The Daily Manna

[flightsimmer]

5 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the
congregation of the saints.
6 For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the
mighty can be likened unto the Lord?
7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in
reverence of all them that are about him.
Psalm 89:5-7

As we come very near to the end of this year and begin looking forward to the
next, we have to thank God for His loving care of us through the one now ending
and trust Him to do the same in the one approaching. In Psalm 88, David is
fearful. In Psalm 89, he is thankful and confident. Something has changed
drastically in his life and, to the point that he no longer is troubled by what
has been and confident in what will be. How do you feel about the coming New
Year?
I have to admit that I am sometimes a little (I said, a little) jealous of those
who appear to have it all together all of the time.
I don't remember a time in my life when I ever thought that I did have it all
together and was not sure even if I had all of the pieces to put it together.
My confidence has always been in the fact of the greatness of God and that He
had the pieces I was missing even if I did not. In other words, I have very
little faith in myself but I have an enduring faith in God whether it be Him as
Father or Son or Holy Spirit. I do not compare myself to Him, I would not dare
but I would dare to use the adverb, godly which means to be like Him or to bear
a likeness to Him. One thing is for sure, I want to be like Him in every aspect
of my life there is. I know that is a very tall order but God knows my every
weakness and failure and fault and is building me up each and every day of my
life to give me strength and success and perfection. Yes, I did use that word,
perfection. God's desire is for us to be perfectly like Him, that is, to be in
perfect agreement with Him and His will and purpose for our life. That is where
I desire to be but sometimes find myself not quite there yet.
God is awesome. I fear Him but not in the sense of timidity for He has invited
me to come boldly before Him with my petitions and concerns. The fear I have
for Him is like the fear I would feel if invited to come before any person who
had achieved great things.
I would be intimidated by their knowledge, their wisdom, and their capabilities
which have been proven to be superior to my own. How would you converse with
them? You could hardly engage that type of person in conversation until they
had relived you of your anxieties. That is why I can talk to God because He,
the greatest power in existence, has relieved me of my anxieties when I come
before Him. He invites me to be there and makes me feel comfortable when I am
there. He is the greatest, is He not?
Well, the God that has held Satan in check in 2015 will do the same in 2016 and
beyond. Remember this, Satan wanted to destroy Job the servant of the Lord, and
God told Him he could go only so far and God drew the line that Satan could not
cross. God has drawn that line that Satan cannot cross today and, Satan can use
all of his resources in the attempt to destroy the saints of God but if they
remain faithful to God, God will be faithful to them and Satan will fail and the
saints will enjoy the benefits of their faithfulness. Be faithful, saints, and
trust God in the meanwhile. It might get tough but it will never be impossible
to serve the Lord.
God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale
that is told.
10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of
strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for
it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy
wrath.
12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Psalm 90:9-12

What did the Psalmist mean by saying that all our days are passed away in Thy
wrath and that our years are spend as a tale that is told? Let me acquiesce to
Mr. Adam Clark to make sense of this: "[We spend our years as a tale] The
Vulgate has: Anni nostri sicut aranea meditabuntur; "Our years pass away like
those of the spider." Our plans and operations are like the spider's web; life
is as frail, and the thread of it as brittle, as one of those that constitute
the well-wrought and curious, but fragile, habitation of that insect. All the
Versions have the word spider; but it neither appears in the Hebrew, nor in any
of its MSS. which have been collated.
(The following is written in "Old English" and may be hard for you to read)
My old Psalter has a curious paraphrase
here: "Als the iran (spider) makes vayne webe for to take flese (flies) with
gile, swa our yeres ere ockupide in ydel and swikel castes about erthly thynges;
and passes with outen frute of gude werks, and waste in ydel thynkyns." This is
too true a picture of most lives. But the Hebrew is different from all the
Versions. "We consume our years (kmow) like a groan." We live a dying, whining,
complaining life, and at last a groan is its termination! How amazingly
expressive!"
That is, to me, pretty pessimistic and makes us all out to be pessimists. I
have to ask the question of myself, "Am I a whiner?"
Is all that I do is complain to the Lord and to others about my life? I surely
hope not but if I were asked I would have to say that I have met more whiners
along the way than those who brag on the Lord and the life He has given them.
Are we like the spider who just lays in wait for some prey to fall into our
woven web of lies and deceit in a dark corner of the kingdom of God and in the
house of God? The web is a safe place so long as it is in that darkened corner
and no one can see it or take note of it. The Psalter mentioned above says that
the spider makes vain webs for to take flies with guile and our years are
occupied with earthly things and passes with out fruit of good works and waste
in "ydel" things. I don't understand all of this phrase but I do get the gist
of it and have a hard time arguing with what it says. Far too much time is
wasted with thoughts of our own ease and comforts in our safe zones woven by us
and not by God. God would get us out of the dark corner to live our lives out
in the open just like Jesus did. There would be no hiding of our love for Him
in order not to have to confront those opposed to Him. Our life is limited to a
short span of time at best and the best way to live them is in God's work and in
seeking to know just what that is for each of us individually.
As the Old Year becomes history and the New Year becomes our future, what will
we do with it? We are way too concerned with what the devil is doing and our
thoughts are preoccupied with that concern while we should be preoccupied with
how God is going to use us to counter the devil's deeds. That is what we are
here for. That is what we should be doing and doing well. May we all get more
involved, not in politics, but in works of faith and deeds that reflect the
goodness of God.
God bless and go and have a great day and...Happy New Year to all Who love the
Lord.

 

[flightsimmer]

9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 We shall see soon enough if Ole King Solomon was and is right. Shall the New Year bring something new to the human race? As I said, we shall see. We celebrate every year in pretty much the same fashion the going out of the old and the coming in of the new year. The problems that carry over from the past year are still there to be confronted in the new one. They have not gone away with the turn of the page of the calendar but, it is always good to turn that page and see what awaits us, good or bad, when we do. From our house to your house, may God's blessings be upon you and may those of us who serve Christ and live in Christ awaken today with a renewed commitment to serve Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Happy New Year to all and, God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust. 3 Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Psalm 91:1-7 The message here is clear. This is a Messianic Psalm, prophetic and about our Lord, Jesus Christ and, I might add, about the church that gave existence to with His death on Calvary. I love the phrase, "the secret place of the Most High" because it proposes to me that there is a place to which I can go and have gone that the world cannot find nor will it ever invade. It there in that secret place that we abide "under the shadow of the Almighty" and find refuge from all of the madness of the world around us. There is a new movie making the rounds today. It is titled, "The War Room". I have seen some of it but have yet to finish it. The idea behind the movie is that we all need to find that one place, that one private place, where we can be alone with God and to pray and seek His face and to know His will and to present our personal petitions to Him. Jesus spoke of such a place when He told His disciples that they should pray in secret instead of in the open market place to be seen of men. He admonished them to pray in secret and He also told them that God would reward them openly. "Enter into your closet", this was His advice. I believe that more is accomplished by this manner and this type of prayer life than all of the public prayers prayed so beautifully well by those who merely want to be heard and seen by their peers. Those who bear the burden, a true burden, and pray behind the scenes whose prayers are never heard by human ear, get the attention of God. They have His ear and that ear is the only ear that really matters. Right now we have a brother in Christ who is in trouble. I pray for him. He does not know it and maybe he does not even care very much that I pray for him. I pray for him and his wife and his children and those his life has touched down through the years. I want him to be rescued and restored and growing in Christ again. I love him regardless. I know that Christ has loved us regardless for the Bible tells me that while I was yet in my sin, Christ died for me. Private prayer and a time of personal Bible study and of quiet meditation is more than just valuable to the children of the Father, these are essential if a child of God is to survive in a world where Satan appears to have the upper hand. If we are careless we will begin to believe that he does even though Christ assures us that he never will. Can I convince you today to seek that "secret place" where one does "abide in the shadow of the Almighty"? I hope so for I believe this is the one thing that the church needs today more than anything else and even more than revivals and public gatherings. The reason I say this is that a day without prayer is day without power and no matter how many revivals we have or gatherings we attend, if there is not prayer for them, they will be powerless to change a thing. You want your church fellowship to become more relevant in the community where you gather? Come under a burden for it and pray, pray, pray. Seek this "secret place" and get alone with God there in that place where the world is forbidden. You will find it a most wonderful and sweet place to be. God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11 For He shall give His angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee in all Thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt Thou trample under feet. 14 Because He hath set His love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set Him on high, because He hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer Him: I will be with Him in trouble; I will deliver Him, and honor Him. 16 With long life will I satisfy Him, and shew Him My salvation. Psalm 91:9-16 Paul writes in great confidence that nothing shall separate us from the love of God. In a world that grows increasingly hostile to the true message of Jesus Christ, we who still teach and preach it are becoming fewer and fewer in number. Someone once said that there is safety in numbers. Is that true? You may feel safe because your voice is blended in with that of the worldly majority but when it comes to truth and this world's negligence of it, there is not safety at all there. God knows you and what your life stands for and what you are willing to do merely to get along with th3e world around you. If I was inclined to fear, which I am not, today's world would scare me to the core of my being. On the one hand we have men and women in leadership in our nation that don't deem to have a clue about what to do to defend us from those on the outside that want to come in and do us harm, even to slaughter us if they can. And, they have done that and will do it again because we have come to depend on our political leaders and not God. During WWII Germany and Japan came very near to an outright invasion of America. Japan bombed our Navy almost out of existence on December 7, 1941. Germany had UBoats (submarines) off of our coast and even landed some agents onto our shores. Neither of these ever was able to manage a meaningful invasion onto the mainland of the United States. Back in those days, America was called to prayer and, not to any other God but the Lord God of Israel who is the Lord God and Father of Jesus Christ. America did pray and it did depend on God for its very survival. I remember those days. I was a small child during WWII and young teenager during the Korean war. I had uncles in the second World War and cousins in the Korean War and served in the military during the Vietnam War. One thing we all knew how to do during those times was to pray and to trust that God would somehow bring us out safely on the other side of those conflicts. These days, however, it is politically incorrect to say that we hold our God (the Father of Jesus Christ and the Son, Jesus Christ) over the other gods that other folks worship. As far as I can tell, I have never seen America go into war in order to force the Christian's God on anyone. We would rather tell them about Him and let them make up their own minds about what to do with Him, if anything. We have our meeting places where we gather to worship the Lord and these places are open to whoever wants to attend. But, though we will evangelize, we don't coerce the world by anything more than the words of our God, to come and attend. Our God is the one and the only and the true God. We believe this and are not shy about saying it and should not be. But, when another person we are attempting to witness to concerning our God let's us know that they are not interested in hearing about Him, we just shake the dust off of our feet and move on to the next potential candidate for salvation. Jesus offered us salvation and, in Him safety, but if we would rather not accept the offer, He leaves that decision up to us and moves on to the next person or group of persons. There is only One way to get to heaven and it most certainly is not to be found in any other person than Jesus Christ. Must I apologize because I believe that? I most certainly will not. Believe what you will. Go into eternity and face eternity with what you believe and in whom you have believed. I will do that without any hesitation at all. Will those of you who have refused God's offer of salvation be so confident in death as you appear to be in life? We will see. In any case, this country has chosen to build its house on the sand and not the rock. Now, the rains fall and storms rage and winds blow and the waves come against it and if Jesus is right, the house will fall and great will be the fall of it. I believe He is correct and I expect us to suffer greatly because we have chosen the gods of this world over the God of heaven. The day will come when we will seek God's mercy and that will be a day too late to get it. I love my country but I love my God more. I love my country but I love God's church more. I love my country but I love my Lord more and will continue to be His obedient servant and to call sin what it is and sinners what they are and, not out of a mean spirit but the spirit of Christ. I want to see them saved and they will never know they need to be saved until someone boldly tells then that they do. This nation is like the great unsinkable ship that lies at the bottom of the ocean. The people danced and they drank and they lusted after one another and their bands played on up to and including the moment when the ship hit the iceberg that was not supposed to be able to do enough damage to it to sink it. It did. And, the ship sank taking hundreds of lives with it down to the bottom of the sea. I must bring this to a close but I see America as this great ship. Without the hand of God and the wings of God to protect us, we are exposed to and vulnerable to the enemies of this nation. Oh, America, oh, America, please wake up out of your deep sleep and come back to God. It is almost too late but there is still a little time and, I pray enough time. I don't know. I pray there is. God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Keep 'em coming FS. Today's was really timely.

 

[flightsimmer]

9 For, lo, Thine enemies, O Lord, for, lo, Thine enemies shall perish; all the
workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed
with fresh oil.
11 Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear
my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.
12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar
in Lebanon.
13 Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts
of our God. Psalm 92:9-12

For those of us who know God, there is this knowledge that this will all soon be
over. Whether it will be that the Lord shall come and take us all away from
here or that He will come for us one at a time, I can not say. But, one thing I
do know is that the time we have left is but a short time and this world will no
longer be our home. So, it doesn't pay to get too comfortable here, it is only
a place of probation and transition. It is what we do with ourselves and who it
is that we put our faith in that will make the difference once our time here is
over.
God has enemies. That just might be the understatement of the day. The enemies
of God look upon us as their enemy also. They despise us because we have put
our faith in God and not in them. They want our destruction and they want for
us to either forsake our God and run with them (and they are surprised if we
refused to) or, they want us simply gone from their world that they are shaping
from their own vain imaginations. We make them uncomfortable in their own
man-made world because we keep reminding them that there is God that will be
answered to some day and if not here in this life, in the existence that will
follow. Some will live on and others will linger in eternal death but all will
exist forever some where and in some way.
Today it was reported on FOX news that North Korea has successfully tested a
hydrogen bomb. We know that Iran is working toward the same goal. We are
powerless to stop them and powerless to stop the madness of the evil governments
and government want-to-be folks out there from achieving their evil ends. We
have fought one war after another including two world wars to stop evil from
winning the day and the only thing these wars have bought us is a little time.
In the end, Christ will have to come and He will have to bring all of this evil
to an end with nothing more than the words, "It is finished!". Then, the
righteous will flourish and the evil will wither and die and perish and be gone
from the new earth and the new heaven. Satan will be cast into the lake of fire
along with death and hell and the false prophet and all of those who chose to
follow after them and their agenda instead of Christ.
For now, believe who and what you will, it is a personal choice. As for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord. I stand with every person who has taken that
stand and, we will win in the end because we took that stand. Hope you take it
to.
God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew Thyself. 2 Lift up Thyself, Thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. 3 Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? 4 How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? 5 They break in pieces Thy people, O Lord, and afflict Thine heritage. Psalm 94:1-5 I am tired. I am tired of evil winning the day. I am weary of watching the news at the beginning of the day and hearing that the evil intentions of evil men and women have been hard at work through the night inventing new ways to make the lives of the righteous more difficult. Politicians seem to be on the side of those that think evil thoughts and do evil deeds and if they are not on their side, they at least are not against them. To me the word evil means to live opposite of what God intended. People gravitate to the lowest moral and ethical standard and they exist there as though it is a good thing. They call evil good and good evil and, again make the way of the righteous hard. What a world. Now, before you think to yourself that I am a smug and self-righteous man, I want to tell you that this far from the truth. Any right in me is there because God put it there. I grieve in my heart because of those that go into eternity without ever coming to the Lord God to know His peace. I have that peace but it is not the sort of peace that the world offers and never delivers on. God is the Author of this peace and it can only be found in Christ. It is found in Him only when a person comes to believe on Him for complete salvation. Only then can one go to sleep at night with the assurance that for them, at least, the way of the world is a thing of the past. The way of Christ is their future. It is their future because they have chosen Christ over the world. But, as I said, I am tired and we all grow tired of the way things are going in the world. But, we was warned by Christ and His apostles in their writings that times would wax worse and worse. We are also told that Satan would wear the saints out. I look at the church today and I see a tired people. The church has fought faithfully for Christ for nearly two thousand years now and it seems that every generation of the church has to fight the same battles over and over again. Will the church ever be victorious? I guess that depends on how you define victory. We have won and will continue to win as long as we don't give up the battle. In the end, we are the victors. Like the Apostle Paul, I ask, "Oh death, where is thy sting; Oh, grave, where is they victory?" We know we are the winners in this struggle but, oh the casualties along the way. We see one after another fall at our side along the way and we weep. We want this to be over, and soon. But, if it were to be over today, I have so many loved ones that would be lost. So, like the sages of the past, I want God to tarry for a little while longer until we get our loved ones safely into the fold. We all want that. One of the most consistent prayer requests I hear is, "Pray for our children and grandchildren and families that they will come to know the Lord." I am tired. Yes, I am, but not so tired that I am anywhere close to giving up. I will go right on until the crown is won. I will fight the fight of faith until life on earth is done. I mean to go right on serving Christ and no matter how tired I get, I will put one spiritual foot in front of the other and keep on keeping on for Christ. Hope you will continue to march along with me in this battle for the souls of the lost. God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of Thy law; 13 That Thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. 14 For the Lord will not cast off His people, neither will He forsake His inheritance. 15 But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it. 16 Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? 17 Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. 18 When I said, My foot slippeth; Thy mercy, O Lord, held me up. 19 In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul. Psalm 94:12-19 One thing about the Psalms is that they are timeless. They fit today's world just as well as the world at the time they were originally written. For years, most of the years of my life, I have taught from God's Word. I have taught children, youth, and adults at various times in my life. I have preached, I have taught Sunday School, I have led youth, I have held revivals services, and, I have witnessed to those who do not yet know the Lord and I have done all of this using God's Word as my reason for being saved and sanctified and growing in my relationship with the Lord. This one thing I know, once a person begins to believe that there is nothing new for God to show them, they begin to go backwards and begin falling away from the Lord. Teaching "out of Thy law" is a privilege and a responsibility. I am privileged to be called to do it and I am responsible to do it right. It is my responsibility to stay prayed up and studied up and prepared to speak at any moment in time the sweet words of the Lord. It is my responsibility to tell His story His way so as not to confuse the issues whether it be His hatred of sin in any form and His love for those who commit those sins. That is my responsibility. It is not my responsibility to condemn them, It is my responsibility to condemn sin. So much is shown to us about the very nature of God by His Word and His Spirit and His Son. The Lord will not throw away His people. He never walks away from them. The planets travel in what is called "an orbit" around the sun. The sun stays in place and it has a direct influence on the planets depending on their distance from it. Whether near or far, the sun still has an attraction to the planets. This may not be a perfect comparison but it will do for the reasons that I make it this morning. God impacts the life of the saint and the sinner. The planet we live on is called the earth and it is positioned in its orbit around the sun so that the sun has the ability to warm it up and to let it cool down depending on the season of the year. It take the earth 365 and 1/4th days a year to travel one complete orbit around the sun. Sometimes in close and sometimes not so much so but every season has its purpose. It is much that way as we live for and serve the Lord. Sometimes I feel so very near to Him and at times there is a distance between us. Understand, the sun does not move away from the planets, the planets move away from the sun. But it is always there and God is always there drawing me back and always attracting me towards Himself. What a wonderful God we serve today. Whether up close of not so close, He is the same and He is constantly where He can be found and He never lets go of His people. They are His as long as they chose to be His and today, and I pray, for all the days of my life, I am His and He is mine. A lot of forces may come against us in our relationship but I am assured by the Word of God that He will never let those forces take me out of His orbit of influence and attraction upon my life. God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

96 O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.
4 For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.
8 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9 O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.* Psalm 96:1-9

Worship is a matter of the heart.* One can be in the midst of those worshiping and not worship God at all.* Strange isn't it, that we think of the prelude to the preaching as the "worship" portion of the service when so few actually ever get into the spirit of worship and even are bored by any attempt at it.
We hire "worship leaders" to rise up before the congregation at the beginning and lead the congregation is "worship".* Again I say, worship is a matter of the heart.* Jesus told us that the heart will always be focused on what a man treasures the most.* What a man treasures the most, he worships.*
The Psalmist writes that we should sing unto the Lord-all of us.* We should come before Him with a new song.* That song should come from the heart and it should have grown out of our present experience with God or a deep and ingrained memory of a sweet something from the past.* Those "special" songs that we ask people to sing.* They should mean something to the one singing them and not just be a demonstration of the talent of the one singing.* When the one singing gets the praise God is robbed from the praise due Him.
No "gospel sing" should ever be anything but a service of praise to the Lord.* If it is anything else, it is a waste of time and energy.
Isn't it strange that we would pay certain singers thousands of dollars to sing through a sixty to ninety minute program and keep those bearing the gospel (preachers, evangelist, teachers) in virtual poverty?* I have been awed by this.* When I bring up the issue, people will tell me that this is the singer's way of making a living.* I don't disagree that they should be able to make a living with the talent God blessed them with but do they have to live is such luxury?** I am not writing about the local talent that volunteers their services to the local congregation, I am writing about those who have used a God-given talent to promote themselves more than they promote Jesus Christ.* If that isn't you then don't take offense at what I have written.* If it is you, then you will likely take offense.
Again, worship has to come from the heart.* It is an expression of the soul and it is expression expressed to God and does not need to wait for God to act because it is an action on our part and not His.* That is the worship God enjoys.* The new song we sing may not be written down on paper or may never be sung before large audiences, but it is an expression of what we feel in our hearts about God and His great attention and affection toward us. When I worship, I worship God.* I don't worship to be seen by your, I worship God and I hope He hears my voice and that it is pleasant in His sight.* if it is, I have accomplished my goal and God an I both are blessed.*
God help us all to come before Him in the right manner and to come to adore Him and honor Him with what come out of our mouth because it should be the overflow of what is in our hearts.* Go ahead.* Sing your new song.* That new song is your song and your offering to the Lord.* it may never mean much of anything to anyone else but you and God but as long as you both understand it, it is worship well done.
God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our
transgressions from us. Psalm 103:1-3 & 12

When it comes to being a believer in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
and the Holy Word of God, we are blessed. Now, to turn those blessings back to
the Lord is the thing. We have been blessed with all the benefits of being the
children of the great King of kings and Lord of lords. He is God above every
god man might imagine and conjure up from his imagination. He is far above all
the movie stars, rock stars, political stars, or business stars who become idols
of the people who follow after them as though they could work some marvelous
miracle for them when all any of these can do is temporarily distract them from
the real problems that they have and, that is sin.
Right now, if things keep going the direction they are headed in, it appears
that we will have another ego-centric "I can make America better and return it
to greatness" person in the White House for the next four years. We already
have one of those and as far as I can tell, nothing is better because he is
there and nothing will get better for us with any other future president or
congress or supreme court that does not recognize the fact that without God and
Christ they can do nothing worthy of the office. I want one of these candidates
to say to me from their heart that only with God's help will they be able to
make a difference and none of them will say this because it is not politically
expedient.
Tonight the president of the United States will make a speech. It is called
"The State of the Nation" speech. II don't need for him or any other politician
to tell me the state of this country, I see what the state of the nation is
every day. The nation is becoming increasingly pagan, poly-theistic, and
further from the God that gave it its authority from its beginning. We have
told God to go away and that we will take it from here without Him. And, being
the gentle Spirit that He is He will acquiesce and move on to find some other
people who will be His in deed and truth. God has b3en put in that position
before by a people He wanted to Superintend and they rejected and look at their
lot today. We will fare no better.
But, as for me, I want to bless the Lord with my soul and with all that is
within me. I know where all of my benefits originate and Who is in charge of
this day as well as of any other day that I might live on this earth. When He
is finished with me here, He will bring me to His house in Paradise and, later,
following the coming of Christ for His bride, in His eternal heaven. I know
this because He said so and I believe Him no matter those who say otherwise.
Without Him I can do nothing and without Him I am nothing.
God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

Verse 35 of Psalms 104 says:* Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, let the wicked be no more....

Today I am going to do something I have never done before which is to let someone else speak in this forum.* A friend of mine sent me this partial copy of a message spoken by Franklyn Graham and, I will let it speak for itself.* You will either say "amen" to its premise or you will have a few words to say about Franklyn Graham.* Either way, what he said is right on the money as far as I can determine.* See what you think about it after hearing our President's "State of the Union" address last night.
"

Part of A Sermon by Franklin Graham

Never said better.* Read and pass on.
*

Time is like a river.* You cannot touch the water twice, because the flow that has passed will* never pass again.





Franklin Graham was speaking at the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville,*** Florida in January, 2015,* when he said America will not come back. He wrote:






The American dream ended on November 6th, 2012 in Ohio.* The second term of Barack* Obama has been the final nail in the coffin for the legacy of the white Christian males who discovered, explored, pioneered, settled and developed the greatest republic in the history of mankind.* A coalition of blacks, Latinos, feminists, gays, government workers, union members, environmental extremists, the media, Hollywood, uninformed young people,
the "forever needy," the chronically unemployed, illegal aliens and other "fellow* travelers" have ended Norman Rockwell's America.

You will never again out-vote these people. It will take individual acts of defiance and massive displays of civil disobedience to get back the rights we have allowed them to take away.* It will take zealots, not moderates and shy, not reach-across-the-aisle RINOs to right this ship and restore our beloved country to its former status.* People like me are completely politically irrelevant, and I will probably never again be able to legally comment on or concern myself with the aforementioned coalition which has surrendered our culture, our heritage and our traditions without a shot being fired.

The cocker spaniel is off the front porch, the pit bull is in the back yard. The American Constitution has been replaced with Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals" and the likes of Chicago shyster David Axelrod along with international socialist George Soros have been pulling the strings on their beige puppet have brought us Act 2 of the New World Order.* The curtain will come down but the damage has been done, the story has been told.


Those who come after us will once again have to risk their lives, their fortunes and their and their sacred honor to bring back the Republic that this generation has timidly frittered away due to white guilt and political correctness..."

As far as I can see, the United States of America the way our founders envisioned it is gone forever as is the Constitution of the Nation that served it so well in its first nearly 200 years.* This is not the fault of the democrats nor the republicans.* The blame lies at our doorstep.* We invited the pit bull into our backyard to challenge the cocker spaniel to its previous rights to sit comfortably on the front porch.* It might be that most people are content with America that way she is.* I have seen a lot of parallels between where we are not politically and where Germany was when Hitler was running around trying to sell his bill of goods to that nation.* History is repeating itself and those who want to protest this movement on the part of the revisionists are silenced by them for fear of being called bigots and neurotics and psychotics.* They want to ostracize the person who wants order and obedience to the law brought back and to encourage the chaotic and insane behavior of those that full of sin and hate.*
All I have ever wanted to do was to reach out to the sinner, as did Christ, and to tell them that God has a better plan for their life than the one they have for themselves.*
Well, so long America.* We loved you well the way you were.* You was not perfect but you were the best and most promising nation on the earth and you was that because of your goodness.* Your goodness carried you through tremendous times.* Times of peril and times of peace, both were growing times for you.* But, where is the growth now?* Time will tell, will it not?* The people that loved you are over the proverbial barrel.* Only God can raise up a generation of Americans like those Americans who founded the Nation in the first place.* As for this current generation of Americans, you cannot even get them to go to the polls and vote let alone slosh across frozen rivers and suffering deprivations to win back an America that has been lost to them.*

 

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10 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them
from the hand of the enemy.

34 They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord commanded them:
35 But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.
36 And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
37 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,
Psalm 106:10 &34-37

This Psalm is too long to quote in its entirety here. However if you would like
a catalogue of the sins of Israel from the time they left Egypt until their
arrival at the land that God was directing them to, this is the place to find
it. I mention only a few here. Verse ten explains that God had saved them from
Egypt, a land that despised them. He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy
of God and themselves.
In the few things that I list here from Psalm 106 we find that God had told them
to destroy their enemies or those enemies would come back on them some day and
destroy them. Instead of destroying the enemy, they built coalitions with them
and even adopted some of their heathen ways. They served their idols and even
went so far as to sacrifice their own sons and daughters to them. All of this
to compromise with them so that they would not have to make a stand against
them. Go ahead and read the rest of the chapter and see where that got them in
their relationship with God.
God put up with a lot in His efforts to save even a remnant of the people. He
gave it His best and every effort just as He is doing today. In our society
today there is time for just about everyone but God and everything but His
church. People, for the most part, just ignore the fact that His church needs
them and that they need it more. We do need a spiritual awakening today that
will span the globe called the earth. I expect this current generation will not
be awakened but maybe, just maybe the next will.
God will have a people. You do not have to be one of them, but you should be.
You can continue doing things your way ignoring the commandments of God and His
Son Jesus Christ. Being a Christian is a choice that only you can make for
yourself and no one, no one, else can make. I will never understand why anyone
would not be a Christian. Being a Christian awakens you to the benefits of
being a child of God. They are too numerous to list here but first and
foremost, God cleans up your past and gives you a wonderful future. This world
is not your home. Like the Israelites, we are just passing through as we travel
forward to that future. Because of the promised future, we have a wonderful
present. We are presently saved and will eternally be saved if we just keep our
eye on the prize and do the right thing in Christ. Hope you will.
God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad
thereof.
2 Clouds and darkness are round about Him: righteousness and judgment are the
habitation of His throne.
3 A fire goeth before Him, and burneth up His enemies round about.
4 His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.
5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the
Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory.
7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of
idols: worship him, all ye gods.
8 Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of Thy
judgments, O Lord.
9 For Thou, Lord, art high above all the earth: Thou art exalted far above all
gods.
10 Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of His saints; He
delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his
holiness. Psalm 97:1-12

"The Lord is still on His throne." We hear and repeat that declaration a lot.
Why we say it is because it is always true and will always be true. However
true it may be there is a throne that He may or not may be on this morning and
that is the throne of you.
God created man with a wonderful thing called the freedom to choose.
Theologians call it "free will". Jesus tells us in the book of Revelation in
the third chapter that He stands at the door of that throne room and knocks
seeking to gain entry.
Years ago when I attended the Jackson Park church of God in Anderson, Indiana,
there was this huge picture of Christ in the chapel area of the church building.
It was a picture of Christ standing at a door and knocking. If you was the
observant sort of a person you noticed something strange about that door. I
believe the portrait was painted by Sallman who also painted the portrait of the
"Head of Christ" that we see so often hanging in church buildings. The strange
thing about that door was that it had no exterior door knob or latch. The only
way to gain access into the house was either to break into it by force or by the
occupant of the house to respond to the knock and open the door and to invite
Jesus in. Now, Jesus is not thief and most certainly He will not ever come in
where He is not welcome and invited in. He will only come in if you invite Him
in and, if you will invite Him in you will have sweet fellowship together. He
promises that.
On the other hand, however, the devil is a thief. He breaks in. He will knock.
His knock is called temptation. Some people think that they can control this
guest but they are so wrong. Once he gains entry into your "house" he will not
le4ave even if you try to force him out. The only one who can expel him is the
Person so many will not allow in. Of course, His name is Jesus.
I am so glad that God is still on His throne in heaven but I am even more elated
about the fact that He sits on the throne of me. That may read like good
English but if you understand what I mean by it, it does make sense. The
hardest person for me to deal with in my life is me. Before I let Christ into
my life it was like a run away team of horses over which I had no control at
all. But Jesus came in and took control of that run away team and gave it a
sense of direction and purpose and, from that day to this, though that team has
tried to runaway from time to time, Jesus reins it in and brings it back under
His control. Praise the Lord for that and for the love that brought Him to my
door and that drew Him to knock at the door of my heart. He knocks on every
door but so many if not most don't bother to answer and that is the shame of it
all. Hope you have answered His knock, if not, why not?
God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

4 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and
rejoice, and sing praise.
5 Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.
6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the
King. Psalm 98:4-6

I want you to know from the outset this morning that I am not looking for a
debate or whether or not to use musical instruments in worship services or not.
I will leave that up to the individual congregations. Every one of them and
their leaders must make that choice for themselves. What I do hate to see
happening is one congregation condemning another over that issue. More than the
music, I worry about the message that comes through the music. The medium might
be music but the message is what is important.
There are some that hold to the belief that the use of musical instruments in
worship is wrong for the church. My granddaughter attends such a church down in
Kentucky. I respect their right to believe as they do but I don't at all agree
with it. The use of instrumental music for worship and entertainment is nearly
as old as the earth itself. We find all the way back in Genesis where there
were those that were the makers of these instruments and though they may have
been crude versions of what we use today what they Had in common was that they
were used for worship and entertainment.
I realized that many, if not most of these instruments, have been used in
infamous places to make music that causes the carnal mind to think wrong things.
The use of a piano in the old-time bars was used to excite the flesh and to
drive people to drink and that was one thing but the use of the piano in a
worship service was and is quite another. The music that comes out of the
instrument is what matters and not the instrument itself.
If I held to the belief of those who condemn the use of musical instruments in
worship because of the way they are used by the world to excite the carnal mind
of man, I would never drive a car again because people use those vehicles to
drive to the bars to hear that music. So, it is a sin to drive a car to go to
worship as much as it is a sin to use musical instruments in worship.
The fact of the matter is, it is God that sanctifies the music of the church and
makes it holy whether that music is made by the stings of your vocal cords or
the strings of a guitar or piano or banjo or whatever.
The Psalmist wrote that we should make a joyful noise or (sound) unto the Lord
and rejoice and sing praise. Sing to the Lord with the harp and with the voice
and with trumpets and cornet and... What we need to understand is that the
music one makes, whether on an instrument or with their voice, flows from their
heart to the Lord or from their carnal nature to the world. I prefer to use my
skills to sing (I have none when it comes to musical instruments) praises to the
Lord and that flows from the depth of my soul to Him. So, praise Him in
whatever manner you choose but, please do praise Him.
God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalm 100:1-5 Most people, when they read these words in this and other Psalms written by David, think that the only way to make a joyful noise unto the Lord is to sing a song to Him. This, of course, is not true. There are a variety of ways to make a sound that brings joy to God's heart. Singing is just one of them. I, for one, am not the best of singers and that is not a gift that God blessed me with. However, I can preach a fairly good sermon and in that sermon stay true to the truth that God spoke to us first before we could ever speak it to others. I love to preach. I believe that God is the source of my joy and that the joy in the Lord that I sense in my soul can be reflected right back to Him. I intend to do that. Whenever we speak words of comfort or encouragement or join in praise of the Lord, these are joyful noises unto the Lord. I believe that laughter when it is appropriate is a joyful noise unto the Lord. I believe that Jesus enjoyed the fellowship of His disciples, He enjoyed their curiosity and the questions asked of Him because of their curiosity. Prayer is a joyful noise unto the Lord. Oh how God loves to hear from us when we come to Him in faith believing. Then, the Psalmist says that we should serve the Lord with gladness and that we should come into His presence expressing that gladness by singing. But, as I have written, there are other ways to express it. Oh yes, the Lord He is God and He loves being acknowledged by us as just that, God. Thanksgiving or, giving of thanks is a joyful sound to God. He inhabits our praise which means that He is present where true praise happens. God can be counted on to be the good in our day. His mercy is everlasting. This is true and that mercy exists from generation to generation of mankind. There are days when that mercy and goodness of God is the only thing we have going for us because He is the only One who understands us and cares for us. The rest of the world may run and hide its face from us but God never will. We are the guilty party when it comes to running away and hiding. Today, make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Stop to encourage a downcast soul, a lonely person, a bereaved heart. Stop to say to a child that Jesus loves them and that they can trust Him to do that for all of their lives. No one of us can do it all but what we do in the name of the Lord whether it be to offer in the name of the Lord a glass of water or a loaf of bread or a jacket or a pair of gloves, those words we speak are joyful noises unto the Lord. So many ways and, yet, all we usually apply to the meaning of this and other Psalms is singing. I believe it goes way beyond singing. It goes to all that we say and do in God's name. God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto Thee, O Lord, will I sing.
2 I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt Thou come unto me? I
will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn
aside; it shall not cleave to me.
4 A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.
5 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an
high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
6 Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me:
he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.
7 He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies
shall not tarry in my sight.
8 I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked
doers from the city of the Lord. Psalm 101

This Psalm reveals a mind-set to me that is troubling for me. I believe that
the restraining of, if not the destruction, of every thing that is evil is the
goal of every sincere Christian and Godly man and woman. But we also know that
evil and the existence of it is a thing we have to live with while we are in
this world. David writes here as though he has the power and authority to
eradicate evil not only from his house but also from all the kingdom over which
God has made him an overseer. It is a good thing to commit oneself to a life of
holiness and to commit oneself to the promotion of that life. But, evil is so
entrenched in the flesh of man that one person certainly cannot eradicate it
from off of the earth. Even Christ Jesus understood that evil lurks in the
hearts and minds of carnal man and the only way to destroy it was through that
man or woman being born again. Being born again is still required and if you
believe otherwise you will find yourself engaged in a battle you cannot win.
There are so many people today engaged in efforts to "clean themselves up".
They enter into different programs that are quite often best known as "rehab".
Physical rehabilitation is one thing but spiritual is quite another. Once a
person has afflicted themselves with chemical dependency, there is only once
permanent cure for it and His name is Jesus and following His command to be born
again.
I have been around for a while and I have seen the best efforts put forth to
recover and restore to society those that are "users".
Not only is there this thing called chemical dependency, there is a mental
dependency that is sweeping across our world that has to do with pornography and
the production of it. Both of these things are sin of course but they also are
a sickness of the flesh, the mind, and the soul. Think about it. How much of
this nation's resources are being used right now to warehouse in jails and
prisons those who cannot be trusted to follow through on the rehab they have
received once they are re-introduced back into society?
We all know that that number is way too high and it is way too high because
those persons do not have the ability to say "no" to themselves and yes to the
right thing. This infection of the flesh, mind, and soul has affected nearly
every family on this earth and no family is immune to it.
David said, at least to my understanding, that he wanted to eradicate evil from
the kingdom of Israel. We know full well that he didn't. He did not even keep
it out of his own house nor his own flesh. David succumbed to evil. He sinned
against God and he also betrayed his oath of office as king. He committed
adultery and even plotted the murder of the woman's husband he committed
adultery with to cover up his sin. What was David's problem? The same as our
problem. He could not resist the flesh and the lusts thereof. We cannot either
without the help of God and we have that help through the Father, the Son, the
Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and the church.
Our only hope is to accept the offer of God of salvation and the subsequent
offer of sanctification. And, even then, we must ever maintain our relationship
to the Lord with prayer, fellowship with saved others, and, the sanctifying
grace of God's Holy Spirit.
No person that I know of, and me in particular, is immune from Satan's
temptation. He lures the flesh into a trap that it cannot escape from unless
the power of the Godhead is at work in that flesh and the person of flesh learns
to live in the Spirit of Christ.
Today, there is such a need for this and I pray it will be recognized for what
it can mean to every one. We cannot destroy Satan but we can turn him over to
the One who can.
God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy
endureth for ever.
2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? who can shew forth all his praise?
3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all
times.
4 Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O
visit me with thy salvation;
5 That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of
thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance. Psalm 106:1-5

The writings of those who penned the Psalms show us that they were a people very
similar to ourselves. The Psalms run the entire gamut of emotions that every
person feels at one time or another. It ranges from sentimentality to anger to
a sense of security and peace and inward war. Davie wrote most of the Psalms
and when he wrote it depended on the mood or frame of mind he was in. And, some
times a Psalm expressed nearly all of these emotions.
But there was also a spirit behind what he wrote. We know Him as the Holy
Spirit. I believe all of the word of God is Holy Spirit inspired and, I would
like to think that the same Holy Spirit is the inspiration behind what I write
as well. I don't mean that I can add a thing to the Holy Scriptures, no, not at
all. But what I can do is give some clarification to it and it just might be
that I, as a person similar to yourself, might just write or say something that
will be a comfort to you or maybe pull back the curtain in order for you to see
a thing more clearly and have more light on it.
I love what David wrote. He is so much like us and he lets us see his human
frailty through his writings. We are all weak and vulnerable. That I know
beyond all doubt. Though I believe in living the sanctified life, I am aware
that Satan is nearby just waiting to pounce on me and to attempt to bring me
down.
God is merciful and, yet, at times He permits Satan to test us sorely. He
allows us to feel the pressure that truly exists between us and our God and the
world and its god. This world is not a comfortable place for a Christian. We
would like to think it can and will change. It will not. It will be like it is
until God comes for us and then it will be no more. We are in the world but not
of the world and, thus, the prayer of Christ in John 17 is fulfilled. God will
change a few people that are currently living in and of the world, but not all
will be changed.
This day, for this day, I will serve the Lord. I will trust Him to provide for
and to keep me until the end of the day. That is what I get up believing every
day and that is what keeps me ever going forward to the end, to the faithful
end.
God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

1 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine
enemies Thy footstool.
2 The Lord shall send the rod of Thy strength out of Zion: rule Thou in the
midst of Thine enemies.
3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power, in the beauties of
holiness from the womb of the morning: Thou hast the dew of Thy youth.
4 The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the
order of Melchizedek. Psalm 110:1-4

Today it is easy for us to look back and see Who this Psalm is referring to. Of
course, it is referring to Christ. It is what is called a Messianic Psalm which
was intended to be read in praise of a promise not yet realized but that will be
realized sometime in the unknown future. One of the things we tend not to get
when we read these prophecies concerning the Son of God, the Messiah, is that
before He could come and walk with us and become one of us, certain conditions
had to be met. It took a while for those conditions to be just right for the
coming and the appearance of Christ.
David wrote this Psalm. I have to wonder just how it was that this great vision
of Christ of the future came to him? How did he receive the inspiration to
write such an accurate description of Christ and His ministry and His office?
Read this carefully and discover the greatness of Christ. One of the most
powerful images we have from the Old Testament is that of Melchizedek coming to
Abram and blessing him following Abram's conquest of the kings that had defeated
the king of Sodom and who had taken Abram's nephew Lot captive. Abram not only
recovered Lot, he recovered all of the survivors of the war and brought them
back with him. In a meeting with the king of Sodom, Abram was offered all the
wealth of the kingdom but was asked only to return the king's subjects to him.
Abram gave the wealth and the subjects back to the king. The only thing he kept
was enough to give a tithe of the king's wealth to the High Priest of Peace,
Melchizedek. Now, think on that. Melchizedek received a tithe from Abram.
Why? Because, as great as Abram was in the hierarchy of the kingdom of God,
Melchizedek was greater still. And when David writes that Christ is a Priest,
He is not just any priest, He is High Priest of the people of God forever.
Melchizedek and Christ are the same and I say that because Christ is the High
Priest of the people of God and not only after His appearance on earth as Jesus
but forever and forever means before and after God's creation of the world and
all that is in and on it.
What a beautiful Psalm. Christ said, "Before Abraham was, I am." The religious
people of that day that He spoke those words to wanted to kill Him for saying
them. Why? Because they knew that He meant that He existed with God before
time began and was there with God (as God) when time began and would be there
after the end when time is no more. So many people see Jesus Christ as just a
historical figure that came to be and was and is no more. No! No! No! Christ
was and is and will be forever our High Priest and we neither want nor need any
other. No need to hope for another to come and fill that role for the church.
Jesus is and forever will be.
Think about this deeply. In the time when Jesus walked with us as one of us, He
was judged by the priesthood and, even the high priests of that day. Here is
the true High Priest of the kingdom of God Who is the only One with the proper
credentials to state the purpose and the rules and the standards of that kingdom
and He is being judged by those who set up all of the pretentious laws and
regulations that the people were oppressed by. It is still the same today. So
many religious orders with their own "high priests" setting up their own
religion with its own rules and not much at all like those Christ left us with.
Me? I will just glory in Christ and repeat His words and teach people His way.
Why? Because He and, He alone, is my great High Priest.
God bless and go and have a great day.

 

[flightsimmer]

9 O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. 11 Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. 12 The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. 13 He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great. Psalm 115:9-13 Trust. What a word that is. There is so little of it in our world today, even in God. A pretty popular president of the United States once framed this phrase, "Trust, but verify". It made sense then and it makes sense now when it comes to world politics and even politics here at home. We live in a world of a whole lot of distrust and very little trust. The Psalmist wrote: "Trust...in the Lord". We do and we don't. We are a fickle people when it comes to trust even in the Lord. But, read on as the Psalmist says to you that the Lord is help and a shield and is mindful of us and will bless us-bless those that fear Him, all of us. Now, another word enters the conversation, "fear". How can we learn to trust a person we fear. It does not compute very well in our brains that we can trust those that we fear. We fear them because they have never proven themselves trustworthy. Leg me explain. As a child, I feared my dad. He was a tyrant. He was unreliable. He would work but he never brought his paycheck home. Upon receiving his paycheck, he would head out to the bars and drink up his pay and gamble it away. He had six children and a wife to support but could not be trusted to do that. He had no sense of responsibility and very little respectability about him. He was feared but not trusted at all. So, it was hard for me to equate fear with trust. To me fear meant heartache, pain, and deprivation. Then God came into my life and I was told that I should trust Him and fear Him at the same time. That was hard for me. The term "fear" as it used in relationship to the Lord depends on which side of the window you are looking into. I am glad that I am on the inside looking out instead of the outside looking it. Having this positive relationship with God has given me a whole new perspective on trust and fear. The song "Amazing Grace" explains it best. It was grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieve. How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed. Once I came to believe, I came to trust. Once I trusted, my fears were gone. I still fear God in the sense that I believe He has the power of life and death in His hands but I do not serve Him for that reason, I serve Him because I trust Him and trust that every promise He has ever made to those that are His people is a promise He has made to me. Those promises are written in Holy Scripture and they are made to me. Praise the Lord! Trust in the Lord-He is your shield and He is your help and will never be anything less. God bless and go and have a great day.