Goodmorning and welcome in everyone.  Today, we are going to talk about some scripture from Matthew 11 but before we do I wanted to ask you a question.

When you were in science class, did you ever get to use a microscope?  A microscope is used to look at very small things, things that are so small that they cannot be seen by the naked eye.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

There are numerous fault finders who like to put you under the microscope to find any kind of mistake in your life.  A fault finder will criticize people or things especially in an unfair way.

They like to dig up dirt on other people while ignoring the dirt in their own hearts. Nowadays, some refer to this activity as being a nitpicker. A nitpicker doesn’t find fault to help someone become better, they do it to bring others down and lift themselves up.  They want to appear righteous in the eyes of others, so they step on everybody else by digging up dirt and throwing mud.  

Fault finding is making a point of finding something in someone’s life, no matter how small or trivial, just so they can accuse them of wrongdoing.  Fault finding is a terrible sin because you look at everybody else’s problems rather than looking at your own.  They consider themselves the moral authority while the truth is that they are just hypocrites in their heart.  There are numerous examples of fault-finding in the Scriptures.

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

John the Baptist didn’t have nice clothes, and ate simply, surviving on locusts and wild honey, and abstained from alcohol.  He was sent to prepare the way for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but yet people found fault with him, claiming he had a devil.  Jesus would sit at meat and also drink alcohol, but people found fault with him too, claiming He was gluttonous and a winebibber.  A glutton is somebody who eats too much food and a winebibber is a drunkard.  Sometimes no matter how you live your life, people are going to find fault with you.  If they only expended that much energy finding the numerous faults within themselves.

The proud Pharisee is an example of someone who looked down and found fault with the humble publican.  It’s hard to correct sin in your own life, when you only look at the sin in others.

Luke 18:9-14  And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

There were many people who came out to hear Jesus preaching the gospel of the kingdom, but some of them were only there to find fault with him.  They wanted to hear something come out of his mouth, whereby they could accuse him. Look at the following passages.

Luke 6:6-11  And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.

And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.  But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.  Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? 

And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.  And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.

Matthew 9:2-3  And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.  And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.

Matthew 9:10-11  And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?

Luke 6:1-2  And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.  And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?

John 9:16  Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day…,..

The motive for finding fault with Jesus was because they hated Him.  Even Pilot understood that the Jews had delivered Christ because they were jealous of Him. Jesus warned about judging others.  

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

The Apostle James also warned about judging others.

James 4:11-12  Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

There were even people in the church who were finding fault with the Apostle Paul.

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

Romans 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

It’s really sad when people don’t have anything better to do, than to put somebody else’s life….

…..Under the Microscope

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

For a moment I would like you to imagine that you have been stranded out in the middle of a forested wilderness hundreds of miles away from the nearest town. You had been hired to deliver a large package by airplane, but along the way your plane broke down and you had to make an emergency landing on a remote lake. With nightfall rapidly approaching you start searching for something to make a fire, so you begin to gather a stack of dry wood to last through the night. 

As your airplane wasn’t really designed to carry much in the way of cargo, the only things inside were a couple emergency flares and a few tools. And that package. Unable to locate some kind of paper to start your fire, you decide to open that package to see if you can find any, but nothing could have prepared you for what you saw next. Inside that package in neat bricks was the largest amount of money that you had ever seen. Hundreds of thousands, probably millions of dollars. Rather reluctantly you take a couple of those bills and kindle your fire.

Now here is a question for you: after your fire had been started, would you make certain that you kept that fire going, or would you let it burn out, just because you know that you have a whole package full of more dollar bills to start the fire again?

This question, while written differently, is similar to the question that Paul asked in Romans 6. Verses 1-4 say,

Romans 6:1-4  “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

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.”

That box of money was someone else’s, and while they most likely wouldn’t mind letting you use some of it to start a fire (considering your predicament), wouldn’t you feel rather ashamed of yourself if you continuously went to grab another handful of bills each time you let the fire burn out? Just to start that same fire again?

Even though the grace and mercy of the Lord are unending, God’s grace is nothing to be taken for granted. Your forgiveness came at a price, which Jesus paid with His blood. Even though we ourselves didn’t have to do anything to obtain that offer of mercy and forgiveness, Jesus did, and it is only because of His love that we have the opportunity at a another chance.

We have grace, and liberty, but it is not free pass to go out and continue sinning. If you receive forgiveness, only to go right back and commit that same sin again, then the forgiveness that you received didn’t really profit you then, did it? 

One sin, two sins, a thousand sins– a sin is a sin regardless of how many they are. Jesus died to free you from your sins. Knowing this, why would you continue to live in sin after you had been forgiven? Forgiveness is given so that we have the opportunity to overcome our sins and do things the right way, not so that we can continue on sinning.

When we come before God and take Holy Communion, we need to do it in the remembrance of what Christ did, and understand the importance of what Communion is.

1 Corinthians 11:26-29  “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”

Freedom from sin, not freedom to sin. Never forget that.

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.

How many times have you gone outside and seen a thundercloud coming?  Maybe you saw the sky turn completely black in the distance, and felt an eerie calm.  You knew that bad weather was approaching.  What did you do? Did you prepare yourself and go into your house?  Did you go down the stairway and into the basement for safety? How many of you fishermen have been out on a large lake when you could see a storm beginning to form in the distance.  As you watched, you realized it was coming your way.  What did you do?  Did you prepare yourself and pull up your anchor so you could head for the safety of shore?

The sky can give certain signs and warnings in advance of upcoming weather conditions.  Nowadays people use things like Doppler radar, weather satellites, barometers, and anemometers, to warn people ahead of time.    

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

Just as we have learned to predict upcoming weather, the Bible is filled with predictions of future events. Just as we can recognize a thundercloud, or discern the right conditions that can produce a tornado, all of us must learn to recognize the sign of the times.  

Matthew 16:2-3  He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.  And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

The Bible is filled with signs, and today we’re going to take a look at just a few of them.

Matthew 24:10-11  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

Many of the above mentioned signs are coming to pass right now on the Earth, being fulfilled as we speak.  

……(And then shall many be offended,)

People were offended at the teachings of Jesus and the disciples, simply because they wouldn’t receive the truth into their hearts.  The same is happening today.  Offended means to be upset, hurt and angry because of something that has been said.  The Word of God is a sword that plunges deep inside of a person’s conscience, and when someone refuses to believe it, it will offend them.

Matthew 11:6  And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

The religious leaders were upset with Jesus because of what he was preaching.

Matthew 15:12  Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?

There will be some who begin the Christian Life, but later on, turn away, because they get offended at having to suffer for the truth. 

Matthew 13:20-21  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.

Another sign of the times is betrayal.

….(and shall betray one another)

A betrayer is defined in the dictionary as a wife who gets married, and promises to remain with her husband through thick and thin, but then she completely abandons him.  God hates this sin.

Jeremiah 3:20  Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.

A betrayer is someone who treacherously joins up with those who are your enemies, and betrays a person and a cause as Judas did. Instead of remaining faithfully with you, they turn against you.  A betrayer violates the confidence of someone by disclosing something meant to be kept private or secret, something which prudence would conceal.  They are disloyal.

Luke 21:16  And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

When somebody is loyal, they demonstrate undivided and constant support for someone or something.  Although the disciples of the Lord left Jesus when he was taken in the garden of Gethsemane, they didn’t betray and completely turn against him as Judas did.  Peter denied Christ but he didn’t betray him.  A betrayer is someone who willfully joins up with those who are against you, and your religious beliefs.

…..(and shall hate one another)

Hatred is intense dislike or ill will.  Some people will hate you, because they won’t accept or submit to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Luke 6:22-23  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.  Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

Some people profess Christianity as their faith, but completely reject everything it teaches. They profess to know God,but the truth is, they don’t.  Those who reject the teachings of Christ hate Jesus, and those who hate Him, hate the heavenly Father as well.

John 15:18-21, 23  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.  But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.  He that hateth me hateth my Father also.

Another sign of the times are false prophets.

……..(And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.)

One of the ways that you can identify a false prophet, (or false prophetess), is by identifying how they feel about women being in subjection to men. True men of God understand that women were not created to usurp or take authority over men, whether they are a man-child or an adult. They were created to help and serve them, just as men of the church were created to serve Christ.  Those who do not understand this are not spiritual.  

1 Corinthians 14:34-37  Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.  What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?  If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

Certainly, they may profess to be a prophet, but dressing up in a robe and putting a name tag on their lapel doesn’t make them a prophet in the eyes of God.  Do you really think a false prophet or false prophetess wants to think that they’re going to be damned?  They don’t think that’s going to happen because they don’t believe in God anyway!  Without repentance from their wickedness I guarantee you, they will find out soon enough. You cannot mock Jesus.  Today, false prophets are on the rise, and many people are being deceived by them.  When the blind follow the blind, both will end up in the ditch.

1 Timothy 2:11-13  Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.  But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

The world can live the way the world does, but the church must never allow worldly behavior to enter in, and influence our beliefs.  If you truly desire to please God, the first thing I suggest is to cast out all the impenitent women teachers out of the church.  If their friends or relatives are upset about you choosing to do God’s will, they can find their way to the door as well.  At least you can know that whomever is left, has a desire to do the will of God.  I wouldn’t care if one hundred people left, if there remained ten who were faithful.  Those are the only ones that are going to matter in your crown come Judgment day.

Will there be faith on the earth when Jesus returns? Will there anybody left who truly believes in Scripture?  I’m not going to candy coat this for you, but a wicked storm is on the rise and it approaches with fierceness and destruction.  The next time anybody checks their radar on their cell phone, they need to take a look around them and recognize the signs of these times.  There’s a storm that is approaching, and the signs are evident.  Do you recognize them?  Are you going to prepare now? Get ready, and…..

……Watch the radar.

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

After a long cold winter filled with snow storms, we tend to get a little restless from our long winter and will often just go out for a drive or a walk as soon as the snow melts off of the roads. But after our Minnesota winter comes another season which we up here have named “mud season.” The season of soft, soggy lawns and roads, “mud season” brings, well, mud. Mud which seems to cling to everything, and get everything dirty. 

All of that mud needs to be cleaned off and washed away, so the car wash and the laundromat are two locations that are often frequented. After all, who wants to wear a dirty pair of jeans, or climb into a dirty car?

You know, all of that mud is like sin. It is sin that defiles a person. It corrupts, and ruins. The stain of sin needs to be washed away, so that we can become clean and holy in the sight of God.

2 Corinthians 7:1  “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

Sin is greatly displeasing to God as it is not obedience to His commands. He desires us to live in love and kindness, but sin is neither of those. Lying, evil speaking, covetousness, adultery, murder–these things are all sin, and are like spots of mud on a white car that need to be washed away.

We’re all sinners, as we all should realize by reading the scriptures, and it is our sins that keep us out of heaven. The only way for us to reach that eternal paradise is if we become washed, washed in the blood of Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11  “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Through Holy Communion, we have the opportunity to be freed from the filth of our sins, as the body and blood of the Lord washes them away. 

Matthew 26:26-28  “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

So you see that the cleansing and remission of our sins is something that we cannot do ourselves. We cannot earn remission, or buy it. We cannot perform a certain amount of tasks to rid ourselves of the mud of sin. It can only be washed away through the partaking of the body and blood of Christ.

Have you been washed? Are your garments white?

In Christ,

Andrew

When you want to learn about something, what do you do? Where do you go?

Sometimes a person will apply for a job, but they might not have the full knowledge that the job might require, so the company will provide what is known as “OJT,” or “on-the-job training.” Under the instruction and supervision of a teacher and more experienced workers, the new employee can learn the skills that they need to do the job on their own, and maybe even instruct new employees someday.

With an attentive attitude and a willingness to listen and learn, people can gain knowledge and understanding about anything that they set their minds to. And when that knowledge is used to perform a task, it becomes wisdom.

Wisdom is defined as “the ability to apply relevant knowledge in an insightful way, especially to different situations from that in which the knowledge was gained.” And, “the ability to make a decision based on the combination of knowledge, experience, and intuitive understanding.” 

As completely newborn Christians, we know nothing about the word of God. We start out our faith by learning the love of Christ, that we are sinners, and need Jesus to be saved, but beyond that we don’t really know much more. We need to be taught, and our lessons start in the pages of the Bible.

In order for us to become filled with the wisdom of God, we need to be willing to sit and learn from those who know more than we do. We need to learn from the wisdom of the apostles of Christ, the men who Jesus first picked to spread His word.

Proverbs 1:5-7  “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

The opposite of wisdom is foolishness, which means lacking good sense or judgement, and to be unwise. A foolish person is someone who does not listen to instruction so that they might become wise. And when it comes to biblical wisdom, those who don’t receive the instruction find therein truly are fools.

As in the parable of the ten virgins, five were wise, and the other five were foolish. The wise came prepared, with oil in their lamps, while the others didn’t. Because of their foolish lack of preparation, they weren’t ready, and were shut out of the wedding. They had the time to prepare, but they didn’t.

Every person on this Earth has time to begin preparing themselves during their lifetime. What they do with that time will show whether they are wise or if they are foolish. Will they take the knowledge found in the holy scriptures and apply it to their lives, or not? Will you take that time to learn from Peter, James, Paul, and John? Will you pray to the Father that He would give you wisdom and understanding of His word? He wants to give you wisdom, but are you going to go asking for it?

James 1:5  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

Will you let yourself go through that “on-the-job training”?

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.

Imagine your dad giving you a promise that if you graduated from high school and got your diploma he would buy you a new car.  A promise had been given to you, but in order to obtain that promise, there was something required on your part, you needed to graduate.  If you never went to classes, skipped school or even dropped out, you would come short of the promise that he gave you.  There are things that you are required to do in order to obtain that new car.  You need to pass your courses so you can receive that diploma.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

We are given great and precious promises in the scriptures about being able to obtain eternal life, but in order to obtain the promise, there are things that we need to do while we are here upon the Earth.  We need to submit and come into compliance with the will of God.  We need to prove our own selves by converting and being transformed by the application of scriptural truth.  Just like in school, it means growing in spiritual education day by day, and applying what we learn in our daily lives.  Without application and the desire to please God, genuine faith is non-existent.

Hebrews 4:1-2  Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

If your dad promised to pick you up at 8 am Saturday morning to take you on a fishing trip for the weekend, there are certain things that you would need to do to obtain that promise.  You would need to get up, pack your things, and be ready and waiting for him when he arrives.  If you slept in, stayed over at your friend’s house, or went to cut lawns for some extra money, you would miss the trip. The Christian life is about preparing yourself for eternal life.  It means getting ready now, and doing the things that are required of us, so that we can make it there. 

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

Faith is believing something so much that it causes you to act on that belief.  If I believe that it’s going to rain overnight, I will go up and close the windows on my truck.  My faith led to an action.  That is what true faith is.  Noah believed in God so much that he spent a lot of his life building an ark to save His family from the flood.  His faith led to action.  Moses believed in God so much that he turned away from all the riches that Egypt could offer him in order to follow the purpose that God was calling him to.  Genuine faith will lead someone to do God’s will, obeying His purpose and calling from the heart.  Anything else is a dead faith.

Ephesians 2:8-10  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We have God’s forgiveness in the church, but it must be mingled with faith in order to inherit eternal life.  Some people profess;  ” by grace alone,”….. but to obtain the life that’s coming, it requires more than that.  

James 2:18-26  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

How can you prove to anybody that you are a mechanic, if you never even bother to fix a car?  How can you show others that you’re a good pianist if you never have a concert?  How can you claim to be a follower of Jesus, but you have no desire in your heart to do the things Jesus teaches?  What’s the old saying, it’s easier to talk the talk, then to walk the walk.  We show our faith to others by our works and obedience to God’s will.  Without these things, you are just deceiving your own hearts.

James 1:21-25  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.  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

The Lord Jesus was filled up with so many good works that all the books ever written could never contain all the wonderful things that he did.  Many people find it a lot easier to say they’re a Christian, rather than live the Christian Life.  James tells the church that they believe in one God, but the devils do too.  God gives us the gift of his forgiveness and mercy, but he does it for a specific reason, so that we can become new creatures, converting from sinful deeds of the flesh, to good works in the Spirit.  Genuine faith will result in obedience to the will of God and His calling for you.   

(Continued)……But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.  Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.  Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Christianity is more than a profession of faith, it is a faith of action.  Christianity is not a do nothing faith, but a do something faith. You don’t want to be one of those who comes short of the finish line.  Just like in high school, it’s going to require some effort on your part if you truly want to graduate someday, and finally obtain….

…..The Diploma 

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

When a tomato plant starts to mature it will begin to grow additional stems or branches, rather like a tree. So instead of having just one single branch or stem to produce fruit off of, you can have several.

But what not everyone knows is that if take one of those young new branches while they are still small, maybe up to 5 or 6 inches in length, you can actually break them off of the tomato plant, and begin a whole new plant from it. How I have often done it is by taking the separated branch and let the bottom of it soak in a bucket full of water. After maybe 5-7 days the branch will have grown an entire root system, at which time you can plant your new tomato plant in your garden.

But you can’t simply just place that new tomato plant anywhere you want and expect it to grow. You can’t set your new plant on the tar in a parking lot–it will soon wither away from the lack of moisture and nutrients. Even just placing it directly on top of the soil isn’t quite enough. You need to plant those roots deep into the garden soil so that they take hold and continue to feed the plant.

Like the roots of those tomato plants, we need to be “rooted” in Christ and His word. Rooted means “fixed in one position, immobile, or unable to move.”

Through daily reading and application of the teachings of Christ in our lives, our roots will be able to continually grow stronger and more established, so that if or when situations arise that the devil tries to deceive us through his subtlety, we will remain unshakeable and immovable in our belief in Christ. 

Colossians 2:6-10  “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:”

You have the teachings of Christ, and you have the teachings of the world, and these two are completely different from each other. The world will tell you that “it is okay for two men to marry each other,” but when you search the word of God you will find that it teaches something completely different. Homosexuality is a sin, condemned in the Bible, yet some so-called churches who claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit readily marry and allow these things to happen in their “churches.” 

One of the very first things that many people learn when reading the Bible is the account of how God created the Earth. By the word of His mouth God created everything–animals, plants, water, light, humans etc. “But the universe was created in an explosion of dust and gas.” No, that is what the world wants to believe, because the world does not believe in God. “Humans evolved through a series of different creature species, and are descendants of apes.” God said, “Let us make man in our image.” Man was created by God out of the dust of the ground, and God breathed life into Adam to create the first man.

Love and forgiveness are a couple of the founding teachings that Christ taught that we need to possess. It was love that caused Jesus to do what He did by dying on the cross for our sins. It was through this extraordinary act of love that we have forgiveness and salvation, as Jesus reconciles us to the Father. And as the Author of our faith, Jesus commands His faithful followers to do likewise, telling us to be forgiving with one another. But the teachings of the world say otherwise, that, “no, you don’t need to forgive others. You don’t need to be reconciled with someone if they apologize, repent, and are sorry for their misdeeds.” This is obviously completely opposite of what Christ has taught, yet this too is another false teaching of the world that has begun to imbed itself into some so-called, professing Christian “churches” today. 

Do you have a question about our faith? Then go to the Bible for the answer. The Bible is deep well of knowledge that we each have access to to help us grow stronger. Like a warrior preparing for battle, the Bible contains the armor that we need to protect us from the false teachings of the world. Search the scriptures, put on that armor. Grow those deep roots, and become an immovable soldier of God.

In Christ,

Andrew

Goodmorning and welcome in everyone.  Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of James.

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.

When we are baptized into the name of Jesus Christ, we are buried underneath the water by submersion, and we rise up to begin a new life of service towards Christ.  At that moment, our past sins are forgiven, as we make a lifetime commitment to Him never to depart. The Christian life is very much like a marriage.  In a Christian marriage, the man represents the Lord Jesus, and the woman represents the church. (Eph 5:31-32)  Just as a baptized woman is commanded by Christ never to depart her husband, we are never to depart the church or scriptural teachings.  There is no turning back.  

Jeremiah 3:20  Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.

Departing the teachings of scripture is to commit treachery against Christ. Just like a marriage, we make a commitment to Him for the rest of our lives, never to leave Him.   When a wife chooses greater friendships outside of her marriage, her love and close relationship for her husband is diminished, and her love for others and the things of this world are increased.

A prime example of this is when God chose to save Lot’s family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.  She intentionally decided to walk off on her own husband, and to return to the world that God was going to destroy.  God had chosen to save her for Lot’s sake, but she really didn’t believe, and was destroyed herself.

Genesis 19:15, 17, 24-26  And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.  And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.  Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;  And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.  But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Lot’s wife loved the world so much that she wouldn’t let it go.  She wanted to go back “home” from whence she had left.  Her home was the world.  She loved it more than her own husband and children.  She also didn’t have any fear of God concerning the repercussions that were going to happen to her because of what she did.  Like a lifelong commitment in a marriage, a true Christian will never turn from their faith.  Christ has the Words of eternal life, to whom shall we go?

To be saved eternally one must possess genuine faith in their hearts.  True faith will develop a love for God and a desire to do His will and walk according to the purpose that He has called us to.  Sadly there will be those who begin the Christian Life but because of impenitence and unbelief will come short of paradise.

Jude 1:5-7  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.  Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

When someone is a friend of the world, they love the things of this place more than God.  It’s like committing adultery against God because your love becomes greater for the world than it is for 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.

Nothing in this world can be greater than our relationship and love for the Lord Jesus Christ.  Our love must be completely focused on Him above and beyond anything else.  Some of the disciples of Paul left the Christian faith, because their love for this world was greater.

 2 Timothy 4:10  For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

Esau loved the world more than his own birthright.

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

Judas loved the world more than Jesus and sold out Christ, betraying him to the authorities.  

Matthew 26:14-16  Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,  And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.  And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

Whatever you love the most, becomes the focal point of your time. The more time that a person spends focused on the things of this world, the less time that they are focused on spiritual things.

Mark 4:18-19  And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,  And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

When you choke something, you deprive it of oxygen and life.  Time is a very important commodity, and you must choose how you’re going to use it while you are here on the Earth.  There are an innumerable amount of things that can pull you away from a close relationship with Jesus.  They simply are things that you love more.  When your love is misplaced it takes your eyes off a strong relationship with Christ.

When you begin a marriage you take upon yourself a lifelong commitment to your spouse to permanently stay by their side.  Such is the Christian Life.  When you become a Christian, you make a lifetime commitment to Christ Jesus, to love Him perfectly and never to depart Him.  Whatever we go through, whatever we must endure, whatever sufferings we might have to deal with, Christianity is a never ending commitment to the one who laid down His life for our salvation, a spiritual marriage from which there is……

…… No Turning Back 

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

Imagine getting into a taxi in a large city. After getting into the car and shutting the door you turn to tell the driver where you want to go, but to your surprise there was no one behind the wheel. The driver’s seat was completely empty. You had just gotten into a driverless, autonomous car.

For some people this is no longer just an imaginary, futuristic idea, as just recently I heard that driverless taxis will now be introduced into a large metropolitan area out in California. The first of their kind, these driverless taxis are yet another casualty to the jobs of thousands of people.

People used to go to the local grocery store and talk with the local grocer as they bought their supplies but slowly these jobs are also fading away as more and more “self check-out” machines replace human workers. And not just in the commercial industry, but in the home as well. Maybe you have seen those little vacuum robots that go around your house cleaning your floors? From those vacuums to the automatic car washes that was your car, people have been replaced by robots and machines, just as people have taken God out of their lives and replaced Him with the things of the world.

Instead of placing God at the head of their decisions and letting Him have the control of their lives, some people are like those driverless taxis with no one behind the wheel. They live as they please, and do what they want. Because they don’t believe in God and His Son Jesus, they don’t believe in life after death. They don’t believe (or want to believe) that they will be judged according to the things that they do, whether they are good or bad–it doesn’t matter to them in the end because the end result would be the same. For them, this life is as good as they will ever get. So they replace God with something else. They completely remove God from their lives and live whatever way they want.

Romans 1:28  “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”

But as Christians we know better. It is Christ in our lives Who gives us a purpose, a meaning, and a direction for our lives and something to strive towards. We know the riches that will await us when we live according to His will. When we place God in the driver’s seat of our lives, we will let Him guide our daily routines and lifestyles.

God the Father and His Son Jesus can never truly be replaced. There is nothing that could even come close to the awesome might of God and the love of Jesus. There is nothing that is worth more than the riches that are available through a life spent in serving Christ. 

The commands of the Lord are not grievous, as Jesus taught, but easy. “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me,” Jesus said. “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

When Jesus is the foundation in our lives, we will surround ourselves with His teachings and they will have the control in everything that we do.

Luke 6:47-49  “Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”

Is God in control of your life? Or has something else gotten into the driver’s seat? Who’s at the wheel?

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 want to to tell you a little story.

For the last 20 years, Andrew and I have worked deep in the woods of the northern Minnesota Forest.  We’ve cut firewood, collected cones for seeding, and harvested many other things as a means of income.  Sometimes, when we walk through a large stand of red pine, its very common to see spray paint on the trees.  While many trees that have great potential in the future will remain standing, the foresters in our area will take a blue can of spray paint to mark out certain trees that need to be cut down.

This reminds me of the Christian Life

Did you know that in the very same way, we are supposed to mark out certain people in the church?  We want to mark those who cause divisions, because of their unbiblical and contrary doctrines. In the church, we are supposed to be perfectly joined together by the teachings of scripture.  This group of people cause disunity within the members.  Because of their lack of belief in God’s Word, they attempt to convince, and encourage others to leave the church with them.

Romans 16:17-18 – Now I beseech you, brethren,  mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them…..

The Apostle Paul was training Timothy to shepherd the church, instructing him in spiritual knowledge. When you are educated and brought up in spiritual truth, you will easily recognize contrary doctrine for what it is, a lie.  The best defense against all the lies in this world, is the truth of God’s Word.  This is why the apostles and disciples were constantly preaching and bringing the church people into remembrance. The more scripture you can place in a person’s mind, the more they will be able to discern false doctrine.

Since we were very young children, we have been educated that two plus two equals four.  Its pretty difficult to be convinced otherwise, because we have been born and raised understanding the truth of that mathematical equation.  The more knowledge of math that we possess, the harder it is for somebody to educate us in the opposite direction. Its really no different in the church.  The more of the Bible that we have in our heart, the less tolerant of contrary doctrine we will be.

Ephesians 4:14-15  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine,

Hebrews 13:9 – Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines…….

The devil is alive and well in the world today, and can be found in numerous churches that profess Christianity as their faith.  He can appear as an angel of light while the truth is, he’s an agent of the devil.  Many people think that the devil is running around with a red cape and horns, but he can appear in a three-piece suit, even as an apostle of Christ, or behind the pulpit, but the smiling devil is just a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  

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.

When all is said and done, the devil can be readily identified because he does not want you to obey the Bible.  The devil does not want you to obey God.  The devil does not want you to listen to scriptural truth.  The devil calls those who preach the truth, liars. He’s been doing this for thousands of years.  He seduced Eve in the garden of Eden to go against God’s will.  He hates God, and wants people to serve and worship Him.  The devils purpose is to lead people astray from serving and obeying God.  If you cannot recognize the devil and His works, then you quite possibly will be deceived yourself.

What the devil does is he tries to cause division or a split within a church group, and tries to break it all up.  

1 John 2:19 – They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

What does a wolf do?  He tries to scatter the sheep.  The ministers warned about this all the time.

Acts 20:30-31 – Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

The Apostles did not want the church to be divided or broken up, but united in one mind, under the teachings of God’s Word.

1 Corinthians 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

The Holy Spirit is one spirit, and if we are all filled with that same spirit, we will all be very similar and of one mind.

1 Corinthians 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

1 Corinthians 11:18  For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

When people resist scriptural truth, they become the enemies of Christ in there own mind.  These people need to be avoided, because in that state they don’t love God, and bad associations can corrupt your faith. The devil decieves foolish women, just like he led away Eve from the truth, but God is going to expose his sinful and wicked activities.

2 Timothy 3:6-9 – For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.  Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.  But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

Romans 16:18  For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

The devil wants to scatter the sheep and lead them astray.  

John 10:10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:

Their judgement approaches quickly.

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

If they truly don’t believe in scripture, its best to avoid them.  I think it’s high time to mark these people out, and dig out some….

….Spraypaint

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