When you put a piece of paper into a copy machine, the machine makes an accurate replica of what is on one piece of paper, and puts it onto another. And when you take the original piece and place it beside the new copy, they both look exactly the same.

A picture works the same way. When you take a picture with a camera, the photograph will look exactly as the real thing. They look completely the same.

I recently did some remodeling work on our house, and when there was something that I wasn’t certain how to do, I looked at how someone else did it, and I replicated it (to the best of my ability.) We needed some new shingles put onto the roof, but I had never put shingles on a roof before, so I watched how others did it and duplicated (or copied) their work.

When someone makes something out of a recipe book, they follow the instructions. When the recipe says to put in 2 eggs, you put in 2 eggs, not 5 or 10, but 2. When it says to bake something at 300 degrees, that is the temperature that you set your oven, because you want it to turn out the way that it is supposed to. If you followed the recipe correctly, the dish will turn out exactly the way it is supposed to. 

When someone learns something, really what they are doing is copying the knowledge of someone else. They have knowledge that you don’t, but when you listen to them and understand it, then that knowledge becomes yours as well. 

And that is what the Bible is: a Book filled with the teachings of God. When we read it, those words become imprinted in our minds, filling us with the knowledge and wisdom of God. It is a “spiritual blueprint,” and it shows us everything that we need to know and do. We need to follow those instructions exactly so that we can mirror the teachings of Christ. 

The word “follow” has several different synonyms, but they all mean basically the same thing. Mimic, imitate, copy, duplicate, echo, mirror. 

When the Apostle Paul went and preached to the churches wherever he went, he taught them the knowledge that he had learned. He wrote to the Corinthian church, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. (1 Cor 11:1) 

Paul was a man filled with the Holy Spirit, and ordained by Jesus Himself to be an apostle, and Paul wanted the church to follow his example. He wanted them to mimic, or imitate, or copy the things that he did, and the way he lived his life. Preaching to others, helping the needy, etc. Because that is what Jesus did. 

We need to hear and read the word of God, and follow it’s teachings. We need to be filled with love for one another, just as Jesus has loved us. We need to forgive each other, just as Jesus has done for the entire world. 

God the Father showed His love for His creation by sending His only Son and allowed Him to die for the sins of the world. Jesus taught that everything that the Father did, He would do also. 

“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” John 5:19

To be followers of Christ means that we need to copy Him, we need to follow His lead and example. As obedient Christians, we need to live in a manner worthy of His name.

Are you doing that? Are you copying Christ?

In Christ,

Andrew

Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that I wanted to tell you a story.

Each year there are thousands and thousands of acres of forest fires that burn in the United States. In 2020 there was an estimated 10 million Acres that were burned because of wildfires, a lot of them occurring in the northwest corner of the country.

A friend of mine who used to work for the DNR in Minnesota used to go out to California to fight wildfires each year. He was also in charge of organizing other fighters to battle these wildfires using control lines and backburns.

The entire purpose of fighting A wildfire is to prevent them from spreading and progressing. They are fighting them to stop them from going any further.

Did you know that the word frustrate means to try to prevent a plan or attempted action from progressing, succeeding, or being fulfilled or to actively fight in opposition to something that is trying to come to pass. That’s exactly what they are doing when they fight a forest fire, they are actively trying to stop it from going any further and putting out the fire.

In the scriptures, the Apostle Paul didn’t want to frustrate God’s grace, by not allowing it to fully come to pass in his heart. He didn’t want to fight the fire of grace. Instead of placing his trust in the things of the Old Testament, he wanted to place his trust completely in God’s forgiveness and mercy for salvation.

Frustrating God’s Grace is trying to stop it from taking a full hold in your heart. What the Apostle wants each of us to do is instead of fighting the fire of God’s grace we must trust fully in Christ for complete justification. It’s just a matter of letting go of the old and reaching out for the new. Instead of trying to prevent it from going any further, It’s simply allowing that wildfire to keep burning daily until his grace consumes us like a raging fire.

Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

God wants us to fully trust in his Son Jesus Christ for forgiveness and mercy but there were times in the church (like some of the children of Israel wanting to return to Egypt), they were attempting to follow some of the things of the Old Testament rather than fully trust in Christ.

The Apostle Paul who was a converted Jewish Pharisee took issue with this numerous times in the book of Galatians.

Gal 3:24-25

²⁴ Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

²⁵ But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

The entire point of the Old Testament law was to show each of us that we couldn’t get to heaven without God’s assistance. Nobody kept the law perfectly, not even today. Christians are not under the Old Testament law but are freed from that burden and yoke through the blood of Christ. Knowing that we have been freed from it, why return to it? The Apostle calls it foolishness, and who better to hear it from than an ex-pharisee.

Gal 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Why would a Christian attempt to do the things that God has abolished? It happens because of their lack of fully trusting in Christ Jesus for their salvation. Circumcision Was An Old Testament requirement. Christians are freed from those things and are not under the law of Judaism.

Gal 2:3-4

³ But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:

⁴ And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:

There are people who claim to be Christian today who are still trying to mingle Judaism and the Christian faith together. This is exactly what Paul was teaching when he said I don’t want to frustrate the grace of God. Nobody can be justified by the works of the law. The only thing you’re eventually going to find out is that your sinner who needs God’s mercy too.

Gal 2:16

¹⁶ Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Paul teaches that true Jewishness is to have faith in Jesus Christ because those who do are the true Israel of God.

Phil 3:3-9

³ For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

⁴ Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:

⁵ Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

⁶ Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

⁷ But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

⁸ Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

⁹ And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

All of us are sinners who have made mistakes and need forgiveness with God. Trust completely in the deeds of Christ Jesus that He has performed on our behalf. Don’t frustrate the grace of God just set down the fire extinguisher and Let the Fire Burn.

Let’s think about those things for today and Lord willing we’ll be able to talk some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤

tlkjbc.wordpress.com

“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.” Matthew 7:1-5

Do you know what it means to “judge” something? The word “judge” when used in Matthew 7 here (“krino” in Greek) basically means to condemn someone for something.

An easy example to compare to our passage today would be as simple as, obviously, a judge in a courtroom. A duty of a judge in the courtroom is to determine the facts and decide a case, and to sentence (or condemn) a wrongdoer. Judges determine the penalty that a person or party receives for an infraction of the law. 

Let’s say for a moment that a judge hands down a monetary fine to someone who violated a traffic law, maybe they failed to stop at a red light or stop sign. Now, what should happen to that judge if they themselves do not stop at that red light? They should receive that same punishment, shouldn’t they?

You could judge another person for just about anything. Someone could get upset at another for throwing trash out of their car window on the highway, but if they themselves do that same thing, do you know what that is called? It is called hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy is 

-“the contrivance of a false appearance of virtue or goodness, while concealing real character or inclinations, especially with respect to religious and moral beliefs. 

-The claim or pretense of having beliefs, standards, qualities, behaviours, virtues, motivations, etc. which one does not actually have. 

-The practice of engaging in the same behaviour or activity for which one criticises another.” 

The hypocrisy of the Pharisees was something that Jesus addressed several times throughout the Gospels, how they appeared outwardly to everyone that they were righteous and holy, but inside they were filled with hypocrisy and iniquity. And how they payed tithes of herbs and spices, but they didn’t keep the “weightier matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23). 

“Thou shalt not kill” is one of the Ten Commandments. Yet, what were the Pharisees trying to do to Jesus? Jesus told them this in John 7:19. “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?”

In the book of Luke, Jesus compares someone who finds fault with another to a blind man trying to lead another blind man.

“And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? 

The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. 

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 

Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.” Luke 6:39-42

In the passage of scripture where the Pharisees brought the adulterous woman before Jesus, they wanted to stone her for the sin of adultery, but Jesus convicted them that they too were sinners. “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her,” Jesus said. One by one they left, each convicted by their conscience.

In Luke 13, we can find another similar passage.

“There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 

And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:1-5

Jesus explained to them that everyone is a sinner, and that unless we repent, we will all perish.

We all are sinners, the Bible makes this fact very clear. We all have made mistakes. But a person needs to fix their own problems first if they want to help another person with that same problem.  

I have heard it said that when you point a finger at another person, three of your finger are pointing back at you, and that really is true. Before you go judging others for their sins, look at yourself. Examine your own life, and overcome your own shortcomings so that you can begin to help others with theirs.

In Christ,

Andrew

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

When I was younger I used to have a job that one of my parents had to drop me off and pick me up at because I didn’t have a car. Sometimes I had to hitch a ride with people from work. Maybe I was starting to wear people out asking for public transportation because one day something happened.

One day at work a man approached me and asked me if I wanted an inexpensive vehicle. I asked how inexpensive? And he said about $100. I figured I could pay for that out of my paycheck.

Hidden in a farmer’s field was a 1976 Impala just sitting there not being used. It appeared so lonely, lost and forgotten. Amazingly it was still in pretty good shape. Although there was grass growing up all around it and it looked like it hadn’t run in years, that car fired right up. I took it in to have an oil change and the brakes checked out and soon afterwards I began to drive that car each and everyday to work.

My first car purchase was just an old car trapped in a field that needed to be redeemed from its purposeless life. It was stuck in that field waiting till someone would come along and redeem it and give it renewed life And vigor once again.

My old Impala reminds me of the Christian life. It reminds me how God takes sinners, stranded in their sinful condition and purchases us with His very own blood so that we can begin a new life with God.

Ephesians 1:6-7 – To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 

To redeem means to purchase back; to ransom; to liberate or rescue from captivity or bondage by paying an equivalent.

This is what Jesus has done for us. We are in bondage to our sinful condition and like that old car in the field we cannot escape without help, but this is what Jesus came to do, to help us.

Colossians 1:14 – In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Each of us are sold under sin. We are incapable of freeing ourselves from our sinful condition. All of us have come short of the glory of God and each of us need someone to come along and free us. This is why Jesus Christ came into the world, to purchase us and to liberate us from our sins.

Romans 3:24 – Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 

Many people talk about freedom in this country but the truest freedom that I have ever known is finding forgiveness with God. To me there is nothing greater on the face of this Earth because it’s the pearl of great price. It’s God’s mercy extended through Christ to a sinful world. There is no treasure that is greater, there are no riches that you will find that will ever compare to the redemption and forgiveness found in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ps 103:7-12

⁷ He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

⁹ He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.

¹⁰ He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

What kind of things have you purchased in your life? Maybe you purchased a new home or a motorbike. Maybe you bought a truck or a boat. In the Christian faith Jesus purchases us through the blood that he shed for us when he died on the cross. We belong to him and we are no longer our own.

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

He buys us out of our sins by paying off the debt against us so that we no longer stuck in a field of sin, but into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

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

Redemption through Christ Jesus awaits each of us.

Psalms 130:7 – Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

In order to be redeemed it requires that we trust in Christ

Jeremiah 15:21

And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

Col 1:20-22

²⁰ And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

²¹ And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

²² In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Just as my old Impala was rescued from that farmer’s field, God wants to free all of us from our sins so that we can have a new life that is found through Gods only begotten Son Jesus Christ The Lord.

I think that’s where I’m going to stop for right now but Lord willing I’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. Till then bye-bye everybody.❤

tlkjbc.wordpress

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

Many years ago I had a job where I got to travel around the country. I enjoyed the job very much and being able to see so many different parts of the country was a great perk of the job. I had the opportunity to meet many different people and see many different places. Many times after work a local resident would invite you over to their place for dinner.

One week when I was working out in Montana there was a man who invited me to come out to his Resort for the day. We had dinner and visited with his family and then he asked me if I wanted to go for a snowmobile ride. I knew nothing about snowmobiling and I had never even been on one. He told me it was pretty simple and showed me how to operate the gas and the brake. After practicing close to his house for 20 minutes I felt like I was ready to go. He told me that I needed to stay behind him the entire way, and off we went into the mountains.

It was really beautiful country and after about 45 minutes I was starting to feel pretty confident on my snowmobile. He slowly came to a stop but instead of listening to his instructions and staying behind him, I gunned the motor to get in front of him. After approximately 100 feet I noticed a steep drop right in front of me. I hit the brakes as hard as I could because there was a 300-foot cliff that I almost went over with my machine. That was the first and last time I ever went snowmobiling. Instead of following someone who was trying to guide me the right way, I tried to take my own direction and it nearly killed me.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

We need to follow Christ and His Word so he can guide us in the right direction. He wants to save and protect us and he knows the right way.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Our Lord Jesus knows the way because He is the way. We need to simply follow the course that he is taking us on. We certainly can’t follow his way if we’re trying to go our own way. A way is a method, style, or manner of doing something. The word method is also defined as a certain way of doing something. We have an instruction book that has been given to us by God and it’s found in the Holy scriptures. All we need to do is follow what it says faithfully in order to get safely home to heaven. We need to follow His way rather than ours.

Matthew 7:13-14

¹³ Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: ¹⁴ Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

When I think about nearly going off that cliff I think about the foolishness in me, which almost led to destruction in my life. I simply wasn’t following the leader. There are many people today who are doing the same thing, they are on that broad way to destruction. Instead of serving and following Christ, they’re serving and following the way of the world which eventually will lead to eternal death. Christians need to be followers of Christ and His teachings.

Matt 4:19 And he saith unto them, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.

Some people are more concerned about being with their relatives than following the truth in Christ.

Matt 8:22. But Jesus said unto him, follow me and let the dead bury their dead.

It took Matthew only a few moments to make the decision to follow Christ

Matt 9:9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, follow me And he arose, and followed him.

Becoming a Christian is about becoming a follower of Christ and denying yourself.

Mark 8:34 – And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

There has been so many times that I’ve watched dogs pull their owners on a leash down the street. They always seem to want to lead the way but in order to become a Christian we need to become like a sheep that obediently follows their owners commands from behind.

John 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

John 10:27 – My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

To follow means to come after or behind. A follower has the ability to listen and take direction from the one who’s leading them. When you follow it is to walk or proceed along the same direction and path of another. It’s the moment when we try going in our own direction instead of following Christ that we can get in trouble.

Just like me so many years ago we all have to learn to follow the one who is leading us down that path. For Christians, His name is Jesus Christ the Lord, who can guide us safely in the right direction. I remember this whenever I think about the….

…….Bozeman Trail Ride

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

As I have mentioned many times in the past, up here in Northern Minnesota we always have a lot of mosquitoes that live with us in the woods. Our family has dealt with them for 20 years. In fact, we call May the mosquito month.

I have a very hard time getting to sleep at night when there’s one single mosquito in the house so usually what I do during mosquito season is go up to my small camper. Andrew and I built a beautiful mosquito net over the top of my bed and all I have to do before I go to sleep is kill a few that are in there.

There was one morning I got up in my camper and slowly stepped out of bed and had a glass of water. It had been so warm at night I had left the door open on the camper with a locked screen door to keep cool.

We have a black lab named Jack who used to come up to the camper and curl up by the door and sleep. There he was by the door this morning.

I went up to the screen door and gave him a little tap with my foot and said goodmorning Jack, but when he turned his head around, to my great surprise it wasn’t Jack our dog, it was a black bear! He slowly got up and wandered away into the woods.

Sometimes things don’t appear what they seem, do they. The reason is because looks can be deceiving.

John 7:24

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

Have you ever purchased a diamond ring only to find out later that it wasn’t a diamond at all? It gave the appearance of what you thought it was but it was something completely different.

Looks truly can be deceiving can’t they. The Lord Jesus taught us not to judge by appearance.

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

What you see with your eyes can at certain times fool you. Some people will trust others just because they wear a suit and a tie, but inside their heart they truly don’t love God or others.

It would be very easy to rent a limousine put on a tuxedo and get out of the car somewhere and claim to be someone of great importance while the truth is, they are not what they appear to be. This is one reason you’re not supposed to judge by appearance because you can be fooled into believing something that is not true.

People judged David by his small stature when he went up to fight against Goliath. They judged him by appearance.

In the book of James they were judging by appearances even in the church.

James 2:1-9

2 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

² For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

³ And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

⁴ Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

⁵ Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

⁶ But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?

⁷ Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

⁸ If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

⁹ But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

People were even judging our precious Lord Jesus by his appearance.

DId you know that when they came to get Jesus in the Garden that evening, they couldn’t even identify which one he was because he appeared like everybody else in the group, like a poor fisherman. Judas had to give him a kiss to identify him.

There are some people even today who give an appearance as an apostle, who even wear a nametag on their shirt and wear a robe while the real truth is that on the inside, they only desire to turn people away from the truth in Christ Jesus and His Word.

2 Cor 11:13-14

¹³ For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

¹⁴ And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

My black lab was actually a bear on my deck that morning. Don’t judge by appearances, because God judges what’s inside each of us…..

He judges the heart.

Thats where I’m going to stop for right now but Lord willing we’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤

tlkjbc.wordpress.com

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

When I was a very small boy I was up playing in the grass over by our garden when I happened to see something move and catch my eye. I really wasn’t sure at first what exactly it was but somebody yelled from the garden that it was just a big old frog. I ran into the house and grabbed a standard 1 gallon ice cream bucket from the basement. For the next five or ten minutes I was chasing that big bullfrog around the backyard. I couldn’t believe how high he could jump up in the air. This frog was so enormous that it took your breath away. I finally nabbed him by the back of his hind legs but he was kicking so hard and he was so hard to control that I had to flip that ice cream bucket over on top of him in order to trap and catch him. Slowly I stuck my hand underneath the bucket and flipped it over and that frog covered the entire bottom of that ice cream bucket. I think that’s the biggest frog that I’ve ever seen and it really took my breath away.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

It can really take your breath away to see how extremely large a Christians faith can grow into and become.

Matthew 13:31-32  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:  Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Faith is defined as complete trust or confidence in someone or something or a strong belief or trust in someone or something. It is to possess sincere belief in the existence of God.

Hebrews 11:6-7  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. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

The ark was a huge example of Noah’s faith and trust in God. It’s been claimed that the ark contained 3.1 million board feet of timber and is literally of Biblical proportions: 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 81 feet tall. That is roughly the size Genesis 6:15 says God told Noah to build it: 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits tall.  Noah had a big faith and the ark was the result of it.

Another example is Abraham’s huge faith.

Heb 11:17-19  By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,  Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

Let’s take a look at one from the gospels.

Matthew 8:5-13  And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,

And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.  And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.  The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.  For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.   When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.  And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

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

And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

The greatest faith in Israel at that moment was a centurion. His faith was huge!  Lastly, lets look at the huge faith of Moses at the Red Sea.

Exodus 14:21-22  And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

Faith is complete confidence and trust in God and understanding that there is nothing impossible for Him.

Luke 1:37  For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Just a little bit of faith can result in something huge, just like a little tadpole eventually grew into……

…. My Bullfrog

It really amazed me to see the size of my bullfrog.  God can make big things happen. How big is your faith in Him? God can make big things happen.  He can take a small frog and make it huge.  

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

“According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.” Philippians 1:20

What makes this word stand out from the others: bold. It looks different than all of the others, doesn’t it? That’s because it is in a bold font, making it appear bigger and darker than the other words around it. Well, when a Christian is bold and unashamed of their faith, they will stand out as different from someone without Christ. 

To be ashamed means to feel shame or guilt, or to be embarassed. It could also be the feeling of not wanting to be associated with someone or something.

I can remember several times, many years ago, how in school we would all be given our report cards to take home to our parents, showing all of our grades for our subjects. Well, some of my classmates sometimes did not receive very good grades, and they would throw those report cards into the trash because they did not want their parents to see their poor grades. They were “ashamed” of their grades.

For another example of this, we can look to Matthew 26, right before Jesus was crucified. What happened when people said that Peter was one of those with Jesus, and what did Peter say? Peter denied knowing the Lord. Three times Peter denied knowing Jesus. Obviously later he was forgiven by Jesus, but at that time, Peter was not bold in his faith. He didn’t want others to know that he was with Jesus. However, later as his faith grew, he was not ashamed, but became bold, and let Christ be magnified in his life.

Christians are supposed to stand out from the world, so that when others in the world see us, they will see the difference in the way that Christians live and act. We want the world to see the love of Christ working in our lives, and that won’t happen if someone is ashamed of Christ. We need to be bold, and unashamed.

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. 

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

Paul wasn’t embarrassed to preach the gospel. He wanted Jesus to be glorified everywhere he went, and was willing and ready to give his life for the sake of the gospel. 

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16

Someone who is unashamed of something will freely admit something; that’s my dad, that’s my house, that’s my car. That’s my God. Jesus is our God, and we are unashamed to call Him our God and let others know this as well. 

We only get one chance at life on this earth. One life to show this world the true love of Christ. Don’t waste it because you are embarrassed to tell others about Jesus. Be bold. Unashamed. Make it count.

In Christ, 

Andrew

Good morning and welcome in today. Today we are going to look at a passage of Scripture from the book of Matthew but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.

A few years back we loaded up my old pickup and took a drive out to deadwood South Dakota. We had decided to camp but it was a week of torrential rain. It was so heavy that for the first few days out there we had to get a hotel room. Because of all the rain, the dry riverbeds started filling up with water.

The next morning we saw one of the shallow rivers loaded with all kinds of people, both young and old, bent over in the water.

I was curious and walked up to them to find out what they were doing. They each had tin plates scooping up parts of the riverbed and panning for gold.

I started up a conversation with one of the young men to see if they were finding anything. Sure enough they were. He pulled a small flask from his pocket and revealed two nice size nuggets of 24k pure gold that he had refined.

When something is pure it’s made of only one substance and is not mixed with anything else. Some examples are tin, diamonds and of course, purified gold.

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

God wants us to purify our hearts like a refiner purifes Gold.

Zechariah 13:9 – And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

When our hearts are perfectly cleansed through His grace, we can walk with Him and others in true charity. Our hearts become purified through His incredible mercy.

1 Peter 1:7 – That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

God wants our hearts to become perfectly pure and sincere. It brings with it true blessings From God.

Psalms 66:10 – For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.

Malachi 3:1-3

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

² But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:

³ And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

We are to join together for church with others who truly are purehearted and sincere.

2 Timothy 2:22 – Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Have you ever heard the saying, he has a heart of gold? That is exactly what we attempting to achieve each day in the church by allowing ourselves to be refined in both our hearts and in our minds.

1 Timothy 1:5 – Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

The heart of God is a heart of gold, pure gold.

Think about those things for today and Lord willing we will talk some more tommorrow. Till then,bye bye everyone.❤

tlkjbc.wordpress.com

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

Many years ago we had grass that was in the middle of our road. It was kind of like an old farm road. Someone had told us that our road was an old logging road that someone had made as an access to our little lake that we live by.

An access point is a way for you to get somewhere. It’s very similar to the grace of God. Without God’s grace, we would be destined to a life without mercy. There is only one way to heaven and it’s through Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:2 – By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

To access something means having the ability, opportunity, permission, or right to approach, communicate, enter, pass to and from, or view without interference or obstruction.

There is only one access point to God’s grace and forgiveness it is through his son Jesus Christ in the blood that He shed for us at the cross. Just as they placed blood on their door post to be saved from death while they were in Egypt, we are saved from death by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Exodus 12:12-14

¹² For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.

¹³ And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

In the New Testament Jesus Christ is our passover lamb that God sent to deliver us from our sins.

1 Cor 11:23-26

²³ For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

²⁴ And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

²⁵ After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

²⁶ For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

Each of us have an access point to Gods mercy, and it is found in Jesus Christ. It is our faith and trust in Him that salvation resides. It is a precious gift from God.

Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

In the old testament, everyone was under the law, but in the new testament we are under the law of forgiveness and mercy.

Romans 6:14 – For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

What we couldn’t attain on our own, Jesus did for us.

Romans 11:6 – And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

Remember that forgiveness and salvation is like our small back trail to the lake. It’s a narrow road, but Jesus is our access point to forgiveness with God.

Think on these things for now and Lord willing I will talk to you tommorrow. Till then, bye bye everyone.❤

tlkjbc.wordpress.com