that to try to keep the Law nullifies everything that Jesus came to do and did. We are not saved by trying to keep the Law. Thousands of years of the Jewish law proved that no one could keep it perfectly, and that everyone will at some point break the Law and commit sin. Sacrifice after sacrifice needed to be offered for the sins of the people under the Jewish Law, but this is something that Jesus took away as He became the sacrifice for our sins. No more sacrifices, no more observation of days, etc. Jesus took that away.

Realizing that we have been given liberty from the Law, why would we go back and try to keep it? If we were able to get to Heaven by keeping the Law then Jesus wouldn’t have had to come. But trying to keep the Law will not save you, only Jesus can. So don’t be like that frog that I kept rescuing, and go back into the Law. Enter into His grace and He will save you.

In Christ

Andrew

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

It seems like everywhere we go, there are video cameras that are in use.  Inside of stores, at the gas stations, and even on the front door of people’s homes.  They are installed inside patrol cars, bank vaults, and even some of the hunters have set up trail cameras out here in the woods, so they can watch their favorite wild game online from 100 miles away!

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

Each day God is watching, but unlike a game camera, He sees into the places that a camera cannot reach, into the soul.  He looks inside of the heart, and can see all of the secret sins that people commit each day.  There is nothing that is hidden from His sight.

Jeremiah 16:17  For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.

When something is hidden it is kept out of sight and concealed.  There are many secret things that people do inwardly, that cannot be perceived by others on the outside.  They try to appear a certain way publicly, but on the interior, they are filled with sin and iniquity. People may certainly be able to fool the public, but they cannot fool God, because He sees what’s going on inside of you.  

Psalms 90:8  Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

God sees the motives why we do certain things.  He sees the reason why we act a certain way.  He sees if we are sincere and genuine.  He sees within the conscience of every single person. He sees if the things that we do are done out of love or malice. He sees if we are speaking the truth or speaking lies. He saw right inside the hearts of the religious leaders of His day.

Matthew 23:25-28  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Just because people appear like sheep on the exterior, doesn’t mean that they are true believers of Christ inside of their heart.  This is one of the reasons why we should never judge by appearances.  

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

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

God looks inside of the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7  But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

Jesus saw inside the hearts of those who were only attempting to entangle Him in His words.  Their wickedness was not hidden from His sight.

Luke 20:20-25  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.  And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly:

Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?  But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me?  Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s.  And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.

The Apostle Paul completely renounced the hidden things of dishonesty.

2 Corinthians 4:1-2  Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;  But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending  ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

Some people only have an exterior form of religion, while the truth is that on the inside, they really don’t serve God from their heart.  The meaning of hypocrisy is a feigning to be what one is not.  I’ve always thought of hypocrisy as being an actor in a movie.  They put on their makeup, and play the part of someone,.. who in real life,…they actually are not.

Mark 7:5-6  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?  He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

There are many very religious people just like this in society today, who really don’t love and desire to do the will of God from their heart. Their real love is to be seen.

Luke 20:46-47  Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;

Which devour widows’ houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.

Nowadays they even have huge prayer rallies right out in public, rather than in the privacy of someone’s home or basement. Why do they do these things? It’s because they love to be seen as religious people.  Some people feel that God cannot answer prayers in a basement or prayer closet, and justify that they must go out in public to be heard. The truth is that they only want their neighbors to hear them.  Just like in days of old, they justify themselves in the world, but God knows their hearts, and He knows who are His.

Luke 16:14-15  And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.  And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Matthew 6:5  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

God is a witness to everything that goes on inside of us.  The Apostle Paul wasn’t seeking glory from men, He was seeking souls to be transformed by the truth of God’s Word.

1 Thessalonians 2:4-6  But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.  For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:  Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

Our hearts and consciences are naked in the presence of God.  

Hebrews 4:13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Luke 817 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

The next time that you head out on a trail with a four wheeler, I want you to remember that God sees right inside of our hearts.  It’s a place that simply cannot be seen, even by the most expensive………

….. Trail Cam.

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.

9/24-30 We are in a process of restructuring stuff, with RSS feeds/links/etc on our blog. There’s only so much two guys can do! Pray for us, and thank you for your patience. Click on one of our current feeds below for updates.

https://tlkjbc.hipcast.com/rss/tlkjbc.xml

or…..

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2055335.rss

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Psalms 34:14  “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”

Have you ever noticed how that after you have been inside of a dim building for a while then you go outside how extremely bright it seems? It is almost on the point of hurting your eyes, it seems so bright. Maybe you went back inside to find yourself a pair of sunglasses, because when you put them on the tinted glasses will diffuse that bright light and bring relief to your eyes. 

Sunglasses are not the only things that can diffuse or lessen the intensity of something. You may have a pan on the stove that becomes really hot, so that you need to pour on some cold water to cool it down. Or you might have the windows down when you are driving in your vehicle when the wind starts to blow things around in the backseat, so you roll those windows up enough to calm things down. Instead of having a crazy windstorm in the back you have tranquility. 

That is what peace is defined as. Tranquility, to be free from disturbance, or to be in a state of harmony between people or groups. It is this, peace, that is a quality that every Christian should seek to possess.

To be at peace with others is not to fight or argue, but some people just seen to want to fight about anything and everything. When you say something they say the opposite. Constantly trying to oppose and disagree with everything that you say. That is called being contentious, and it is the exact opposite of peace. What is the opposite of peace? War and fighting.

James 4:1-3  “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

Here was an instance where James had to address an issue about there being fighting amongst the church, seemingly having to deal a large amount with covetousness, and the carnal lust and desires of the flesh. These un-godly desires were filling up the church with fighting and discord, and not with peace and harmony. They weren’t filled with love.

To live peaceably with others is what we need to do as much as possible, even in the face of evil done to you by others. Not to return evil done to you with evil back again, avenging yourself, but to seek peace with others.

Romans 12:17-19  “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

1 Peter 3:10-11  “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.”

So seek after peace. Not contention or fighting and being argumentative with others, but be filled with peace.

In Christ

Andrew