When a woman gives birth to a child, it is often an uncomfortable, painful event as the baby child is born into the world. But as soon as the baby has been born, that pain is over and is replaced with the joy of holding their baby son or daughter.

The Lord said the same in John 16.

John 16:20-21  “Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.”

In a somewhat similar fashion, I can remember getting a cut or scrape as a very young child and it seemed like the tears would not stop flowing! I would cry and cry, but as soon as someone offered me a cookie or similar treat, immediately the tears and pain would go away. The pain that I had felt had been replaced by joy.

As Christians, a part of our lives is going to be suffering at the hands of others who fight against Christ. And it might not be pleasant, but this is what the life of a Christian entails. The world hated Christ, and Jesus says that they still hate us too, because we believe in Him. But no matter how much we are made to suffer for our faith, it is a small price to pay for eternal life. A “light affliction” as Paul called it.

2 Corinthians 4:8-18  “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

How long is a person’s life on Earth? On average, 70, 80, 90 years? How long is eternity? Infinite. Time almost has no meaning when you can live forever. So don’t let the world bring you down with its petty attempts to bring suffering to your life. Life is a vapor that vanishes away, but eternal life is forever, and on that glorious day in which we go to be with the Lord, any persecutions and sufferings through which we will have endured will be a distant memory, as we enter into that eternal bliss.

Romans 8:16-19  “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.”

In Christ,

Andrew

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

Do you have a garden?  Maybe you are a homesteader and have an acre of land that you want to plant.  It’s claimed that one acre of land can produce over 25,000 pounds of potatoes or 11,000 pounds of iceberg lettuce!  Amazingly, some people have sowed as many as 140,000 seeds into an acre of land, but in order for them to grow, they must be planted in the right kind of soil.  The word of God is a seed that is planted into the depths of our hearts. Just like any seed, it needs to be nurtured so that it can grow into maturity.  It needs to be planted in the right type of ground to eventually bear fruit.  You might get a pack of seeds from the grocery store, and plant them in your garden, but not all of them or going to come up.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

To truly be victorious in the Christian Life, the Word of God must be planted within a faithful and obedient heart.  

Luke 8:5-15  A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.  And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

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

In order to grow into spiritual maturity, we must believe in what the scriptures teach us.  Without genuine faith, a person is not going to have a desire to do what it says.

1 Corinthians 15:1-2  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

To believe something in vain means that it never produces the intended results.  God wants to take us in a different direction and be converted,  becoming a new person created through our belief in Scripture.  Genuine faith will cause a person to become a doer rather than just a hearer of God’s Word.

James 1:22  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Doing God’s will, shows that we love him.

1 John 2:3-5  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

Some people will become Christian for a certain period of time and because of Earthly temptations fall completely away from the faith.  They will turn their ears away from biblical truth.

2 Timothy 4:1-4  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

James 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

For some people, the love for the things of this world will become greater than a love for Christ and His Word.  Moses loved God so much that he turned away from everything that Egypt had to offer him.

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.

James 4:4 – Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Developing a passion for the things of this world simply takes our hearts off God.  The love for money is the root of all evil.

Matthew 6:24 – No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

1 Timothy 6:10 – For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

We must go on unto spiritual maturity, but we are going to need good soil in our hearts.  We need to develop a love to obey the one who laid down His own life to save us.  

………But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

It’s amazing how fruitful a life can be, when you have the right type of soil and……

…..One Little Acre

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. ❤️

tlkjbc.com

Psalms 69:5  “O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.”

A favorite pastime of mine, the game of hide and seek was a game that I played often in my earlier years, and I actually became very good at it. I became adept at finding new places to hide that no one would ever think to look in, and even in the spots where people may look I was able to cleverly disguise myself amongst my surroundings. 

But no matter how good I was at hiding from my friends in hide and seek, there is something that I have never been able to seem to hide from, either as a child or as an adult. Mosquitoes. Wherever I go outside at this time of year, mosquitoes will eventually follow. I can go into a shed to find something and there will be not a single one in there, but give it maybe a couple of minutes and I will soon be surrounded by those little monsters. Swat at a few, squish a few more, run across the yard like a mad man–you just cannot escape them for long before they find you once again. I have effectively become a mosquito magnet.

The reason why mosquitoes are able to find humans is because they are able to detect the carbon dioxide that is released from our breath, as well as being able to detect our body heat and even chemicals in our sweat. In fact (rather scarily) some people have been to trying to genetically alter mosquitoes in a way to make them not as attracted to humans.

But even if they are able to someday “hide” themselves from mosquitoes, there is something that they will never be able to hide, and that is trying to hide their sins from God.

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.”

Our God knows all things. He knows everything that we do, all of our secrets, all of our actions. He knows what we have done in our past, and what we will do in our future. Nothing is hidden from His eyes.

Similar to how I try to hide from those winged insects, yet always fail, some people want to believe that they can hide their sins from God. They don’t want to believe that there are eyes on them at every single moment, that they can somehow hide what they do when they think no one is watching, but God knows all things, and nothing is his from Him.

Psalms 44:20-21  ”If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;

Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.”

On the day of judgement when each of us stands before the Lord, everyone’s actions will be revealed. Nothing will be hid from the sight of God, and there will be many afraid people that Day, I’m certain, because all of the things which they thought they could hide will be brought to light. All of those hidden sins all brought into plain view. 

Just as all of the good things, works, actions that a person does will be known as well. Whatever way a person has lived, they will be rewarded accordingly. Lived good, righteously, and Godly and they will receive the gift of life everlasting, or lived in sin and wickedness and receive a seat in the lake of fire.

Luke 8:17  “For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.”

Don’t run, don’t hide, because nothing can be hid from God. Don’t live in sin and think that you can get away with it, because it will be found out. Live your life as though someone is watching you at every moment, because Someone is.

In Christ,

Andrew

Romans 3:23  “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

When was the last time that you broke something that wasn’t yours? Or when was the last time that you got a parking or speeding ticket? How did you act afterwards? Did you own up to it, and confess your mistake, or did you try to hide the fact of what happened, or even deny it altogether?

The admission of guilt is not always easy or pleasant, but it is the right thing to do. To admit that you were wrong is something that is hard for many people to do, but it is through this act that forgiveness can happen. Through confession.

The word confess means to admit the truth, particularly in the context of sins or crimes committed. And “to confess” means to unburden oneself of sins to God or a priest, in order to receive absolution. When referring to sin, confession is the acknowledgement of guilt or shortcomings.

What is the very first step that needs to be taken to receive forgiveness? The ability to say, “I was wrong.” “I have sinned.” When a person is able to admit this the doors of forgiveness are opened to them.

1 John 1:6-10  “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

If someone hit you in the face and they showed no remorse or sorrow towards you for what they had done, then they really aren’t in a place to receive forgiveness, are they? In order for forgiveness to happen there first needs to be the admission of guilt, and a feeling of pain or sorrow for sins or offenses. That sort of a feeling is called penitence.

Penitence is a very important quality that every Christian needs to possess because it is the ability to admit fault. It is the ability to say I was wrong. And when a person finally comes to that point is when the gift of forgiveness can happen.

The prodigal son, for example, in Luke 15 realized his errors and it filled him with regret inside. It caused him to go back home to his dad and confess his sins. And it was simply the act of seeing his son returning back home that the dad knew that his son was truly sorrowful of how he had lived. His sorrow wasn’t that of meaningless words, but it was a deep, contrite, sincere feeling inside.

2 Corinthians 7:10  “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

Forgiveness is something that we all need to enter into Heaven, but not everyone will get it because they refuse to admit their sins. Why is that? What causes a person to refuse to say the words, I’m sorry? Five letters. P.R.I.D.E. It is pride that hardens a person’s heart and refuses to apologize. It is pride in the life of a person that brings down God’s wrath and keeps a soul out of Heaven.

Romans 2:5  “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;”

If we sin against God or others we need to be ready to confess our faults. We need to be filled with Godly sorrow and a penitent heart.

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 tell you a little story.

In 1385, Sir Edward Dallingridge built a castle for protection against the French during the hundred years war. Bodiam Castle is near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England and has some massive towers and a huge moat approximately 540 ft long and 8 ft deep. When moats were filled with water, they were usually deep enough to make it difficult for attackers to wade across.  This moat was supplied by several springs, some of them within it.  A moat prevented attackers from gaining access to the base of a castle’s walls, and served as a great first line of defense from an oncoming enemy.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

Like a moat, the thing that protects us and preserves us as we walk through the darkness of this world is our faith.  Just like a shield, it is a line of defense that helps us win the battle against evil, and separate us from the world and its influences.  

Ephesians 6:13, 16  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Just as an enemy attempting to attack a castle, the devil attempts to attack Christians.  He tries to trick or ensnare you to sin through deception.  This is what he does, because he is the father of lies. He allures and beguiles others, tempting them to disobey God just as he did to Eve in the garden of Eden.  He is an enemy of God and wants to break through the fortress of your heart.  Just like a castle guard we must resist him wholeheartedly in the faith.

James 4:7 – …….Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

1 Peter 5:8-9  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

Our hearts need to be like a moat that is completely filled up with God’s Word, because the best defense against the lies of the world is the truth of scripture.  When we speak about faith, it has to do with belief in the entirety of the teachings of Christ. As a Christian we place our trust in God’s Word rather than the teachings and philosophies of the world. When our faith is strong it cannot be penetrated. It’s like an incredibly deep moat that cannot be crossed. No matter how big an army may advance, no matter how hard they try, their attempt to dissuade you from the truth will only result in their failure, and their swift destruction.

2 Peter 2:1-3, 12, 17-19  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.  

But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.  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.

Faith is defined as a religious belief system.  It is an obligation of loyalty and fidelity to the teachings of your religious beliefs.  We want to faithfully obey Christ, no matter how much the world tries to lead us astray.  The Apostle was glad to see the strong faith in the Colossian church.

Colossians 2:5 – For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.

Many people who are in modern day law enforcement or the military wear bulletproof vests to protect themselves.  The Word of God is very similar, because when we believe it, our hearts become impenetrable, protected  from the onslaught of the enemy.  Christians don’t battle using earthly weapons, but the Sword of Truth.  The devil is lying in wait, waiting for the moment to deceive you into believing a lie. It’s time to rise up in faith, and with the sword of the Spirit in our mouths, cut Him down with the truth.

Ephesians 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

The Lord Jesus warned about these deceivers.

Matthew 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

The world that we live in is a battleground between right and wrong.  It’s a fight between good and evil.  It’s a standoff between truth and lies.  There is no greater weapon that you can ever have than the Word of God.  While early weapons only pierce the flesh, the Word of God pierces the soul.  All the Earthly weapons ever made will someday be destroyed and dissolved with the Earth and everything in it, but God’s Word will never fade away.

Mark 13:31  Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

God’s Word is a weapon that nobody will be able to run away from, or escape.

John 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

It’s time for the church to repel boarders, fighting with the sword of the spirit from the castle walls.  The devil and his agents are trying to bridge the moat, but we must burn it down with the fire of God’s truth.

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

They’re engaged in a losing battle and they know it.  They cannot fight against Jesus and win.  Don’t allow yourself to be deceived.   Make sure you prepare beforehand, filling up your vessels with scripture, and digging that protective moat around the castle of your heart.  Dig it deep my friends, deeper than any moat has ever been dug, much deeper than the one that you will find surrounding,…..

……Bodiam Castle

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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In the event of an emergency, do you have some kind of plan set up of what you will do, or where you will go? I know of many people who, if their family becomes separated, they have a certain, special area to go where they can meet up again. If they become separated in a large store for instance, they will meet in the back right corner of the building, or if the unfortunate event of a house fire happens they will meet at a neighbor or friend’s house. And that is the only place that they will go to, they will not be anywhere else.

So if someone came up to them and said, “hey, your (family member) said to tell you that they are waiting for you outside in the car,” or, they are at this other location, you can know that they aren’t telling you the truth, because they have a certain place where they would be and no where else.

When Jesus returns He is going to be in a certain place where we can all find Him.

Matthew 24:23-30  “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Behold, I have told you before.

Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

When He returns Jesus is going to return in the air, in the sky. Jesus likened it to how lightning stretches across the sky, from the East to the West. I’m sure we have all seen the incredible brightness of lightning during a rain storm. You just cannot not see it, it is so bright. That is how it will be when Jesus returns. You won’t miss it.

Revelation 1:7  “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”

Every eye will see Him. He isn’t coming secretly and hiding Himself somewhere for people to come and find Him. He will come back in the sky for everyone to see.

Just as it says, many false Christs and false prophets will arise, trying to deceive people into following them. They will perform many signs and wonders in their effort to lead people away from Christ, but the true elect of Christ will not be deceived because they will know the scriptures. They will know when someone is lying when they say, “Jesus is over here! Go and see!” If they haven’t seen Christ returning on the sky then He hasn’t come back yet. 

The return of Christ is coming soon, to be certain, but it hasn’t happened yet. Just remember when the time comes, when people claim that Jesus has returned, did you see Him return in the sky? You won’t have missed it.

In Christ,

Andrew

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

When I was in high school, I really enjoyed astronomy.  I think it was the only class that I got straight A in.  We studied the moon and the stars, and learned about black holes.  A black hole is a place in space where gravity is so strong, that even light cannot escape it.  As a quasar, Ton 618 is believed to be a supermassive black hole, one of the largest ever found.  It feeds on intensely hot gas and matter.  Some people have claimed that it has a mass of approximately 66 billion suns, apparently more than the mass of all the stars contained in our entire galaxy. 

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

God created everything, including black holes. God loves and cares for us, and wants all men to come to a place of repentance and has provided us a way out of His impending judgment upon sin, if we come to His Son Jesus, in faith.  Just as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the great deluge in the days of Noah, a black hole is a warning sign in the heavens of judgment for those who reject God’s kind and merciful gift of grace.  Like a black hole,  there is an outer darkness that is coming.  This isn’t a hole that you might find while touring Alcatraz, or other correctional facilities.  This is a unending lake of fire; a hole of eternal damnation that one will never escape, reserved for those who chose not to love and serve God.

Matthew 22:13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Many people have to deal with prison or jail sentences while here upon the Earth, but these sentences are nothing in comparison with the punishment that is going to come later. There is a certain group of people, that no matter how much you may try, no matter how much you attempt to lead them away from sin, no matter how much you care and love their souls, they damn themselves because they completely reject biblical truth.  They are unprofitable and worthless, destined and ordained to damnation.  Just as certain angels turned away from God, some people are going to turn away from the truth.  Eternal darkness is all that awaits them.

Jude 1:4-6  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.  I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.   And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

God grants us a gift of His grace, so we can turn from our sin and become obedient to His will.  But some people who have lived the Christian Life, will eventually turn away from the faith.  They willfully choose not to obey the one who shed His own blood so that we could live with him eternally.  Once a person does this, they will never sincerely repent in their heart.  It might have been a very close friend in the church with whom you share a lot of memories.  It may be one of your own relatives, but try as you may, its impossible to bring them back to a place of Godly sorrow and repentance for what they have done.

Hebrews 6:4-6  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

God will avenge and punish those who wilfully choose to rebel against Him.  If they didn’t fear God before, they will now, because they are under His vengeance.

Hebrews 10:26-31  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.  He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?  For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Each and every day that somebody chooses to reject the path of penitence, the harder their heart becomes.  It becomes hardened by sin and the lack of godly sorrow.

Romans 2:5-8  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Who will render to every man according to his deeds:  To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:  But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

Just as God will gather His wheat, the thorns and briers will be burned up with unquenchable fire.

Hebrews 6:7-8  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:

But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

Matthew 8:12  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Christian life is about serving Christ. It has to do with obeying Him in love.  Those who reject Christ are not going to enter into eternal life, but will be punished eternally. When you gnash your teeth, it means to hate the one who’s punishing you. Its done because of pain and anger, not because of sorrow for what they have done. The one that they once claimed to serve and love, will punish them later.

Matthew 25:30  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

There is an everlasting lake of fire; a hole of eternal damnation that some will never escape, reserved for those who have chosen in this lifetime not to love and serve God. Its prepared for the people who hate the truth.  Can you recognize the sign of the times?  The invisible things of God can be clearly seen, even in a black hole like…..

…..Ton 618

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

Have you ever been putting a puzzle together but after you had placed every piece that you had you noticed that you were missing one last piece or two to completely finish it? You may have 998 pieces out of 1000, but unless you have those last couple of pieces you will never fully complete the puzzle. 

In the motorsport of Nascar the cars have a set number of laps that they need to run, and to be certain that they will be able to finish the race the drivers and their pit crew need to know exactly how much fuel their car uses and when to take a pit stop to fill the car at the right time so they have enough fuel to finish the race.

When we become Christians we need to make sure that we can finish what we have started in our life with Christ.

Luke 14:25-33  “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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

When a person makes that decision to follow Jesus and give their life over to Him they need to count the cost, and realize understand what the life of a Christian is. A Christian is selfless, considerate, loving, kind, forgiving and merciful. A Christian needs to be, well, like Christ. We need to understand that, if necessary, we may have to give up certain things, even people or things which we live dearly, because our love for Jesus needs to be greater than anyone and anything else. We need to be ready to walk away from past relationships with people who we once used to be around if they are living in a manner not after Christ.

2 Timothy 2:19  “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

Do you remember the parable of the sower? After He had spoken this parable to the people, Jesus explained the meaning of it to His disciples.

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

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

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

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

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

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

You see how the seeds that were sown on stony ground were those who hear the Word gladly, but because of tribulations and persecution they fell away. They didn’t count the cost of the life of a Christian. Persecution is a part of the life of a Christian, as Jesus said, “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”

So, have you counted the cost? Are you able to finish what you have started? 

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 tell you a little story.

Andrew and I like to jump in the boat and go catch fish on occasion.  There’s a lot of lakes in northern Minnesota and we catch sunfish, bass and Northern Pike.  When the fishing season begins, we need to prepare our fishing rods with fresh fishing line.  Sometimes when you’re casting out on the lake, especially with an old push button fishing rod, the line can get extremely tangled inside on the spool, so tangled that there’s nothing that you can do but throw it on the bottom of the boat and grab a completely different rod.  It isn’t good for anything anymore.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

When we decide to become a christian, there is no turning back. Before a person even considers becoming a Christian, they need to understand what they are doing.  They must count the cost beforehand, considering if you are going to complete what you have started.

The Christian Life is about turning from sin to become a new creature.  Through God’s grace in Christ Jesus, He washes our past sins away through Holy baptism, so that we can have a fresh start as we begin to turn away from all of those things that are displeasing in his sight.  Sadly, there will be those who after they have lived the Christian Life, even for many years, will depart the faith.  After being freed from sin, through obedience to the teachings of Christ, they get entangled with sin all over again.

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

There are many animals who become entangled in snares.  Once they get caught in it, they simply can’t get out of it.  Many people have used gill nets for the same purpose. They throw a gill net into the water to catch fish.  The fish become so entangled in the net, that they cannot free themselves or cut loose from it.  Some people will turn away from the Christian Life and get involved with the things that they used to do in their past. Christianity is about turning away from that old sinful lifestyle, so we can live a life that is pleasing unto the Lord Jesus. 

In the church we are undergoing a sanctification and purification process from sin. That means we shouldn’t have a desire to live in sin anymore. If any man sins, we do have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, but the point is that we should not desire to sin. We might make a mistake. We might goof up and do something wrong. You might say something and slip up, but God gives us grace so that we can eventually do His perfect will from our hearts. He gives us lots of Grace, 70 * 7, and wants us to be that forgiving with others in the church.  God gives us grace so we can clean up our lives from sin that pollutes our soul.

Sometimes when I think about pollution, I think about a giant oil spill in the gulf of Mexico. I have visions in my head of seabirds who land and get stuck and entangled in the oil that is floating on top of the water.  They cannot fly anymore.  They were once free and clean, but now they are entangled in that oil and cannot get out, which leads to their death.  That’s very much like the Christian Life.  We cleanse ourselves from sinful living and are trying to do things that please God, but some people are going to turn away from that heartfelt desire and start to live in sin all over again.  They return to what they left behind.

After they get all cleaned up through the knowledge of Christ Jesus, they turn away from the church, and they turn back to the world from which they left in the first place. Their love for sin becomes greater than a love for Christ.  When someone is overcome, it means that they refuse to repent, and won’t change their way, they just pick up living their old life of sin all over again.  Lots wife did the same thing when she was saved from the punishment of Sodom and Gommorah.  If she had not turned back to the past, she could have been fine, but she couldn’t let it go and was destroyed.  When we choose to become a Christian there is no turning back.  Those who do so, will suffer far worse things than they ever have dealt with in their life before.  it would have been better off if they never had never become a Christian in the first place.

Matthew 26:24  The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

The people in our passage have been educated in the way of righteousness, but eventually turn away from it to return to a life of fornication, lasciviousness and other sin.  They know that it’s wrong, but they simply don’t care anymore.

………..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.

Vomit is something that is expelled out of your body.  It is something that you’re stomach rejects.  As a Christian, we expel sin from our lives, like throwing it up and getting rid of it out of our bodies.  These people purify their own lives, but then they return to that vomit of sinful living.  The things that were once expelled from there body, they put right back in.

Proverbs 26:11  As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.

A woman gets cleaned up from all of her sin, and begins to live a life of obedience to God.  She faithfully serves Christ Jesus, doing what’s good in right, but then completely turns away from it, choosing to jump back into the mud of sin.  She has become so ensnared in sin, that she doesn’t even care about returning to do the will of God.  When a person gets to that point, it’s like jumping off the deep end of a pool that doesn’t have any water in it.  Its going to hurt.  What do they expect, if they turn away from the one who gave His own precious life for their salvation, and died on the cross to save them from their sin?  

With willful impenitence, they choose to walk off on the teachings of Christ, choosing their own direction, only to get entangled with sin all over again; caught in the snares of darkness, and trapped within…..

…..The Gill Net

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

As I sit here writing this I can see a sight that is quite normal for this time of year, because outside my window on the outside of my window screen are approximately 2 dozen mosquitoes, each wanting to come into my house and drink my blood. You can sit by the window and just watch as they bounce back and forth off of the screen, searching for a way in. But try as much as they might, the window screen is snug and tight and there is no way that they are getting through. In fact, the only way that they can come into the house is when they follow me through the front door.

Come Judgment Day, there will be many people in the exact same position as those mosquitoes, on the outside looking in.

Luke 13:23-30  ”Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,

Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.”

Strive to enter in at the strait gate. What does this mean? Well strive means to try earnestly and persistently to achieve a result. You could say that a basketball player who practices on the court for hours each day is striving to become a better player. A child who repeatedly tries to tie their shoes strives to get it right. And the word strait refers to something that is narrow, just like a strait in the ocean.

There are so many people who want to think that they are going to heaven, but will not be able to enter in because they didn’t go through the correct route. They will try to go around the door, which is Christ, and get in some other way, but like my windows on my house, the only way in is through the door.

John 10:7-9  “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

Right now the narrow pathway that leads to the door of salvation is open. Jesus is the door and His Word is the path that we need to walk on. But many people don’t want to be on the narrow path. They want to do their own things, trying to go their own way to try to get to Heaven, but they won’t be able to. This is the narrow path on which we all need to travel. It is the only way.

On Judgement Day make sure that you are on the right side of the door, and aren’t left on the outside looking in.

In Christ,

Andrew