Good News

Outlines of 1 Timothy for Bible study

2010-04-21T11:42:00.001-07:00

Lesson-8

Four Duties of a Man of God (6.11-16)

1. FLEE

“Now you, man of God, run from these things” vs. 11

Run from what?

The Love of Money vs. 9-10

False Doctrine, vs. 3-5

More Things to Flee:

1^st Corinthians 6:18 “Flee sexual immorality….”

1^st Corinthians 10:14 “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”

2. FOCUS

“Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.” Vs. 12

Pursue – To follow in hot pursuit

To live an undistracted life… to be focused

Phillips: “Set your heart not on riches, but on… ”

Righteousness – To have integrity in my dealings with other people, treating them right

Godliness – To consciously live my life for God and before God

Faith – To live and serve with continual dependence upon Christ

Love – To act in the best interest of the other person, ready to meet his need at my expense

Endurance – To remain faithful to God in spite of trials (lit. To bear up under)

Gentleness – Careful not to overpower others with my greater strength

3. FIGHT

“Fight the good fight for the faith” vs. 12

Word where we get, Agonize. Applied to both soldiers in combat and athletes in competition

Weymouth, “Exert all your strength in the honorable struggle for the faith”

4. FINISH

“Keep the commandment without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” Vs. 14

Key Word: Until

His Timing is Beyond Our Control

Vs. 15 “Which God will bring about in His own time.”

His Power is Beyond All Rivals

Vs. 15 “He is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords”

His Glory is Beyond Our Imagination

Vs. 16 “The only One who has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom none of mankind has seen or can see, to whom be honor and eternal might.”

Since…

We don’t get to decide how long to be faithful

We don’t have to question whether He is worthy of our faithfulness

There is a Logical Degree to Which We Should Be Faithful

Vs. 14 “Keep the commandment without spot or blame”

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Outlines of 1 Timothy for Bible study

2010-04-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

Lesson 7

Attitude of Christians towards wealth (6:3-11.17-19)

1. A Portrait of Right Doctrine

1.1 Doctrine That is Christ-Centered
Vs. 3 “The sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ”

1.2 Teachings That Lead to Godliness
Vs 3 “The teaching that promotes godliness”

1.3 Insights that Make Our Whole Lives Healthier
Vs. 3 “The sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ”
Vs. 3-4 “If anyone teaches other doctrine … he is conceited, understanding nothing, but having a sick interest in disputes…”

2. A Profile of a False Teacher

2.1 He is Arrogant – seeking to be a somebody
Vs. 4 “He is conceited”

2.2 He Out-punts his Coverage
Vs. 4 “Understanding nothing”

2.3 He is Divisive
Vs. 4-5 “Having a sick interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slanders, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement among men”

2.4 His Thinking is Driven by His Sinful Nature
Vs. 5 “Whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth”

2.5 He is Motivated by Greed
Vs. 5 “Who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain.”

3. The Philosophy of a Contented Person

3.1 True Wealth is Godliness Plus Contentment
Vs. 6 “Godliness with contentment is a great gain”

3.2 Earthly Wealth isn’t Lasting
Vs. 7 “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out.”

3.3 We Need Less Than We Think of Ourselves as Needing
Vs. 8 “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these”

3.4 Discontent Leads to Self-Destructive Behavior
Vs. 9-10 “But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.”

Outlines of 1 Timothy for Bible study

2010-04-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

Lesson 6

The truth & Church Leaders

1 Tim.4:11-16

1. The Authority of Truth

Vs. 11 “Command and teach these things.”

2. The Pattern of Christian Leaders

Vs. 12 “No one should despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”

Outward: Speech and Conduct

Inward

Love: Meeting your needs at my expense

Faith: Trusting Christ to do for you what you cannot do for yourself; staying plugged in

Purity: Refusing to mix sinful compromises with a righteous life

3. The Priorities of Christian Leaders

Vs. 13 “Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching.”

Reading: Provides Information… Appeals to the mind & memory

Exhortation: Provides Motivation… Appeals to the emotions & to the will

Teaching: Provides Explanation… Appeals to the understanding & spiritual insight

4. The Empowerment of Christians for Leading

Vs. 14 “Do not neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.”

Do not neglect the gift - That is, by letting it lie unused

The Gift: A gracious gift from God

A specialty in Christian service, supernaturally empowered by the Holy Spirit

6. The Influence of the Leader’s Growth

Vs. 15 “So that your progress may be evident to all.”

Let Them See You Grow The Ongoing Influence of Ongoing Growth

7. The Results of the Leader’s Perseverance

Vs. 16 “Persevere in these things”

Persevere: To stay with it

“By doing this, you will save both yourself and your hearers”

Persevering leaders produce persevering followers

Perseverance:

Perseverance is a condition to go to heaven

Perseverance is the inevitable result of the new birth

We persevere because God preserves

Perseverance is a human responsibility… a command to obey

Outlines of 1 Timothy for Bible study

2010-04-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

Lesson 4

Confession of the Church

Ch.3:14,16

The Character of the Church

Vs.15 “I have written so that you will know how people ought to act in God’s household...”

“Household”

v Family

v Assembly

Vs. 15 “…Which is the church of the living God…”

v Energized

Vs. 15 “…Which is the church of the living God…”

v Advocates

Vs. 15 “…the pillar and foundation of the truth.”

The Confession of the Church

Vs. 16 “And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”

v Confession

v Incarnate

v Vindicated

v Attended To

v Proclaimed

v Accepted

v Ascended

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Lesson 5

False teaching and the Church (4:1-10)

1. The Fact of a Falling Away

Vs. 1 “Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith”

2. The Forming of a False Teacher

Vs 1-2 “…Some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.”

Three Steps:

1. They Tune In To the Wrong Spirits

2. They Lose Their Conscience

3. They Pretend to Be What They Aren’t

3. The Error of False Teachers

Vs 3-5 “They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods…”

They replace inner transformation with outward score keeping

They reject the basic principles of Genesis

Vs. 4 “For everything created by God is good, and nothing should be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving”

4. The Duty of the Lord’s Servant

You Gotta Point Some Things Out

Vs. 6 “If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus”

You Gotta Take Some Things In

Vs. 6 “…Nourished by the words of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.”

You Gotta Shut Some Things Off

Vs. 7 “But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths.”

5. The Training of a Godly Person

Vs. 7b-9 “…Rather, train yourself in godliness”

It is a Command to Obey

It is Practical, Benefiting Us in All of Life

Vs. 8 “For, the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

6. The Focus of True Believers

The Demonstration of Christian Focus

Vs. 10 “In fact, we labor and strive for this…”

The Object of Christian Focus

Vs. 10 “…Because we have put our hope in the living God...”

The Reason for Christian Focus

Vs. 10 “…who is the Savior of everyone, especially of those who believe”

Available for all

Effectual for believers

Outlines of 1 Timothy for Bible study

2010-04-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

Lesson-3

Men and Prayer in the Church

Ch.2:1-8

1. The Priority of Prayer

• Vs. 1 “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone”

• “First of all” - first in rank

• “I urge” – Literally, To call to one’s side & encourage to

• Vs. 3 “This is good, and it pleases God our Savior”

• “Good” – Good in and of itself, not just because of its results

• “It pleases God”

– KJV “acceptable in the sight of God”

– Literally, “to receive from”

2. The Kinds of Prayer

• Vs 1 “I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone”

• Petitions

– Requests based on a deep sense of spiritual need & helplessness

• Prayers

– Emphasizes the sacred nature of prayer; we are praying to God

• Intercessions

– Coming to a superior, often on behalf of another

• Thanksgivings

– Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.”

3. The Objects of Prayer

• Vs 1-2 “…for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority”

• “For everyone”

– Vs. 4 “Wants everyone to be saved”

– Vs. 6 “Who gave Himself—a ransom for all”

– Vs. 7 “A teacher of the Gentiles “ – i.e. to every nation, to all people groups

• “For kings and all those in authority”

4. The Strategy of Prayer

• Vs. 2 “For kings and all those who are in authority So that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

• “That we may lead a tranquil life”

– Undisturbed by outward circumstances

• “That we may lead a quiet life”

– Calm attitude within

• Strategic Objective: An atmosphere in which the gospel can spread.

5. The Evangelistic Aim of Prayer

• Vs. 3-4 “This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

• God wants everyone to be saved

• God offers the Gospel to all universally

• If one is lost, he is so rebelliously

• God wants everyone to come to know the truth

• Come to know – to experience conversion

6. The Urgency of Prayer

• Vs. 5-6 “For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, a man, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself—a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.”

• Urgent because there is only one way

– “One God and one mediator between God and man”

– Mediator: An arbitrator in legal disputes

• Urgent because Christ died for people

– Christ’s suffering on the cross is sufficient for all

– The merits of Christ’s cross are applied specifically

• Urgent because the time to share the message is now (since God has now sent the message)

– Vs. 6, NLT “This is the message that God gave to the world at the proper time.”

7. Our Personal Ministries & Prayer

• Vs. 7 “For this I was appointed a herald, an apostle (I am telling the truth; I am not lying), and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”

• A herald – one who announced important or good news at athletic events or political settings

• An apostle – a personal emissary of Jesus Christ

• A teacher – the Gospel has to be explained

• Of the Gentiles – trans-cultural ministry to those who do not have a religious background in the one true God.

8. The Church Pacesetters in Prayer

• Vs. 8 “Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.”

• “The men” – Not mankind in general, the men

• “In every place” – The standard for all churches

9. The Hindrances to Prayer

• Vs. 8 “Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.”

• Unholy Living – “lifting up holy hands”

– Psalm 24:3-4 “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart…”

• Broken Relationships - “Without anger or argument”

– 1^st Peter 3:7 “Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives with understanding of their weaker nature, yet showing them honor as co-heirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered”

Outlines of 1 Timothy for Bible study

2010-04-21T11:17:00.003-07:00

Lesson-2

1. The Pattern of Grace Verses 12-17

It Provides a Proto-type

• Vs. 16 Phillips: “It was a kind of demonstration of the extent of Christ's patience towards the worst of men, to serve as an example to all who in the future should trust him for eternal life.”

• Demonstrate: A representative symbol

• Paul’s conversion is a proto-type of God’s grace at work in our lives

It Begins with a Plan

• Vs. 12 “I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry”

• Appointing me to the ministry

• Strengthened me

– ESV: “I thank him who has given me strength”

– Word for dynamo and dynamite

• Because he considered me faithful

– i.e. He foreordered that I would be faithful, not because I had been faithful

It Changes a Past

• Vs. 13 “One who was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. Since it was out of ignorance that I had acted in unbelief, I received mercy”

• Blasphemer

– Acts 26:9 & 11, NLT "I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the followers of Jesus of Nazareth… Many times I had them whipped in the synagogues to try to get them to curse Christ.”

• Persecutor

– Acts 8:3,NIV “But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.”

• Arrogant man

– A bully who throws his weight around, enjoying humiliating others

• Vs. 13 “…Since it was out of ignorance that I had acted in unbelief, I received mercy”

– He didn’t knowingly reject Christ. Paul didn’t know that Christ was who He claimed to be.

– Yet Paul was still responsible and needed mercy

– But Paul wasn’t hardened beyond mercy

– Because of the greatness of his sin, Paul marveled at the mercy he received

It Involves a Power

• Vs. 14 “And the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”

• Overflowed: super-abounded

It is Based on a Principle

• Vs. 15 “This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance:

• ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’—and I am the worst of them.”

• Philips: "Christ Jesus entered the world to rescue sinners"

It Results in Praise

• Vs. 17 “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

• King Eternal: King of all ages

• Immortal: Beyond the ravages of death & decay

• Invisible: Beyond human discovery or control

• Only God: Unique in his being

2. The Perpetual Nature of Spiritual Warfare Verses 18-19

It’s an Ongoing War

• Vs. 18 “Timothy, my child, I am giving you this instruction… that by them you may strongly engage in battle...”

• KJV “War a good warfare”

• An entire military campaign, not a single battle

• Weymouth: “Continually fighting the good fight”

• “This instruction” – a command, a charge, an order

It is Part of God’s Plan

• Vs. 18-19 “Timothy, my child, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies previously made about you, so that by them you may strongly engage in battle...”

• The supernatural and specific direction from God for your life

– “In keeping with the prophecies previously made about you”

It Requires God

• Vs. 18-19 “… you may strongly engage in battle, having faith and a good conscience.”

• Inspired by the prophetic word

• They come back to strengthen us

– “By them you may strongly engage in battle”

• Literally, “In them, you may…”

• Connected to God’s Resources by Faith

– AMP: “Holding fast to faith (that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence) ”

• Unleashed by a Good Conscience

– Unburdened by guilt, free to focus

– Not desensitized by hardness

• 1^st Timothy 4:2 “Having their own conscience seared with a hot iron”

3. The Peril of Becoming A Spiritual Shipwreck Verses 19-20

It is the Result of Self-Will

• Vs. 19-20 “Having faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and have suffered the shipwreck of their faith.

• Rejected these

– i.e. “Faith and a good conscience”

• Rejected

– Push away, repudiate, deliberate rejection

– Philips: “Some, alas, have laid these simple weapons contemptuously aside”

Its Consequences are Drastic

• Vs. 19 “…suffered the shipwreck of their faith.”

• Shipwreck

– Literally, “To break a ship to pieces”

– Today, They crashed and burned

It Results in Severe Discipline

• Vs. 20 “…I have delivered them to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.”

• Delivered to Satan

– 1^st Corinthians 5:5 “Turn that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord.”

• Taught not to blaspheme

– Taught: to correct through discipline and punishment

– Hebrews 12:9, 11, NAS95 “Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father…? … All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

Outlines of 1 Timothy for Bible study

2010-04-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

Paul' Guidelines to the ministers in the Church

lesson 1

1 Timothy 1:1-10
1. The Right Message
Vs. 3-4 “Command certain people not to teach other doctrine or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies.”

Don’t Teach False Doctrine
“Command certain people not to teach other doctrine”

Don’t Pay Attention to False Doctrine
“Or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies”

When someone takes one minor truth of Scripture and builds their whole belief structure around it or…

When an outside source is used as the authoritative basis for interpreting the Bible.

2. The Right Results
Vs. 4 “…These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith.”

NLT: “Don’t let people waste time in endless speculation over myths and spiritual pedigrees. For these things only cause arguments; they don’t help people live a life of faith in God.”

Vs. 6 “Some have deviated from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion.”
Amplified: “Have wandered away into vain arguments and discussions and purposeless talk”

The Choice: Human Speculation or Divine Revelation

The Results: Human Fascination or Divine Transformation

The Danger of Distraction
Vs. 4 “Rather than God’s plan which operates by faith”
Plan: God’s economy or administration, His way of having things work.
Everything in God’s system works by faith

Vs. 6 “Fruitless discussion”
Pointless and useless; it doesn’t lead to holy living.

3. The Right Motivations
Vs. 5 “Now the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith”
Vs. 7 “They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on.”

The Contrast:
“Now the goal of our instruction”
“They want to be teachers” – they have a desire to be “somebody”

“Out of” – springing as from a fountain What’s inside inevitably comes out

Love from a pure heart

Free from mixed motives

Love from a good conscience

Unburdened by guilt

Not desensitized by hardness
1st Timothy 4:2 “Having their own conscience seared with a hot iron”

Love from a sincere faith
Not just mental agreement or saying we believe something

Operative in our lives

4. The Right Use of the Law
Vs. 8 “Now we know that the law is good, provided one uses it legitimately.”
NKJV: “But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully”

That is, for its intended purpose

3 Proper Purposes of the Law:

To restrain people from their natural evil desires

To show us in practical terms how to love God and our neighbor

To awaken people to their need of Christ

Vs. 9-10 “We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching”

The Word of God Rightly Used Leads to Spiritual Health
Vs. 10 “Whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching”
Amplified: “wholesome teaching and sound doctrine”

Sound = to be well, to be in good health

Short Explanation on Psalm 5

2010-02-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

Psalms 5 -
Title - “To the Chief Musician upon Nehiloth, a Psalm of David.” The Hebrew word Nehiloth is taken from another word, signifying “to perforate, to bore through,” whence it comes to mean a pipe or a flute; so that this song was probably intended to be sung with an accompaniment of wind instruments, such as the horn, the, trumpet, flute, or cornet. However, it is proper to remark that we are not sure of the interpretation of these ancient titles, for the Septuagint translates it, “For him who shall obtain inheritance,” and Aben Ezra thinks it denotes some old and well-known melody to which this Psalm was to be played. The best scholars confess that great darkness hangs over the precise interpretation of the titles; nor is this much to be regretted, for it furnishes an internal evidence of the great antiquity of the Book. Throughout the Psa_1:1-6, Psa_2:1-12, Psa_3:1-8, and Psa_4:1-8, you will have noticed that the subject is a contrast between the position, the character, and the prospects of the righteous and of the wicked. In this Psalm you will note the same. The Psalmist carries out a contrast between himself made righteous by God's grace, and the wicked who opposed him. To the devout mind there is here presented a precious view of the Lord Jesus, of whom it is said that in the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and supplication with strong crying and tears.
Division - The Psalm should be divided into two parts, from the first to the seventh verse, and then from the eighth to the twelfth. In the first part of the Psalm David most vehemently beseeches the Lord to hearken to his prayer, and in the second part he retraces the same ground.
Hints to Preachers
Psa_5:1, Psa_5:2 - Prayer in its threefold form. “Words, meditation, cry.” Showing how utterance is of no avail without heart, but that fervent longings and silent desires are accepted, even when unexpressed.
Psa_5:3 - The excellence of morning devotion.
Psa_5:3 (last two clauses).
1. Prayer directed.
2. Answers expected.
Psa_5:4 - God's hatred of sin an example to his people.
Psa_5:5 - “The foolish.” Show why sinners are justly called fools.
Psa_5:7 - “Multitude of thy mercy.” Dwell upon the varied grace and goodness of God.
Psa_5:7 - The devout resolution.
Psa_5:7
I. Observe the singularity of the resolution.
II. Mark the object of the resolution. It regards the service of God in the sanctuary. “I will come into thine house.... in thy fear will I worship towards thy holy temple.”
III. The manner in which he would accomplish the resolution.
(1) Impressed with a sense of the divine goodness: “I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy.”
(2) Filled with holy veneration: “And in thy fear will I worship.”
- William Jay, 1842.
Psa_5:8 - God's guidance needed always, and especially when enemies are watching us.
Psa_5:10 - Viewed as a threatening. The sentence, “Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,” is specially fitted to be the groundwork of a very solemn discourse.
Psa_5:11
I. The character of the righteous: faith and love.
II. The privileges of the righteous.
(1) Joy - great, pure, satisfying, triumphant (shout), constant (ever).
(2) Defence - by power, providence, angels, grace, etc.
Psa_5:11 - Joy in the Lord both a duty and a privilege.
Psa_5:12 (first clause) - The divine blessing upon the righteous. It is ancient effectual, constant, extensive, irreversible, surpassing, eternal, infinite.
Psa_5:12 (second clause) - A sense of divine favour a defence to the soul

Short commentary on Psalm 4

2010-02-13T09:18:00.000-08:00

Psalms 4 -
Title - This Psalm is apparently intended to accompany the third, and make a pair with it.
The inspired title runs thus: “To the chief Musician on Neginoth, a Psalm of David.” The chief musician was the master or director of the sacred music of the sanctuary. Concerning this person carefully read 1Ch_6:31, 1Ch_6:32; 1Ch_15:16-22; 1Ch_25:1, 1Ch_25:7. In these passages will be found much that is interesting to the lover of sacred song, and very much that will throw a light upon the mode of praising God in the temple. Some of the titles of the Psalms are, we doubt not, derived from the names of certain renowned singers, who composed the music to which they were set.
On Neginoth, that is, on stringed instruments, or hand instruments, which were played on with the hand alone, as harps and cymbals. The icy of the Jewish church was so great that they needed music to set forth the delightful feelings of their souls, our holy mirth is none the less overflowing because we prefer to express it in a more spiritual manner, as becometh a more spiritual dispensation. In allusion to these instruments to be played on with the hand, Nazianzen says. “Lord I am an instrument for thee to touch.” Let us lay ourselves open to the Spirit's touch, so shall we make melody. May we be full of faith and love, and we shall be living instruments of music.
Hawker says “The Septuagint read the word which we have rendered in our translation chief musician Lamenetz, instead of Lamenetzoth, the meaning of which is unto the end.” From whence the Greek and Latin fathers imagined, that all psalms which bear this inscription refer to the Messiah the great end. If so, this Psalm is addressed to Christ; and well it may, for it is all of Christ, and spoken by Christ, and hath respect only to his people as being one with Christ. The Lord the Spirit give the reader to see this, and he will find it most blessed.
Division - In the Psa_4:1David pleads with God for help. In the second he expostulates with his enemies, and continues to address them to the end of Psa_4:5. Then from Psa_4:6 to the close he delightfully contrasts his own satisfaction and safety with the disquietude of the ungodly in their best estate. The Psalm was most probably written upon the same occasion as the preceding, and is another choice flower from the garden of affliction. Happy is it lot us that David was tired, or probably we should never have heard these sweet sonnets of faith.
Hints to Preachers
Psa_4:1 - Is full of matter for a sermon upon, past mercies a plea for present help. The first sentence shows that believers desire, expect, and believe in a God that heareth prayer. The title - God of my righteousness, may furnish a text (see exposition), and the last sentence may suggest a sermon upon, “The best of saints must still appeal to God's mercy and sovereign grace.”
Psa_4:2 - Depravity of man as evinced
(1) by continuance in despising Christ,
(2) loving vanity in his heart, and
(3) seeking lies in his daily life.
Psa_4:2 - The length of the sinner's sin. “How long?” May be bounded by repentance, shall be by death, and yet shall continue in eternity.
Psa_4:3 - Election - Its aspects towards God, our enemies, and ourselves.
Psa_4:3 - “The Lord will hear when I call unto him.” Answers to prayer certain to special persons. Mark out those who can claim the favour.
Psa_4:3 - The gracious Separatist. Who is he? Who separated him? With what end? How to make men know it?
Psa_4:4 - The sinner directed to review himself, that he may be convinced of sin - Andrew Fuller, 1754-1815.
Psa_4:4 - “Be still.” Advice - good, practical, but hard to follow. Times when seasonable. Graces needed to enable one to be still. Results of quietness. Persons who most need the advice. Instances of its practice. Here is much material for a sermon.
Psa_4:5 - The nature of those sacrifices of righteousness which the Lord's people are expected to offer - William Ford Vance, 1827.
Psa_4:6 - The cry of the world and the church contrasted. Vox populi not always Vox Dei.
Psa_4:6 - The cravings of the soul all satisfied in God.
Psa_4:6, Psa_4:7 - An assurance of the Saviour's love, the source of unrivalled joy.
Psa_4:7 - The believer's joys.
(1) Their source, “Thou;”
(2) their season - even now - “Thou hast;”
(3) their position, “in my heart;”
(4) their excellence, “more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.”
Another excellent theme suggests itself - “The superiority of the joys of grace to the joys of earth;” or, “Two sort of prosperity - which is to be the more desired?”
Psa_4:8 - The peace and safety of the good man - Joseph Lathtop, D.D., 1805.
Psa_4:8 - A bedchamber for believers, a vesper song to sing in it, and a guard to keep the door.
Psa_4:8 - The Christian's good-night.
Psa_4:2 - The means which a believer should use: to win the ungodly to Christ.
(1). Expostulation, Psa_4:2.
(2) Instruction, Psa_4:2.
(3) Exhortation, Psa_4:4, Psa_4:5.
(4) Testimony to the blessedness of true religion, as in Psa_4:6, Psa_4:7.
(5) Exemplification of that testimony by the peace of faith, Psa_4:8.

Short notes on Psalm 3

2010-02-13T09:17:00.000-08:00

Psalms 3 -
Title - “A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his Son, “You will remember the sad story of David's flight from his own palace, when, in the dead of the night, he forded the brook Kedron, and went” with a Jew, faithful followers to hide himself for awhile from the fury of his rebellious son. Remember that David in this was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He, too, fled; he, too, passed over the brook Kedron when his own people were in rebellion against him, and with a feeble band of followers he went to the garden of Gethsemane. He, too, drank of the brook by the way, and therefore doth he lift up the head. By very many expositors this is entitled The Morning Hymn. May we ever wake with holy confidence in our hearts, and a song upon our lips!
Division - This Psalm may be divided into four parts of two verses each. Indeed, many of the Psalms cannot be well understood unless we attentively regard the parts into which they are to be divided. They are not continuous descriptions of one scene, but a set of pictures of many kindred subjects. As in our modern sermons, we divide our discourse into different heads, so it is in these Psalms. There is always unity, but it is the unity of a bundle of arrows, and not of a single solitary shalt. Let us now look at the Psalm before us. In the first two verses you have David making a complaint to God concerning his enemies; he then declares his confidence in the Lord (Psa_3:3, Psa_3:4), sings of his safety in sleep (Psa_3:5, Psa_3:6), and strengthens himself for future conflict (Psa_3:7, Psa_3:8).
Hints to Preachers
Psa_3:1 - “The saint telling his griefs to his God.”
(1) His right to do so.
(2) The proper manner of telling them.
(3) The fair results of such holy Communications with the. Lord.
When may we expect increased troubles? Why are they sent? What is our wisdom in reference to them?
Psa_3:2 - The lie against the saint and the libel upon his God.
Psa_3:3 - The threefold blessing which God affords to his suffering ones - Defence, Honour, Joy. Show how all these may be enjoyed by faith, even in our worst estate.
Psa_3:4
(1) In dangers we should pray.
(2) God will graciously hear.
(3) We should record his answers of grace.
(4) We may strengthen ourselves for the future by remembering the deliverances of the past.
Psa_3:5
(1) Describe sweet sleeping.
(2) Describe happy waking.
(3) Show how both are to be enjoyed, “for the Lord sustained me.”
Psa_3:6 - Faith surrounded by enemies and yet triumphant.
Psa_3:7
(1) Describe the Lord's past dealing with his enemies; “thou hast.”
(2) Show that the Lord should be our constant resort, “O Lord, O my God.”
(3) Enlarge upon the fact that the Lord is to be stirred up: “Arise.”
(4) Urge believers to use the Lord's past victories as an argument with which to prevail with him.
Psa_3:7 (last clause) - Our enemies vanquished foes, toothless lions.
Psa_3:8 (first clause) - Salvation of God from first to last. (See the exposition).
Psa_3:8 (last clause) - They were blessed in Christ, through Christ, and shall be blessed with Christ. The blessing rests upon their persons, comforts, trials, labours, families, etc. It flows from grace, is enjoyed by faith, and is insured by oath, etc - James Smith's Portions, 1802-1862.

Comment on Psalm 2

2010-02-13T09:15:00.000-08:00

Psalms 2 -
Title - We shall not greatly err in our summary of this sublime Psalm if we call it The Psalm of Messiah the Prince; for it sets forth as in a wondrous vision the tumult of the people against the Lord's anointed, the determinate purpose of God to exalt his own Son, and the ultimate reign of that Son over all his enemies. Let us read it with the eye of faith, beholding, as in a glass, the final triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ over all his enemies. Lowth has the following remarks upon this Psalm: “The establishment of David upon his throne, notwithstanding the opposition made to it by his enemies, is the subject of the Psalm. David sustains in it a twofold character, literal and allegorical. If we read over the Psalm, first with an eye to the literal David, the meaning is obvious, and put beyond all dispute by the sacred history. There is indeed an uncommon glow in the expression and sublimity in the figures, and the diction is now and then exaggerated, as it were on purpose to intimate, and lead us to the contemplation of higher and more important matters concealed within. In compliance with this admonition, it we take another survey of the Psalm as relative to the person and concerns of the spiritual David, a noble series of events immediately rises to view, and the meaning becomes more evident, as well as more exalted. The colouring which may perhaps seem too bold and glaring for the king of Israel, will no longer appear so when laid upon his great Antitype. After we have thus attentively considered the subjects apart, let us look at them together, and we shall behold the full beauty and majesty of this most charming poem. We shall perceive the two senses very distinct from each other, yet conspiring in perfect harmony, and bearing a wonderful resemblance in every feature and lineament, while the analogy between them is so exactly preserved, that either may pass for the original from whence the other was copied. New light is continually cast upon the phraseology, fresh weight and dignity are added to the sentiments, till, gradually ascending from things below to things above, from human affairs to those that are Divine, they bear the great important theme upwards with them, and at length place it in the height and brightness of heaven.”
Division - This Psalm will be best understood if it be viewed as a four-fold picture. (In Psa_2:1, Psa_2:2, Psa_2:3) the Nations are raging; (Psa_2:4 to Psa_2:6) the Lord in heaven derides them; (Psa_2:7 to Psa_2:9) the Son proclaims the decree; and (from Psa_2:10 to end) advice is given to the kings to yield obedience to the Lord's anointed. This division is not only suggested by the sense, but is warranted by the poetic form of the Psalm, which naturally falls into four stanzas of three verses each.
Hints to Preachers
Whole Psalm - Shows us the nature of sin, and the terrible results of it if it could reign.
Psa_2:1 - Nothing is more irrational than irreligion. A weighty theme.
The reasons why sinners rebel against God, stated, refuted, lamented, and repented of.
The crowning display of human sin in man's hatred of the Mediator.
Psa_2:1 and Psa_2:2 - Opposition to the gospel, unreasonable and ineffectual - Two sermons by John Newton.
Psa_2:1 and Psa_2:2 - These verses show that all trust in man in the service of God is vain. Inasmuch as men oppose Christ, it is not good to hang our trust upon the multitude for their number, the earnest for their zeal, the mighty for their countenance, or the wise for their counsel, since all these are far oftener against Christ than for him.
Psa_2:2 - “Spurgeon's Sermons,” No, 495, “The Greatest Trial on Record.”
Psa_2:3 - The true reason of the opposition of sinners to Christ's truth, viz.: their hatred of the restraints of godliness.
Psa_2:4 - God's derision of, the rebellious, both now and hereafter.
Psa_2:5 - The voice of wrath. One of a series of sermons upon the voices of the divine attributes.
Psa_2:6 - Christ's sovereignty.
1. The opposition to it: “yet.”
2. The certainty of its existence: “Yet have I set.”
3. The power which maintains it: “have I set.”
4. The place of its manifestation: “my holy hill of Zion.”
5. The blessings flowing from it.
Psa_2:7 - The divine decree concerning Christ, in connection with the decrees of election and providence. The Sonship of Jesus.
This verse teacheth us faithfully to declare and humbly to claim, the gifts and calling that God hath bestowed upon us. - Thomas Wilcocks.
Psa_2:8 - Christ's inheritance - William Jay.
Prayer indispensable. - Jesus must ask.
Psa_2:9 - The ruin of the wicked. Certain, irresistible, terrible, complete, irretrievable, “like a potter's vessel.”
The destruction of systems of error and oppression to be expected. The gospel an iron rod quite able to break mere pots of man's making.
Psa_2:10 - True wisdom, fit for kings and judges, lies in obeying Christ.
The gospel, a school for those who would learn how to rule and judge well. They may consider its principles, its exemplar, its spirit, etc.
Psa_2:11 - Mingled experience. See the case of the women returning from the sepulchre. Mat_28:8. This maybe rendered a very comforting subject, if the Holy Spirit direct the mind of the preacher.
True religion; compound of many virtues and emotions;
Psa_2:12 - An earnest invitation.
1. The command
2. The argument.
3. The benediction upon the obedient.

Comment on Psalm 1

2010-02-09T18:51:00.001-08:00

Psalms 1 -
Title - This Psalm may be regarded as The Preface Psalm, having in it a notification of the contents of the entire Book. It is the psalmist's desire to teach us the way to blessedness, and to warn us of the sure destruction of sinners. This then, is the matter of the Psa_1:1-6, which may be looked upon, in some respects, as the text upon which the whole of the Psalms make up a divine sermon.
Division - This Psalm consists of two parts: in the first (from Psa_1:1 to the end of the Psa_1:3) David sets out wherein the felicity and blessedness of a godly man consisteth, what his exercises are, and what blessings he shall receive from the Lord. In the second part (from Psa_1:4 to the end) he contrasts the state and character of the ungodly, reveals the future, and describes, in telling language, his ultimate doom.
Hints to Preachers
Psa_1:1 - May furnish an excellent text upon “Progress in Sin,” of “The Purity of the Christian,” or “The Blessedness of the Righteous.” Upon the last subject speak of the believer as blessed
1. By God;
2. In Christ;
3. With all blessings;
4. In all circumstances;
5. Through time and eternity;
6. To the highest degree.
Psa_1:1 - Teaches a godly man to beware,
(1) of the opinions,
(2) of the practical life, and
(3) of the company and association of sinful men.
Show how meditation upon the Word will assist us in keeping aloof from these three evils.
The insinuating and progressive nature of sin. - J. Morison.
Psa_1:1, in connection with the whole Psalm. The wide difference between the righteous and the wicked.
Psa_1:2 - The Word of God.
1. The believer's delight in it.
2. The believer's acquaintance with it.
We long to be in the company of those we love.
Psa_1:2
I. What is meant by “the law of the Lord.”
II. What there is in it for the believer to delight in.
III. How he shows his delight, thinks of it, reads much, speaks of it, obeys it, does not delight in evil.
Psa_1:2 (last clause) - The benefits, helps, and hindrances of meditation.
Psa_1:3 - “The fruitful tree.”
I. Where it grows.
II. How it came there.
III. What it yields,
IV. How to be like it.
Psa_1:3 - “Planted by the rivers of water.”
I. The origination of Christian life,“planted.”
II. The streams which support it.
III. The fruit expected from it.
Psa_1:3 - Influence of religion upon prosperity - Blair.
The nature, causes, signs, and results of true prosperity.
“Fruit in his season;” virtues to be exhibited at certain seasons - patience in affliction; gratitude in prosperity; zeal in opportunity, etc.
“His leaf also shall not wither;” the blessing of retaining an unwithered profession.
Psa_1:3, Psa_1:4 - See No. 280 of “Spurgeon's Sermons.” - “The Chaff Driven Away.” Sin puts a negative on every blessing.
Psa_1:5 - The sinner's double doom.
1. Condemned at the judgment-bar.
2. Separated from the saints. Reasonableness of these penalties, “therefore,” and the way to escape them.
“The congregation of the righteous” viewed as the church of the first-born above. This may furnish a noble topic.
Psa_1:6 (first sentence) - A sweet encouragement to the tried people of God. The knowledge here meant.
1. Its character. - It is a knowledge of observation ands approbation.
2. Its source. - It is caused by omniscience and infinite love.
3. Its results. - Support, deliverance, acceptance, and glory at last.
Psa_1:6 (last clause) - His way of pleasure, of pride, of unbelief, of profanity, of persecution, of procrastinating, of self-deception, etc.; all these shall come to an end.
Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings
Whole Psalm
As the book of the Canticles is called the Song of Songs by a Hebraism, it being the most excellent, so this Psalm may not unfitly be entitled, the Psalm of Psalms, for it contains in it the very pith and quintessence of Christianity. What Jerome saith on St. Paul's epistles, the same may I say of this Psalm; it is short as to the composure, but full of length and strength as to the matter. This Psalm carries blessedness in the frontispiece; it begins where we all hope to end: it may well be called a Christian's Guide, for it discovers the quick-sands where the wicked sink down in perdition, and the firm ground on which the saints tread to glory. - Thomas Watson's Saints' Spiritual Delight, 1660.
This whole Psalm offers itself to be drawn into these two opposite propositions: a godly man is blessed, a wicked man is miserable; which seem to stud as two challenges, made by the prophet: one, that he will maintain a godly man against all comers, to be the only Jason for winning the golden fleece of blessedness; the other, that albeit the ungodly make a show in the world of being happy, yet they of all men are most miserable. - Sir Richard Baker, 1640.
I have been induced to embrace the opinion of some among the ancient interpreters (Augustine, Jerome, etc.), who conceive that the Psa_1:1-6is intended to be descriptive of the character and reward of the Just One, i.e the Lord Jesus. - John Fry, B.A., 1842.
Psa_1:1
The psalmist saith more to the point about true happiness in this short Psalm than any one of the philosophers; or all of them put together; they did but beat the bush, God hath here put the bird into our hand. - John Trapp, 1660.
Psa_1:1
Where the word blessed is hung out as a sign, we may be sure that we shall find a godly man within. - Sir Richard Baker
Psa_1:1
The seat of the drunkard is the seat of the scornful. - Matthew Henry, 1662-1714.
Psa_1:1
“Walketh not... nor standeth... nor sitteth,” etc. Negative precepts are in some cases more absolute and peremptory than affirmatives; for to say,” that hath walked in the counsel of the godly,” might not be sufficient; for, he might walk in the counsel of the godly, and yet walk in the counsel of the ungodly too; not both indeed at once, but both at several times; where now, this negative clears him at all times. - Sir Richard Baker.
Psa_1:1
The wordתאשׁ haish is emphatic, that man; that one among a thousand who lives for the accomplishment of the end for which God created him. - Adam Clarke, 1844.
Psa_1:1
“That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.” Mark certain circumstances of their differing characters and conduct. I. The ungodly man has his counsel. II. The sinner has his way; and III. The scorner has his seat. The ungodly man is unconcerned about religion; he is neither zealous for his own salvation nor for that of others; and he counsels and advises those with whom he converses to adopt his plan, and not trouble themselves about praying, reading, repentance, etc., etc.; “there: is no need for such things; live an honest life, make no fuss about religion, and you will fare well enough at last.” Now, “blessed is the man who walks not in this man's counsel,” who does not come into his measures, nor act according to his plan.
The sinner has his particular way of transgressing; one is a drunkard, another dishonest, another unclean. Few are given to every species of vice. There are many covetous men who abhor drunkenness, many drunkards who abhor covetousness and so of others. Each has his easily besetting sin; therefore, says the prophet, “Let the wicked forsake his way.” Now, blessed is he who stands not in such a man's way.
The scorner has brought, in reference to himself, all religion and moral feeling to an end. He has sat down - is utterly confirmed in impiety, and makes a mock at sin. His conscience is seared, and he is a believer in all unbelief. Now, blessed is the man who sits not down in his seat. - Adam Clark.
Psa_1:1
In the Hebrew, the word “blessed” is a plural noun, ashrey (blessednesses), that is, all blessednesses are the portion of that man who has not gone away, etc.; as though it were said, “All things are well with that man who,” etc,: Why do you hold any dispute? Why draw vain conclusions? If a man had found that pearl of great price, to love the law of God and to be separate from the ungodly, all blessednesses belong to that man; but, if he does not find this jewel, he will seek for all blessednesses but will never find one! For as all things are pure unto the pure, so all things are lovely unto the loving, all things good unto the good; and, universally, such as thou art thyself, such is God himself unto thee, though he is not a creature. He is perverse unto the perverse; and holy unto the holy. Hence nothing can be good or saving unto him who is evil; nothing sweet unto him unto whom the law of God-is not sweet. The word “counsel” is without doubt here to be received as signifying decrees and doctrines, seeing that no society of men exists without being formed and preserved by decrees and laws. David, however, by this term strikes at the pride and reprobate temerity of the ungodly. First, because they will not humble themselves so far as to walk in the law of the Lord, but rule themselves by their own counsel. And then he calls it their “counsel,” because it is their prudence, and the way that seems to them to be without-error. For this is the destruction of the ungodly - their being prudent in their own eyes and in their own esteem, and clothing their errors in the garb of prudence and of the right way. For if they came to men in the open garb of error, it would not be so distinguishing a mark of blessedness not to walk with them. But David does not here say, “in the folly of the ungodly,” or “in the error of the ungodly;” and therefore he admonishes us-to guard with all diligence against the appearance of what is right, that the devil transformed into an angel of light do not seduce us by his craftiness. And he contrasts the counsel of the wicked with the law of the Lord, that we may learn to beware of wolves: in sheep's clothing, who are always ready to give counsel to all, to teach all, and to offer assistance unto all, when they are of all men the least qualified to do so. The term “stood” descriptively represents their obstinacy, and stiff-neckedness, wherein they harden themselves and make their excuses in words of malice, having become incorrigible, in their ungodliness. For “to stand,” in the figurative manner of Scripture expression, signifies to be firm and fixed: as in Rom_14:4, “To his own master he standeth or falleth: yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand.” Hence the word “column” is by the Hebrew derived from their verb “to stand,” as is the word statue among the Latins. For this is the very self-excuse and self-hardening of the ungodly - their appearing to themselves to live rightly, and to shine in the eternal show of works above all others. With respect to the term “seat,” to sit in the seat, is to teach, to act the instructor and teacher; as, in Mat_23:2, “The scribes sit in Moses' chair.” They sit in the seat of pestilence, who fill the church with the opinions of philosophers, with the traditions of men, and with the counsels of their own brain, and oppress miserable consciences,-setting aside, all the while the word of God, by which alone the soul is fed, lives, and is preserved. - Martin Luther, 1536-1546.
Psa_1:1
“The scornful.” Peccator cure in profundum venerit contemnet - when a wicked man comes to the depth and worst of sin, he despiseth. Then the Hebrew will despise Moses (Exo_2:14), “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?” Then Ahab will quarrel with Micaiah (1Ki_22:18), because he doth not prophesy good unto him. Every child in Bethel will mock Elisha (2Ki_2:23), and be bold to call him “bald pate.” Here is an original drop of venom swollen to a main ocean of poison: as one drop of some serpents' poison, lighting on the hand, gets into the veins, and so spreads itself over all the body till it hath stifled the vital spirits. God shall “laugh you to scorn,” (Psa_2:4), for laughing him to scorn; and at last despise you that have despised him in us. That which a man spits against heaven, shall fall back on his own face. Your indignities done to your spiritual physicians shall sleep in the dust with your ashes, but stand up against your souls in judgment. - Thomas Adams, 1614.
Psa_1:2
“But his will is in the law of the, Lord.” The “will,” which is here signified, is that delight of heart, and that certain, pleasure, in the law, which does not look at what the law promises, nor at what it threatens, but at this only; that “the law is holy, and just, and good.” Hence it is not only a love of the law, but that loving delight in the law which no prosperity, nor adversity, nor the world, nor the prince of it, can either take away or destroy; for it victoriously bursts its way through poverty, evil report, the cross, death, and hell, and in the midst of adversities, shines the brightest. - Martin Luther.
Psa_1:2
“His delight is in the law of the Lord.” - This delight which the prophet here speaks of is the only delight that neither blushes nor looks pale; the only delight that gives a repast without an after reckoning; the only delight that stands in construction with all tenses; and like Æneas Anchyses, carries his parents upon his back. - Sir Richard Baker.
Psa_1:2
“In his law doth he meditate.” In the plainest text there is a world of holiness and spirituality; and if we in prayer and dependence upon God did sit down and study it, we should behold much more than appears to us. It may be, at once reading or looking, we see little or nothing; as Elijah's servant went once, and saw nothing; therefore he was commanded to look seven times. What now? says the prophet, “I see a cloud rising, like a man's hand;” and by-and by, the whole surface of the heavens was covered with clouds. So you may look lightly upon a Scripture and see nothing; meditate often upon it, and there you shall see a light, like the light of the sun.” - Joseph Caryl, 1647.
Psa_1:2
“In his law doth he meditate day and night.” - The good man doth meditate on the law of God day and night. The pontificians beat off the common people from this common treasury, by objecting this supposed difficulty. Oh, the Scriptures are hard to be understood, do not you trouble your heads about them; we will tell you the meaning of them. They might as well say, heaven is a blessed place, but it is a hard way to it; do not trouble yourselves we will go thither for you. Thus in the great day of trial, when they should be saved by their book, alas! they have no book to save them. Instead of the Scriptures they can present images; these are the laymen's books; as if they were to be tried by a jury of carvers and painters, and not by the twelve apostles. Be not you so cheated; but study the gospel as you look for comfort by the gospel. He that hopes for the inheritance, will make much of the conveyance. - Thomas Adams.
Psa_1:2
To “meditate,” as it is generally understood, signifies to discuss, to dispute; and its meaning is always confined to a being employed in words, as in Psa_37:30, “The mouth of the righteous shall meditate wisdom.” Hence Augustine has, in his translation, “chatter”; and a beautiful metaphor it is - as chattering is the employment of birds, so a continual” conversing in the law of the Lord (for talking is peculiar to man), ought to be the employment of man, But I cannot worthily and fully set forth the gracious meaning and force of this word; for this “meditating” consists first in an intent observing of the words of the law, and then in a comparing of the different Scriptures; which is a certain delightful hunting, nay, rather a playing with stags in a forest, where the Lord furnishes us with the stags, and opens to us their secret coverts. And from this kind of employment, there comes forth at length a man well instructed in the law of the Lord to speak unto the people. - Martin Luther.
Psa_1:2
“In his law doth he meditate day and night.” The godly man will read the Word by day, that men, seeing his good works, may glorify his Father who is in heaven; he will do it in the night, that he may not be seen of men: by day, to show that he is not one of those who dread the light; by night, to show that he is one who can shine in the shade: by day, for that is the time for working - work whilst it is day; by night, lest his Master should come as a thief, and find him idle. - Sir Richard Baker.
Psa_1:2
I have no rest, but in a nook, with the book. - Thomas à Kempis, 1380-1471
Psa_1:2
“Meditate.” Meditation doth discriminate and characterise a man; by this he may take a measure of his heart, whether it be good or bad; let me allude to that; “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Pro_23:7. As the meditation is, such is the man. Meditation is the touchstone of a Christian; it shows what metal he is made of. It is a spiritual index; the index shows what is in the book, so meditation shows what is in the heart. - Thomas Watson's Saints' Spiritual Delight.
Meditation chews the cud, and gets the sweetness and nutritive virtue of the Word into the heart and life: this is the way the godly bring forth much fruit. - Bartholomew Ashwood's Heavenly Trade, 1688.
The naturalists observe that to uphold and accommodate bodily life, there are divers sorts of faculties communicated, and these among the rest: 1. An attractive faculty, to assume and draw in the food; 2. A retentive faculty, to retain it when taken in; 3. An assimilating faculty, to concoct the nourishment; 4. An augmenting faculty, for drawing to perfection. Meditation is all these. It helps judgment, wisdom, and faith to ponder, discern, and credit the things which reading and hearing supply and furnish. It assists the memory to lock up the jewels of divine truth in her sure treasury. It has a digesting power, and turns special truth into spiritual nourishment; and lastly, it helps the renewed heart to grow upward and increase its power to know the things which are freely given to us of God. - Condensed from Nathaniel Ranew, 1670.
Psa_1:3
“A tree.” - There is one tree, only to be found in the valley of the Jordan, but too beautiful to be entirely passed over; the oleander, with its bright blossoms and dark green leaves, giving the aspect of a rich garden to any spot where it grows. It is rarely if ever alluded to in the Scriptures: But it may be the tree planted by the streams of water which bringeth forth his fruit in due Season, and “whose leaf shall not wither.” - A. P. Stanley, D. D., in “Sinai and Palestine.”
Psa_1:3
“A tree planted by the rivers of water.” - This is an allusion to the Eastern method of cultivation, by which rivulets of water are made to flow between the rows of trees, and thus, by artificial means, the trees receive a constant supply of moisture.
Psa_1:3
“His fruit in his season.” - In such a case expectation is never disappointed. Fruit is expected, fruit is borne, and it comes also in the time in which it should come. A godly education, under the influences of the divine Spirit, which can never be withheld where they are earnestly sought, is sure to produce the fruits of righteousness; and he who reads, prays, and meditates, will ever see the work which God has given him to do; the power by which he is to perform it; and the times, places, and opportunities for doing those things by which God can obtain most glory, his own soul most good, and his neighbour most edification. - Adam Clarke.
Psa_1:3
“In his season.” The Lord reckons the times which pass over us, and puts them to our account: let us, therefore, improve them, and, with the impotent persons at the pool of Bethesda, step in when the angel stirs the water. Now the church is afflicted, it is a season of prayer and learning; now the church is enlarged, it is a season of praise; I am now at a sermon, I will hear what God will say; now in the company of a learned and wise man, I will draw some knowledge and counsel from him; I am under a temptation, now is a fit time to lean on the name of the Lord; I am in a place of dignity and power, let me consider what it is that God requireth of me in such a time as this. And thus as the tree of life bringeth fruit every month, so a wise Christian, as a wise husbandman, hath his distinct employments for every month, bringing forth his fruit in his season. - John Spencer's Things New and Old, 1658.
Psa_1:3
“In his season.” Oh, golden and admirable word! by which is asserted the liberty of Christian righteousness. The ungodly have their stated days, stated times, certain works, and certain places; to which they stick so closely, that if their neighbours were perishing with hunger, they could not be torn from them. But this blessed man, being free at all times, in all places, for every work, and to every person, will serve you whenever an opportunity is offered him; whatsoever comes into his hands to do, he does it. He is neither a Jew, nor a Gentile, nor a Greek, nor a barbarian, nor of any other particular person lie gives his fruit in his season, so often as either God or man requires his work. Therefore his fruits have no name, and his times have no name. - Martin Luther.
Psa_1:3
“His leaf also shall not wither.” He describes the fruit before he does the leaf. The Holy Spirit himself always teaches every faithful preacher in the church to know that the kingdom of God does not stand in word but in power. 1Co_4:20. Again, “Jesus began both to do and to teach.” Act_1:1. And again, “Which was a prophet mighty in deed and word.” Luk_24:19. And thus, let him who professes the word of doctrine, first put forth the fruits of life, if he would not have his fruit to wither, for Christ cursed the fig tree which bore no fruit. And as Gregory saith, that man whose life is despised is condemned by his doctrine, for he preaches to others, and is himself reprobated. - Martin Lather.
Psa_1:3
“His leaf also shall not wither.” The Lord's trees are all evergreens. No winter's cold can destroy their verdure; and yet, unlike evergreens in our country, they are all fruit bearers. - C. H. S.
Psa_1:3
“And whatsoever he doeth, [or, maketh or taketh in hand] shall prosper.” And with regard to this “prospering,” take heed that thou understandest not a carnal prosperity. This prosperity is hidden prosperity, and lies entirely secret in spirit; and therefore if thou hast not this prosperity that is by faith, thou shouldst rather judge thy prosperity to be the greatest adversity. For as the devil bitterly hates this leaf and the word of God, so does he also those who teach and hear it, and he persecutes such, aided by all the powers of the world. Therefore thou hearest of a miracle the greatest of all miracles, when thou hearest that all things prosper which a blessed man doeth. - Martin Luther.
Psa_1:3
A critical journal has shown that instead of “Whatsoever it doeth shall prosper,” the rendering might be, “Whatsoever it produceth shall come to maturity.” This makes the figure entire, and is sanctioned by some MSS and ancient versions.
Psa_1:3 (last clause)
Outward prosperity, if it follow close walking with God, is very sweet; as the cipher, when it follows a figure, adds to the number, though it be nothing in itself. - John Trapp.
Psa_1:4
“Chaff.” Here by the way, we may let the wicked know they have a thanks to give they little think of; that they may thank the godly for all the good days they live upon the earth, seeing it is for their sakes and not for their own that they enjoy them, For as the chaff while it is united and keeps close to the wheat, enjoys some privileges for the wheat's sake, and is laid up carefully in the barn; but as soon as it is divided, and parted from the wheat, it is cast out and scattered by the wind; so the wicked, whilst the godly are in company and live amongst them, partake for their sake of some blessedness promised to the godly; but if the godly forsake them or be taken from them, then either a deluge of water comes suddenly upon them, as it did upon the old world when Noah left it; or a deluge of fire as it did upon Sodom, when Lot left it and went out of the city. - Sir Richard Baker.
Psa_1:4
“Driveth away,” or tosseth away; the Chaldee translateth for “wind,” “whirlwind.” - Henry Ainsworth, 1639.
This shows the vehement tempest of death, which sweeps away the soul of the ungodly.
Psa_1:5
“Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,” etc. And may not a reason also be conceived thus, why the ungodly can never come to be of the congregation of the righteous: the righteous go a way that God knows, and the wicked go a way that God destroys; and seeing that these ways can never meet, how should the, men meet that go these ways? And to make sure work that they shall never meet indeed, the prophet expresseth the way of the righteous by the first link of the chain of God's goodness, which is his knowledge; but expresseth the way of the wicked by the last link of God's justice, which is his destroying; and though God's justice and his mercy do often meet, and are contiguous one to another, yet the first link of his mercy and the last link of his justice can never meet, for it never comes to destroying till God be heard to say Nescio vos, “I know you not,” and nescio vos in God, and God's knowledge, can certainly never possibly meet together. - Sir Richard Baker.
Psa_1:5
The Irish air will sooner brook a toad, or a snake, than heaven a sinner. - John Trapp.
Psa_1:6
“For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” Behold how David here terrifies us away from all prosperous appearances, and commends to us various temptations and adversities. For this “way” of the righteous all men utterly reprobate; thinking also, that God knoweth nothing about any such way. But this is the wisdom of the cross. Therefore, it is God alone that knoweth the way of the righteous, so hidden is to it the righteous themselves. For his right hand leads them on in a wonderful manner, seeing that it is a way, not of sense, nor of reason, but of faith only; even of that faith that sees in darkness, and beholds things that are invisible. - Martin Lather.
Psa_1:6
“The righteous.” They that endeavour righteous living in themselves and have Christ's righteousness imputed to them. - Thomas Wilcocks, 1586.

Wonderful one line golden sentences for all

2009-04-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

1. Give God what's right -- not what's left.
2. Man's way leads to a hopeless end -- God's way leads to an endless hope.
3. A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.
4. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.
5. In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma--but never let him be the period.
6. Don't put a question mark where God puts a period.
7. Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the church for a face-lift.
8. When praying, don't give God instructions - just report for duty.
9. Don't wait for six strong men to take you to church.
10. We don't change God's message -- His message changes us.
11. The church is prayer-conditioned.
12. When God ordains, He sustains.
13. WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning.
14. Plan ahead -- It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.
15. Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position.
16. Suffering from truth decay? Brush up on your Bible.
17. Exercise daily -- walk with the Lord.
18. Never give the devil a ride -- he will always want to drive.
19. Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it.
20. Compassion is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.
21. He who angers you controls you.
22. Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop.
23. Give Satan an inch & he'll be a ruler.
24. Be ye fishers of men -- you catch them & He'll clean them.
25. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
26. Read the Bible -- It will scare the hell out of you.

HUGH LATIMER: BISHOP AND MARTYR

2009-02-10T12:03:00.001-08:00

THE name of Bishop Latimer is well known to all readers of English Church history. There are, probably, few who have not read that more than three hundred years ago there was such a Queen of England as "Bloody Mary,"---and that men were burnt alive in her reign because they would not give up Protestantism,---and that one of these men was Bishop Latimer.
But English Churchmen ought to know these things better in the present day. They ought to become thoroughly familiar with the lives, the acts, and the opinions of the leading English Reformers. Their names ought to be something better than hackneyed ornaments to point a platform speech. Their principles ought no longer to be vague, hazy shadows "looming in the distance," but something clear, distinct, and well-defined before our mind's eyes. My desire is, that men may understand that the best interests of this country are bound up with Protestantism. My wish is, that men may write on their hearts that the well-being of England depends not on commerce, or clever politicians, or steam, or armies, or navies, or gold, or iron, or coal, or corn, but on the maintenance of the principles of the English Reformation.
The times we live in call loudly for the diffusion of knowledge about English Church history. Opinions are boldly broached now-a-days of so startling a nature, that they make a man rub his eyes, and say, "Where am I?" A state of feeling is growing up among us about Romanism and Protestantism, which, to say the least, is most unhealthy. It has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished. Nothing is so likely to check this state of feeling as the production of a few plain facts. If you want to convince a Scotchman, they say you must give him a long argument. If you want to convince an Englishman, you must give him plain facts. Facts are the principal commodity I have brought together in this biographical paper. If any one expects to find in these pages private speculation, or oratorical display, I am afraid he will be disappointed; but if any one likes plain facts, I think I shall be able to supply him with a few.
Does any reader doubt who is a true member of the Church of England? Are you perplexed by the rise and progress of what are foolishly called "Church views "? Come with me to-day, and pay a visit to one of the Fathers of the English Church. Let us put into the witness box one of the most honest and out-spoken bishops of the days of the English Reformation. Let us examine the life and opinions of good old Latimer.
Does any reader doubt what is the true character of the Church of Rome? Are you bewildered by some of those plausible gentlemen who tell you there is no fundamental difference between the Anglican and Romish Churches? Are you puzzled by that intense yearning after so-called "Catholic" principles, which distinguishes some misguided Churchmen, and which exhibits itself in "Catholic" teaching, "Catholic" ceremonies, "Catholic" books of devotion, and "Catholic" architecture? Come with me to-day, and turn over a few old pages in English history. Let us see what England actually was when Romish teachers instructed the English people, and had things all their own way. Let us see what the Church of Rome does when she has complete power. Let us see how she treats the friends of an open Bible, of private judgment, and of justification by faith. Let us see how the Church of Rome dealt with Bishop Latimer.

ROWLAND TAYLOR: MARTYR

2009-02-10T12:02:00.000-08:00

ROWLAND TAYLOR, Rector of Hadleigh, in Suffolk, one of the famous Protestant martyrs in Queen Mary's days, is a man about whom the Church possesses singularly little information. Excepting the facts related by John Fox in the "Book of Martyrs," we know scarcely anything about him. Enough, however, is on record to show that among the noble champions of Christ's truth, who sealed their faith with their blood at the time of the English Reformation, Rowland Taylor was second to none.
The causes of this absence of information are easily explained. For one thing, the good man lived, and laboured, and died, in a small country town, fifty miles from London. Such a position is fatal to a world-wide celebrity. It is the dwellers in large cities, and the occupiers of metropolitan pulpits, whose doings are chronicled by admirers, and whose lives are carefully handed down to posterity. For another thing, he wrote no books, either expository, or controversial, or practical. Not even a single sermon of the martyred Rector of Hadleigh exists in print, and enables him though dead, to speak. When he died, he left nothing behind him to keep his memory alive in libraries. These two facts must not be forgotten.
The account of Taylor, which Fox has supplied, is so peculiarly graphic and vivid, that one might almost suppose that the Martyrologist was a personal friend of the martyr, or an eye-witness of his sufferings. Of this, however, I can find no evidence. Yet it is worthy of notice, that Fox, after Queen Elizabeth came to the throne, resided for a considerable time with Parkhurst, Bishop of Norwich, in whose diocese Hadleigh was then situated. He also seems to have had friends and acquaintances at Ipswich, which is only ten miles from Hadleigh. It is therefore highly probable that he had frequent opportunities of visiting Taylor's parish, and very likely received much information from people who were actually present when the noble martyr was burned, and could supply full and accurate accounts both of his ministry and his sufferings. To condense and modernize Fox's narrative, and to present it to my readers in a convenient form, is the simple object of these pages.
Rowland Taylor, according to Strype, was born at Rothbury, in Northumberland; the same county, it may be remembered, from which Bishop Ridley came. The date of his birth, the rank or position of his family, his early history, and the place of his education, are all things about which nothing whatever is known. We only gather from various sources, that in due time he became a student at Cambridge, and there imbibed the principles of the Protestant Reformation. Among other means by which he was influenced at this important crisis of his life, the sermons of Bishop Latimer are especially named. The first distinct fact in his life that we know is his intimacy with Archbishop Cranmer. In that great man's household he seems to have occupied some orifice, and to have worked with him in carrying forward the mighty building of the English Reformation. How long he lived with Cranmer, we have, unfortunately, no means of finding out. But there is strong internal evidence that he was so long and so intimately connected with him, that he became a marked man among the English Reformers. Upon no other supposition can we explain the peculiar enmity with which he was sought out and persecuted to death in Queen Mary's reign. The old parson of Hadleigh must surely have obtained an honourable reputation in London, in the days of Edward VI.
Hadleigh, in Suffolk, was the first and only piece of preferment which we know of Rowland Taylor holding. To this he was appointed by his friend Archbishop Cranmer, but at what date we have no means of ascertaining. One thing only is quite certain: as soon as he was appointed to Hadleigh, he resigned all his offices in London, and devoted himself entirely to the work of his parish.
Hadleigh is a small town on the south-west border of Suffolk, containing, at this time (1550?) about 4,000 people. The character of the place in the days of Edward VI., and the nature of Rowland Taylor's ministry, are so well and graphically described by Fox in "Acts and Monuments," that I cannot do better than quote his words:--
"The town of Hadleigh was one of the first that received the Word of God in all England, at the preaching of Master Thomas Bilney, by whose industry the Gospel of Christ had such gracious success, and took such root there, that a great number in that parish became exceeding well learned in the Holy Scripture, as well women as men; so that a man might have found among them many that had often read the whole Bible through, and that could have said a great part of St. Paul's Epistles by heart, and very well and readily have given a godly learned sentence in any matter of controversy.
"Their children and servants were also brought up and trained diligently in the right knowledge of God's Word, so that the whole town seemed rather an university of the learned, than a town of cloth-making or labouring people; and what most is to be commended, they were for the most part followers of God's Word in their living.
"In this town of Hadleigh, Dr. Taylor was a good shepherd, abiding and dwelling among his sheep. He gave himself wholly to the study of Holy Scripture, most faithfully endeavouring himself to fulfil that charge which the Lord gave unto Peter, saying, 'Peter, lovest thou Me? Feed my lambs;' 'Feed my sheep;' ' Feed my sheep.' This love of Christ so wrought in him, that no Sunday nor holy day passed, nor other time, when he might get the people together, but he preached to them the Word of God, the doctrine of their salvation.
"Not only was his word a preaching unto them, but all his life and conversation was an example of unfeigned Christian life and true holiness. He was void of all pride, humble and meek as any child; so that none were so poor but they might boldly, as unto their father, resort unto him. Neither was his lowliness childish or fearful; but as occasion, time, and place required, he would be stout in rebuking the sinful and evil doers: so that none was so rich but he would tell him plainly his fault, with such earnest and grave rebukes as became a good curate and pastor. He was a man very mild, void of all rancour, grudge, or evil will, ready to do good to all men, readily forgiving his enemies, and never sought to do evil to any.
"To the poor that were blind, sick, lame, bedridden, or that had many children, he was a very father, a careful patron, a diligent provider, insomuch that he caused the parishioners to make a general provision for them; and he himself (beside the continual relief that they always found at his house) gave an honest portion yearly to the common alms box.
"His wife, also, was an honest, discreet, and sober matron; and his children well nurtured, brought up in the fear of God and good learning.
"To conclude, he was a right and lively image or pattern of all those virtuous qualities described by St. Paul in a true bishop,--a good salt of the earth, savourly, biting the corrupt manners of evil men; a light in God's house set upon a candlestick, for all good men to imitate and follow."
How long Taylor's ministry lasted at Hadleigh we do not exactly know. Fox only says that he continued there "all the days of the most innocent and holy King of blessed memory, King Edward VI." We may, however, safely conclude that he was there more than ten years. When he was put in prison in Queen Mary's days, he was the father of nine children; and as it is not probable that he would marry until he left Cranmer's household and had a home of his own, it seems likely that his children were all born at Hadleigh. All this, however, is only matter of conjecture. Enough for us to know that he was evidently Rector of Hadleigh long enough to be loved and honoured by the mass of his parishioners.
Rowland Taylor's quiet days at Hadleigh were soon brought to an end when Queen Mary came to the throne. A man of his eminence and high reputation as a Protestant was sure to be marked for destruction by the Popish party, and an excuse was soon found for putting him in prison.
In the best worked parishes, and under the most faithful preaching of the Gospel, there will always be found many who hate vital religion, and remain hardened, impenitent, and unbelieving. It was so in the days of the Apostles. It is so at the present time, in our own parishes. It was so at Hadleigh, when Rowland Taylor was Rector. There were men who hated him, because his doctrine condemned their own lives and opinions; and as soon as they had an opportunity of doing him an injury, they eagerly seized it. Two of these men, named Foster and Clerke, conspired to bring the worthy Rector into collision with the higher powers, by hiring one John Avreth, Rector of Aldham, to come to Hadleigh church and celebrate the Popish Mass. The result answered their expectations. Rowland Taylor, with righteous indignation, rushed into the church as the Mass was about to begin, and protested warmly against the whole proceeding, as illegal and idolatrous. Then followed an unseemly altercation,--the forcible expulsion of the Rector of Hadleigh from his own church,--great excitement among the faithful parishioners,--throwing of stones into the church, and a general ferment among the people. All this was duly reported to Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor of England; and the upshot of the affair, as the malignants had foreseen, was a summons from Gardiner to Dr. Taylor, to appear before him in London without delay. This summons the gallant Reformer promptly obeyed, and left Hadleigh, never to return till the day of his death. When the summons arrived, Rowland Taylor's many friends tried in vain to persuade him to fly to the Continent to save his life, as many other faithful Protestants had done. But they had no more effect on the good old man than Paul's friends had on the Apostle, when they entreated him not to go up to Jerusalem. This was his reply: "What will ye have me to do? I am now old, and have already lived too long to see these terrible and most wicked days. Fly you, and do as your conscience leadeth you. I am fully determined, with God's grace, to go to this Bishop, and to tell him to his beard that he cloth naught. God shall well hereafter raise up teachers of His people, which shall with much more diligence and fruit teach them than I have done. For God will not forsake His Church, though now for a time He trieth and correcteth us, and not without just cause. "As for me, I believe before God I shall never be able to do God so good a service as I may do now, nor shall I ever have so glorious a calling as I have now, nor so great mercy of God proffered me, as is now at this present. For what Christian man would not gladly die against the Pope and his adherents? I know that the Papacy is the kingdom of Antichrist, altogether full of falsehoods; so that all their doctrine is nothing but idolatry, superstition, error, hypocrisy, and lies.
"Wherefore I beseech you and all my other friends to pray for me, and to doubt not but God will give me strength and His Holy Spirit, that all mine adversaries shall have shame of their doings."
Armed with this frame of mind, Rowland Taylor went voluntarily to London, and most manfully kept his word. The opening of his first interview with Gardiner is thus described by Fox:
"Now when Gardiner saw Dr. Taylor, according to his common custom, he reviled him, calling him knave, traitor, heretic, with many other villainous reproaches. All this Dr. Taylor heard patiently, and at last said, 'My lord, I am neither traitor nor heretic, but a true subject, and a faithful Christian man; and I am come according to your commandment, to know what is the cause why your lordship hath sent for me.'
"Then said the Bishop, 'Art thou come thus, villain? How darest thou look at me in the face for shame? Knowest thou not who I am?'
"' Yes!' said Dr. Taylor, ' I know who you are: you are Dr. Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor, and yet but a mortal man. If I should be afraid of your lordly looks, why fear you not God, the Lord of us all? How dare you for shame look any Christian man in the face, seeing you have forsaken the truth, denied our Saviour Christ and His Word, and done contrary to your oath-taking? With what countenance will you appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, and answer to your oath made first to King Henry viii., and afterward unto King Edward VI., his son?'"
The interview, which began in this extraordinary manner, terminated as might have been expected. After several sharp arguments and wrangles, in which the Suffolk Rector showed himself more than a match for the Bishop of Winchester, Taylor was committed to the King's Bench prison. On hearing his committal, he kneeled down, and holding up both his hands, said "Good Lord, I thank Thee. From the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome, and all his detestable errors, idolatries, and abominations, good Lord, deliver us. And God be praised for good King Edward."
Rowland Taylor lay in prison two years, and spent most of his time in prayer, reading the Scriptures, and writing. He had also opportunities of exhorting and addressing the prisoners. How much he saw of the other Reformers who were in prison at the same time, is not quite clear. It is certain, however, that he was very often in company of the famous John Bradford, and told his friends that God had sent him to a prison, where he "found an angel of God to comfort him." It is also highly probable that he had occasional interviews with the illustrious Reformers, Hooper, Rogers, Ferrar, and Saunders, who all, like himself, were finally burned at the stake.
The end of Rowland Taylor's weary imprisonment came at last. On the 22nd of January, 1555, he was brought before the Lord Chancellor, Bishop Gardiner, and other Commissioners, and subjected to a lengthy examination. To go into the details of all that was said on this occasion would be wearisome and unprofitable. The whole affair was conducted with the same gross unfairness and partiality which characterized all the proceedings against the English Reformers, and the result, as a matter of course, was the good man's condemnation. To use his own words, in a letter to a friend, he was pronounced a heretic because he defended the marriage of priests, and denied the doctrine of transubstantiation, Never let it be forgotten in these days, that the denial of any corporal presence of Christ's Body and Blood in the elements of bread and wine at the Lord's Supper, was the turning-point which decided the fate of our martyred Reformers. If they gave way on that point they might have lived. Because they would not admit any corporal presence they died. These things are recorded for our learning.
On the last day of January, 1555, Taylor, together with Brad, ford, and Saunders, was called to appear before the Bishops o| Winchester, Norwich, London, Salisbury, and Durham. They were all three charged with heresy, and schism, and required to answer determinately whether they would submit themselves to the Bishop of Rome, and abjure their errors. On their refusal they were condemned to death. " For this," says Fox, "they gave God thanks, and stoutly said unto the Bishops, 'We doubt not but God, the righteous Judge, will require our blood at your hands, and the proudest of you all shall repent this receiving again of Antichrist; and your tyranny that ye now show against the flock of Christ.'" On the evening of this day, Taylor was sent to the Compter prison, and parted from his brethren.
On the 4th of February, Bonner, Bishop of London, came to the Compter prison, and formally degraded Taylor from the office of priest, with many absurd ceremonies, of which Fox supplies a ludicrous description. The night after his degradation, his wife and his son Thomas were permitted to visit and sup with him, and after supper they parted, with much affection and many team. The next day, the fifth of February, he set out on his journey to Hadleigh, in order that he might be burned in the presence of his parishioners. The circumstances of his departure from London are so touchingly described by Fox, that I think it best to let the old historian speak for himself.
"On the next morrow after that Dr. Taylor had supped with his wife in the Compter prison, which was the 5th day of February, the Sheriff of London, with his officers came to the Compter by two o'clock in the morning, and so brought forth Dr. Taylor; and without any light led him to the Woolsack, an inn without Aldgate. Dr. Taylor's wife, suspecting that her husband should that night be carried away, watched all night in St. Botolph's Church porch, beside Aldgate, having with her two children, the one named Elizabeth, of thirteen years of age, whom, being left without father or mother, Dr. Taylor had brought up of alms from three years old; the other named Mary, Dr. Taylor's own daughter.
"Now when the Sheriff and his company came against St. Botolph's Church, Elizabeth cried, saying, 'O my dear father! Mother, mother: here is my father led away!' Then cried his wife, 'Rowland, Rowland: where art thou?' for it was a very dark morning, that the one could not see the other. Dr. Taylor answered, ' Dear wife, I am here,' and stayed. The Sheriff's men would have led him forth, but the Sheriff said, 'Stay a little, masters, I pray you, and let him speak to his wife;' and so they stayed.
"Then came she to him, and he took his daughter Mary in his arms, and he, his wife, and Elizabeth kneeled down and said the Lord's prayer. At which sight the Sheriff wept apace, and so did divers others of the company. After they had prayed, he rose up and kissed his wife, and shook her by the hand, and said, ' Farewell, my dear wife: be of good comfort, for I am quiet in my conscience. God shall raise up a father for my children.' And then he kissed his daughter Mary, and said, ' God bless thee, and make thee His servant;' and, kissing Elizabeth, he said, 'God bless thee. I pray you all stand strong and steadfast to Christ and His Word, and keep you from idolatry.' Then said his wife, ' God be with thee, dear Rowland: I will, with God's grace, meet thee at Hadleigh.
"And so was he led forth to the Woolsack, and his wife followed him. As soon as they came to the Woolsack, he was put into a chamber, wherein he was kept, with four yeomen of the guard and the Sheriff's men. Dr. Taylor, as soon as he was come into the chamber, fell down on his knees, and gave himself wholly to prayer. The Sheriff then, seeing Dr. Taylor's wife there, would in no case grant her to speak any more with her husband; but gently desired her to go to his house, and take it as her own, and promised her she should lack nothing, and sent two officers to conduct her thither. Notwithstanding, she desired to go to her mother's, whither the officers led her, and charged her mother to keep her there till they came again."
Rowland Taylor's journey from London to Hadleigh is minutely described by Fox. He travelled on horseback, according to the custom of those days, and stopped at Brentwood, Chelmsford, and Lavenham. "All the way he was joyful and merry, as one that accounted himself going to a most pleasant banquet or bridal." But we must content ourselves with the account of the closing scene in the worthy martyr's history, which shall he given in Fox's own words:--
"On the 9th February, 1555 (the same day that Bishop Hooper was burnt at Gloucester), the Sheriff and his company led Dr. Taylor towards Hadleigh; and coming within two miles of Hadleigh, he desired for somewhat to light off his horse; which done, he leaped, and set a frisk, or twain, as men commonly do in dancing. ' Why, master Doctor,' quoth the Sheriff, "how do you now?' He answered, 'Well, God be praised, good master Sheriff, never better; for now I know I am almost at home. I lack not past two stiles to go over, and I am at even at my Father's house. But, master Sheriff,' said he, 'shall we not go through Hadleigh?' 'Yes,' said the Sheriff, 'you shall go through Hadleigh.' Then said he, ' O good Lord, I thank Thee! I shall yet once ere I die, see my flock whom Thou, Lord, knowest I have most heartily loved and most truly taught. Good Lord, bless them, and keep them steadfast in Thy Word and truth.'
"When they were now come to Hadleigh, and came riding over the bridge, at the bridge foot waited a poor man with five small children, who, when he saw Dr. Taylor, he and his children fell down upon their knees and held up their hands, and cried with a loud voice, and said, '0 dear father and good shepherd, Dr. Taylor, God help and succour thee, as thou hast many a time succoured me and my poor children.' Such witness had this servant of God of his virtuous and charitable alms-giving in his lifetime; for God would now the poor should testify of his good deeds to his singular comfort, to the example of others, and confusion of his persecutors and tyrannous adversaries. For the Sheriff and others that led him to death were wonderfully astonished at this, and the Sheriff sore rebuked the poor man for so crying, The streets of Hadleigh were beset on both sides the way with men and women of the town and country who waited to see him, whom, when they beheld so led to death, with weeping eyes and lamentable voices they cried, saying one to another, 'All, good Lord, there goeth our good shepherd from us, that so faithfully hath taught us, so fatherly hath cared for us, and so godly hath governed us. O merciful God! What shall we poor scattered lambs do? What shall come of this most wicked world? Good Lord, strengthen him and comfort him,' with such other most lamentable and piteous voices. Wherefore the people were sore rebuked by the Sheriff and the catchpoles, his men, that led him. And Dr. Taylor evermore said to the people, I have preached to you God's Word and truth, and am come this day to seal it with my blood.'
"Coming against the almshouses, which he well knew, he cast to the good people money which remained of that which good people had given him in time of his imprisonment. As for his living, they took it from him at his first going to prison, so that he was sustained all the time of his imprisonment by the charitable alms of good people that visited him. Therefore the money that now remained he put in a glove ready for the same purpose, and, as is said, gave it to the poor almsmen standing at their door to see him. And coming to the last of the almshouses, and not seeing the poor that there dwelt ready at their doors as the others were, the asked, ' Is the blind man and blind woman that dwelt here alive?' It was answered, 'Yea, they are within.' Then threw he glove and all in at the window, and so rode forth.
"At the last, coming to Aldham Common, the place assigned where he should suffer, and seeing a great multitude of people gathered thither, he asked, ' What place is this, and what meaneth it that so much people are gathered hither?' It was answered, ' It is Aldham Common, the place where you must suffer, and the people are come to look upon you.' Then he said, 'Thanked be God, I am even at home;' and so alighted from his horse, and rent the hood from his head.
"Now was his head knotted ill-favouredly, and clipped much as a man would clip a fool's head; which cost the good Bishop Bonner had bestowed upon him when he degraded him. But when the people saw his reverend and ancient face, with a long white beard, they burst out with weeping tears, and cried, saying, ' God save thee, good Dr. Taylor! Jesus Christ strengthen thee; the Holy Ghost comfort thee,' with such other like godly wishes. Then would he have spoken to the people, but the yeomen of the guard were so busy about him, that as soon as he opened his mouth, one or other thrust a tipstaff into his mouth, and would in no wise permit him to speak.
"Dr. Taylor, perceiving that he could not be permitted to speak, sat down, and seeing one named Soyce, he called him, and said, ' Soyce, I pray thee come and pull off my boots, and take them for thy labour. Thou hast long looked for them, now take them.' Then rose he up, and put off his clothes unto his shirt, and gave them away; which done, he said with a loud voice, ' Good people, I have taught you nothing but God's Holy Word, and those lessons that I have taken out of God's blessed Book,--the Holy Bible; and I am come hither this day to seal it with my blood.' With that Word, a certain yeoman of the guard, who had used Dr. Taylor very cruelly all the way, gave him a great stroke upon the head with a waster, and said, 'Is that the keeping of thy promise, thou heretic? Then he, seeing they would not permit him to speak, kneeled down and prayed, and a poor woman that was among the people stepped in and prayed with him, but they thrust her away, and threatened to tread her down with horses; notwithstanding, she would not remove, but abode and prayed with him. When he had prayed, he went to the stake and kissed it, and set himself into a pitch-barrel, which they had set for him to stand in, and so stood with his back upright against the stake, with his hands folded together, and his eyes toward heaven, and so he continually prayed.'"
After some painful delay, and some miserable insults from the Popish helpers, who were assisting, the fire was lighted. Then says Fox, "Dr. Taylor, holding up both his hands, called upon God, and said, 'Merciful Father of heaven, for Jesus Christ my Saviour's sake, receive my soul into Thy hands.' So stood he still, without either crying or moving, until one struck him on the head with a halbert, so that his brains fell out, and the dead corpse fell down in the fire.
Thus died one of the best and bravest of the English martyrs. An old rude stone still marks the spot where he was burned, in the midst of an enclosed field, which once formed part of Aldham Common. It bears the following quaint but pithy inscription:--

1555.
"Dr. Taylor, in defending that
which was good,
at this place left his blood."

In the year 1819 another and more pretentious monument was erected on the same spot, with a long poetical inscription written by the Rector of Hadleigh. But the martyr's history is still remembered in the parish, without the aid of stones and monuments. " Being dead, he yet speaketh."
Taylor's last parting wishes to his wife and family and parishioners were written in a book which he gave his son as a parting legacy, only five days before his martyrdom. They can hardly fail to interest the reader.
"I say to my wife and to my children, The Lord gave you unto me, and the Lord hath taken me from you and you from me: blessed be the name of the Lord! I believe that they are blessed which die in the Lord. God careth for sparrows, and for the hairs of our heads. I have ever found Him more faithful and favourable than is any father or husband. Trust ye, therefore, in Him by the means of our dear Saviour Christ's merits. Believe, love, fear, and obey Him: pray to Him, for He hath promised to help. Count me not dead, for I shall certainly live and never die. I go before, and you shall follow after, to our long home. I go to the rest of my children,---Susan, George, Ellen, Robert, and Zachary. I have bequeathed you to the only Omnipotent.
"I say to my dear friends of Hadleigh, and to all others which have heard me preach, that I depart hence with a quiet conscience as touching my doctrine, for the which I pray you thank God with me. For I have, after my little talent, declared to others those lessons that I gathered out of God's Book, the blessed Bible. 'Therefore, if I, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any other Gospel than that ye have received,' God's great curse be upon that preacher!
"Beware, for God's sake, that ye deny not God, neither decline from the word of faith, lest God decline from you, and so do ye everlastingly perish. For God's sake beware of Popery, for though it appear to have in it unity, yet the same is vanity and anti-Christianity, and not in Christ's faith and verity.
"Beware of the sin against the Holy Ghost, now after such a light opened so plainly and simply, truly, thoroughly and generally to all England.
"The Lord grant all men His good and Holy Spirit, increase of His wisdom, contemning the wicked world, hearty desire to be with God, and the heavenly company; through Jesus Christ, our only Mediator, Advocate, Righteousness, Life, Sanctification, and Hope. Amen. Amen. Pray. Pray.
"Rowland Taylor, departing hence in sure hope, without all doubting of eternal salvation. I thank God, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, my certain Saviour. Amen. 5th of February, anno 1555.
"The Lord is my Light and my Salvation, whom then shall I fear? God is He that justifieth: who is he that can condemn?' In Thee, O Lord, have I trusted: let me never be confounded."
Does any one wish to know whether the Church of Rome is infallible? Let him carefully study the history of such martyrdoms as that of Rowland Taylor. Of all the stupid and suicidal mistakes that the Romish Church ever made, none was greater than the mistake of burning the Reformers. It cemented the work of the Reformation, and made Englishmen Protestants by thousands. When plain Englishmen saw the Church of Rome so cruelly wicked and Protestants so brave, they ceased to doubt on which side was the truth. May the memory of our martyred Reformers never be forgotten in England until the Lord comes!

Early Days Martyres-JOHN HOOPER: BISHOP AND MARTYR

2009-02-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

IN a day of religious controversy, no one is so useful to his generation as the man who contributes a little "light." Amidst the din and strife of ecclesiastical warfare, amidst the fog and dust stirred up by excited disputants, amidst assertions and counter-assertions, a thinking man will often cry with the dying philosopher,--" I want more light: give me more light." He that can make two ears of corn grow where only one grew before, has been rightly called a benefactor to mankind. He that can throw a few rays of flesh light on the theological questions of the day, is surely doing a service to the Church and the world.
Thoughts such as these came across my mind when I chose the subject of this biographical paper: "John Hooper, the martyred Bishop of Gloucester: his times, life, death, and opinions." I chose it with a meaning. I have long felt that the lives and opinions of the English Reformers deserve attentive study in the present day. I think that a picture of John Hooper will throw useful light on points of deep interest in our times.
We live in days when the Romish Church is making gigantic efforts to regain her lost power in England, and thousands of English people are helping her. None are doing the work of Rome so thoroughly as that singular body of English Churchmen, the extreme Ritualists. Consciously or unconsciously, they are paving the way for her advance, and laying down the rails for her trains. They are familiarizing the minds of thousands with Romish ceremonial,--its millinery, its processions, its gestures, its postures, its theatrical, sensuous style of worship. They are boldly preaching and publishing downright Romish doctrine,--the real presence, the priestly character of the ministry, the necessity of auricular confession and sacerdotal absolution. They are loudly proclaiming their desire for re-union with the Church of Rome. In short, it seems as if the battle of the Reformation must be fought over again. Now before we go back to Rome, let us thoroughly understand what English Romanism was. Let us bring in the light. Let us not take a "leap in the dark."
We live in times when many Churchmen openly sneer at our Reformation, and scoff at our Reformers. The martyrs, whose blood was the seed of our Church, are abused and vilified, and declared to be no martyrs at all. Cranmer is called "a cowardly traitor," and Latimer, "a coarse, illiterate bully!" The Reformation is said to have been "an unmitigated disaster," and a "change taken in hand by a conspiracy of adulterers, murderers, and thieves!" (See Church Times, of March 14, 1867.) Let us study one of our leading Reformers to-day, and see what the man was like. Let us pass under review one who was a friend and contemporary of Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer, and a leading fellow-labourer in the work of the Reformation. Let us find out how he lived, and how he preached, and what he thought, and how he died. Once more I say, let us bring in the light.
We live in times when the strangest misrepresentations prevail about the true character of the Church of England. Scores of people all over the country are not ashamed to denounce the very name of Protestantism, and to tell people that "Evangelical" Churchmen are not Churchmen at all I Forsooth, they are Calvinists, Puritans, Dissenters, Methodists, Fanatics, and the like, and ought to leave the Church of England and go to their own place! Let us bring these assertions to the test of a few plain facts.
Let us examine the recorded sentiments, the written opinions, of one of the very divines to whom we owe our Articles and Prayer-book, with very few alterations. Let us hear what Bishop Hooper wrote, and thought, and taught. Let us not hastily concede that Ritualists and High Churchmen are the true representatives o! the Church of England. "He that is first in his own cause seemeth just, but his neighbour that cometh after searcheth him." (Pro_18:17.) Once more, I say, let us turn on the light.

Blessing of Meditating God's word in Psalm 1

2009-02-10T11:51:00.001-08:00

Psa 1:1-2
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
“Blessed” - see how this Book of Psalms opens with a benediction, even as did the famous Sermon of our Lord upon the Mount! The word translated “blessed” is a very expressive one. The original word is plural, and it is a controverted matter whether it is an adjective or a substantive. Hence we may learn the multiplicity of the blessings which shall rest upon the man whom God hath justified, and the perfection and greatness of the blessedness he shall enjoy. We might read it, “Oh, the blessedness!” and we may well regard it (as Ainsworth does)as a joyful acclamation of the gracious man's felicity. May the like benediction rest on us!

Here the gracious man is described both negatively (Psa_1:1) and positively (Psa_1:2); He is a man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. He takes wiser counsel, and walks in the commandments of the Lord his God. To him the ways of piety are paths of peace and pleasantness. His footsteps are ordered by the Word of God, and not by the cunning and wicked devices of carnal men. It is a rich sign of inward grace when the outward walk is changed, and when ungodliness is put far from our actions. Note next, he standeth not in the way of sinners. His company is of a choicer sort than it was. Although a sinner himself, he is now a blood-washed sinner, quickened by the Holy Spirit, and renewed in heart. Standing by the rich grace of God in the congregation of the righteous, he dares not herd with the multitude that do evil. Again it is said, “nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” He finds no rest in the atheist's scoffings. Let others make a mock of sin, of eternity, of hell and heaven, and of the Eternal God; this man has learned better philosophy than that of the infidel, and has too much sense of God's presence to endure to hear his name blasphemed, The seat of the scorner may be very lofty, but it is very near to the gate of hell; let us flee from it, for it shall soon be empty, and destruction shall swallow up the man who sits therein.

Mark the gradation in the first verse:

He walketh not -- in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor standeth--- in the way of sinners.
Nor sitteth --- in the seat of scornful.
When men are living in sin they go from bad to worse. At first they merely walk in the counsel of the careless and ungodly, who forget God - the evil is rather practical than habitual - but after that, they become habituated to evil, and they stand in the way of open sinners who wilfully violate God's commandments; and if let alone, they go one step further, and become themselves pestilent teachers and tempters of others, and thus they sit in the seat of the scornful. They have taken their degree in vice, and as true Doctors of Damnation they are installed, and are looked up to by others as Masters in Belial. But the blessed man, the man to whom all the blessings of God belong, can hold no communion with such characters as these. He keeps himself pure from these lepers; he puts away evil things from him as garments spotted by the flesh; he comes out from among the wicked, and goes without the camp, bearing the reproach of Christ. O for grace to be thus separate from sinners.
And now mark his positive character. “His delight is in the law of the Lord.” He is not under the law as a curse and condemnation, but he is in it, and he delights to be in it as his rule of life; he delights, moreover, to meditate in it, to read it by day, and think upon it by night. He takes a text and carries it with him all day long; and in the night-watches, when sleep forsakes his eyelids, he museth upon the Word of God. In the day of his prosperity he sings psalms out of the Word of God, and in the night of his affliction he comforts himself with promises out of the same book. “The law of the Lord” is the daily bread of the true believer. And yet, in David's day, how small was the volume of inspiration, for they had scarcely anything save the first five books of Moses! How much more, then, should we prize the whole written Word which it is our privilege to have in all our houses! But, alas, what ill-treatment is given to this angel from heaven! We are not all Berean searchers of the Scriptures. How few among us can lay claim to the benediction of the text! Perhaps some of you can claim a sort of negative purity, because you do not walk in the way of the ungodly; but let me ask you - Is your delight in the law of God? Do you study God's Word? Do you make it the man of your right hand - your best companion and hourly guide? If not, this blessing belongeth not to you

My Beloved be in Good Health Continues

2009-01-05T10:16:00.000-08:00

Be Sexually Clean
God tells us what to eat and what not to eat, and this bothers some people. Even more, He gets into our bedroom and tells us what sexual practices are healthful and right, and which are wrong. He has the right to do this because He created our bodies and wrote the instruction book, the Bible.
Incest, homosexuality, and bestiality are abominations to the Eternal, Leviticus 18. But sexual health laws do not end there. Another prohibition is having sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual period, Leviticus 18:19, 20:18, 15:24.
Today, there is a war going on against the Biblical health practice of circumcision, Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3. The Jerusalem council of Acts 15 did not do away with circumcising male babies eight days old. The decision was that circumcision was not a requirement for baptism and entering the Church. See our free article, The War Against Circumcision, Study No. 176. Circumcision is an important law of health, both for the man, and for his wife. Any person with the Holy Spirit of God will naturally want to conform to His laws of health, including circumcision. A loving relationship in the marriage of one man and one woman for life, is the best recipe for sexual, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. God made it that way!
Cleanliness IS Next to Godliness!
Water is Gods tool for cleansing and giving life. The carnal washings involved in the sacrifices and ceremonies of the Levitical priesthood should teach us the value of water to cleanse and purify. The famous American Civil War General, Stonewall Jackson, knew the value of hydrotherapy. He traveled far and wide to obtain good quality water. A bath can be a relaxing and refreshing way to cleanse your body.
Dont forget the value of fasting occasionally to rid the body of toxins, as well as to get closer to God. Afflict your soul [body] and clean up your body.
Today, we have become lax on basic health habits, and if we continue on our wayward ways, such habits will lead to disease and an early death. Many men do not wash their hands after going to the toilet. Forgetting basic health laws puts us at risk.
Avoiding polluted chemical foods is probably the number one thing we can do to keep us clean. To do this requires research and diligence. The Nutrition Action Health Letter is an excellent source to help you do this. In everything we do, let us glorify our bodies, the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
Divine Healing
In spite of our best efforts, we occasionally get sick. We are all going to die sometime, but our actions will usually have a major role in determining the manner and timing of our death. We have a wonderful Savior, who shed His blood that we might have forgiveness of sins. He also was beaten so that with His stripes we are healed, I Peter 2:24. Do we avail ourselves of healing from the Divine Healer?
Herbert W. Armstrongs excellent booklet, Does God Heal Today? contained in our book, Early Writings of Herbert W. Armstrong ($9 suggested donation), is a classic on the subject of divine healing. The 241-page book, Christ the Healer, by F. F. Bosworth covers many aspects of healing from the Bible. It is available free, as funds are available, from Giving & Sharing, Box 100, Neck City, MO 64849.
The day of miracles is not past. Hebrews 13:8 and John 14:12 show that Christ will continue to perform miraculous healings, in our day. It is not true that God has changed, and works through medical science today.
Diving healing began with Gods Old Testament Church. Divine healing is a miracle from Almighty God, as a result of believing prayer. The same conditions of obedience and faith for divine healing existed during the Exodus, and still do today, Exodus 15:23-26; I John 3:22. God is our healer, the doctors are not. Any honest doctor will admit that drugs, medicines, or knives cannot heal. Only God can heal!
Scripture labels other modes of healing IDOLATRY. For centuries, Israels only means of healing was faith in God. Later, they departed from God, and turned to heathen medicine. King Asa of Judah forsook God, and sought the physicians instead. He died, II Chronicles 16:12-13. Herbert Armstrongs son, Garner Ted Armstrong, wrote in a Good News magazine article (June, 1964, pages 4, 22), To rely on any foods, supplements, medicines, drugs, knives, or even on fasting, for healing (and none of these can, ever have, or ever will heal!) is to break the commandment against idolatry!
Modern medicine originated in paganism. Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, was a pagan deity of medicine. King Ahaziah of Israel fell through a lattice, was injured, and sought Baal-zebub whether he would recover. Elijah rebuked him for not seeking the God of Israel, and told him he would die. So, he died, II Kings 1:1-17. God did not raise up medical science today, and bless it and work through it. The example of Hezekiah in II Kings 20:1-7 again shows that faith and obedience are required for healing from God. It also shows that upon seeking God, one should also perform whatever physical therapy is required to assist the healing process. Isaiah told Hezekiahs servants to make a fig poultice to lay on Hezekiahs boil.
It IS Gods will to heal; healing is forgiveness of physical sin. Just as God forgives all our iniquities, so will He also heal all our diseases, Psalm 103:2-3. It is Gods will to heal, Ephesians 5:17; Luke 5:12-13. Sickness is generally the penalty of violating physical laws of health. Healing is the forgiveness of this kind of sin, removing the penalty for the sin. None but God can forgive sin, so none but God can heal. When Jesus healed, He showed that He was forgiving sin, Luke 5:18-26; Matthew 9:2-8; Mark 2:3-12. Jesus heals because He paid the penalty for our sin, in our stead, John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Matthew 8:16-17; I Peter 2:24. Jesus suffered scourging to pay the price for our physical transgressions, John 19:1.
We break bread at Passover to symbolize our faith in Christs body, beaten for our healing. We take the broken bread unworthyily, if and when we put our trust in doctors and medicines, instead of in Christ, thus putting another god before Him. See I Corinthians 11:23-30.
There is a need for doctors, to help us to prevent sickness and get in harmony with natures laws. Doctors should concentrate on helping us eat right. Naturopaths and chiropractors are more in line with what doctors should be. Medical doctors, all too often, resort first to drugs and surgery. It is wise to use a doctor to assist in childbirth, setting broken bones, and helping to repair damage. Doctors cannot heal, and often take all of their patients money, Luke 8:43-48. Healing is out of their line, and doctors should not be looked to in faith for healing.
Healing is part of the Gospel Commission, Matthew 9:35; Luke 9:1-2, 10:1, 9; Mark 16:15-18.
The New Testament Church believed in, and practiced, faith healing. See Acts 3:1-11, 4:29-31, 5:15-16, 19:11-12; James 5:14-15.
We should leave the way and the time to God. God promises to heal you. Accept His promise, stand on the promises, expecting an answer, knowing you will get it. But, leave the how and when to God in His way and His time. The Scripture cannot be broken! Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth ALL thy diseases!
The Lesson of Naaman
What if there were a few simple things you could do to lengthen your life and/or improve your health and quality of life? Would you do it? I have given you a few simple Biblical guidelines that our Creator instituted to give us a good life. Will you follow these rules?
Many people are like the Syrian, Naaman, II Kings 5:1-19. When Naaman came to be healed of Elisha, he thought Elisha would do some grandiose act. Naaman wanted a big public miracle. He was willing to pay a lot of money for such a miracle to heal him of his leprosy. Instead, Naaman was disappointed when Elisha didnt even meet him, but told Naaman to go dip in the Jordan seven times, and his leprosy would be healed. That was too simple for a great military man like Naaman. At first he balked, but at the urging of his servants, Naaman finally did as he was told, and he was instantly healed. His servants said, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? verse 13.
Gods way to good health is simple. It takes a little work, but there is no great price to pay. Lets learn the lesson of Naaman.
Purpose of Good Health
Why should you be healthy? Only to feel good and have a good time in life? Only to eat, drink, and be merry? Certainly, good health produces these things. But, the real purpose for a long and healthy life is for us to be better servants of the Almighty. Each called and chosen child of God has been given spiritual gifts, which enable them to fulfill their part in Gods Work, and to spread the good news of the Kingdom of God to others. Jesus came that we might have a more abundant life (zoe), John 10:10, here and now, and for all eternity. So no matter what kind of physical body you have to work with, follow Gods principles, live life the fullest, always abounding in the work of the Lord, I Corinthians 15:58.
written by Richard C. Nickels W

My Beloved Be In Good Health!

2009-01-05T10:14:00.001-08:00

III John 2 gives the mind of God relative to our health: Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. From Genesis to Revelation, the Creator gives principles, which, if followed, will result in an abundant life with good health, and eventually, eternal, everlasting, life.
How many of you have known someone in the Church who has suffered and died of a terrible disease, such as cancer, heart trouble, diabetes, etc.? How many of you have personally been miraculously healed by the Almighty? I dare say that there are many more who answer yes to the first question, rather than the second question. I am tired of hearing so much of the sickness and disease among Gods people. I want to hear more about miracles of faith and healing! It is Gods will for us to have good health.
When you look at what the Bible says about health, you may be offended. Today, some folks do not like to be told that they need to change their lives, eat differently, live differently, and work differently. Yet, the Bible is a book that shows us how to live life to the full, here and now, and eternally hereafter. The Greek word for life is zoe, Strongs #2222. Narrow is the way which leads to life, Matthew 7:14, and few find it. If you will enter into life (zoe), Jesus said, keep the commandments, Matthew 19:17. Now, many people today are like the man who asked Jesus how to obtain eternal life. Which commandments? they wonder. Jesus recited a number of the Ten Commandments, verses 18-19 so he would get the point. But, many today dont understand what Jesus said.
The whole Bible can be summarized by the Ten Commandments, which in turn are summarized by two great laws, Love God, and Love your fellow man, Matthew 22:36-40. The two summary laws in turn are summarized into one thing: God, who is love, I John 4:8. The Ten Commandments are summaries of the laws, statutes, and judgments, as detailed in the Torah, expounded by the prophets, and magnified by the Messiah.
Now, what does this have to do with health? Everything! The Bible is full of laws, statutes, judgments, and principles on how we may be healthy, how God will heal us when we fall short of the goal of perfect health, and how He will ultimately heal us completely by resurrecting us with a spirit body so we can live forever, eternally joyful and healthy. Every one of these health principles relates to one or more of the Ten Commandments, which reflect the characteristic of love, which is the essence, the character of God.
Now, lets review some Bible principles of good health, and make sure we are diligently putting into practice what the Bible tells us to do. There are several areas I would like to cover: food, sexuality, cleanliness, and healing..
Food for Life
The proper perspective on food and drink is expressly stated in I Corinthians 10:31, Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Do we glorify God by our eating and drinking? Or instead, do we pay little attention to what enters our mouth? Gods people know that their bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and we are not our own, with the freedom to do as we please with our body. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods I Corinthians 6:19-20.
We are instructed by God which food gives zoe (Greek word for life). Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 define clean and unclean foods. Today, it is getting increasingly difficult to avoid unclean foods. Even clean foods are being polluted by our Satanically-inspired society. Recently, at a Church potluck after Sabbath services, someone brought pink grapefruit juice. They did not read the label, and if they had, probably would not have known, that the coloring which makes the grapefruit juice look red comes from squashed cochineal bugs, the best natural red food coloring that exists! The label calls it cochineal or carmine. Amoral scientists are now putting pig genes into corn to improve yields. We must expand our thinking to consider the possibility that even fruits and vegetables can be unclean! We must not only read the label, but also do research to find out what the listed ingredients are. Fish oil may likely be shark oil, which is unclean. We need to be continually vigilant to insure we do not consume unclean substances.
The best solution to getting good, wholesome, foods is to grow your own food, and/or obtain food from trusted sources. Did you realize that Gods first instruction to Adam was to tend, and care for, the Garden of Eden? Genesis 2:15. Raising a garden is definitely the Bible way. Do you know where your vegetables and meat come from? Put forth effort to locate good sources of food, and your health will benefit.
One of the most polluted substances, even in America, is our water. Many Americans drink chlorinated wastewater. The very idea of urinating and defecating in our water and flushing it down the toilet to go downstream for other people to drink is primitive, revolting, and anti-Biblical. Deuteronomy 23:13 tells us to cover up our excrement, not throw it into the river! We can hardly escape unsanitary sewage systems extant throughout most of the world. Not everybody follows the good example of some Swedes by using dry, self-contained chemical toilets. We should put forth effort to obtain good drinking water. Much disease comes from polluted water. Whether it is your own well, bottled water, distillation, or filtering with reverse osmosis (our preference), be sure that you obtain the best water you can. When Christ returns, one of the first things He will do is to cause living waters to go out from Jerusalem to cleanse the world of pollution, Zechariah 14:8-9.
Bread is the staff of life, Leviticus 26:26. Is your staff of life strong or weak? Do you think that by taking good whole grain, as God created, removing the wholesome outer bran shell and the wheat germ, then adding artificial chemical vitamins, and baking the resulting white bread, that the product would be better than whole grain bread? If so, I have a bridge Id like to sell to you!
Compare the ingredients of your store-bought bread with my wife Shirleys whole grain recipe: 9 Cups of freshly ground whole wheat flour, 5 Cups very warm water, 1/3 Cup vegetable oil, 1 Cup applesauce, or pumpkin, 1/3 Cup blackstrap molasses, 1/3 Cup honey, 3 Tbsp. granulated yeast, 3 Tbsp. Salt. Typical store bought bread has difficult-to-pronounce-chemicals.
You may be able to obtain good quality whole-grain bread from your local grocery store. Otherwise, bake it yourself. Obtain high-protein Montana red wheat (our preference), Deaf Smith County Texas wheat, or another good variety. Use a Bosch Whisper Mill to grind your wheat and other grains. Use a Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine to knead the dough. In a Sunday afternoon, Shirley can make and freeze enough bread and bread products to feed our family for a month or more. The best grain is not wheat. Millet and rice are probably the best all-around grains. White rice is tasteless; whole grain rice is delicious and nutritious.
God gave the herbs (vegetables, plants) for the service of man, along with wine, oil, and bread, Psalm 104:14-15; Genesis 1:29. The basis for health and medicine is found, not in meat (although God does allow us to eat clean meats), but in herbs. The Bible mentions herbs such as garlic, onions, olive oil, aloe vera, mint, etc. Other good herbs are rosemary, golden seal, echinacea, and many more. When used properly, herbs can be invaluable tools to maintain good health and aid the recovering process when we are sick.
Now, God is our healer, not artificial drugs, or even natural herbs. But, He has given us herbs to serve us, and we are foolish not to avail ourselves of herbal service to our health. As the ancient Egyptians engaged in sewer pharmacology, by concocting medicines out of filthy putrid substances, so today does modern medicine derive drugs from questionable unclean substances, and even human fetal tissue. There are certain medical practices that we should avoid on grounds of cleanliness.

----------------Continues

What are you think about the Eve's Curse?

2008-12-25T09:55:00.000-08:00

Genesis 3:16 needs to be clarified relative to giving birth. The New International Version translates this verse: "To the woman [Eve] He said, I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." Because of Eves sin of disobedience to the Eternal, bringing forth of children and raising them would be painful toil, much hard work (Hebrew word for pain is etsev, "grievous, hard work, toil, painful struggle"). In addition, Eve would be placed under the authority and rule (Hebrew mashal) of her husband. Just as the Eternal rules over us (Judges 8:23), the husband is to lovingly rule over the wife. Rebellion of the wife against the husband is sin; she must "reverence" (hold in deep awe) her husband, Ephesians 5:22-33. She must never tell him "no" unless his command is contrary to Gods law!
Furthermore, Adam also received the Eternals judgment because he followed Eve in her sin, Genesis 3:17-19 (NIV), " . . . Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil [etsev] you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you . . . . By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
Eves judgment did not end once she had given birth to children: the real labor began after the children were born, and the real grievous pains came when problems arose and Cain slew Abel.

Mankind in general has woefully misunderstood Gods "curse" on Adam and Eve. They feel that God was unfair, and, as a result, have striven ever since to nullify or do away with the righteous judgments of the Almighty. The Creators judgment was actually done for sinful mankinds benefit to give people work to do. Idleness leads to unhappiness, boredom and more sin. Proverbs 14:23 states, "in all labor [etsev] there is profit." Work is not a curse neither is a wife being put under her husbands rule since the parallel type is the Church being under Christ, Ephesians 5:21-33.

The real explanation of Genesis 3:16-19:

(1) These judgments apply to us, not because of the "original sin" of Adam and Eve, but because of our own sins, in following their footsteps in rebellion against God.
(2) Some women have relatively easy and painless deliveries, others have extremely painful childbirth. The difference is often due to the health of the mother and her heredity, not necessarily because of the degree of sin.
(3) Many women today try to get around the pain of childbirth by taking drugs to alleviate the pain. This is harmful to the mother and the baby. Millions go even farther and dont want the living human being in their wombs, causing it to be aborted (murdered). All in a vain effort to escape etsev!
(4) The whole experience of giving birth to and the greater part of rearing the children is the toil given to woman. When a woman tries to evade this God-given responsibility, she is sinning against her Maker.
(5) "Womens liberation" is certainly not a new thing, but todays western society is so perverted that the authority of the husband is held up to open ridicule.
(6) In many Third World countries, especially those dominated by the Moslem religion, the reverse perversion predominates. Women are treated as slaves. One frequently sees women doing all the hard dirty work, while their husbands relax. Neither extreme is in accordance with the way of the Eternal.
(7) Men too have tried to circumvent Gods judgments. Poisons are used to kill weeds and bugs in a perverse attempt to alleviate the curse of the ground. The Eternals way is that of obedience, which sinful mankind rejects, Leviticus 26, Malachi 3:8-12. Wars are basically fought over the land, and who will dominate it. What sinful mankind fails to realize is the Eternal owns everything. The ONLY way to be blessed is to obey Him.
And so, as with Adam and Eve, so it is with us. Both man and woman have to undergo painful toil (etsev) for their own good. When a husband and wife labor together in childbirth and every other experience of life, they are brought into a very close relationship with each other, and their Maker. Far from being merely a curse on womankind that the husband should look upon as pain the woman deserves, natural childbirth is an awe-inspiring example of the righteous judgment, love and mercy of the LORD! It should bring a husband closer to his wife and children.
Every birth should remind us of the painful effects of sin, and that the Ancient of Days has sent the Son of Man, the Messiah, to be born through pain, live a life of toil, die a painful death in our stead, and most importantly, be resurrected and be accepted by the Father as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind. In all this painful labor etsev there is great reward, Proverbs 14:23.

I WILL TRY TO SHOW THAT ASSURED HOPE IS A TRUE AND SCRIPTURAL THING- continues...

2008-12-17T02:53:00.000-08:00

Does not Isaiah say, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on. Thee, because he trusteth in Thee." (Isa_26:3.)
And again, "The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever." (Isa_32:17.)
Does not Paul say to the Romans, "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom_8:38-39.)
Does he not say to the Corinthians, "We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." (2Co_5:1.)
And again, "We are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord." (2Co_5:6.)
Does he not say to Timothy, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him." (2Ti_1:12.)
And does he not speak to the Colossians of "the full assurance of understanding" (Col_2:2), and to the Hebrews of the "full assurance of faith," and the "full assurance of hope." (Heb_6:11, and Heb_10:22.)
Does not Peter say expressly, "Give diligence to make your calling and election sure." (2Pe_1:10.)
Does not John say, "We know that we have passed from death unto life." (1Jo_3:14.)
And again, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life." (1Jo_5:13.)
And again, "We know that we are of God." (1Jo_5:19.)
What shall we say to these things?. I desire to speak with all humility on any controverted point. I feel that I am only a poor fallible child of Adam myself. But I must say that in the passages I have just quoted I see something far higher than the mere "hopes" and "trusts," with which so many believers appear content in this day. I see the language of persuasion, confidence, knowledge,--nay, I may almost say, of certainty. And I feel, for my own part, if 1 may take these Scriptures in their plain obvious meaning, the doctrine of assurance is true.
But my answer furthermore to all who dislike the doctrine of assurance, as bordering on presumption, is this:--It can hardly be presumption to tread in the steps of Peter, and Paul, of Job, and of John. They were all eminently humble and lowly-minded men, if ever any were; and yet they all speak of their own state with an assured hope. Surely this should teach us that deep humility and strong assurance arc perfectly compatible, and that there is not any necessary connection between spiritual confidence and pride. (‹1.3›)
My answer furthermore is, that many have attained to such an assured hope as our text expresses, even in modern times. I will not concede for a moment that it was a peculiar privilege confined to the Apostolic day. There have been in our own land many believers, who have appeared to walk in almost uninterrupted fellowship with the Father and the Son,--who have seemed to enjoy an almost unceasing sense of the light of God's reconciled countenance shining down upon them, and have left their experience on record. I could mention well-known names, if space permitted. The thing has been, and is,--and that is enough.
My answer, lastly, is, It cannot be wrong to feel confidently in a matter where God speaks unconditionally,--to believe decidedly when God promises decidedly,--to have a sure persuasion of pardon and peace when we rest on the word and oath of Him that never changes. It is an utter mistake to suppose that the believer who feels assurance is resting on anything he sees in himself. He simply leans on the Mediator of the New Covenant, and the Scripture of truth. He believes the Lord Jesus means what He says, and takes Him at His word. Assurance after all is no more than a full-grown faith; a masculine faith that grasps Christ's promise with both hands,--a faith that argues like the good centurion, If the Lord "speak the word only," I am healed. Wherefore then should I doubt?" (Mat_8:8.) (‹1.4›)
We may be sure that Paul was the last man in the world to build his assurance on anything of His own. He who could write himself down "chief of sinners" (1Ti_1:15), had a deep sense of his own guilt and corruption. But then he had a still deeper sense of the length and breadth of Christ's righteousness imputed to him.--He, who could cry, "0 wretched man that I am" (Rom_7:24), had a clear view of the fountain of evil within his heart. But then he had a still clearer view of that other Fountain which can remove "all sin and uncleanness."--He, who thought himself "less than the least of all saints" (Eph_3:8), had a lively and abiding feeling of his own weakness. But he had a still livelier feeling that Christ's promise, "My sheep shall never perish" (Joh_10:28), could not be broken.--Paul knew, if ever man did, that he was a poor, frail bark, floating on a stormy ocean. He saw, if any did, the rolling waves and roaring tempest by which he was surrounded. But then he looked away from self to Jesus, and was not afraid. He remembered that anchor within the veil, which is both "sure and steadfast." (Heb_6:19.) He remembered the word, and work, and constant intercession of Him that loved him and gave Himself for him. And this it was, and nothing else, that enabled him to say so boldly, "A crown is laid up for me, and the Lord shall give it to me;" and to conclude so surely, "The Lord will preserve me; I shall never be confounded." (‹1.5›)
I may not dwell longer on this part of the subject. I think it will be allowed I have shown some good ground for the assertion I made, that assurance is a true thing.

I WILL TRY TO SHOW THAT ASSURED HOPE IS A TRUE AND SCRIPTURAL THING.

2008-12-17T02:50:00.000-08:00

Assurance, such as Paul expresses in the verses which head this book, is not a mere fancy or feeling. It is not the result of high animal spirits, or a sanguine temperament of body. It is a positive gift of the Holy Ghost, bestowed without reference to men's bodily frames or constitutions, and a gift which every believer in Christ ought to aim at and seek after.
In matters like these, the first question is this,--What saith the Scripture? I answer that question without the least hesitation. The Word of God appears to me to teach distinctly that a believer may arrive at an assured confidence with regard to his own salvation.
I lay it down fully and broadly as God's truth, that a true Christian, a converted man, may reach such a comfortable degree of faith in Christ, that in general he shall feel entirely confident as to the pardon and safety of his soul,--shall seldom be troubled with doubts, --seldom be distracted with fears, -- seldom be digressed by anxious questionings,--and, in short, though vexed by many an inward conflict with sin, shall look forward to death without trembling, and to judgment without dismay. (‹1.1›) This, I say, is the doctrine of the Bible.
Such is my account of assurance. I will ask my readers to mark it well. I say neither less nor more than I have here laid down.
Now such a statement as this is often disputed and denied. Many cannot see the truth of it at all.
The Church of Rome denounces assurance in the most unmeasured terms. The Council of Trent declares roundly, that a "believer's assurance of the pardon of his sins is a vain and ungodly confidence;" and Cardinal Bellarmine, the well-known champion of Romanism, calls it "a prime error of heretics."
The vast majority of the worldly and thoughtless Christians among ourselves oppose the doctrine of assurance. It offends and annoys them to hear of it. They do not like others to feel comfortable and sure, because they never feel so themselves. Ask them whether their sins are forgiven, and they will probably tell you they do not know! That they cannot receive the doctrine of assurance is certainly no marvel.
But there are also some true believers who reject assurance, or shrink from it as a doctrine fraught with danger. They consider it-borders on presumption. They seem to think it a proper humility never to feel sure, never to be confident, and to live in a certain degree of doubt and suspense about their souls. This is to be regretted, and does much harm.
I frankly allow there are some presumptuous persons, who profess to feel a confidence for which they hays- no Scriptural warrant. There are always some people who think well of themselves when God thinks ill, just as there are some who think ill of themselves when God thinks well. There always will be such. There never yet was a Scriptural truth without abuses and counterfeits. God's election,--man's impotence, salvation by grace,--all are alike abused. There will be fanatics and enthusiasts as long as the world stands. But, for all this, assurance is a reality and a true thing l and God's children must not let themselves be driven from the use of a truth, merely because it is abused. (‹1.2›)
My answer to all who deny the existence of real, well-grounded assurance, is simply this,--What saith the Scripture? If assurance be not there, I have not another word to say.
But does not Job say, "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.:' (Job_19:25-26.)
Does not David say, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." (Psa_23:4.)

WHAT GOOD DOES READING THE BIBLE DO

2008-11-30T22:45:00.000-08:00

‏
An old Farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his BIBLE. His grandson wanted to be just like him andtried to imitate him in every way he could.
One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read the BIBLE just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the BIBLE do?" The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house.The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!" "So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket." The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out. !!!!!!!! "Son, that's what happens when you read the BIBLE. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Jesus in our lives

For Meditation

2008-11-18T23:14:00.000-08:00

I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. – Isa 27:3

Today Lord God is promising you that He will protect you and He will not let others to hurt you. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.(Eze 28:14). In the beginning God gave Cherub Lucifer the responsibility of your protection. But because of His pride and sin he lost his glory and the office of responsibility. There fore Satan always plans to destroy you. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: (Jn 10:10). Today God Himself has taken the entire responsibility of protecting you. Therefore He has special interest and care in you. Many times it might appear as if God has failed protect you. But that is not the case. Every minute he is protecting you. He protects you against the people who do the wrong things for you. May be some people may conspire against you at your work place so that your job is not made permanent, your promotion is blocked, and the rise in your pay may be stopped. Even the circumstances might appear that you may loose the job. Do not afraid have faith in God. God will save you. No body can work against you. In those days the Israelites were restricted and constrained so that they do not multiply, and the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: And he said, When you do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then you shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. The Lord God of Israel who saved the infants in those days is capable to save you from people who rise against you. But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.(Ps 5:11).

In order to save you from daily perils God’s presence walks before you. He also protects you from behind. When the Israelites cross the red sea God saved them miraculously. The red sea was in front of the Israelites blocking their march. At the back of them the army of the Pharaoh was chasing them with vengeance. At this critical situation God opened the red sea and cross the sea before them. He also blocks the armies of the Pharaoh to harm the Israelites. And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.(Exo 14:19-20). Yes the God who protects the Israelites in front and at the back will protect you today. Today you are disturbed by your problems and trails. God presence will go before you and straighten that which is crooked. I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: (Isa 45:2). Any number of wicked people may rise against you, do not be perturbed. God promises that He will protect you. David always kept God before Him. I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.(Ps 16:8). Today you need this kind of faith. You might say in despondency that so much of wicked things are happening to me and how am I to have so stronger faith. In the days of Elisha, the army of the Syrians surrounded them. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.(2Kin 6:15-16). But the servant of man of God could not believe it. Then Elisha prayed to God opened the eyes of his servant. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.(2Kin 6:17). Even today God protect you from all around. For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.(Zech 2:5).

But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. - 2Thes 3:3.

No God or Know God?

2008-11-13T03:35:00.000-08:00

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem Science has with God, The Almighty.
He asks one of his new students to stand and.....

Prof: So you believe in God?

Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof: Is God good?

Student: Sure.

Prof: Is God all-powerful?

Student: Yes.

Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him.
Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm?
(Student is silent.)
Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fellow. Is God good?

Student: Yes.

Prof: Is Satan good?

Student: No.

Prof: Where does Satan come from?

Student: From...God.. .

Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student: Yes.

Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?

Student: Yes.

Prof: So who created evil?

(Student does not answer.)

Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?

Student: Yes, sir.

Prof: So, who created them?

(Student has no answer.)

Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?

Student: No, sir.

Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?

Student: No, sir.

Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?

Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student: Yes.

Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Prof: Yes.

Student: And is there such a thing as cold?

Prof: Yes.

Student: No sir. There isn't.

(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold.
Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There is pin-drop silence in the class room)

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?

Student: You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't.
If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?

Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God.
You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure.
Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.
To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)

Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavour, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class is in uproar.)

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?

(The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so.
So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable. )

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it sir... The link between man & God is FAITH.

That is all that keeps things moving & alive........

Different type of Bible Translations

2008-11-09T09:02:00.000-08:00

New International Version(NIV)

The New International Version is a translation of the Bible made by over a hundred scholars working from the best available Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts. The goals of the translators were to produce an accurate translation that would have clarity and literary quality. The NIV had its beginning in 1965. The NIV New Testament was published in 1973, and the Old Testament was finished in 1978.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

While preserving the literal accuracy of the 1901 ASV, the NASB has sought to render grammar and terminology in contemporary English. Special attention has been given to the rendering of verb tenses to give the English reader a rendering as close as possible to the sense of the original Greek and Hebrew texts.

Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Revised Standard Version (New Testament, 1946; Old Testament, 1952) is one of the most widely read translations of the Scriptures. Formally, the RSV is a revision of the AV(Authorized Version of 1611, otherwise known as the King James Version) and the ASV (American Standard Version of 1901), utilizing the best texts available at the time.

King James Version (KJV)

In 1604, King James I of England authorized that a new translation of the Bible into English be started. It was finished in 1611, just 85 years after the first translation of the New Testament into English appeared (Tyndale, 1526). The Authorized Version, or King James Version, quickly became the standard for English-speaking Protestants. Its flowing language and prose rhythm has had a profound influence on the literature of the past 300 years.

American Standard Version (ASV)

First published in 1901, this has long been regarded as the most literal translation of the Bible. This makes the ASV very popular for careful English Bible study, but not for ease of reading. While the KJV was translated entirely from "western manuscripts," the ASV was influenced also by the older "eastern manuscripts" that form the basis for most of our modern English translations.

Darby Translation

First published in 1890 by John Nelson Darby, an Anglo-Irish Bible
teacher associated with the early years of the Plymouth Brethren. Darby also published translations of the Bible in French and German.

Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

The Bible text designated YLT is from the 1898 Young's Literal Translation by Robert Young who also compiled Young's Analytical Concordance. This is an extremely literal translation that attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek and Hebrew writings. The text was scanned from a reprint of the 1898 edition as published by Baker Book House, Grand Rapids Michigan. The book is still in print and may be ordered from Baker Book House. Obvious errors in spelling or inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the computer edition of the text.

The Bible in Worldwide English (BWE)

This New Testament was originally prepared by Annie Cressman, who died in 1993. She was a Canadian Bible teacher in Liberia in West Africa. Whilst teaching students in a Bible School where the language used was English, she found that she was spending more time explaining the meaning of the English than she was teaching the Bible itself. So she decided to write this simple version in easy English so that her students could easily understand.

The World English Bible (WEB)

is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible, based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament. It is in draft form, and currently being edited for accuracy and readability. The New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs are close to how they will read when they are finished, but most of the Old Testament still contains some archaic grammar that will be revised. For more information, please see the World English Bible Frequently Asked Questions. Comments on the World English Bible should be directed to editors@eBible.org.

C.H. Spurgen's messages

2008-11-06T03:07:00.000-08:00

A FABLE FOR THE TIMES
Description: FABLE. A CERTAIN MAN had long accustomed himself to eat out of the same trough with a beast, and being rebuked for such unclean feeding, he replied that he did not object to it, and that by long-established custom he had acquired a right to eat in that fashion, for his fathers had so fed before him for many generations. As there was no other way of curing him of his degrading habit, his friends began to remove the trough, whereat he struggled and raved like a madman, calling them robbers and villains, and many other bad names. Meanwhile the beast at the other end of the trough patiently submitted to lose its provender. FACT. State support of religion, by tithes and other forced payments, is the trough. The Irish Church feeds out of the same trough with the Church which it is wont to call the Romish beast, only it stands at the fullest end of it. The beast only gets a few handfuls of Maynooth Grant, but the Irish clergy are fed with tithes to the full. We want to see Protestants act like men who have faith in God and their own doctrines, and then they will maintain their own religion voluntarily; but, alas! it seems as if nothing but force will get them away from the degradation of state pay. How true it is that slavery deprives many men of the desire to be free! Wait a little, and when the trough is broken altogether, perhaps the man will play the man. Let every true Protestant help to deliver the Irish Church from her present; condition; and may God defend the right.

A literary Marvel
Description: At once "The New Park Street Pulpit" was an established success, and the rapid and unprecedented manner in which the circulation increased gave the young partners some difficulty in meeting the demand. The newspapers spoke as well of the printed as of the preached sermons. Reviewing a volume of discourses delivered on Sunday mornings at Exeter Hall, the first volume of C. H. Spurgeon's sermons to be published, The Baptist Messenger said—"There is in these sermons so much of sound doctrine which cannot be gainsaid—evangelical savor, spiritual experience and sacred fervor, together with earnest, practical appeals to the heart that will cause them to be most cordially welcomed by vast numbers of almost every class of professing Christians who love the truth as it is in Jesus," and the paper forthwith gave six closely printed pages of extracts. The volume was issued jointly by Messers. Alabaster and Passmore and Mr. James Paul, and it formed No. 1 of The Pulpit Library. There were ten sermons, and the book being printed in a clear, readable type and well bound in cloth, had a great sale. Charles Haddon Spurgeon gave a copy to his future wife with this inscription upon the fly-leaf, "In a few days it will be out of my power to present anything to Miss Thompson. Let this be a remembrance of our happy meetings and sweet conversations. Dec 12/1855. C. H. Spurgeon."
Awakening
Description: A person who refuses to look to the Lord Jesus, but persists in dwelling upon his sin and ruin, reminds us of a boy who dropped a shilling down an open grating of a London sewer, and lingered there for hours, finding comfort in saying, "It rolled in just there! Just between those two iron bars I saw it go right down." Poor soul! Long might he remember the details of his loss before he would in this way get back a single penny into his pocket, wherewith to buy himself a piece of bread. You see the drift of the parable; profit by it.
Butcher
Description: A Newark, New Jersey, butcher received a letter from his old home in Germany, notifying that he had, by the death of a relative, fallen heir to a considerable amount of money. He was cutting up a pig at the time. After reading the letter, he hastily tore off his dirty apron, and did not stop to see the pork cut up into sausages, but left the shop to make preparations for going home to Germany. Do you blame him, or would you have had him stop in Newark with his block and his cleaver? See here the operation of faith. The butcher believed what was told him, and acted on it at once. Sensible fellow, too! God has sent his messages to man, telling him the good news of salvation. When a man believes the good news to be true, he accepts the blessing announced to him, and hastens to lay hold upon it. If he truly believes, he will at once take Christ, with all he has to bestow, turn from his present evil ways, and set out for the Heavenly City, where the full blessing is to be enjoyed. He cannot be holy too soon, or too early quit the ways of sin. If a man could really see what sin is, he would flee from it as from a deadly serpent, and rejoice to be freed from it by Christ Jesus.
C.H. Spurgeon 1
Description: Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92) was England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1854, just four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 20, became pastor of London's famed New Park Street Church (formerly pastored by the famous Baptist theologian John Gill). The congregation quickly outgrew their building, moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these venues Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000—all in the days before electronic amplification. In 1861 the congregation moved permanently to the newly constructed Metropolitan Tabernacle.
C.H. Spurgeon 10
Description: While the true greatness of a preacher will only be revealed at Christ’s tribunal, I would join my opinion with those of many others who make the earthly judgment that Charles Spurgeon was the most effective and useful of preachers since the days of the Apostles. Yes, as highly as I regard Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Knox, Whitefield, Edwards, and many other pulpit giants of the past, I become more convinced with every reading of a Spurgeon sermon that this English Baptist preacher of the 18th century is the preeminent model for one who would be a herald of the Word of God and the Christ of that Word.

C.H. Spurgeon 10
Description: Charles Haddon Spurgeon was born in Kelvedon, Essex in 1834. His father and grandfather were both Independent pastors, with roots in both the Dutch and English Dissenting traditions. Like Timothy, from infancy Charles Spurgeon had known the Holy Scriptures: “It would not be easy for some of us to recall the hour when we first heard the name of Jesus,” wrote Spurgeon, obviously including himself in this beautiful description of a covenant home. “In very infancy that sweet sound was as familiar to our ear as the hush of a lullaby. Our earliest recollections are associated with the house of God, the family altar, the Holy Bible, the sacred song, and the fervent prayer.” Spurgeon, who was destined to become Britain’s most illustrious preacher of the century, was converted on a snowy Sunday morning in early 1850 as a result of the less than illustrious “preaching” of a layman in a Primitive Methodist Chapel in Colchester, Essex. Under a brief and very personally applied development of the text “Look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth,” Spurgeon’s heart was changed by sovereign grace. “‘Look!’ What a charming word it seemed to me! Oh, I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away. There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that instant and sung with the most enthusiastic of them of the precious blood of Christ and the simple faith which looks alone to Him.” That joy in almighty saving grace, and that experimental conviction of full, free justification by faith alone in Christ alone would leave an indelible mark on every part of the ministry that was soon to be his.
C.H. Spurgeon 11
Description: Spurgeon was unashamedly committed to evangelical Calvinism. He fought battles against hyper-Calvinism (considered in detail in Iain Murray’s volume Spurgeon vs. Hyper-Calvinism, published by the Banner of Truth Trust) and Arminianism. He also stood firmly against the depreciation of the authority of Holy Scripture in what came to be called “The Downgrade Controversy.” (The amazingly contemporary nature of these controversies is developed in Iain Murray’s work The Forgotten Spurgeon, also published by The Banner of Truth Trust. Both of these volumes by Murray are highly recommended.)
C.H. Spurgeon 12
Description: Spurgeon is known best as “The Prince of Preachers.” Not only did Spurgeon preach to thousands each week, attracting the largest congregations of any minister in the British Isles, but his printed sermons (known as “the penny pulpit”), issued each week and then appearing in annual volumes for over 40 years, have had the greatest circulation of any printed sermons in history. These sermons, totaling 3,561, fill 63 volumes, some of which extend to 700 pages! They are rightly said to comprise a “Body of Divinity” within themselves. F. B. Meyer reflects the assessment of many a minister whose preaching tutelage has come by reading these sermons: “I can never tell my indebtedness to them. As I read them week by week in my young manhood, they gave me a grip of the Gospel that I can never lose, and gave me an ideal of its presentation in nervous, transparent, and forcible language which has coloured (sic) my entire ministry.”

C.H. Spurgeon 13
Description: Spurgeon’s eminent speaking abilities wedded to his vast knowledge of the Scriptures were almost immediately put to use. Less than two years after his conversion, when Spurgeon was but 17 years of age, he was called to serve as pastor of Waterbeach Baptist Chapel. In 1854 he was called to serve as pastor of New Park Street Baptist Chapel, Southwark, London. Soon that building was filled to overflowing, necessitating the building of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in 1859. Apart from periodic bouts with illness which kept him from his pulpit ministry, Spurgeon preached at the Metropolitan Tabernacle until June 7, 1891, when he preached his last sermon. He died the following January at Mentone, S. France. During his 38 years of ministry in London, 14,692 members were added to the church (Spurgeon interviewed most of them personally!). In addition to his pulpit labors, he began a “Pastor’s College” to train men “evidently called to preach the Gospel,” helped to found the London Baptist Association, established an orphanage (known as “Spurgeon’s Homes”), and gave his assistance for the establishment of various other charitable and religious organizations. The Metropolitan Tabernacle, under Spurgeon’s remarkable leadership, became a veritable beehive of evangelistic and philanthropic activity in London and its environs.
C.H. Spurgeon 2
Description: A survey of the Complete Index to C. H. Spurgeon’s Sermons (1855-1917)—an indispensable aid to finding and using Spurgeon’s sermons—shows that the great 19th century British pulpiteer was richly doctrinal in his preaching. While evangelistic messages and sermons of pastoral encouragement were dominant, Spurgeon never shied away from opening, illustrating, and applying the grand doctrinal themes of Holy Scripture. Especially in his early ministry as the congregation at the New Park Street Chapel was growing rapidly, Spurgeon dealt forthrightly with the doctrine of God.
C.H. Spurgeon 3
Description: In one year alone (1856) his sermon titles included “Divine Sovereignty,” “God’s Omniscience,” “Unimpeachable Justice,” and “The Majesty of God’s Voice.” Over the course of his ministry he preached over 150 sermons specifically on the person of Jesus Christ and some aspect of His work. Never embarrassed about his Calvinistic convictions (much to the embarrassment of many later Baptists who claim Spurgeon as their own!), Spurgeon preached messages specifically on every head of the so-called “Five Points of Calvinism,” and frequently rose to the ardent defense and proclamation of those truths in other sermons. Indeed, his sermons on “Election” and “Election No Discouragement to Seeking Souls” have been frequently reprinted because of their excellence in presenting the historic Calvinistic teaching. Spurgeon, most surely, would have held no sympathies for the contemporary idea that doctrine is “strong meat” and ought to be taught in specialized Bible studies (if at all), but surely not in the pulpit (and never on a Sunday morning when visitors will be present!). Nor would Spurgeon give an ear to the superficial observation that the Christian life is more important than Christian doctrine. “Those who do away with Christian doctrine are the worst enemies of Christian religion,” he declared.

C.H. Spurgeon 4
Description: t was the way in which Spurgeon preached deep biblical doctrine that gave such force to his sermons. He was not content with laying the matter before his congregation like a chef would present a fine meal before diners. Spurgeon organized his points, illustrated them by metaphors, similes, and biblical and extra-biblical matter, and applied them in profound yet natural ways that grew out of the exposition and illustration. One rarely senses that application was added to Spurgeon’s preaching. It was almost always a thoughtful development of the sermon’s theme, now brought to bear on the lives and situation of the preacher’s hearers.
C.H. Spurgeon 5
Description: “...whilst humbling and expanding, this subject is eminently consolatory. Oh, there is in contemplating Christ a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Ghost there is a balm for every sore. Would you lose your sorrows? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead’s deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know of nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead. It is to that subject that I invite you this morning.”
C.H. Spurgeon 6
Description: “It is infinitely benevolent of God, I will venture to say, to cast evil men into hell. If that be thought to be a hard and strange statement, I reply that inasmuch as there is sin in the world, it is no benevolence to tolerate so great an evil; it is the highest benevolence to do all that can be done to restrain the horrible pest. It would be far from benevolent for our government to throw wide the door of all the jails, to abolish the office of the judge, to suffer every thief and every offender of every kind to go unpunished; instead of mercy it would be cruelty; it might be mercy to the offending, but it would be intolerable injustice towards the upright and inoffensive. God’s very benevolence demands that the detestable rebellion of sin against his supreme authority should be put down with a firm hand, that men may not flatter themselves that they can do evil and go unpunished. The necessities of moral government require that sin must be punished” (from “Individual Sin Laid on Jesus,” a sermon delivered on April 10, 1870).

My Heavenly Friend -George Muller

2008-11-06T02:47:00.000-08:00

The precious Lord Jesus Christ is our friend. Oh, let us seek to realize this! It is not merely a religious phrase or statement, but truly He is our friend. He is the Brother " born for adversity," the one who "sticks closer than a brother." Who will never leave and never forsake us.

How precious even on earth to have a heavenly friend, for this brings the joys of heaven in a little degree into our hearts now. This is just what our heavenly Father desires regarding His children, that they might be as happy as they are capable of being while here in the body. Have we entered into this, that the One who is "altogether lovely " is ready hour by hour, to be our Friend?

When we cannot sleep at night, say to Christ, " My precious heavenly Friend, wilt Thou give me a little sleep?" When in pain, say, " My precious heavenly Friend, if it may please Thee, wilt Thou take away this pain? But if not, if Thou sees better that it should continue, sustain, help, and strengthen me, my precious heavenly friend!" When we feel lonely and tired, turn to the precious Lord Jesus; He is willing to be our friend in our loneliness. For sixty-two years and five months I had a beloved wife, and now in my ninety-second year I am left alone. But I turn to my precious Lord Jesus as I walk up and down in my room, and say, " My precious Lord Jesus, I am alone, and yet not alone, Thou art with me; Thou art my friend; now Lord, comfort me and strengthen me, give to Thy poor servant everything Thou sees he needs."

Oh, this is a reality, not a fable, that the Lord Jesus Christ is our friend. We should not be satisfied till we are brought to this, that we know the Lord Jesus Christ experientially to be our friend and habitually to be our friend. Just ponder this. Habitually, never leaving, never forsaking us, at all times and under all circumstances ready to prove Himself to be our friend.

He is willing not merely to grant this for a few months, or a year or two, but to the very end of our earthly pilgrimage. David, in Psalm 23 says: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." Oh, how precious this is. For this "Lovely One" is coming again, and soon. Soon He will come again; and then He will take us home and there we shall be forever with Him. Oh, how precious is that bright and glorious prospect. Here again the practical point is to appropriate this to ourselves. "He is coming to take me-poor, guilty, worthless, hell-deserving me-He is coming to take me to Himself." And to the degree in which we enter into these glorious things, the joys of heaven have already commenced!

Meaning of BUSY

2008-10-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons.

In his opening address he said,
"We can't keep Christians from going to church."

"We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth."

"We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their
saviour."

"Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken."

"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish
dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a
relationship with Jesus Christ.."

"This is what I want you to do," said the devil:

"Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that
vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.

"Keep them busy ! in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable
schemes to occupy their minds," he answered.

"Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow."

"Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work
6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty
lifestyles."

"Keep them from spending time with their children."

"As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from
the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small
voice."

"Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive." To
keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see
to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music
constantly."

"This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."

"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers."

"Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day."

"Invade their driving moments with billboards."

"Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes,
and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products,
services and false hopes.."

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands
will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become
dissatisfied with their wives."

"Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night."

"Give them headaches too! "

"If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to
look elsewhere."

"That will fragment their families quickly!"

"Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the
real meaning of Christmas."

"Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and
power over sin and death."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive."

"Have them return from their recreation exhausted."

"Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send

them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies
instead."

"Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip a! nd
small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences."

"Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power
from Jesus."

"Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health
and family for the good of the cause."

"It will work!"

"It will work!"

It was quite a plan!

The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere
to get busier and more rushed, going here and there.

Having little time for their God or their families.

Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.

I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?

You be the judge!!!!!

Does "BUSY" mean:

B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

Thought from the Bible

2008-10-14T05:27:00.000-07:00

“I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.”
- Phi_3:8
Spiritual knowledge of Christ will be a personal knowledge. I cannot know Jesus through another person’s acquaintance with him. No, I must know him myself; I must know him on my own account. It will be an intelligent knowledge-I must know him, not as the visionary dreams of him, but as the Word reveals him. I must know his natures, divine and human. I must know his offices-his attributes-his works-his shame-his glory. I must meditate upon him until I “comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.” It will be an affectionate knowledge of him; indeed, if I know him at all, I must love him. An ounce of heart knowledge is worth a ton of head learning. Our knowledge of him will be a satisfying knowledge. When I know my Saviour, my mind will be full to the brim-I shall feel that I have that which my spirit panted after. “This is that bread whereof if a man eat he shall never hunger.” At the same time it will be an exciting knowledge; the more I know of my Beloved, the more I shall want to know. The higher I climb the loftier will be the summits which invite my eager footsteps. I shall want the more as I get the more. Like the miser’s treasure, my gold will make me covet more. To conclude; this knowledge of Christ Jesus will be a most happy one; in fact, so elevating, that sometimes it will completely bear me up above all trials, and doubts, and sorrows; and it will, while I enjoy it, make me something more than “Man that is born of woman, who is of few days, and full of trouble”; for it will fling about me the immortality of the ever living Saviour, and gird me with the golden girdle of his eternal joy. Come, my soul, sit at Jesus’s feet and learn of him all this day.

No Change in Structure of Animal Flesh after the Cross Of Calvary

2008-10-14T01:45:00.000-07:00

The animals whose flesh properly digests and nourishes the human body were so MADE IN THE ORIGINAL CREATION. No change was ever made in the structure of mens bodies at the time of the flood, or at the time of Jesus death, or any other time. Neither did God make some sudden change in the structure of animal flesh, so that what once was unfit for food will now digest properly and supply the bodys needs.
The unclean animals were UNCLEAN BEFORE THE FLOOD.
Notice, before the Flood, Noah took into the ark of the CLEAN animals, to be eaten for food, by SEVENS; but of the unclean, of which he was not to eat during the Flood, by TWOs only enough to preserve their lives. The inference is inescapable that the additional clean animals were taken aboard to be eaten for food while Noah and his family were in the ark.
Prior to the flood, clean animals were usually offered as sacrifices. Those who ate the sacrifices often partook of the animal flesh, but vegetables were the main constituent of diet. After the flood, God gave Noah not merely the green herb vegetables as the major part of diet, but of every type of living creature clean animals, clean fish, clean fowl. (Genesis 9:3 and Leviticus 11).
This verse does not say that every living, breathing creature is clean and fit to eat, but that "as the green herb have I given you all things." God did not give poisonous herbs as food. He gave man the healthful herbs. Man can determine which herbs are healthful, but man cannot by himself determine what flesh foods are harmful. That is why God had to determine for us in His Word which meats are clean. Since the flood, every clean, healthful, nonpoisonous type of animal life is good for food just as God gave us the healthful, nonpoisonous herbs.
This does not give us permission to do as we please!

Did Mankind Change After the Garden of Eden?

2008-10-14T00:49:00.000-07:00

Certainly mankind had acquired the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden. Adam and Eve’s disobedience, as evidenced by their consumption of the forbidden fruit, was what made God sad. Male and female were originally designed to live forever with God in the Garden. This rebellious act changed man’s relationship to his Creator. But did man’s biochemical makeup also change in the Garden of Eden after the fall?
It is interesting to note that most animals have the ability to produce an enzyme that creates vitamin C from sugar molecules in their own body. For this reason, animals don’t experience heart attacks and can live for many years without the attention of a doctor. It is believed that humans also had the ability to make vitamin C at one time, but eventually lost the capacity to make the essential enzyme. Whether eating of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden had anything to do with this is purely conjecture. But there was obviously some reason why God forbade Adam and Eve from eating the fruit in the middle of Eden. Did the fruit biochemically change mankind forever? Vitamin C may not result in immortality, but a constant supply of vitamin C is likely to lengthen the human life span. Americans consume about 100 milligrams of vitamin C daily. One study conducted at UCLA found 300 milligrams of daily vitamin C, three times the amount provided by the average American diet, can lengthen men’s life span by six years. [Epidemiology 3: 194, 1992]
Regardless of biochemistry, man’s rebellion against God’s plan has continued throughout history. The curse of death came upon mankind. The lesson in the Garden of Eden is not about forbidden food, but about defiance and resistance against God.

Christians Praying without Tears!

2008-09-27T01:23:00.000-07:00

An Urgent plea for revival and spiritual awakening

Saints of God can we sit by idle as the hour creeps on till we are in eternal bliss? Revival is tarrying and men are slipping into hell-fire by the moment! Oh the horror of it! Do you feel the concern dear reader or is your heart passionless, tearless, prayerless. Do you have tears for the lost? Surely revival tarries for the simple fact that we do not have tears. - Greg Gordon??
dry-eyed christianity Machinery, Methods and Models characterize the modern day 20th Century Church. Never in the history of the Church have we been so sufficient yet lacking so much! By our actions we are saying what God has begun in the Spirit we can perfect in the flesh. We are Laodicean! Rich, increased with goods, and we have need of nothing. We want to have revival man’s way, not God’s way. We know nothing of revival, nothing of God’s power, nothing of God’s travail, nothing of God’s sorrow over a lost and damned world. A Laodicean church is dry-eyed, a Laodicean church never loses sleep, shuns pain, suffering and anything that disturbs its status-quo. The Laodicean church cannot share God’s heart, for it is so far removed from God and His economy. David Smithers accurately says: “There are many who want the joy of revival without the sorrow of travail. God’s chosen revival instrument’s have always embraced both.”

good site 4 all believers

2008-09-27T01:20:00.000-07:00

Will God send another great awakening? Can revival still change nations? There are over 10,000 conferences that happen every year. The 'Revival Conference' is not to be just another conference but a honest, sincere, earnest plea for the desperate need of revival. The conference will have the chief object to be God-glorifying. There is no cost to attend the event. No materials will be sold. There will be no big bands. The speakers will come on their own accord trusting God for provision. There will be no emphasis on money during the event. The event will be a simple, apostolic, yearning for a genuine biblical revival in our day. The conference is hosted by the ministry of sermonindex.net and is a inter-denominational event.