In some of the most heavily populated areas of the world, the flow of traffic can become a very real problem to solve as thousands of people begin their day of work in the morning rush. To speed along the commute, the government has constructed an entire network of freeways and interstate highways. Some of these roads are four, five, six, maybe even more lanes wide; they have to be this wide in order to keep all of the traffic moving steadily and smoothly. 

The lanes on these roads are one-way in direction, and once you get onto it that is the direction that you need to continue in, because do you know what will happen if someone decided to stop, turn around, and go back in the direction towards where they just came from? With all of the other cars coming up behind they most certainly will cause a serious wreck.

You need to continue to go the same direction once you get on, just as when a person becomes a Christian the only way is forwards. There can be no turning around and going back to the old sinner that they used to be, living in the sins of the world. To do so will only bring about a very certain destruction in the future. The reason why is because they know what the teachings of the Bible say, they know how they should live their lives, but they make the critical error of going back into the world.

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

For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”

The world is a sinful place, completely void of the love of God; why would someone go back into it after tasting the mercies of the Lord? Just like a pig that was washed clean from all of it’s filth, each sinner that receives the free gifts of grace and forgiveness has been cleansed from their sins. Why would anyone want to go back?

Salvation is not a one-time lock up, where once you become saved through Christ you can go back to your previous way of life of sin. Like a cup full of water it will only stay full if you keep it upright, but if you turn it upside-down it will disappear, we need to continue to walk in the teachings of Christ.

Ephesians 4:1  “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,”

John 8:31  “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;”

Day by day a Christian needs to walk in the footsteps of Christ, always forwards, never going back. It is a narrow path, to be certain, with the threat of temptation on the sides, but we need to keep our eyes on the prize and continue to remain steadfast in the faith. If we happen to stumble in a weak moment we need to get right back up and overcome it; that is the reason that Jesus continues to offer us grace, so that we can overcome. 

Always forwards, never back. 

In Christ,

Andrew

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“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16

Too often today, many “Christians” only want to do what they want, or what is convenient for them. They want to do what is easy, and skip all of the things that they have trouble doing or don’t want to do. They want to go to church on Sunday, sing a few hymns, and the rest of the week live whatever way they want. Well I have news for them: that is NOT Christianity. That is a show of godliness, but in truth it is all fake. That is a “lukewarm Christian.”

A person who claims to be a Christian, but does not do what Jesus and His holy word says is not really a Christian at all. A Christian is someone who believes and follows Jesus and His teachings. Jesus says if you love me, keep my words. If someone isn’t going to keep His words, ask yourself, do they truly love Christ? Love for our Lord will abide and keep the things that He and His apostles taught.

“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Luke 6:46

Why do you think there are so many denominations of churches in the world today? They all want to believe only what they want to believe. If they all believed the teachings of the bible, then there wouldn’t be a hundred different denominations, there would be one. In the time of the apostle Paul, there weren’t Lutherans, Catholics, Baptists, etc. They were a part of the “Church.” One group, because they believed the words that Jesus taught, and they listened to what His apostles taught them. Just imagine if Paul or Peter were here today and saw what people have turned the Christian faith into. They would have been very displeased with what is happening today to say the least. 

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:21-27

Like Jesus said to the Pharisees, they appeared on the outside that they were wonderful and good, but inside they were full of sin. 

“Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Matthew 23:28

In order for these so-called “Christians” to get around verses that they don’t want to adhere to, they make excuses like, “That verse was just written for that specific church 2000 years ago,” or “That verse was meant just for that time, it doesn’t apply today.” They try to twist the meaning of the scripture so that it fits the way that they want to live. Sadly, when you try to convict some of these people blinded by their sins, they get angry and defensive and will not listen to what you are trying to get them to understand. 

You do not get to pick and choose which parts of the bible that you get to keep and obey, and throw away or ignore the rest. All scripture is given by the inspiration of God.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” 2 Timothy 3:16

I just want you to remember, if someone willfully chooses to ignore or disobey a direct command from Jesus or his apostles in the bible, then they really can’t call themselves Christians. You either keep all of the word of God, or you keep none of it. 

Don’t be a lukewarm Christian. Set yourself on fire with the Holy Ghost!

In Christ,

Andrew

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

How many times have you walked into your kitchen during the middle of the night, turned on the light switch, but nothing happened.  The bulb was completely burned out.  You stumbled over to the kitchen closet and managed to find a flashlight and a brand new light bulb, one that had never been used.  Standing on the kitchen table, you removed the old bulb and replaced it with the new one.  As soon as you turned the light switch back on, the light was immediately restored.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

In order for us to prove the perfect will of God, our mind must be renewed.  Like an old light bulb, It too needs to be replaced with a completely new one.

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.

As a born again believer, we are not supposed to revert back to the way that we lived when we lived in the world, but become converted to the will of God.  To conform means to be similar in form or nature, or to behave according to socially accepted conventions or standards.  It’s having traits or characteristics in common, being alike, similar, or the same.  We are supposed to distance ourselves from the way that the world lives, because we are called out of darkness to walk in the light.

1 Peter 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

To walk in the light, we need to change the lightbulb.  We must change the way that we think.  In the past, our mind was focused on things of the flesh and the carnal nature, but now that old mindset needs to be replaced with a new mind, a Spiritual one.

Ephesians 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

In order to go through a transformation from a sinner into a saint, the mind has to be renewed.  Renew means to make something new again, or to restore it to freshness.  It means to replace something that has broken.  It also means to make new spiritually, to regenerate or to repair.  Have you ever broken something before?  Maybe you’ve gone to the mechanic because your car wasn’t running right and it needed to be fixed.  Maybe one of your children broke something on their bicycle and it needed to be repaired.  This is what it means when you renew something, to repair or to restore it to wholeness.  We need a new Spiritual mind to completely overcome sin and to please God.

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.

We must walk in a new born again mind because it’s clear throughout the new Testament, that doing the will of God is required to abide forever in heaven.  This is why we pray…” thy will be done”.

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. 

A Christian is no better than anybody else in this world because all of us are sinners who have  come short of the glory of God, its simply that we want to follow biblical guidelines so that we can someday live forever with the Lord Jesus Christ.  We don’t want to live like we did anymore, but transform our lives into what God wants us to become.

1 Peter 4:3-5  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.

We have all followed the ways of the world at one time or another, but for Christians, it’s time to change.

Ephesians 2:2 – Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:  

I truly wish that all men would come to repentance and believe the truth of what Jesus has done for us all at the cross.  He is the single and only access point to forgiveness with the heavenly Father.  When we are baptized into His name, we can be forgiven for our past so that we can begin a transformation process into a servant of Christ.  Sincere penitence and contrition is one of the first steps towards this transformation.  

James 4:6-10  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

The new man has a new mind that is renewed through scriptural knowledge so we can abide in God’s perfect will as an obedient child.

Colossians 3:10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Transformation can only truly happen through obedience.

1 Peter 1:14-15 – As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 

God’s Word is capable of saving our souls, only if we submit to it, and allow it to transform our hearts and our minds to the will of God.

James 1:21  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

Eternity awaits each of us, but in order to get there we must change the way that we think.  We must change certain false beliefs. We must change over from all of the worldly things that we have been educated in all of our lives while growing up in this place.  We need to step into the waters of baptism and exchange that old mind for a new one because eternity hangs in the balance.  In order to do the perfect will of God, we must transform, and that is going to require……

…… Changing the Lightbulb.

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

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One time I was using an electric saw to cut a piece of metal when I grabbed the cord to move it out of the way when I felt a sudden twinge run up my arm all the way up to my shoulder. I quickly let go of the cord knowing what was happening. Somehow the power cord had been cut slightly, and there was a small area of exposed wire that was causing that electricity to run through my arm. Thankfully it wasn’t a more serious accident or I might have been seriously injured. It was my nerves and muscles tightening from that electricity that alerted my brain to the danger that was about to happen, like a warning bell inside of my mind.

Maybe some of you have been cooking something on the kitchen stove and as soon as the food was done you took off that pan or pot and set it onto the counter to cool. Later, without thinking, you grab the metal handles and immediately experienced a burning sensation in your fingertips as you find that the pot or pan had not fully cooled down yet.

God has made our bodies with nerves that tell our brains when there is something that is not safe, that there is something that is going to harm our bodies if we do not take action to avoid or correct it.

Well, God has made something similar for our soul and mind as well, called a conscience. The conscience is the moral sense of what is right and what is wrong. The conscience is a part of a person that is supposed to guide an individual’s actions to do what is right and good, but the Bible teaches us that there will be a time when people will not listen to their conscience.

1 Timothy 4:1-2  “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;”

When you sear a piece of meat on the stove, what you are doing is chatting, or burning, the meat. When you grab an extremely hot piece of metal and your hand makes a sizzle sound, you pretty much searing your hand, and if a person doesn’t let go quickly they could permanently damage their nerves in that area and will have no feeling left there. 

Paul was teaching Timothy that in the latter times (which I believe to be our current time) that the consciences of people will become seared, that they will not feel any sense of pain or remorse when they sin. Instead of letting go of the cord as I did (meaning to stop sinning), they will continue on in their sin. They will not care if they hurt others. They will not be sorry when they offend God, or are living in a way that is opposite to what the Bible teaches. 

Have you ever been shopping in a store when you hear a loud wail from an angry child who has just been told that they cannot have something? Often in my experience I have witnessed that there is little or no way to placate that child. Despite many sharp warnings and rebukes from a parent to stop, that angry child will just not care at that time and moment, but will continue on for several minutes afterwards. 

The life of a Christian is to do one thing and one thing only, to love and serve God, and when a person does that, everything else will fall in line after that. When we sin we should not feel proud or feel “nothing,” but we should be convicted inside of our minds of our own mistakes. We should realize that our sins are upsetting to God, and it should cause us to immediately stop, repent, and turn away from and change our lives so that we are pleasing to Him once again.

Our consciences are there for a reason, be certain that you are listening to it.

In Christ,

Andrew

Good morning and welcome in everyone. Today we’re going to take a look at a passage of scripture from Romans 8, but before we do that, I wanted to ask you a question. 

Are there any kinds of foods that you used to eat when you were a kid that you just can’t eat anymore? The reason why is because you are sick of them. I talked to a person a few years back that used to eat pickled eggs each and every day, but now they can’t eat a single one anymore. The mere sight of them makes him absolutely sick to his stomach.  He became completely burned out on them, and has no desire to eat one again, as long as he lives.

This reminds me of the Christian life.

We are not supposed to have any desire anymore for the sinful things that we used to do in our past. When we become baptized into the Christian faith, we are supposed to rise up out of the water, to become a new person in Christ, turning away from the sins that we used to live in, to follow the way of Christ.

Romans 8:12-14  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

To enter into eternal life someday, we must mortify the sinful deeds of the body.  Mortification means to deaden, kill off, or discipline one’s body, appetites etc, by suppressing sinful desires.  If something is dead, it is not alive anymore and ceases to exist. If something is dead, it produces no activity or emotion. When something is dead it has no feeling anymore. The feelings that you once had for that old lifestyle are gone, being replaced by the things of the Holy Spirit and yielding to the will of God.

Romans 6:11-13  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Sometimes foresters will purposely burn a section of land and reduce it to ashes.  Nothing is left, so that the new growth can come up from underneath.  This is what we need to do with the sinful nature.  We must destroy the old man and his desires.

Ephesians 4:22-24  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

When we are baptized into the name of Christ, we are submerged underneath the water, descending into a water grave.  We put to death that old person that we used to be, so that we can rise up in newness to serve the Lord Jesus.

Romans 6:4-6  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Mortification is the process of deadening off sinful desires in your life. You turn away from participating in those kinds of activities, in order to faithfully serve Jesus.  Mortification is a large process of the Christian life.  It is something that must happen because if somebody continues to live in the flesh, they are going to die. Baptism is only the first step of a daily walk with Christ and His Word.  Sometimes I think about a gardener, who goes through his garden each morning, pulling up all of the weeds.  The Christian life is about pulling up the weeds of sin in our lives, and the things that are wrong and displeasing to God.  God gives us grace and forgiveness to be able to begin this new walk with Him, but we don’t want to frustrate His grace. We want to cooperate with the leading of the Holy Spirit.

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.

It’s a matter of placing your mind on spiritual things.

Philippians 4:8  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.

Sinful desires have to be put to death within each of us.  Instead of choosing wrong, we choose what is right. We must live according to God’s standards rather than the worlds.  Mortification is about subduing sinful desires. Subdue means to bring under your control. It’s about bringing your body into subjection. The Christian life is more than professing to be a Christian, it requires turning away from the deeds of the flesh. Those who choose to impenitently live in sinfulness, will miss out on Paradise. It doesn’t matter what somebody claims to be, what matters is ridding yourself of sin in your life. We have grace and forgiveness available, but it’s so that we can do God’s will from our hearts. To attain eternal life requires effort on our part, one of which is mortifying the deeds of the flesh. It’s about purifying ourselves.

1 John 3:3  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Many years ago, I used to sell water purifiers.  They were a little cylinder that you attached to your kitchen faucet.  When the water went through the purifier, it produced a perfectly purified glass of drinking water because it removed all of the impurities.  God wants us to purify ourselves.

James 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Matthew 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

We must undergo a purification process, and that means we need to kill off the old desires that we had in our past and replace them with new ones, good ones. It’s no longer living like we used to live, but giving up the past and letting it go and reaching out for the new man in Christ.  Grace has been given to us so that we can turn around and do the will of God from our hearts.  Remember that the impenitent, who choose to continue living in sin are going to die. Without an abrupt about face, they will come short of eternal life.  Mortification must happen so that you no longer desire to live in sin anymore.  Just the thought of your past life turns your stomach, just like the taste of…….

……..Pickled Eggs

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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One summer many, many years ago we decided to go camping out in a nearby National Forest, with a very specific mission in mind: collecting blueberries. That particular year the wild blueberry plants had produced a massive yield of berries so after our camp was set up we grabbed our buckets and set out to begin the collection.

Never in my life have I ever filled a bucket full of blueberries so quick as I did that summer. With such an incredible crop of berries we always had blueberry pie at each meal.

In the preparation of those pies, we had to go through all of the berries which we had collected. Because not all of the berries were good (we occasionally got some unripe or overripe berries mixed in as we picked) we needed to go through them, separating the good ones from the bad. All of the good ones were set aside to be later made into those delicious pies, and all of the bad ones we threw back out into the woods.

This sort of separation is similar to what is going to happen on Judgement Day, except that instead of berries, it is going to be people who are going to be separated. The good from the evil. The believers from the unbelievers.

Matthew 13:47-50  “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:

Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.

So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,

And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Do you know what happens when you pour oil onto water? They separate, the oil just doesn’t mix, but it rises to the top. It is rather neat then how oil in the Bible often represents the Holy Spirit, and those who are filled with the Holy Spirit will be raised up to be with Jesus when the angels take them to be with Jesus in the air when He returns.

Matthew 25:31-46  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 

Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

It is the great separation, the sheep from the goats, the good from the evil. When that day comes we need to be certain that we are ready, that we have lived our lives in a pleasing way for the Lord. We need to keep the Lord’s commandment, which is, namely, to love one another, and to love God over all. Unfortunately there will be many bad berries when Christ returns, who will be cast away and separated from His presence. Like a bad apple in a barrel which needs to be thrown away. 

Are you one of the good “berries?”

In Christ,

Andrew

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

There are numerous people today who claim to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, yet they completely reject the things that He taught.  They profess that they know Him, while the real truth is, they deny Him.  The Lord Jesus Christ, who laid down His own life for our sins, gives certain commands in the New Testament.  Some people quickly claim to be His followers, but they really don’t follow Him at all.  Their lives are a walking contradiction, completely opposing biblical truth.  Scripture teaches us to go one way, yet they go the other.  How can you claim to follow anything if you are really not going to follow what you claim? Following somebody else means to obey what they tell you to do.

Matthew 4:18-20  And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

Jesus called the disciples to follow Him, but that is for more than just a physical statement because there is a spiritual message behind it.  The word “follow” means to go after, to pursue; or move behind in the same path or direction and to adhere mentally to the opinions, ideas or teachings of another.  A follower is an imitator, who follows anothers example.  So again I ask you, how can one claim to be a follower of Jesus, yet really have no desire to follow the things that He teaches?  Its because people want eternal life, but they don’t want to do the things required on their part to obtain it.  Christianity is a process of rejecting the opinions and philosophies of this temporary world in order to embrace the eternal will of God.  This is a process of conversion to biblical truth.  Conversion is not optional, it is mandatory.

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

There is more that is required on our part than a simple profession of faith, it’s a lifestyle of loving obedience to the commands and teachings of Jesus.  It’s about faithfully obeying Him from our hearts which is the proof of our love.

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

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

The Lord Jesus loves and cares for this world because He shed His own blood at the cross so that we could have forgiveness for our sins.  His love for this world is evident, but obtaining eternal life has to do with our reaction to His love.  It’s about loving Him in return.  Keeping His commands and doing His will is the proof of our love towards him.  Christianity is not about living your own life, its about living the life that God has granted you, to become what He wants you to be. This requires self denial.  His will must become greater, and ours must become lesser.  People who don’t understand that are going to miss out on paradise.  They can claim to be a follower of Jesus, but if they are genuinely not going to do His will, they are only lying to themselves.

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

1 John 2:4  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Those who don’t love Jesus Christ will be cursed and castaway into eternal punishment.

1 Corinthians 16:22  If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

Christianity is far more than just claiming that we love God, it’s about doing the things that God commands us to do.  Its about possessing a good and obedient heart.

John 21:15-17  So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.  He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.  He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Without obedience from the heart, it is only an exterior religion.  

Luke 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Matthew 15:8  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

Titus 1:15-   They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Disobedience is a complete refusal to obey. Its open rebellion which is something that God hates.

1 Samuel 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry……..

Rebellion is resistance to an established authority, or defiance of authority or control.  Many people who profess the Christian faith don’t want to be controlled by the teachings of scripture.  They don’t want to be confined to a certain set of rules, ideals and doctrines because it is in interferes with their worldly living.  Salvation depends on humbling oneself under the teachings of Christ.

James 1:21-22  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Without obedience to scripture, conversion can’t happen.  Without conversion, salvation can’t happen.

Hebrews 6:12  That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

We have the promise of eternal life, but it requires fulfilling certain obligations and requirements on our part.  Its more than just saying that you love God, it’s about becoming obedient to His will and…….

……. Proving Your Love.

Let’s think about these things for right now, and 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!

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

The national weather service claims that the average lead time for tornado warnings is about 9 minutes.  A tornado warning is issued to alert the public when a tornado has been reported or indicated by weather radar.  A warning is given when a tornado funnel cloud and rotation in the clouds has been witnessed by the public, storm chasers, emergency management or law enforcement.  When you hear these warnings, you must take action immediately.  Warnings are given through sirens, television and radio stations, and cell phones. When they are issued, danger is imminent to both life and property.  You must move to safety.  You must heed the warning and take immediate action.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

The Bible is an advanced warning system of prophecy. It gives clear advance warnings about the upcoming judgements of God for those who choose to live contrary to His will.  We too must heed these warnings, taking action right now. God has charged chosen men throughout the scriptures, with the responsibility of warning the public.

Ezekiel 3:17  Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

John the Baptist was praching and warning others about God’s wrath and eternal fire.  Those who believed, were baptized by him unto 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.

John was warning the religious leaders of His day that if they were going to repent, they needed to have some fruits that showed genuine contrition.  Fruits such as sincere penitence, remorse, Godly sorrow, heartfelt regret and compunction,…. which lead to a change in your attitude and in the direction of your life.  He was warning them to turn from their sins, so they wouldn’t be damned and cast into the fire.  Judgement day draws near, turn now before it’s too late!  The Apostle Paul warned the church numerous times about God’s coming judgements, and the destruction of those who disobey His will.  His day of vengeance draweth nigh.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-9  Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;  And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:  Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.

Peter preached and warned the church about the punishment of the wicked.  Like discerning the signs of destruction by an approaching tornado, He warned about the characteristics of impenitent.  They speak evil of scriptural truth, rejecting to lovingly obey it because of their wicked and rebellious hearts.  They don’t truly love Jesus but mock the will of God, as Pharaoh did in Egypt and was punished as an example.  The same happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, turning their city into a burning heap of fire.  God is to be feared, and His vengeance is coming.  You cannot mock Christ and get away with it.  He reserves the Impenitent to be punished.

2 Peter 2:1-10  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.  

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.  TheFor if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;  And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;  

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;  And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:. (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)  

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

The Apostle Paul sounded the warning about the repercussions for those who willfully wouldn’t obey God’s truth.  They will face His wrath, both now and at the final judgement.  

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

Jesus warned numerous times about the consequences of not fearing God.

Luke 12:4-5  And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

If people are unruly towards God’s will, they need to be warned about the consequences of their disobedient behavior so they can correct themselves from the error of their way.  

1 Thessalonians 5:14  Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly,….

So you see, these blessed men of God sound off the warning so that we have the opportunity to turn from sin.  Our place of safety is found through faith in Christ Jesus and becoming converted to His will.  Are you going to prepare now for what is coming?  Are you going to listen to the warnings? Are you going to rise up to action?  God’s Word truly is our…..

…… Early Warning System.

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.

In the 1980 Winter Olympics, the hockey gold medal was almost guaranteed to go to the Soviet team. Winners of the last four Olympic hockey gold medals going back to 1964, the Soviet team was the obvious pick once again. With their last loss all the way back in 1968, the Soviets showed their impressive team off once again by defeating the U.S. by a score of 10-3 in an exhibition game just days before the start of the Olympic games. 

With an average age of just 22, the United States team was far less experienced than the Soviets whose team had been playing with each other for nearly 20 years, and as such were not expected to progress very far. But something incredible began to happen: the Americans were winning. And they kept on winning, until they were matched up against the Soviet team once again. In the interest of time, I will shorten the story a bit: the U.S. team won after a close and hard-fought game. A group of young, college aged men defeated the greatest hockey team in the world, because they believed. Dubbed the “Miracle on Ice” this event is considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

A miracle is defined as a fortunate outcome despite overwhelming odds against it. It is also an event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and is so held to be supernatural in origin.

The Bible is filled with many accounts of miracles, but we will just touch upon a few. One of the earliest examples which we read is found in Exodus 14, with the parting of the Red Sea. With the armies of Pharaoh pressing close, Moses and the Hebrew people seemed to be left with no where to escape. Until there was. With the staff of Moses outstretched over the sea, God parted the waters providing the escape the people needed to reach safety.

Before I get to the next miracle on our list, how long do you think you could make of a handful of flour last to make some bread out of? You probably could only make a small bun-sized piece of bread out of it, right? Well read this next passage.

1 Kings 17:10-16  “So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.”

What happened in this passage was truly a miracle by God. In fact it is very similar to the miracle that Jesus performed when Jesus fed thousands of people not once, but twice with just a small amount of bread and fish. It must have seemed like an impossible feat to accomplish, but it happened.

And what of all of the people that Jesus and His apostles healed? The raising of Lazarus from the tomb, or the young girl whom Jesus brought back to life? The blind man who had been born blind, who Jesus put clay on his eyes and told to go wash in the pool? The turning of water into wine in John 2? All of these things did not just happen on their own. They were miracles from God.

So how about you? Do you believe in miracles? I do. Miracles from God happen all the time, but many people fail to realize that each time a child is born life has been created and that that is truly a miracle. Each day that begins is truly a miraculous event as it is only God that creates each day. No one else can claim that distinction. 

How many people are in a position or situation in which everything seems hopeless, and that there is no escape? How many people are faced with a “life-threatening” disease, or a disease with no cure, as the woman with the blood issue in Mark 5 had, and are left with no escape from it? Do you know how that woman was healed? Her faith in Christ. She believed that she could be healed if she touched just the edge of Jesus’ clothes, and she was.

One more time: Do you believe in miracles?

In Christ,

Andrew