There are over 7,000 spoken languages in the world, with 23 of those languages being spoken by over half of the world’s total population. That is quite a lot, isn’t it? In the English language alone there are over 170,000 currently used words, along with nearly 50,000 obsolete words that are rarely used. All of those words have a meaning, and put together they consist of our language. 

Words are how people usually communicate with each other their desires, emotions, teaching, and just general conversation. Words are used in songs and hymns in our praise to the Lord, as well as in our prayers to Him as we thank Him for His mercy, blessings, and grace. The world itself was created by the words of God, as He created everything we can see.

But words, while they can be used for many great things, can also be used in an improper manner, doing more damage than good. The apostle Paul refers to these as “profane and vain babblings” in his letter to Timothy in 2 Timothy. Verses 15-18 reads,

2 Timothy 2:15-18  “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.”

To better understand this passage, we first need to define a few of these words.

To shun means to persistently avoid or keep away from.

If something is profane, it is:

-Unclean; ritually impure; unholy, desecrating a holy place or thing.

-Not sacred or holy, unconsecrated; 

-Treating sacred things with contempt, disrespect, irreverence, or scorn; blasphemous, impious.

-Idle senseless talk;

Summed up, profane words are unholy words that should not be spoken in the first place.

The word canker has a few meanings, and they are:

-A plant disease marked by gradual decay.

-A worm or grub that destroys plant buds or leaves; cankerworm.

-A corroding or sloughing ulcer; especially a spreading gangrenous ulcer or collection of ulcers in or about the mouth.

-Anything which corrodes, corrupts, or destroys

Whichever definition is used, they all have the same properties of something that corrodes or decays.

“Shun profane and vain babblings…” These are unholy, blasphemous words that are not used to help others in their faith, or are used in the glorification of Christ. They are idle, senseless words and Paul taught that they need to be shunned. The reason why is this kind of speech will only continue to canker (become worse) if it isn’t stopped. This is very important that we do this because as Christians we need to be representatives of Christ to the world, exemplifying through our actions and our speech what Christ taught, and how we need to live.

When we speak, the words in our speech need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. When you speak, ask yourself, Would Paul speak this way? Would Jesus? If your speech mirrors what they would speak, that is praiseworthy, but if not then you need to ask yourself, “Why not?” As a Christian “profane and vain babblings” have no place in our life as it does nothing to bring us closer to how Jesus wants us to be.

Titus 2:6-8  “Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.”

Sound speech is speech that is free from flaw, defect, error or fallacy. If our speech is sound, as Paul taught it should be, it will be used in a manner that is true and honest. Honest, pure, holy, and Godly, that is how our speech needs to be.

In Christ,

Andrew

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

Over the centuries, many people have traveled through the English channel, but for a long time, rocks have been a great hazard for the ships passing through there. There is a substantial reef around 12 miles SSW off of Plymouth Sound, known as the EddyStone rocks.  Sailors were so afraid of hitting them, that they kept close to the coast of France.  To help guide ships, a lighthouse was built on these rocks.  The first one was made out of wood by Henry Winstanley in the late 1600s, becoming fully functional in November 1698.  It was lit by ’60 candles at a time, besides a great hanging lamp.  There have been three other lighthouses built on these rocks, the Rudyard, Smeaton and finally the Douglass Lighthouse, which is the present one.  A lighthouse has always been meant to guide us safely through the dangers of the waters that lurk below.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

In order to reach the shore safely, people needed to see the lighthouse.  It guided them and showed them the way through the treacherous waters.  In order for us to inherit the kingdom of Heaven someday, we must see the light, found in the teachings of Holy Scripture. This world is a dark and sinful place, and the only way that we can negotiate our way through it, is by guiding off of the lighthouse of God’s Word.

Psalms 119:105  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

For thousands of years, light has helped us to see where we are going in the dark.  People have used candles, torches, lamps, and flashlights.  If you cannot see where you are going you can trip, fall down and get hurt.  Jesus is the Word of God, and a light to the world.  

John 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Everybody likes to see where they’re going when they drive a car at night.  The first vehicle headlamps on cars were officially introduced during the 1880s and were based on acetylene and oil, similar to the old gas lamps.  Light helps us to see any obstructions or possible dangers in the path ahead.  In these treacherous days that we are currently living in, it is the teachings of scripture that illuminates our path so we can avoid the pitfalls that surround us.  This world is like a giant field that is filled with landmines, but it is God’s Word that helps us find our way through them.  It’s God’s spirit-filled teachings that is the oil in that fills our lamps, which lights our way through darkness.

Matthew 25:1-13  Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.  

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.  Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

The foolish virgins never prepared ahead of time for what was coming.  They weren’t filled up with God’s Word, and consequently couldn’t find their way home to Jesus until it was far too late.  Today is this day of salvation, not tomorrow.  Today is the day to get filled up on God’s Word, not tomorrow.  Have you ever prepared to go camping on the weekend, but then when you got there you realized that you forgot batteries and a flashlight?  Have you ever been driving on a motorbike late at night when the headlight suddenly burned out?  It’s dangerous to not have any light to see where you’re going.  Even today there are people who are very similar to the foolish virgins, who are not filling the vessels of their hearts with biblical truth.  The Christian faith is based on the teachings and commands of Christ.  Without faith in them, you have nothing to guide off, because of which, some are going to crash upon the rocks.

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

I grew up on a lake and when we were kids we shoveled our own hockey rink.  We had 300 feet of extension cords that ran all the way from the house down to the lake.  We cut a hole in the ice and froze in a 20-ft popple tree with a floodlight on top.  It didn’t matter how dark it was at night, there was plenty of light for us to play on the lake.  When it got too late and it was time to go in, somebody simply unplugged the extension cord from the house.  It got so dark you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face.  We would use the living room light as a marker as we struggled through the snow to get back home.  The Lord Jesus wants us to be home in Paradise with him someday, and gives us the light that we need in His Holy Word to see the way there.

Psalms 43:3  O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

Modern day pilots are very dependent upon light at night to land safely.  When they begin to get close to the airport, the tower will illuminate the runway, guiding both them and their passengers to their final destination.  They need to put a certain amount of trust in the operator of those lights.  We also must trust Jesus, who wants to guide us and lead us safely to Paradise.  Like a Shepherd with the sheep, He’s watching over us, guiding our way through His truth.  He is that true light, a pillar of fire that lit the way for the Israelites coming out of Egypt, and He continues to light our way today, to all those who place faith in Him and His Word.

Psalms 18:28  For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

In the old lighthouses they used many candles to guide the way of sailors.  To me every verse in the scriptures is like a candle.  The more of them that you place in your heart, the more light that you will have, to help you see your way through this dark world, and to keep you off of…..

…..the EddyStone Rocks

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

1 Corinthians 6:20  “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Years ago we bought a ride-on battery powered four-wheeler for my younger brother to ride on. Going for a walk down the road is something that we used to do quite often, and we had gotten it so that he could have fun driving back and forth on our walks. But when we brought the four-wheeler home and charged the battery up, nothing happened. It wouldn’t drive or move at all. Something inside of it just didn’t work. We had bought it with the expectation that it would work, but because it didn’t we took it back to where we had bought it from.

When you buy something, you generally have some kind of purpose meant for it. If you buy a phone, you expect to be able to call others from it. When you buy a bike you have the expectation to be able to ride it. The things we buy have a purpose, and they need to fulfill that purpose. We bought them, and expect them to work according to our wishes.

And this is something that everyone who makes the decision to become a Christian needs to understand: our lives are not our own. Our time does not belong to us, to serve our sinful desires. Our time has been bought. Our lives have been purchased by Christ, through His blood and sacrifice on the cross. We are His.

I mean really, when you stop to think about it, if you hired someone to come and paint your house, but when they showed up all they did was set up a couple chairs, cook a few burgers, and listen to the baseball game, wouldn’t you become upset? You hired them, you bought their time to paint-not to lounge around on your lawn.

When we become Christians, we have a job to do, and that job requires that we follow the instruction of Christ, “down to a T.” Before we became Christians and allowed Him into our lives, we lived in sin, allowing it to have control or “reign” in our bodies as we obeyed it, but when we came to that special moment in our lives when we allowed Jesus into our hearts, we became His. We became His purchased possession, and we need to allow ourselves to be used as He desires. We are no longer servants of sin, but instead serve the righteousness of God.

Romans 6:6-13  “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

When someone is hired to go to work at a store, they have been bought, kind of. Their time is not their own, to do with as they please. They are there to work and serve their employer. They tell you, “You want to go and do other things, do them on your own time.” You are hired to do your job, not your own personal things.

We have been bought with the price of Christ’s blood, and we need to glorify God in the things that we do. To glorify means that you give glory or praise to someone or something. Well, we need to bring glory to God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. That is the purpose of a Christian. That is our goal and objective. That is our job.

We can glorify Jesus by being a living example to others of the way that Jesus lived, and taught us to live. We could go through all kinds of different virtues such as patience, peace, forgiveness etc, but all of them can be summed up and contained in one word: love. Love is patient, love is kind, love is forgiving, love is merciful. Love is what Jesus taught, and showed through His actions.

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. We are not our own. We are His. He is the potter, we are the clay. Let our lives bring glory to Him.

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.

I’ve been out to the Black hills of South Dakota numerous times with my wife and family, and it’s a great getaway, to see the beautiful things that God has created.  In Custer State Park, there is a very scenic road known as Needles Highway.  This fourteen mile stretch of road winds through some of the most incredible rock formations and scenery that I’ve ever seen.  This highway was completed in 1922, and has had numerous visitors over the last 100 years.  If your children like to climb on rocks I don’t think there’s a better place for them to do it!  In fact there are numerous challenges for more serious rock climbers.  As you drive down the highway, you will eventually come to a pullover spot where there is a rock pinnacle that looks just like a needle’s eye!  Right next to it, is the needle’s eye tunnel, which is a one lane section of road that passes right through the granite that is only 8 feet, 4 inches wide.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

This tunnel is fairly wide compared to a narrow gate found in Jerusalem, which was called the “eye of the needle.” Camels were usually very heavily loaded with containers and packages and before they could pass through this narrow passage, they needed to be unloaded first.

Matthew 19:23-26  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Man in his carnal nature will seek to increase his wealth and possessions in this world, but it takes the Holy Spirit of God, indwelling in a man’s heart to overcome these sinful desires.  

Luke 12:13-15  And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.  And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?  And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

The disciples had forsaken all to follow Jesus.  Think about all of the wealth that Moses would have inherited if he had become Pharaoh in Egypt, but he turned away from it all in order to serve God.  It would be similar to a billionaire giving away all of their wealth to the poor, in order to focus their time on preaching God’s Word.

Luke 16:13  No servant 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.

Many people are confused, thinking that the church needs money to operate.  God doesn’t want your money, He wants preachers.  He can cause a coin to be found in the mouth of a fish, God can provide.  He wants people to unload their possessions and follow Him by doing what He did while He was here on the Earth.  Jesus never had his disciples gather money and construct some church building somewhere.  They met in people’s homes, out in the woods, or in the fields.  People nowadays have turned Christianity into a money-making, profit scheme, completely opposite from what originally intended 2000 years ago.  It’s become so bad that they turn off potential converts to Christianity by their greed.  God doesn’t want your possessions, give them to the poor and start preaching. This is one of the reasons why the love of money is so evil, because it pulls men away from what God calls them to do.  They really believe that the more that they possess, the more Godly they are, but their hearts are deceived by the devil.

1 Timothy 6:5-10  Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.  But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.  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.

God doesn’t want or need money, He wants preachers.  God doesn’t want you to go out and get a job somewhere, He wants you to leave your jobs, just as the original apostles did when they left their nets and their wives and families and followed the Lord to preach the kingdom.  Just as Moses, the original disciples chose to become poor so that they could become rich in spiritual knowledge and wisdom.  Imagine the wisdom that you could possess if you spent 10 hours a day in God’s word rather than packing boxes for minimum wage. Sell what you have, unload your wealth and possessions to the poor, and you will quickly find your bills will disappear.

Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Scriptures teach us to take one day at a time.  What things do you really need in your life to survive another 24 hours? Maybe a good meal, some clothes to wear and hopefully a place to sleep.  All the rest in this world is extra baggage.  The more you have, the more there is to be concerned about.  Possessions become a stumbling block to your relationship with Christ.  If people would simply learn to downsize and be content,  they would find that they have a lot more time available to them to seek God during their day and to preach.

In the parable of the prodigal Son, possessions had no hold on the father.  He divided the inheritance between his two sons, signing everything over to them before he had even died.  I’ve always felt that if only death can wring your wealth from your hands, it was never given to others out of love while you were alive.  God doesn’t want your money, he wants you to sell what you have, give to the poor and preach.  John the Baptist was poor and preached.  Jesus was poor and preached.  The disciples left their jobs, became poor and preached.  Men of God need to become poor, and step up to the plate and preach.  Quit worrying about taking care of a dumb building, or paving a parking lot, or cutting the lawn somewhere.  Start preaching!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Matthew 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Don’t deceive your own hearts.  Every man has their weakness and for some it is covetousness, but remember that the path to eternal life is far more narrow than the tunnel that you will pass through when you’re driving on….

……..Needles Highway.

house on……

……An Empty Stomach

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

tlkjbc.com♥️

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

Growing up as an outdoorsman in Northern Minnesota, I’ve experienced some extreme weather.  But if you ever feel daring enough to take a ship through Drake’s passage, you eventually will reach the southernmost tip of the world, Antarctica.  Antarctica is truly a place unto itself.  It has no capital because it isn’t even considered a country.  There on the ice, the Soviet Union has a research facility that they built for drilling deep into the cap.  It’s called Vostok station, which was named after the 900 ton ship sailed by one of the discoverers of Antarctica. In this rugged tundra, you will find an intimidating countryside, known for its extreme weather conditions. The strongest winds on Antarctica can reach speeds of up to 200mph, as fast as skydiving from an airplane.  The nominal winter temperature for the South Pole is 76 below Fahrenheit, pretty chilly to say the least, but many people were completely dumbfounded at what happened at Vostok station on July 21,1983. Temperature plummeted to 128.6 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, and they recorded the coldest temperature ever recorded on the earth!

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

As cold as that day was, I believe that the heart can become just as cold, if not more, hardened like the thickest ice in Antarctica during the coldest of winters.  It can become bitter like a polar wind chill, caused by sin and an impenitent heart. This is a cold that cannot be measured by the dropping of the mercury, but by a person’s complete lack of love for God, mercy, compassion and grace.

Matthew 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

The heart of a Christian is supposed to be warm, like an ember in a fire.  It needs to be warm like the heat in a wood stove.  The further a person distances themselves from the teachings of the Christian church, the further they walk away from regular exposure to God’s Word, the colder their heart can become. Imagine living on the equator, but the further you move north or south, the colder it gets.  

Imagine your heart as a suitcase.  It is completely packed with love for God, so full that you can’t even put anything else in it, but then you get involved with sin.  Sin needs to be placed in your suitcase, but the only way to do this is to remove some of the items inside.  As sin increases, the love from one’s heart is removed.  The more sin, the more love is diminished.  This is why love needs to be focused on the right thing.

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.

The more involved you become with sin, the less love you possess in your heart for God and others.  Their love for sin becomes greater, even encouraging others to sin against God with them.  Their heart becomes cold and without any feeling, like a callus on your hand or foot.

Romans 1:28-32  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;  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

2 Thessalonians 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The more involved with sin that one becomes, the colder and more cruel the heart will be.  It becomes like a block of ice frozen and hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  Sin is like the hardener in two part epoxy glue.  Everything is soft until you begin to mix it in.

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,

When someone opens the front door in the middle of the winter, a cold blast of air will rush into your house.  When you allow sin to enter the door of your heart, the same thing happens.    

Hebrews 3:12-15  Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;  While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

Instead of serving sin, we are supposed to serve the Lord Jesus.

Romans 12:11. ……… fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

Fervent means having or showing great emotional warmth, but because of sinfulness, that warmth slowly disappears in a person’s heart.  The heart begins to ice over like a river in the northern Minnesota woods.  They become without natural affection, incontinent and fierce. (2 Timothy 3:3) They become as brute beasts. (2 Peter 2:12, Jude 1:10)  Where there once was kindness, there is now cruelty.  Where there once was truth, is now a lie.  Where there once was mercy, is now bitterness. Where there was once love, there is hate.

This is why we need to extricate ourselves from sin, so that we can become pure in heart, focusing our love and attention on Christ’s will for us, and then on our neighbor.

1 Peter 1:22  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

When something is fervent it means that it’s glowing, burning, and very hot.  This is the kind of love that we want to have towards the Lord Jesus.  We display our love towards Him by becoming obedient to his will.  We show others love, by being forgiving with them.  

1 Peter 4:8  And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

When people choose to turn away from scriptural truth, sin begins to abound, and the more sin there is, the less love there will be. The coldness of an impenitent heart can never really compare to the cold experienced that day on Antarctica forty years ago.  This is a coldness of the heart and spirit, something that can never be measured with all the equipment at…..

…….Vostok Station. 

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

Have you ever been told not to do a certain thing, or to stop doing something? We may not realize it, but every day that we drive down the highway we have the speed limit signs telling us to not exceed the posted limit. These laws are enforced by the local police officers, the county sheriffs, and the state patrol troopers, and it is their duty to enforce the law by warning, and or giving out monetary fines to those who break the speed limit law. 

Suppose that one morning on your way to work you had been pulled over for driving too fast, and were given a speeding ticket as well as a verbal warning to obey the speed limit by an officer, but later that day as you were driving home from work you witnessed that same police officer get into his personal vehicle, and proceed to drive himself home at a speed well over the posted speed limit. How would you feel about that? It would probably upset you a bit, wouldn’t it? The same person who condemned you for breaking the law themselves did the exact same thing. There is a word for this kind of behavior, and it is called hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy is the contrivance of a false appearance of virtue or goodness, while concealing real character or inclinations, and the claim or pretense of having beliefs, standards, qualities, behaviors, virtues, motivations, etc. which one does not actually have. It is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another.

Romans 2:21-29  “Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?

Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?

Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?

For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?

For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”

In the book of Romans, Paul seems to have written a large portion of it to those who were Jews, or used to be Jews, and he taught them that “If you are going to tell others to follow the Law, are you yourselves following it?” 

If the measure of circumcision was to keep the law, wouldn’t those who were not Jews by blood, if they kept the Law, be counted the same as the Jews? As leaders in the Jewish religion, the Pharisees and Sadducees should have been examples to the people of how to live and act. However, while they may have taught the law and commanded the people to keep the law, some of them didn’t keep it themselves. This hypocrisy upset the Lord greatly, as is evidenced throughout the Gospels when He rebuked them. They commanded others to abide according to the law, but they themselves would not.

Matthew 23:1-5  “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,

Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:

All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,”

They knew the law, certainly. But their works were only “for show,” to be seen by others, and to receive their praise. In the situation with the adulterous woman, they practically pointed their fingers at her and said “Sinner! Sinner! Stone her!” But a check from the Lord showed their hypocrisy, as they realized that they couldn’t stone her for her sins, because they too had sinned.

This is why we need to seriously study our own selves before we judge others for their indiscretions. We need ask ourselves what our problems are, and how they need to be fixed. We don’t want to add the sin of hypocrisy on top of our own list of sins. We need to examine ourselves as Paul taught (2 Corinthians 13:5). In order to judge others, we first need to judge ourselves. Because if we fail our own judgement, then we are just hypocrites.

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.”

This is something that I have written several times, but look at yourself first, and your own problems. What are they? Take care of those things first before you go and condemn others for that same thing. Look in the mirror at yourself. Don’t be a hypocrite.

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.

Up in the wooded areas of Alaska is a river that extends approximately 35 miles into the Bristol Bay.  Each year this river, known as the Naknek, becomes absolutely packed with sockeye and other salmon.  It might be described as being in New York City at rush hour on a Friday afternoon!   By the end of June and through the end of July, millions of these fish appear.  It’s claimed that an average of 38 million sockeye return to Bristol Bay every year, because of which, numerous commercial fishermen flock to the area. Bristol Bay is home to the world’s largest salmon run.  This river is connected to Naknek Lake, near the base of the Alaska Peninsula, which drains West into Bristol Bay. This lake is a fisherman’s dream.  People often see moose, wolves and grizzly bears that are famous for scooping sockeye salmon right out of the water with their claws.  Beginning in 1951, boats were re-fitted with diesel and gas engines for this incredibly huge harvest. It has been said that some of these rivers flowing into Bristol Bay have an estimated 30,000 salmon traveling on them per hour!

This reminds me of a Christian Life.

Converting people to the the teachings of Jesus is very similar to fishing, except we are fishing for the souls of men, by using God’s Word to convert them through preaching.  Just as fishermen are needed in Alaska for the salmon run each year, spiritual fishermen are greatly needed to win souls to Christ, and the laborers are few.

Matthew 9:37  Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few

Luke 5:1-10  And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,  And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.  And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.  Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.  And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.  And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.  For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:  And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

Preaching the Word of God is publicly teaching the Scriptures.  It is the most important occupation in the entire world, because it has to do with saving people so that they can someday enter into eternal life.  

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.

Certain fish have certain seasons during which you can catch them, but it is open season when it comes to preaching.  Some people think that preaching only happens a half hour, once a week at a church gathering somewhere, but preaching happens when ever and wherever you may be.  it doesn’t matter the surroundings you might be in, whether it’s in the car or in the street.  Weather it’s camping or swimming at the beach.  Preaching is not restricted to a church service, it’s whenever you have an open door to talk about the truth of God’s Word with someone.  If the fish aren’t biting on one lake, Minnesota fisherman will move to the next one.  There are plenty of fish to catch!

Mark 16:15 – And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Timothy was commanded to keep preaching doctrine, because there would come a time when people were not going to last in the Christian Life, or submit to christian teachings.  Instead of developing a love for Jesus and His Word, they will love the teachings and philosophies of the world more.  They would surround themselves with ear tickling false teachers who preach the things that they want to hear, rather than the things they need to hear. Instead of continuing in the truth they will begin to love and believe a lie instead.  To be eternally saved, one must possess a love for biblical truth.  Without this love, a person really doesn’t love Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-13  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.  But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

There are many jobs in society where people have been placed in charge of rescuing others, but the Christian life is about rescuing people’s souls.  In order to do this, somebody needs to be preaching God’s Word, being a laborer for the Lord.

Romans 10:14  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

The Lord called out to men to preach, as He did by example.

Matthew 3:1  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

Matthew 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Mark 3:14  And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

Luke 9:59-60  And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

Acts 5:42  And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

Acts 8:4  Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

2 Timothy 1:11  Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

God’s fishing season has been open for thousands of years, and I think it’s high time for people to recognize how great the need is for spiritual fishermen.  There are so many to catch, and so few laborers.  The time is now, to grab the tackle box of scripture, and start casting for men.  I guarantee you, that fishing for souls is far more important, than any fish that you will ever catch on………

…………The Naknek.

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

tlkjbc.com♥️

Note: Any copies may be printed and freely distributed among those who have no internet service. There is no AI creative involvement in my writings, and must be left intact because they are very personal to me. These are not to be sold, and are made public only for the free benefit of Spiritual knowledge to those who are genuinely seeking the will of God.

When was the last time that someone gave you a gift? How did you feel about this act of kindness? What sort of reaction did you have in response towards them? If something is given as a gift, it is free and without any conditions connected to it, otherwise it would not be a gift, it would be a purchase. With this being said, what should the correct response be when one receives a gift? To say the words “thank you.”

An expression of gratitude and appreciation, the words thank you are words that some people have erased from their vocabulary, and this is exactly what the Apostle Paul said would happen.

2 Timothy 3:1-2  “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,”

In Luke 17, Jesus performed a miracle by healing 10 men of their leprosy, which was a disease of the skin that could eventually lead to nerve damage, resulting in the inability to feel pain, which then could lead to the loss of a person’s extremities from repeated injury. Because leprosy is spread largely between contact between people, lepers were generally segregated from the main population to try to prevent the spread.

But back to our Bible passage, read what happened in Luke 17:12-19.  

“And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”

Out of these ten men, only one of them was thankful enough to go back to Jesus and give Him thanks.

I know that I cannot speak for everyone, but when I received a gift I was taught to say those two words: thank you. I suppose that anyone can say the words without actually feeling it, but it is a very good thing to be thankful, and appreciate those things that you have been given, not just towards those on this Earth, but more importantly towards our heavenly Father.

Who gave you life? Often many people will say, “My mother did,” but the gift of life originated far before then. The gift of life comes from God. Life is a gift, because you didn’t do anything to get it. It was just given to you, freely, and without charge. 

We all have the promise of another free gift, to be given to us at a later time. Provided that we walk according to the doctrine of Christ, this gift is also a gift of life: eternal life. Eternal life is a gift because it is something that cannot be earned. It cannot be bought; it is a gift.

Romans 5:15-19  “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

Life, health, food, clothing, the beautiful weather outside, your home, your children and family– if you cannot find something to be thankful for, then I ask, Why not?

Ephesians 5:19-20  “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”

Everything that we have is a gift from God, as nothing happens without His intervention. So what do we say? To Jesus we say, “Thank you!”

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.

It’s been claimed that over 2,200 years ago a seed began to grow in the ground in the western part of North America.  It continued to grow rapidly over time, throughout the middle ages, the dark ages, the Great depression, and two world wars.  It is considered by many as the world’s largest tree, at a height of 275 ft and a 36 ft diameter at the base.  At 60 ft above the ground, it is still 17 ft in diameter!  It is a giant sequoia known as the General Sherman.  When you see it your jaw will drop at the sheer size of it.  It’s breathtaking.  There are numerous other trees that surround it as you take a walk down the Congress trail, each of them towering over the forest, and each of them sharing one thing in common, they all began as a tiny little seed.

This reminds me of a Christian Life.

It only takes a small seed to mature into a tree this size, and it only takes a small seed of faith inside the fertile ground of a good and obedient heart to become a mature man of God.

Mark 4:30-32  And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?  It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:  But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. 

Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something.  It’s a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion. Just a small seed of faith can yield big results.  Just like this tree, the Christian life is about growing each day in our faith.  It begins with the very first step of faith, when like a seed, we are germinated deep in the water, completely submerged and baptized into the name of Jesus Christ.  Just as a plant will poke its head out of the dirt, we rise up out of the water to begin a new life, completely forgiven of our past misdeeds so that we can begin to grow into the person that God wants us to become.  We must possess genuine faith so that we can please God and do his will, and like a Sequoia seedling, eventually grow into spiritual maturity.

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.

In order to obey scripture and do the will of God, you must have faith.  God rewards a seeking heart.  If you’ve ever had a greenhouse or grown indoor plants, we are responsible to plant the seeds and water them, but God causes them to miraculously grow.  This is very symbolic of the Christian Life.  The little seed of faith needs to be nurtured each day and watered by God’s Word.

1 Corinthians 3:6-7  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

1 Peter 2:2  As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

People can have a lot of head knowledge from God’s Word, but knowledge by itself is not enough.  You must possess faith, because without it, you will never please God completely.  If you truly believe in Jesus with all of your heart, conversion is going to happen in your life.  Only through the narrow passage of faith can you meekly submit to God and become a doer of His will.

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.

It’s the Word of God that fills us with spiritual food, but it is faith in God that causes us to mature.  It is God that causes that seed to grow when we place our complete trust in Him.  The Word of God is like the dry ingredients in a recipe, but to complete the task at hand you must add the water of faith.

Hebrews 4:1-3  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.   For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

A spiritual seed cannot grow without faith.  Genuine faith is going to possess works, just as the life of the Apostle Paul clearly teaches us.  God’s grace, and Paul’s seed of faith towards Jesus, resulted in a mammoth of a tree.  A lot of the New Testament that we have today was written by his hand.  It is his faith that caused him to do the things that he did.  Genuine faith will possess works just as his life exemplified.  

James 2:17-20  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.  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.  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Works are the evidence of the unseen things of God at work inside a person’s heart.  Even though there were certain people who didn’t believe in Jesus, He told them to believe in Him because of the works that he was doing.

John 14:11-12  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Faith in Christ will result in following His path, and being involved with the works that He does.  Just one little seed of faith can result in huge things.  Noah’s faith caused him to build a huge ship to save his family from the destruction of the world.  His huge ship was a result of his huge faith.  Moses’ faith caused him to walk away from all the treasures in Egypt, and His huge faith produced huge results, eventually leading thousands of Israelites out of Egypt, to freedom.  

So if you ever get out by Wolverton Road in California, I want you to think about what one small seed can produce.  One little seed of faith in our hearts can grow into something incredibly big.  Remember this if you ever get the opportunity to see,….

……The General Sherman

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

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Note: Any copies may be printed and freely distributed among those who have no internet service. There is no AI creative involvement in my writings, and must be left intact because they are very personal to me. These are not to be sold, and are made public only for the free benefit of Spiritual knowledge to those who are genuinely seeking the will of God.

Years ago I ordered a couple butternut trees from a greenhouse and had them shipped to our house. When they arrived they were rather small, probably about 8 inch seedlings. So I found a nice place to plant them and made sure that they stayed watered, and waited.

The first two years the trees didn’t grow too much, maybe 6 inches, as the trees began to establish themselves in the surrounding soil, but during the third and fourth years the trees began to grow like crazy, growing over three feet each year! They have since slowed down in their growth, but they have never stopped. They are always growing, just like we need to keep growing as Christians.

1 Peter 2:1-2  “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”

We are like a tree, which when it begins to grow may grow very fast as it soaks up all of those nutrients from the ground, but as it gets older it may begin slow down a bit. But they never fully stop growing. It is a constant growth. When we first become Christians and begin to delve into the scriptures, we will learn many things about our faith, but that doesn’t mean that we will get to a point where we never have anything more to learn or grow in. We may read a passage in the Bible a hundred times, and then suddenly the Holy Spirit reveals something to you that you never understood before, and you grow even more.

The life of a Christian is a growing process. We are not fully polished Christians on day one. We each have our strengths and weaknesses, areas where we need improvement over others. Sometimes you succeed, and sometimes you fail, but if you fail what matters is that you get right back at it and try it again.

So many people expect perfection immediately, but it doesn’t always work that way. It takes practice, dedication, and patience, and the realization that we are imperfect beings, striving for perfection. Always feeding off of God’s Word, growing in our faith.

2 Thessalonians 1:3  “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;”

Peter wasn’t a full grown Christian immediately either. He had his faults and mistakes along the way. He rebuked the Lord, telling Jesus that the events leading up to His crucifixion would not happen, but he was in turn rebuked by the Lord for this. He denied knowing the Lord at the crucifixion, fulfilling the prophecy that Jesus had told him, even though he had said that he would never deny Christ. Peter was still growing, and although he made mistakes, he grew through them and never did them again.

Paul as well, was always growing. He was always reaching forwards and striving to become better each day.

Philippians 3:12-16  “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.”

My butternut trees didn’t grow to maturity in one day, and even when they do they will never stop growing. They will always have room for more growth, just like us.

In Christ,

Andrew