Breaking up boulders

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.

For many years, my children often play outside in the front yard. They were starting to get a little bored one summer, so I decided to order a dump truck load of gravel from a neighbor.

He couldn’t get into our property because we’re built on a hill, so what he did is he dumped it on the side of the hill and the whole pile slid down the hill, exposing all the rocks and boulders that were in the gravel .

About a week later I heard something outside in the yard. I kept hearing these noises…… chip chip chip , chip chip chip. Curiously I went outside to see what was going on.

The children were all gathered in a circle with a couple of hammers breaking up boulders.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

Hebrews 4:7 ” Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

A boulder is a fairly hard material.

A few years ago, a neighbor of ours told me a story about when he was a kid. They had a huge boulder that they were trying to remove from their field because they had hit it with their plow. It was so big that they had to dig around it and try to dynamite it. When the dynamite went off, the rock came up out of the ground for a moment, and then fell right back into the same hole that it come out of.

Each of our hearts can become just as hard as that big boulder. No matter how hard it is, our hearts need to break before God.

Hebrews 3:8 “Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:”

In gravel pits they break up boulders by using a large Crusher. It pulverizes them and breaks them up into next to nothing.

That’s what we need to do with each of our hearts . We need to become humble before God. We need to allow ourselves to be pulverized into nothingness so that we can listen and hear the things that God is trying to say to us.

Matt 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

God wants to convert and heal us, but first we need to break up those hard hearts. They need to become soft and pliable.

Think about the thick ice out on the lake in the winter time. It’s so hard that people actually drive their heavy vehicles out onto it. But eventually what happens in the spring? All that hard ice is broken up by the light from the Son. If you leave your fish house out there it’s going to eventually fall right into the lake.

Our hearts need to become that soft. We need to melt that hardness away until they are soft, like a liquid. Only when our hearts become that soft do our ears begin to hear the voice of God. We become putty in the hands of our maker.

We need to allow God to reach down deep inside of our hearts so he can help us to grow. He wants to come into our hearts but the thing that prevents that is our own hard-heartedness.

The word hard-hearted actually means unmerciful and without pity or compassion. It’s a person who lacks in sympathetic understanding. Those are qualities that are completely against the divine nature of God.

Hosea 10:12 “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.”

Have you ever watched a backhoe as it begins digging out a basement? Sometimes the ground is very hard and he has to keep hitting the ground to break it all up.

Have you ever been out somewhere and watched people doing construction? You may see a man with a very loud jackhammer breaking up all the concrete. Watch how he tears through that concrete until it’s reduced to a pile of rubble.

In order to hear the voice of God through the teachings of the Holy scriptures, our hearts have to break and be broken apart, like taking down a brick wall brick by brick until it’s ready to submit and listen and learn from the word of God.

To hear something is more than just hearing with your ears. To become spiritual, we must hear it from our hearts. It’s a hard heart that causes us not to want to listen so in order to hear with our hearts, they first must be broken down.

Hebrews 4:7 ” To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

Have you ever loved and cared for somebody else so much, but they refuse to listen to what you have to say. Think about how God the Father feels when people will not listen to His Son Jesus Christ and the things that he taught.

God does not want anybody to perish. He wants each of us to come to a place of repentance and believe on His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and misdeeds. Through him we have access through Gates of Heaven and eternity, but our hearts must first be broken so that we can get to the point that we will listen to him completely.

Matt 17:5 “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”

We have to hear God’s word in our heart in order for us to be converted and to be able to become pleasing unto God. It’s more than just hearing the word of God preached or taught, it’s hearing it from a broken and contrite heart.

Matt 13:16 “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.”

That is the kind of meek and lowly heart that God wants from each of us.

Romans 10:17 – So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

I remember not too many years ago I was at a gas station and I was putting some gas in my vehicle when someone pulled up next to me on the opposite side of the pump.

I happened to notice something on his vehicle and started to strike up a conversation with him, but it seemed like he hadn’t heard anything that I had said. I repeated myself twice as loud the next time but he didn’t even turn his head.

Eventually he finished fueling up and looked me in the eye and I asked him practically shouting at him, how are you doing today sir, to which he smiled and responded, doing fine, doing fine.

In order to have a conversation with him I was nearly at the top of my voice speaking to him because his poor ears were so bad.

God wants us to hear Him, but we can’t. God wants us to to incline an ear and follow His Son’s teachings, but we can’t. God wants us to listen and walk in love, mercy and kindness, but we can’t….

Not until we start…..

…..Breaking up Boulders.

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching tlkjbc, or by going to hipcast, buzzsprout or amazon, or by getting our podcast feed directly at tlkjbc.com, or I suppose, you can find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods.  Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

tlkjbc.com

Not under the law, but grace

Romans 6:14, “…for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

Grace is defined as “unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sactification.” Grace is God giving us mercy when we don’t deserve it, so that we can be forgiven.

Years ago, before Jesus came to die for our sins, the Israelites were commanded to keep the Judicial Law.  These were commandments for all of the people of Israel. In the law it told which types of animals that they could or could not eat. They were allowed to eat animals that had a split hoof, and chewed the cud (such as goats), but they could not eat hares (rabbits). They could eat anything in the waters that had scales or fins, but those creatures that didn’t were forbidden to eat. If you look in Leviticus 11, there are many more animals that were either allowed or forbidden to be eaten.

There were commandments concerning sacrifices. Certain animals had to be offered for certain sins. On the sabbath day, you were forbidden walking more than a certain distance. On the sabbath, no work was supposed to happen. There were certain things you needed to do to your pots and silverware to cleanse them. You were not supposed to wear clothes that contained different materials used to make them. 

There are so many laws and rules in the Old Testament. There were so many laws and things to follow, that no one on earth was able to keep them all. Except one. Jesus. When He came to the earth, He was the first and only one to keep every law. But why would God create so many laws if only Jesus was the only one who would be able to keep them? 

The Old Testament laws were created to show us that we are not perfect, that we are all sinners. The laws were created to show us that we cannot get to heaven on our own. They were made to show us that we need a Savior. 

Once you broke a law, you needed to offer a sacrifice. But they were only a covering for a time. Animal sacrifices only covered your sin, not take them away. Jesus came and gave Himself for the world to be our sacrifice, so that all we need to do is come to Him to be forgiven. He took away all the Judaic laws, and made it simpler. Instead of all those many, many commandments and laws, He makes it far simpler. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” John 13:34

Romans 7 is filled with verses about how we are free from the Old Testament laws. I’m only going to write down a few of them here, but you can read them for yourself.

Romans 7:6, “But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.”

Romans 7:14-17, “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not: but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”

The law was there to show us our sins. Romans 7:7, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Now we are under the law of grace, the New Testament.

It’s in the New Testament that Jesus teaches us the easier way. Jesus wants to make it easier for us. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-29.)

So instead of pages upon pages of reading all of the laws, it is all concised down to one verse. “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Galatians 5:14.

Thank you, Jesus, for giving us grace and making it easier for us. 

In Christ,

Andrew

Having the right mix

Have you ever gone out to the store and bought some antifreeze for your car. With these especially cold Winters up here in northern Minnesota you’ve got to make sure that you’ve got it mixed correctly in order for it to work properly. You have to mix pure antifreeze with water at a 50/50 ratio.

Heb 4:2 “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.”

There are numerous people who go to hear the preaching of God’s truth. Sadly there are many of them today that are not mixing what they hear with faith in their hearts.

In order to become what God wants us to be we have to obey the teachings of the scriptures. That happens when you have real faith.

Today I think that there are many people who really don’t understand the true meaning of this word. Faith is more than just saying I believe. If you truly have it, it results in an obedient heart towards the teachings of Jesus Christ. It results in works. It results in a changed heart. It results in a changed life.

If you possess faith in your heart, things are going to happen in your life towards God.

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.”

To please somebody means to do the wish or will of another. So although someone might hear the gospel preached or taught somewhere, that in itself is not enough to get to heaven. We need to please God and that means to do his will. That’s only going to happen if you have real faith.

God has certain purposes for each of us in the church. He has a certain calling for men he has a different calling for women. He has one purpose for a husband and another purpose for a wife. In order for us to become what he wants us to be, it requires faith in what you been taught which ultimately will lead to obedience.

Matt 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Doing the will of God requires real faith. Real faith causes us to make a real attempt to do the will of God as the beloved Apostle James teaches.

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

When a person claims to really believe in something, it’s going to result in some sort of an action.

If I really believe that it’s going to be 40 below tonight and I really believe that with all my heart it is my faith that causes me to run up to the truck and plug it in. My belief led to an action. Now if I said well it’s going to be 40 below tonight but never had any actions applied to my faith my truck wouldn’t start in the morning. That’s really not faith at all.

James 1:23-24

“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.”

When we hear the word of God preached or talk to us it should have an effect on how we live if we really possess faith. You need a 50/50 mix of both the scriptures in an obedient faithful heart.

Having the proper mix is very important. in fact one of our neighbors called me over to his house one day to help him cut down a few trees. After a couple of days we finally got them down on the ground. After all was said and done he told me he wanted to show me something.

He took me into the back of his garage and showed me an old saw that he had. He told me he couldn’t get it running. I took a look at it for a little bit and realized what had happened. Chainsaw gas has to be mixed properly with oil. What he had done is he had forgot to mix oil in the gas and had seized up the piston in the motor.

Having the proper mix matters doesn’t it .

Our faithful obedience shows love for Christ.

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

2nd Corinthians 2:9 – For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.

The proof of our faith is obedience.

James 2:26 – For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

It’s more than just hearing or reading the Bible because if it’s truly faith it will result in works of faithfulness to the teachings of Christ.

Remember Abraham obeyed God . Moses obeyed God. Real faith will listen to the voice of God found in the teachings of scripture. You need the Right Mix to completely please God.

Imagine having a recipe at home that’s been in your recipe box for many years but one day you decide to skip half of the recipe. The recipe is not going to come out the way that it was written on the card. The food is not going to be what was intended to be .

In the same respect , a true Christian isn’t going to become pleasing to God, unless they follow the recipe card that we have been given. Those are the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Any recording artist would tell you then when you’re going into the studio you have to mix the parts down properly or the song does not come out the right way. Welcome to the Christian faith.

Hearing and applying.

listening and application.

Hearing and then doing.

Heb 4:2 “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.”

Salvation is available to us…

It’s all about having the Right Mix.

That’s it for today in Lord willing we’ll talk to you some more tomorrow bye-bye everybody

Resisting Temptations

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

The word “resist” means “to oppose, withstand, or strive against.” If we resist the devil, we are opposing the sin that the devil wants us to do. We are not giving in to his wiles and trickery. The power of God working in our lives will cause the devil to flee from us. We need His help to strengthen our lives so that we can defeat any temptation. 

“Temptation” means “the state of being enticed to something, especially something evil.” 

For example, if you are playing a video game, you might not be able to defeat a certain level. You might meet a character that you need to defeat in order to progress forward. You might not be able to defeat it the first time. Sometimes you might have to put on different armor or upgrade your character. Eventually you will get stronger and learn how to defeat it. Later on in the game, you might encounter a different challenge, and fail. You then learn how to defeat that one too. 

That’s just like temptation. When we are tempted, we might fail the first time, or times after that. But eventually we get stronger in our faith, and we learn how to defeat it. We upgrade our lives by putting on the armor of God, and with that we will defeat any temptation that comes our way. We need to take the shield of faith, and with it we will quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.(Ephesians 6:16)

Ephesians 6:11, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

If you play video games then you might know that in some of them the game will not allow higher ranks of enemies to attack you. It only allows those enemies who are around your level to try to defeat you. The Lord also won’t allow us to be tempted by something that is more than we can resist and defeat. We can have comfort in this knowing that when we are tempted, we can and we will be able to defeat it. 

1 Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such is as common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

The devil will try to tempt us where we are the weakest. If someone has trouble with stealing things, then he will try to put something in your path to try to get you to sin. Whatever your weakness, we can go to Jesus for help so that we can become stronger, and with His Spirit inside us, there is no temptation that can’t be overcome. 

Jesus shows us how to defeat temptation. Matthew 4:1-11, “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”

The devil even tried to tempt Jesus! After 40 days without eating, the devil tried to tempt our Lord where he thought Jesus would be the weakest. But the power in Christ is great, and He overcame. Jesus overcame when He was tempted, and He is able to deliver us as well.

Hebrews 2:18, “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.”

Whenever you feel tempted to do something that you know is wrong, you have the opportunity to do what is right. When you are tempted, remember that with Christ, there is nothing that can overcome us!

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

In Christ, 

Andrew

Not enduring doctrine

2 Timothy 4:3 “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;”
King James Version (KJV)

In the church it’s a really sad thing when people completely turn away from what the Bible clearly teaches.

The apostle was teaching the young minister that they were going to do this in the church eventually. Instead of believing the truth they would start to believe a lie.

If they are not going to believe the scripture as the truth, what do you think’s going to happen to these people? It’s a complete refusal of His teachings in their hearts and their minds. There’s no repentance here. No godly sorrow, just a complete denial of Truth.

The Bible teaches us to love one another and these people won’t. The Bible teaches us to be forgiving with each other yet these people won’t. The Bible teaches to be reconciled with others they have wronged in the church, yet they don’t.

The Bible teaches us to love God. If you truly do, you will accept scripture.

But these people don’t have the love of God in them anymore. They who loveth not the Lord let them be anathema.

The church is a place that is filled up with sinners. We all have weaknesses that we are trying to overcome. Sin can be forgiven in the church, that’s why we confess our sins one to another. We can come boldly to the throne of grace in time of need. It is God’s grace and forgiveness that helps us to become the people that he wants us to be.

The people we are talking about today don’t want to be what Jesus wants them to be at all. They want to be religious. They want to really believe in their heart that they’re going to heaven and completely deny the things that Jesus taught. What they do is leave the church that they have been trained in to go somewhere else that preaches lies. the devil appears as a minister of light and is actively trying to turn people away from truth. That’s one thing a true Christian should never do.

These people go join another group somewhere where the standards are not so stringent, where there’s not so much control, where obedience is not required just a lot of love love love. That’s not love for God at all folks, it’s love for the world and that’s why they are lost and deceived.

By leaving the church, they’re showing in one action that they do not want to obey at all. Its just a state of rebellion. More than likely they’re caught up doing something wrong and they don’t want to apologize for it or believe what the Bible says about it or to simply admit it.

The people we are talking about In this passage today are not confessing and admitting the truth of what they’ve done. If they did they would understand that they are in the wrong.

1 John 2:19

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

There are a lot of people each year that decide that they want to run in a marathon but they never really prepare to run. They get about halfway through the race and then it starts going uphill for a period of time and they decide it’s too hard and they quit.

Maybe if they had slowed down a little, or maybe even walked a little ways so that they could get their breath back, but do anything but quit. This is problem. They give up because it’s too hard. Just like people today who profess Christianity leave a biblical church cuz it’s too hard, and they don’t want to do it. What they do is go somewhere else where sin is acceptable. Where the teachings aren’t so dogmatic.

Watch these places grow huge. That’s what happens when you get filled up with Leaven.

How many times have young children been at a school somewhere and they joined an athletic sport. After their parents spent a lot of money buying uniforms and taking them to and from their events, the child decides halfway through the season to quit. How do you think your parents respond to that? Well, how do you think God responds to you quitting the teachings of his Son?

We may make mistakes in life but you can’t win a race if you are not in the race. That’s why we can come boldly to the throne of grace and get back in there. Because Jesus forgave the Apostle Peter we know that there’s forgiveness for each of us. He denied Jesus but the Lord Jesus completely reinstated him.

I was talking to someone one time and I was telling him how God teaches us that we’re supposed to love one another and you know what their response was? Do I really have to do that?

Jesus wants us to love Him by obeying Him and serving Him. That’s why at the end of holy communion in the church we say go and serve the Lord.

At that point you are cleansed from your sin and God gives us a chance to go and do what’s right and to obey him. We certainly don’t want to get involved with sin but if we do we have an advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous.

The problem with the group of people we are talking about today is that they are quitters. They quit because they don’t want to attempt to do what the Bible says because it’s just too hard. They quit on the teachings of the church and they quit on Jesus.

They don’t want to give up Christianity, just the things that they don’t want to accept. What’s so hard about loving others, and most of all, what’s so difficult about walking in love towards God? Everything he teaches is about love and what’s best for you. Like a rebellious child these people decide that they are going to be making the decisions about what’s best for them, not scripture.

Remember the teachings of the scriptures are truth. God’s Word is truth. When you do what God wants you to, and obey what it teaches in the scriptures, your life spiritually is going to be better because God will bless you for doing it. God is a rewarder.

The people that we are talking about today care more about the world and its philosophies and its teachings then loving Jesus. The end of the Commandment is love out of a pure heart so when you walk off on people in the church and you walk off on the things that we learn at church, how can the love of God be in them? It’s not. That why this is a very serious sin.

What they do is reject the things that they have been taught because they simply do not want to obey.

What these people do is they turn away from the church, along with others from biblical teaching and then they go out and join a worldly false Church who teaches them the things that they want to hear.

They really don’t want to do what the Bible says anymore and they move on somewhere to a false prophet or false preacher who instructs them that’s it is acceptable and you don’t have to obey it anymore.

They’re ordaining women, they’ve got women preaching and teaching in their churches completely contrary to the will of God. In the church we can come boldly to the throne of grace in time of need but instead of doing that, these people don’t want to get forgiven knowing that they’re going to have to come back in an attempt to try to do with the Bible teaches.

They find it much simpler to go find a church where they preach self-esteem or feel good Christianity that tickles the ears. I’ve always called it a feel-good Christianity because there’s no Spirit-filled men preaching pure doctrine there. It’s truly a non prophet church.

Matthew 24:13 “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

Paul called it a race of endurance

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 – Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

A person might make a mistake along the way, but we can never believe a lie. That’s what eve did. It’s believing in the teachings of the Holy scriptures that causes us to be convicted of our sin. It’s what causes us to be filled with remorse and sadness for what we’ve done wrong. The people spoken of In this passage have no desire to return to true doctrine. They just want their itching ears tickled by lies.

2 Timothy 4:3 “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;”
King James Version (KJV)

That’s it for today Lord willing we’ll talk to you some more tomorrow till then bye-bye everybody .

Love not the world

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 forever.”

Colossians 3:2, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Love means to be deeply committed or connected to someone or something; strong affection for. We are supposed to focus our love, our affection, to Jesus and the Father. We need to use our time here on the earth to serve our Creator, above and beyond anything on this earth. Our affection needs to be centered on Jesus and His word. 

Jesus told a parable in Luke 14. 

16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:

17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.

18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.

19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.

20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,

26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Nothing should come between us and our relationship with Christ. He needs to be put first in everything we do. In the parable above, those who were invited to the supper each put something else more important than attending the feast. They all loved something more.

In verse 26 above, when its says, “and hate not his father” and so on, the word hate used here is not what most people think of as “hate”. Hate in this verse when looked up in a concordance is “miseo” in Greek, which means “to love less”. So our love towards God needs to be greater than anyone else. Obviously we need to love each other, but God is the greatest love in our lives. Remember the first commandment is to love God, and the second is to love your neighbor. God and the things of heaven are first. 

Love of the world can cause someone to skip their prayers to the Lord. It can cause them to skip spending time at church or devotions. The love of the things on this earth can pull you away from the scriptures and make you forget how we are supposed to live. It can pull you away from spending time with your family.

We need to always remember what the Lord did for us. We need to remember the pain and suffering He endured. We need to remember that He did it for us while we were yet sinners. He did it for us even when we didn’t believe in Him yet! His incredible love to us should cause us to want to serve Him and live our lives for Him.

Remember, before you do something, put Christ first in your life. He will reward you.

In Christ,

Andrew

Jan 25,2021 Throwing rocks

Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to discuss a passage of scripture but before we do that…

There were some young children who were playing side-by-side in a playground sandbox. They were making roads with their toy trucks and their construction vehicles. They were playing so well together it seemed that they had lost track of the time on that beautiful summer afternoon.

One of the boys was pulling some smaller rocks out of the ground to make way for his bulldozer when he happen to throw one up in the air and it hit the other boy right in the head. He started to cry, and yelled out , you hurt me! A moment later the other boy started to cry with him because he felt so bad about what he had done. He went up to his friend and gave him a giant hug and said I’m very sorry, and the other child said,,,,, I forgive you.

Confession, forgiveness and Reconciliation requires the acts of both offending parties. This is why it teachers in the scripture if you sin against a brother you need to go apologize to them before you bring a gift to God. The reconciliation is more important to Christ than the sacrifice you might bring.

On the one side you might have somebody who doesn’t want to apologize, and on the other side you might have someone who doesn’t want to forgive.

In this children story, you can see all three things happening. Somebody gets hurt feelings, then they rebuke, then a heartfelt apology and then a hug. How wonderful to see children teach biblical truths to adults.

It only took them a couple minutes to reconcile when it takes some adults 10 years.

Not being capable of confessing your faults and apologizing breaks up relationships and friendships. It can break up marriages and families.

Confess your faults one to another, and be ready to forgive.

Let’s talk a little bit about confession.

When you confess something you’re admitting or stating that you’ve committed a fault against the other. Its required by God to apologize to others.

It means to be able to say I’m sorry to God and the party that you’ve offended.

If you confess something, you’re simply saying that you’re in the wrong and that you’re sorry that you did it. It’s really not that difficult but people can make it difficult. When you really care about others you quickly admit your faults to them and it is a completely private matter between two parties or two groups. It’s then hidden and forgotten like water under a bridge.

Luke 17:3-4 take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

That’s exactly what happened with the children in our story today.

Sometimes like children we can make a lot of mistakes but that’s why God wants us to be very forgiving with each other. In the story of the repentant man in Luke 19:26 he asked the man to be patient with him.

Some people need a lot more forgiveness than others. That’s why God teaches us to come boldly to the throne of grace in time of need, even if it requires 490 times.

He wants to grant us that forgiveness so we can get it right sometime. Lord willing, we learn our lesson quickly, but we need that grace to grow. We want to be strong in that grace that we are given, and patiently show that grace to others.

Do you play any kind of instrument ? I knew somebody at one time years ago who used to play the piano.

He would play those parts over and over and over and over again until he finally got it right. But what’s the old saying, practice makes perfect.

There are people in the church that we need to be patient with too.

For an example, have you ever taught a child how to ride a bike? What happens? They fall off the bike all the time. It requires practice practice practice, and a patience parent. Welcome to the Christian Life everyone!

God doesn’t want us to keep repenting from dead works but rather, to eventually learn our lesson.

Imagine if your piano teacher after a lesson or two said no , you stink , you’re out of here. Well I want to make sure you hear this and you hear me good,…..GOD does not give up on us. He doesn’t quit on us. He doesn’t leave or forsake us. Patience is a virtue. We need to extend that patience to others, and give people the grace to grow in the church.

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

I wish people can see the simplicity of the Gospel in our little story today, Rebuking those who hurt you, they feel bad and apologize, You forgive them completely, and you back together again. Simple isn’t it? o

Isn’t it time to hug and make up? Don’t you think it’s time to stop throwing rocks?

That’s it for today Lord willing we’ll talk to some more tomorrow bye-bye everybody

Sing unto the Lord

Psalm 147:1, “Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.” 

Singing helps us release feelings inside ourselves that sometimes we have a hard time putting into a normal conversation. People often sing because they are happy or joyful. The mercy that the Lord gives us fills us with gladness and joy. It fills us with love towards Him. What better way to express ourselves to Him than through a song?

Psalm 95:1, “O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.’

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

You don’t need to have a great voice to sing to the Lord. You don’t need to take singing lessons or be a professional singer. The Lord made all of our voices the way they are. It doesn’t matter if others don’t like the sound of your singing; what matters is that we praise the Lord for all that He has done for us.

Psalm 95:1, “O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise unto the rock of our salvation.”

Psalm 104:33, “I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.”

Singing to the Lord can be like a prayer to Him. It can be like speaking in tongues. Sometimes we don’t know what to say to the Lord, but just sing whatever comes to your heart. The Lord is worthy of our praise. It is He who redeems us from our sins and it is He who gives us our voices. Use them for His praise and glory. 

Psalm 105:2, “Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him; talk ye of his wondrous works.”

Isaiah 12:5, “Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.”

You can sing out loud in a church service. You can sing when you go for a walk. You can sing in your mind as you go about your day. Singing to the Lord keeps our minds on Him and the love he gives us. 

Psalms 59:16, “But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.”

The next morning you wake up, remember the Lord, and thank Him for making another day. Sing a joyful noise unto the Lord!

In Christ,

Andrew

Love♥️covers sin.

The Bible teaches when we confess our sins to God that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins.

Forgiveness is available to us in the church but what is required first is confession and admitting the truth.

God loves us and cares for us. He doesn’t want anybody to perish. He wants each of us to come boldly to the throne of grace in time of need.

Jesus died to cover our sins with his very own blood. Charity covers a multitude of sins. Without it forgiveness does not exist. This is what this verse teaches us today. It is love in a person’s heart that forgives others.

1st Peter 4:8 says….and above all have fervent charity among yourselves for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

The Apostle uses the word “cover”.

A lot of people out there today might not agree with me when I say that I really enjoy Northern Minnesota winters. Sure it gets cold and can wreak havoc on our vehicles on the highways with all the salt that they put on the roads , but one of the nicest things I’ve always enjoyed about winter is how it covers everything up. It’s really a big giant white blanket that God puts over the Earth until the spring.

Maybe on your property there were things that you didn’t get to do in the fall, but God covers it up. Maybe your road had 3 inches of mud on it a few weeks earlier but what does God do? He covers it all up. There is a lesson to be learned here today everybody, God covers stuff up. He wants to cover our sin.

Remember I’ve talked in past studies that if you went out and talked to John the Baptist or to the apostles or preachers or ministers and you were to confess sin to them, it was a private matter. The church is a place that is filled up with repentant sinners who confess and admit their faults. God wants to cover our sin and to blot it out.

Sometimes I think about a janitor who works at a high school somewhere. He’s got a job weekly of covering things up. He walks into the janitor closet and he grabs a can of spray paint. Then he proceeds to open all the doors in the bathroom stalls and paint over all of the graffiti that the children have placed on the walls during the week. When he’s finished, the stalls look brand new. In the church God wants to cover our sins. And he shed his blood for that very purpose.

God loves this world so much that he sent his only begotten son Jesus to save it. But in order to be saved we’ve got a sin issue that needs to be taken care of. He desires to wipe our sins away, completely blot them out and forget about them but what we need to do is to return unto him and confess our own faults and wrongdoings.

God’s desire is not to condemn us, but that we would return unto him so we can get forgiven. He wants to save us from our condemnation that is caused because of our own sinfulness. That is how much he loves us.

That forgiveness and mercy from the Father is seen in what Jesus did for us at the cross. It is also taught in the parable of the Prodigal Son.

(Luke 15:11-24)

And he said, A certain man had two sons:

12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

This entire parable teaches us about reconciliation with those whom you wronged. Upon the reconciliation what what happened? The father completely covered up the sin of the wayward son.

God the heavenly father wants to do the same for us and is waiting each day for people to come back home.

All of us have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, that includes me. The Apostle Paul refered to himself as the chief of sinners, but the truth is that each of us need to come home to God. We don’t want to frustrate God’s grace when he is so willing to forgive with open arms.

You know I’ve always really enjoyed wood heat, especially when you’re sitting in the sauna. That heat goes all the way through you right into your bones.

That is the kind of love that we need to have towards each other in the church. It’s a warm compassionate and never-ending flame that cannot be put out. That is what we call fervent charity.

When you possess this kind of love in your heart you are forgiving and compassionate with others. This is the kind of love that the father had for his son when the son reconciled with him and forgave him completely for his wrongs. Love forgives, but in order to receive that forgiveness we must confess and reconcile.

These are the same teachings found in James 4 :8

… draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you. Cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded. Be afflicted and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to heaviness Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He Shall lift you up.

Can you see how the prodigal son was lifted up? All he needed to do was humble himself and come home.

It is Gods great love that covers our sins. It is his great love for us that covers a multitude of our transgressions and it is true love that readily forgives those who are humble.

I think that’s where I’m to stop for right now but Lord willing will talk to you some more later on bye-bye everybody.

.

The homemaker

A man of God who is following the Lord Jesus Christ spends his life providing for the needs of his family.

Because of the love he has for his wife and children he provides for them. He provides them with food he provides them with clothing, and a home. He takes care of them physically.

The one thing that a husband expects is that his wife will provide for the needs of the children and to be a homemaker. The calling for the wife is found in the following verse.

Titus 2:5 …… to be discreet chaste keepers at home good obedient to their own husbands that the word of God be not blasphemed.

A keeper is a manager who looks over and cares for someone or something.

Personally, I’ve been hired as a manager for numerous different jobs over the years. I have also managed my own businesses. Managing something means to direct or to supervise the things that go on. That is what God calls a wife to do if she’s professing to be a Christian. She is charged by God to take care of the things that go on at home. The home is her husbands Castle that he has entrusted her to oversee.

As a Christian woman, she needs to stay home and take care of the emotional needs of the children. After all, the man’s duty is taking care of the rest of their needs financially.

When my son Andrew was young I never wanted to send him to a babysitter or to daycare. In my heart I always felt that was wrong. A parent is supposed to be there for their child. There are things that a parent provides to their child that a babysitter will never do. In Christianity this is the calling for a wife.

Who do you think cares more for the sheep, the owner, or the hireling?(John 10:13) You can hire somebody to watch your children but they do not love them the way that the parent does. Do you really think the child wants to be with the babysitter if they have the choice to be with their parent?

Out in the world today there are men and women who both have jobs, but in Christianity it teaches that a mother needs to be at home to take care of the needs of the children.

I think that some men consider their wife as a paycheck but the truth is it’s more important to have less in this world physically and more love emotionally. Children need someone who is with them consistently.

I think in my own life that’s why I enjoyed working at the school so much because I was constantly working with the children. When I think about it Paul, he was like a mother to the church constantly attending to their spiritual needs. The Apostle Paul was more concerned about spiritual relationships then Earthly riches.

Children need a mother or a parent around to guide them constantly. In order to fulfill this calling we have to learn to get by on less. If you’re really going to have a close family you need to make those dollars stretch.

When I was young I was told that you cannot get by In this world unless both the parents were working. I love them for their advice but I guess I’ve always been the kind of person who was fine having less possessions and more love, rather than having more possessions and less love. This is what my wife agreed to when I married her. Being poor in this world is not a sin when you are rich in love. It’s the lack of love that is a sin not poverty.

This is why I moved my family out in the woods in the first place. I wanted a simple life so that we could enjoy one another’s company and get by day by day. Love of money is the root of all evil. It’s so evil because what you do is you choose money over relationships that God has placed in your path.

The kingdom for the Christian wife is the home that her husband has provided unto her. It is her palace and she is the princess. Like a manager of a company she has been placed in charge by her husband to take care of everybody therein. A homemaker is a steward of love. She has been given the responsibility of that stewardship by her husband and she needs to be faithful not only to him but her calling in Christ.

When all is said and done how much do you really need in this life to enjoy each others company? You can spend all your time making money but in the end what matters most of all is the time that you spend with others.

It’s those close relationships that develop because you chose to spend time with others. Being a homemaker is a blessed job, and that is the calling for Christian wife.

Granted, because of choosing to stay home for Christ, there is going to be less income made, but what’s more important, money, or hanging out with these cute children that you love.

If I had been born a woman I would have stayed home home with my kids permanently. It would have been my joy in life. I’m a man and my duty is to help provide for their physical needs.

To make up for this I tried to create numerous jobs working alongside my family. Andrew and I have worked side by side with each other for 15 years. I’ve been self-employed pretty much all my life.

In the last 20 years I’ve tried to create family businesses where we could all be together working. In this way I could be with my family and work at the same time. What can I say, I love my wife and children. The more time that I can spend with them the better.

To be completely honest with you, if I had been a woman and new that I had a place to sleep,..had food and clothing for me and my children for the day, there would have been nothing more enjoyable for me then spending every waking moment with them. I’m sure I would have been a really cheap date. I’ve never really been into riches but rather the riches of relationships. It’s referred to in the bible as Charity.

I know It can be difficult at times being a homemaker but it’s hard being a dad too. What job does not present its own difficulties periodically?

The calling for a Christian woman is to stay home and take care and raise children. That is her purpose and function.

When a man goes out there and tries to make a living, he can’t be there for the children all the time so what he does is that he places his faith and trust in his wife that she will provide for the physical and emotional needs of the children.

Her responsibilities as a homemaker is to take care of these children.

What do a lot of women in the world do today? They abandon their children and they go out into the world and they try to make a living on their own. Some people might not like to hear about that but it’s the truth. It is so unloving and immoral. That is not the calling for the Christian wife.

Granted, a lot of us men out there are not wealthy and rich. I told my beloved wife before I ever married her that if she was going to marry me that she should never expect to have money. I knew that we would be poor but I wanted to be rich in love.

When I was living down in New Mexico for a while, I had a friend there who had a couple of children. He was fairly wealthy and had a lot of money. One day after work he approached me and told me that no matter how much money or toys that he had given to his children, he noticed that they were happiest when they were simply spending time with each other.

It doesn’t cost money to spend time with those you love. I’ve always felt that being a homemaker is probably one of the greatest jobs that you could ever have in your life. It’s about spending time with the ones that you love.

True happiness comes from spending time with each other. Sadly some people can sit in front of the t.v. all day long.

Personally I’ve never been a man who has had a lot of money but I did make my future wife completely aware of this before I married her.

I told her on numerous occasions that if she planned to marry me she needed to expect to be poor. I’m not talking about poverty by the worlds standards. I would provide a modest home for her. I would provide property for her to live on and to raise her children. I promised to provide her with food and water and the things that she needed to sustain her and the children.

When you become a family man, your wallet becomes the property of your family. As a neighbor recently told me….dad is the bank!

I don’t own an 50,000 pickup. I don’t own a $150,000 home. When I got married to my wife we decided that it was not about being rich in earthly possessions.

When I got married it was never about the money, it was never about possessions, it was about wanting to be together for the rest of our lives.

I made sure she understood that I wanted her to be a homemaker to raise children out in the beautiful Northern Minnesota Woods.

My marriage has never about the money, it was about relationships. The marriage ring that I have on my finger is a keychain that I found at a rummage sale that had an old car key on it.

Honestly, I may not have a lot of money. I may not have a lot of possessions. But the one thing I do have is loyalty to my friends. I will never leave them nor forsake them. I may make a lot of mistakes along the way, but one thing that I will never do is abandon my friends. That is abhorrent to everything I believe. Friends in the church are forever. Jesus never abandoned the disciples, but there were those who abandoned him.

A homemaker needs to have the same attitude. She needs to be there for the children and their needs. That is her calling by Christ. That is her job and her profession.

The definition for a homemaker is a woman who does not have any other job that is outside of the home.

Again, a wife’s kingdom and palace is her home. Granted it might not be much of one, but we do the best that we can for our precious wives and families men!

That’s it for today Lord willing we will talk to you some more later. Till then, bye-bye everybody.