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I noticed while going through all the discussion groups listed, that BC does not have a library of recommended reading material which, along with God's word "the Bible" might be of benefit to other believers. If I have missed something, please let me know.
If you have suggestions of Christian materials which might benefit another person on this site, please let us know the name of the book/publication, the author/publisher, and where this might be obtained.
Bibles come in numerous translations but are all the Word of God. What Bible do you use, and why is it meaningful to you?
In setting up this site, I would like to let everyone know that they would please stay to the topic intended for the use of others who may be in need of information.
God Bless all who respond, and thank you.
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Beginning of Wisdom
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Jul 28, 2009 3:02 pm
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Psalm 111:10
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever." KJB
When you think about it, you cannot help but realize that this time we are going through has been termed as the "age of information". We get information from the TV, the Internet, radio and a few other means. With a multitude of books, periodicals, scientific papers, and other types of paper avenues this field of study has been fairly easy to get the information that you need. Billions and billions of dollars has been devoted to research and all of this can be found on the "superhighway” of information, the Internet. Does it not seem that everyone has something to say and they use the Internet as the means of dispensing that information. Some of it is good information but the most of it should never have been placed there because it goes against, not only common morality, but against God in every avenue. This world is drowning in this information and moving further and further away from God and His word.
We read this: "But where shall wisdom be found and where is the place of understanding" (Job 28:12) KJB. This is the question which Job asked but can it not be applied to today? YES! Where is wisdom in our government, has it been replaced with knowledge ill used? Job's urgent question will never be answered "on line" but can only be found in the greatest book of information that has been accumulated, the Bible. We read also this: "Behold, the fear LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" (Job 28:2 KJB. In other words, we can only find wisdom through the fear of the LORD, or in the reverence of the One who can save your miserable soul. This very important spiritual truism is found within the pages of the only book which can tell you about what true wisdom is. Solomon, whom God gave special wisdom to (1 Kings 3:11-12), penned one of the divinely inspired words of God when he wrote: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" and also wrote: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding" (Proverbs 1 ; 9:10) KJB. What more can be said other than what Solomon said?
There is one thing that is definitely missing from todays "super information highway" and that is the "fear of the LORD".. Our younger generation is not to blame for this but rather those who have been called the "baby boomers". Sadly to say, even those who seem to be religious have forsaken the true wisdom of the LORD and changed it for "feelings". Our text for today says, "A good understanding have all they that do His commandments." Jesus said, "If ye love me keep my commandments." (John 14:15; 15:10) KJB.
Now from the New Testaments prospective, we now know this: "In [Christ] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3) KJB and we also read: "And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment" (1 John 3:23) KJB. Now, for those who care to have true wisdom, herein is true knowledge and understanding and wisdom, in Christ and Christ alone.
What about you, do you want true wisdom?
By Dr. Terry Cleaveland, Pastor (retired), Preacher, Teacher of God's Holy Word, Grand Junction, Co.
Used with permission
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Not Righteous But Sinners
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Jul 26, 2009 7:19 pm
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NOT RIGHTEOUS BUT SINNERS
Matthew 9:13
"But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." KJB
Shame on us for thinking that sinners should not enter into and sit with the congregation of the righteous. How dare we throw Christ's love back into His face and say that someone who has done a certain sin can not worship our Savior with us in "His" church! We, the church, need to learn also what Jesus was saying to the arrogant Pharisees. These same Pharisees accused our Lord and said: "Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?" (Matthew 9:11) KJB. Because Jesus sat and ate with these same sinners that we do not want to have come into our presence in His church and sit with us, worshipping the same God who died on the cross of Calvary for "ALL" sinners. Here is what Jesus said after He heard: "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." (Matthew 9:12) KJB.
And we are indeed sick. How dare we judge others when we ourselves are sinners also. Sure, we might not have killed someone, or committed some other upper echelons of sin. It is man who puts categories or ranks on sins seriousness. Our Bible, and I need not remind you, but it says that all and I mean "ALL" are sinners in need of a Savior from that sin.
There is not one single soul in this world who is righteous enough to get into heaven as was our Lord, for we read this from someone who knew what the law is for Pilate said: "...I find no fault in this man." (Luke 23:4, 14) KJB. And even John said: "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin." (1 John 3:4-5) KJB. But in man is laid the sin of one, Adam, for it is passed from generation to generation from Adam to the present and will continue till the Lord destroys sin completely and the New Earth and New Heavens is created after the Old is taken away, which it will be.
So, for us to arrogantly say that someone who is a sinner cannot abide with us the righteous is beyond belief, for where did we come from. If it was not for the righteousness of God being applied to our souls washing us from sin, we would not be able to stand in His wrath. For it is His blood, that of Jesus Christ, which has been applied to the door posts of our hearts and over our heads, on the lintel, so that when judgment comes on all men, and it will, He will see the blood and pass over us, for we are forgiven. It is not the righteous Jesus came for but rather it is all sinners. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have ever lasting life." (John 3:16) KJB.. It is because of God's love for us that we are able to worship in His church and if we do not allow the sinner to come in, how can they be saved and on their way to heaven. How can the old self be changed so that the new is reborn into His glorious likeness?
Remember what He said: "...I will have mercy, and not sacrifice..." For He quoted from a well known part of Scripture but is one book of what modern man has said as a "minor" prophet, but to me, there is no such thing as Major or Minor Prophet for they all spoke the Word of God. In the small book of Hosea, we read: "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." (Hosea 6:6) KJB.
So, our Lord desires mercy, and how can we reflect the love of God if we do not show the very same mercy. The Lord went to where the sinners were, according to man's categorization of sins, and He freed them from that sin because of their belief in Him. If the sinners will not come to us, then should we not go to them in order to show them the love of God? As you probably noticed by now I am not sugar coating what I have to say because the Lord laid it on my heart to say something about what is happening in some of our "supposedly" Christian churches. When we reject one type of sin, for it is not the person we should reject but rather the sin, then at what level of sin do we stop when it comes to allowing those who are sinners into our church? Should we stop all murderers, should we stop all those who commit adultery, or should we stop at those who lie? Do you have the answer to that one? NO answer? Then what should we do but allow all to come in and have the opportunity to receive Christ into their hearts? Let us stop being arrogant and selfish but rather love all who come in and love them despite their sin, as our Lord did when He showed His love from the cross. Our Lord said: "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." (Isaiah 1:16-17) KJB.
By Dr. Terry Cleaveland, Pastor (retired), Preacher, Teacher of God's Holy Word, Grand Junction, Co.
Used with permission
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Rebels Against the Light
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Jul 25, 2009 11:58 am
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Job 24:13
"They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof." KJB
I am finding it abundantly clear these days that those who reject Christ are coming, as you were, out of the closet and not afraid to say something about good God fearing/Bible believing Children of God. They are not hesitant in saying something negative towards God's Word, the Bible. And yet, the Bible is nothing more than His word to show His creation, man the way to be in His presence after death. These who reject Jesus are not in the least worried about the fact that they are their own gods , even though they do not believe in a God as such. We cannot help but read in His word that "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12) KJB. Those who openly reject God I have found most often that they know nothing about God's word and even if they have find it to restricting for their tastes, but the thing is, they do not understand it because His word is not there to keep us tied down to legalism but rather to set us free from that legalism. His Word says, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John 8:36) KJB.
But, you might ask, what about those who seem to live a sincere and clean life, what about them? Or what about those who never hear of the name of Christ, what about them? Well, unfortunately, our Bible tells us something about those who seem to think that the sincere and clean/living gets some merit with God, for we read this "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:5-7) KJB. The "...works of righteousness..." are the clean living and good works which someone does. So you see, even the sincere person is sincerely wrong without Christ in their corner. We can be sincere about many things but does our sincerity prove to a Holy and just God that we are good enough to be in His presence? Not in the least.
Paul said this: "O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus?" (Romans 9:20) KJB. In other words, who are we to question the God who created us about the way He made us? Does the bowl which was formed by the potter, ask the potter, why did you make me like this? No, we do not get the privilege to ask God, our Creator, why He did what He did in our case! God is our Creator, right? And we need to realize that He does not make mistakes for all that He creates is perfect, even though that perfection does not line up with man's idea of what perfection is.. We need to realize something and that we are all sinners who are in need of a Savior. Unless we accept that one thing, we will surely have our names blotted out of the book of life, or the Lamb's book of life, which is the same thing, because we might not ask the Lord to come into our hearts and save us, unless we realize that one simple fact, that we all are sinners. (Romans 3:23) KJB. Not one single soul deserves to be "saved" so God has the perfect right to say: "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy" (Romans 9:15) KJB. And He will have mercy on all who ask with a heart broken enough to realize they are sinners and they ask the Lord to save them from that sin.
I know, you might ask, is God just when he makes such statements as "...I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) KJB. But does this not go against our God given sense of fairness? Why should some be able to hear the Gospel being preached and others not hear it at all? you might ask, Is that fair? No it isn't but you see, it is not God who is at fault because they did not hear the Gospel and have the chance to be saved but rather it is the problem of those who stop the Gospel from being preached to them, because God told us on many occasions to go forth and preach the Gospel to all creatures even unto the uttermost parts of the world. (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19) KJB.
We have the light which will shine in the darkness of this world and that is Jesus Christ. Christ Himself said: "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." (John 3:19-21) KJB. Notice the comparison of light and darkness. Jesus is the Light and who ever comes to Him will be always in the Light but those who reject this Light will remain in darkness because they "...loved darkness rather than light..." and what a shame that will be.
Notice what Cornelius did in Acts chapter ten. He did not rebel against the light he had, but he prayed for more light, therefore, God heard His prayers and sent Peter to him and when he heard, he believed and was saved. Perhaps God will send someone like Peter to you so that you can receive more light. If you are like Cornelius, then pray to God to send more light and you will receive it, that is a promise from God and not from me for I am nothing more than a humble servant doing His bidding in my life. Your light might be from nature or in your own conscience, which is actually from God in the first place, but when you ask He will give you more light some way, just believe and it will be done so that you also might become the child of God because without Christ you are not a child of God but rather a child in rebellion as Satan rebeled and God threw him out of heaven, is that what you want? Not one single person in the earth's short history has even been able to prove that God's Word is anything else but the very word of God to His creation, man.
So, either you are in the light, or you are in the dark, which is it because there is no middle ground when it comes to God and His Word.
By Dr. Terry Cleaveland, Pastor (retired), Preacher, Teacher of God's Holy Word, Grand Junction, Co.
Used with permission
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Fear of God
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Jul 24, 2009 9:59 am
271 Views
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2 Samuel 23:3
"The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." KJB
The very first mention of the "fear of God" is from Abraham and he said: "And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake." (Genesis 20:11) KJB. And when we think about it and learn what the Hebrew word for fear is, we cannot help but realize that the "...fear of God is not in this place..." meaning the United States. The Hebrew word is "yir'ah" feminine of "yare' "; fear, morally, reverence. So, it can mean to be afraid but it can also mean to have reverence for someone, most often God. When we look at what is happening within our government, we cannot help but see that "the fear of God in not in this place." God said, "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God" which does not seem to be happening. I know, we should not complain, because the majority of the people voted this current administration into office. Well, I guess, the majority of people need to stop and see what is actually happening within this administration.
Israel at one time ruled over the entire known world, even though they were a small nation, not as small as they are now, but small none the less. We learn of this when we read: "And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel." (2 Chronicles 20:29) KJB. It does not seem that our Lord "fights against the enemies of Israel" any more but they are still a nation, the longest known people in the world. When we, as Christians, go against Israel, even today, we will feel the wrath of God at some time or another. And their are some who call themselves Christian who openly speak out against Israel and they will have to make an account to God as to the reason why.
The Psalmist David said this: "The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil." (Psalm 36:1-4" KJB. Notice that the wicked "...flattereth himself in his own eyes..." and this seems to describe the world of today, because they are for themselves and not for the God of Israel, the God of the Christians also.
Then Paul said this: "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Romans 3:10-1 KJB. Paul really laid it on the line here in this epistle to the church at Rome and I need not add to it but I do want to say that Paul described the people who were for themselves at his time over two thousand years ago and we seem to think that we have advanced so much and changed so much, but I cannot see that change. We as a people have turned our backs on God and "There is no fear of God before their eyes." Remember, we will reap what we sow and we have been sowing things that are good in our own eyes and leaving the God of creation out of the equation. For the Christian we need to stop being so selfish and do what Jesus tells us to do. Love God, then others and then ourselves. We have that reversed and until we can get it right we will be behind the eight ball, so to speak.
Paul said: "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Corinthians 7:1) KJB. When we stop seeing things from our own eyes and can "...cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" then we can live according to His Word in more perfection, even though we will never be perfect this side of heaven. Now, if we read the rest of this epistle to the church at Corinth we can learn what these promises are that Paul is speaking about and then we can claim them. Now, do we have the right to claim His promises when we are not walking according to His word? No, I do not think so. We can stop and think about His word and do it for our lives, then I think we can claim these promises Paul is speaking of.
Paul also said: "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." (Ephesians 5:21) KJB. I think we have forgotten how to submit ourselves one to another today. When I was in the military, there was a sense of rank or authority within it. And that is what we do not have anymore, there is no longer any rank within our churches. If we read our Bible correctly, we have God first, then man, then woman, and the last is children, but this rank of authority cannot be seen in most of our churches, why is that? Because we have gotten away from the Word of God and have seen things from our own perspective, because there is no respect of persons with God. God gave man the authority within the house but since the time of Adam and Eve, the woman has great influence over man. Adam knew that the eating of the fruit within the garden was against the Word of God, and yet the woman was able to entice him to sin and look what happened because of that one sin.
Now, even though we seemingly have forgotten God in this nation, we can repent of that sin and God said He would heal our nation. But until we can get back to the God of our Bible, this nation will not be healed and we are very sick. Let us pray for this nation so that God will heal it. God will heal us, but we have to be willing to do His word and will, after that healing.
The nation of Israel is our example, for they repeatedly forgot about God and His word. Let us get back to His word and to Him and to the "fear of God" and then this nation will be healed.
By Dr. Terry Cleaveland, Pastor (retired), Preacher, Teacher of God's Holy Word, Grand Junction, Co.
Used with permission
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Humanism Folly
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Jul 23, 2009 9:09 am
280 Views
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Psalm 14:1
"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." KJB
I can just listen to the intellectuals saying that they definitely deny that there is such a person as God, the Creator of it all, but in God's judgment, and His judgment is always perfect, that these "intellectuals" are nothing more than fools. We are not only told this in our text for today but we have also the 53rd Psalm, and not to leave the New Testament out, Paul tells us the same thing in his Epistle to the church at Rome. These describe not the outward appearance of these fools, but what they are from the inside, or rather their character. We read this repeated reference or emphasis on their character, but are they? They are those who call themselves atheists, or humanists, or maybe pantheists, or any other person and what they call themselves who seem to think that they are their own god: which they are. Our Bible says: "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation..." (Hebrews 2:3) KJB, which they who reject the Creator of all things, for they shall not escape the judgment which will come at the Great White throne of Judgment by the very One who created them in the first place.
Our Bible goes on to declare or describe the awful degeneration from true creationism, which many believed just a short one hundred and fifty years ago, into the evolutionary humanistic rejectors of God that the world seems to embrace today. Paul said this in the first chapter to the church at Rome: (please read this carefully, meditating over what Paul is saying), "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." (Romans 1:21-25) KJB. They might not think that they know that there is a God but they do in some shape or form, even if they place themselves in that position. It is the same position that Satan tried to place himself in and look what it got him!
There are some of these atheists/humanists who claim to be moral people, however, at times, their idea of what is moral and right is not the same as God in our Bible. It does not matter how "humane" their "works of righteousness" are, they are still guilty of the greatest of sins, that of unbelief, which is called the second death/the sin unto death, talked about in Revelations 21. We also read in the book of Hebrews this: "Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is" (11:6) KJB. In other words, when man stands before God, they need to believe that He is the one who could have saved them and they will because our Bible goes on and says: "I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed...For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God...That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Isaiah 45:23-24; Romans 14:11-12; Philippians 2:10-11) KJB. Notice that all three sets of these verses tell us that every knee shall bow. That includes all those who are atheistic, humanistic, or pantheistic: it does not matter who you are, you will bow before Him when the time comes for your judgment.
With all the true evidences to God's reality as seen in His creation and through historical and scientific discovery, we can see Him in all things. We can definitely see this in the one irrefutable evidence in the Person and the work of Jesus Christ, and this evidence is not just found in the Bible, there are many secular documents which say the very same things as our Bible. It is utter "foolish" to plunge into all eternity and come to realize that you found out too late who Jesus is when you have every thing in evidence which points to the Creator. The bad thing about evolution is that it takes more faith to believe in nothing that it does to believe in things that can be seen, not God but the things He created. NONE of it can come by "accident", which the evolutionist thinks happened. Well, the Big Bang has not happened yet, but it will, you can be assured of that one fact.
What about you, what is it you believe? Can you be said to be foolish or are you a wise man in Him, Jesus Christ?
By Dr. Terry Cleaveland, Pastor (retired), Preacher, Teacher of God's Holy Word, Grand Junction, Co
Used with permission
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And There Shall Be No Night
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Jul 22, 2009 9:56 am
270 Views
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Revelation 22:5
"And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." KJB
When we read the account of the creation we find that the very first words out of the mouth of God was "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3) KJB. He did not say, I create light, He said "make light". Now, since God is light (1 John 1:5) KJB. Now, He did create "darkness", however, (Isaiah 45) KJB, but He divided the light from the darkness, and then "...God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night" (Genesis 1:5) KJB.
All though the darkness can be a time of rest and sleep, it is also what God made to contrast Spiritually, the difference between, His perfect light and that of Satan's darkness. I want you to understand something, most evil deeds are done in the darkness, and Christians are warned over and over not to "...have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness..." (Ephesians 5:11) KJB. Peter tells us that God has called us "...out of darkness into His marvelous light..." (1 Peter 2:9) KJB.
Our text for today tells us of a time when we will not need the artificial light because we will go and dwell in our eternal home in the Holy City, the city gates "shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there" (Revelation 21:25) KJB. "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:23) KJB. Wow, what better "revelation" can there be than to realize that the Light we have in His heaven, is that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. However, the sun and moon will still be functioning in the heavens, however, for "He hath also stablished them for ever and ever" (Psalm 148:6) KJB. Our God is the Creator, He is not an un-creator, even though He will "create all things new" the sun and moon will still hang in the heavens as they do now, but we will not need them to shine on us because we will not need them anymore. What a great and wonderful God we serve. We read this: "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever" (Ecclesiastes (3:14) KJB.
As I said, the sun and moon will still be there, but their light will not be needed in the Holy City where we shall live for all eternity, why, Because the Lamb of God will be the Lamp of God. He is the Light of the world and will be for all eternity, for He is at the "right hand of God" and where He is there will never be any darkness, once again, because He is the Light. What a marvelous God we serve because His light shines in the darkness of our souls to shine the way to His eternal abode. I do not know about you but I cannot wait to be in the presence of the Eternal Light of God for all eternity.
What about you, do you want to be in the presence of the Light for all eternity? Then you need to ask Him into your heart.
By Dr. Terry Cleaveland, Pastor (retired), Preacher, Teacher of God's Holy Word, Grand Junction, Co.
Used with permission
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Absolute Trust
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Jul 21, 2009 7:17 am
250 Views
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Job 13:15-16
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him." KJB
We learn from God Himself that Job was the most perfect and upright man in all the earth (Job 1: KJB. And yet, he was put to the greatest test that any man (except Christ) could ever go through just so that God could prove to Satan how just and upright he was. He started out this test by losing all of his possessions and then his very large family, except his wife, in one single day. Then, if that was not enough to break any strong man, he was afflicted for months on end with a very terrible and very painful disease. And if that itself was not enough he lost all respect from his so-called friends who charged him with being a wicked sinner and a hypocrite to boot. Job then prayed for deliverance from the God he loved with all his heart and it appeared that God completely ignored him. Job sought for understanding as to what was happening to him but it appeared that God, whom he trusted with all his heart, again ignored his requests.
Then if that was not enough, he was confronted with a young 'religionists' who falsely said that God gave to him a divine message that Job was full of sin and hypocrisy. Yet, despite all of what he went through, Job never once lost his absolute faith in the God whom he knew would deliver him from all his troubles and tribulations, for he said: "Though He slay me, yet will I trust him," and he also said, "For I know that my redeemer liveth" (Job 19:25) and he also said, "He also shall be my salvation" ( vs 26).
I do not know about you but I think of Job as an example of how a person could trust in God no matter what happens. Some get a hang-nail and their faith is shot but Job lost everything he ever had, including all his children in one single day and yet he did not waver. Sure he had his questions and his anger came forth from time to time, but not once did his faith or trust waver. This ancient patriarch, whose knowledge of God's word, God's love, and God's great salvation in his God was only a small portion of what we today know about these very same things of our God, and yet his trust in the God of creation was so strong that it weathered what happened in his life.
The apostle James reminds us of the "patience of Job" who was the greatest example of patience of all the great prophets of God and James said: "Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." (James 5:10-11) KJB.
Through Job example we can learn one major thing, that we can have complete trust in Him no matter what is happening to us in this day and time. Sure, today is different than it was for Job, because Job was just a few short years from the day when Adam and Eve were thrown from the Garden of Eden, so his faith is by direct knowledge of the Creator. But because we have all that we need in our Bible to know who God is, as did Job, and yet our trust is not the trust of Job, why is that? If you can answer that then you understand more than I do. I know one thing, I trust my God and my Creator with all that I have, what about you?
By Dr. Terry Cleaveland, Pastor (retired), Preacher, Teacher of God's Holy Word, Grand Junction, Co.
Used with permission
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Properly Clothed
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Jul 20, 2009 5:01 pm
206 Views
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Ephesians 6:13
"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." KJB
In this day of permissiveness and the way our children are trying to cloth themselves, it is hard for the Christian mother and father to teach their children the proper way of dressing themselves. But, what I want to talk about today is not how we adorn the outside of ourselves, but the Spiritual side. Paul is telling the church at Ephesus how to cloth themselves and what they are to put on. He says in the eleventh and twelfth verse this: "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:11-12) KJB. In other words, in order to stand against the "...fiery darts of the wicked" (vs. 16) we need to put on the armor of God which will help us to stand against Satan's attacks against us, and do not mistake, he will attack us in order to take us out of the action.
I learned in the military that if you kill the enemy that is only one person, but if you wound that same enemy, it will in effect take two to three people out of action, because there has to be someone to take care of the wounded so that takes more people. Satan is highly intelligent and will do anything he can to take you or I out of the battle. That is why we need to put the "...whole armor of God..." on so that in those times of attack we "...may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." I want you to understand something in this whole armor thing, each and everyone of the pieces of armor are for defensive only. The only two things that are offensive in nature and those two I will tell you about later on in this devotional.
The first one is found in the fourteenth verse for we read: "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth..." which is the first thing that we place on because it is the piece of armor which the body armor is attached to. The girdle, or belt which went around the loins was put on first so that much of the soldiers armor might be firmly attached to the body, without the belt, the rest of the body armor would fall off. Notice that Paul calls it the "girdle of truth" and the truth is always the first thing that we put on. Without the truth of the Word of God, we are like soldiers who do not have something to attach everything else.
The second one, also found in the fourteenth verse is this: "...having on the breastplate of righteousness...", which is attached to the "girdle" and is placed over the heart, protecting the heart with the righteousness of God for rightness must cover the heart. We are told that we need to hide the Word of God in our hearts so that we might not sin against God. (Psalms 119:11) KJB. But, when we hide His word in our hearts, or memorize it, we can tell Satan to take a hike when he comes against us, as did our Lord and Savior over and over again, especially during his forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. I know, you are not Jesus, but we have His word, so use the Word of God against Satan and He has to flee.
The third one reads thus: "And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace..." (vs. 15). Now, over and over throughout the New Testament, Jesus tells the disciples to go forth, teaching the Gospel so that people can come to Him for salvation. When our feet are shod we can go forth teaching the "...gospel of peace...".. Now, Paul teaches us about the Gospel in his first epistle to the church at Corinth. I have taught about the Gospel over and over again, but suffice it to say, the gospel is about the Lord's death, as was written, His burial, and His resurrection, as was written. There you have the Gospel of peace. When one receives Christ into their hearts, there comes on them a peace that will defy all logic. I know that is what happened to me and I have heard the same thing from many, many people over the years. I want you to understand something about the fifteenth verse. The emphasis is not so much on our witnessing but rather on our believing this Gospel, therefore, we are more prepared to be that witness for God to all around us, or to serve where ever He would have us to go. For the Christian, some would question us how we have such peace about us when it seems all hell is breaking loose around us, and that gives us the opportunity to explain to them about the Gospel of Christ.
The fourth one is found in the sixteenth verse and it is this: "Above all, taking the shield of faith...", which God tells us through Paul is the most important of all the armor which we place on our bodies and our hearts: and the reason is so that we "...quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." You will have many things come against you as you serve the Lord. For those who tell you that your life will never have problems after becoming a Christian are doing nothing but lying to you. Because the opposite is the truth. Satan will do all he can to take us out of the picture so that we can not be effective for the Lord by leading others to the same God we know.
The next thing we learn about is this: "And take the helmet of salvation..." which we put on to protect our minds. The helmet is placed on the head to protect the cranium, which by the way is one of the hardest bones in our body. We often talk about the heart of a person, but it is the mind where the decisions are made. The very best decision that we can make is the decision to receive Christ into our hearts, which is by faith and not any other means. We cannot purchase salvation, we cannot inherit salvation, the only way to have salvation is by faith and faith alone. Have you noticed that since coming to Christ that your decisions are changed? The ones you make now are more based on the Word of God rather than on the worlds opinion!
Now, the next to the last one is the "Sword of the Spirit" which is the first of the only two offensive weapons we have. Our Bible tells us that the "...sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God...", therefore, our ability to wield this "sword" will help us get Satan away from us. Now, the Word of God is not to be used to hit someone over the head with, even though at times we think that is the only way that we are going to get their attention. At times I would love nothing more than to pound someone over the head with my fifteen pound old Scoffield. Jesus was very adept at swinging His Sword at Satan, therefore, He should be our example.
Most Bible scholars stop at the "sword of the Spirit" to round out our armor, but there is one more listed and I feel it is the best offensive weapon that we have and in the eighteenth verse we read: "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints...". Now I feel that "prayer" is the best offensive weapon that a Christian can wield, what do you think? Therefore, should it not be listed as one of the offensive weapons, right along with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God? I think so!
Now, Paul places this armor on and he is able to do something that most Christians fail to do, and that is to speak out boldly for the Lord and about His Salvation. We read in the nineteenth and the twentieth verse this: "And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." KJB. We all need to take Paul's example and place this armor on and then step out and boldly speak for the Lord with all people. The question comes out, can you tell someone, when they are putting a gun to your head, that you are a Christian? Are you willing to die for Him? If not why not? Because if we die here we will be immediately in the presence of the Lord, and that will be for all eternity. As the young lady did at Columbine High did that day, she professed that she was a Christian and died for that declaration, as did several others on that day, but she set the example.
What about you, have you placed the full armor of God on so that you might be that witness for Jesus everywhere you go?
By Dr. Terry Cleaveland, Pastor (retired), Preacher, Teacher of God's Holy Word, Grand Junction, Co.
Used with permission
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Perfect Goal
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Jul 19, 2009 12:28 pm
228 Views
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PERFECT GOAL
1 Timothy 1:5
"Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:" KJB
Notice that Paul, as he begins his instruction to Timothy, his "own son in the flesh" (vs.2), warns him about false doctrine (vs.3) and also about getting into petty arguments (vs.4). His contrast about false teaching is set against his own teachings which is three fold..
The first thing we see about Paul's ministry is that it produces "charity (agape love) out of a pure heart...". If there is one thing that is important about this type of love is that it is "God's" type of love, which He is the only one who is perfect in it, because we are still in the flesh. This type of love is given to those who are undeserving in that love. When the Holy Spirit comes in and cleans house and has purified our hearts we are able to give this type of love, but only "if" we allow the Holy Spirit to do so. It always amazes me that the enemies I once had are now not only tolerated but loved because of the work the Holy Spirit has done in my life. It is He who has done the work and not me, praise the Lord for that small gift or miracle. After leaving Vietnam I did not think it was possible for me to feel this type of love towards others but thanks to God it is not only possible but it has happened within my soul.
The next thing that we see is the proper type of teaching which should lead us to "....a good conscience." Our lives need to be free from unconfessed sin and from wrongs which are made right towards the ones we have hurt over the years. I know, you think that you could not have hurt anyone, well, think again, because while in the flesh we tend to be selfish about what we think towards others and even toward ourselves. We tend to have an unrealistic opinion of ourselves and need to see who we are from God's point of view. When we are able to do that we cannot help but think of ourselves as sinners who have sinned against a Holy and Just God.
The third thing that we see in our text for today is that we are to have "...unfeigned faith..." or faith that does not waver or a sincere faith without hypocrisy. The faith that we have needs to be our own faith and not the faith of others. Oft times we tend to gain strength from those who are around us but the faith that we have needs to be our own and not taken from someone else. The only way to have the right type of faith is for each and every one of us needs to study the Word of God and gain that faith by doing so. Faith cannot come without knowledge being gained. The more we learn about the God of our Bible, the more our faith is built up. We sometimes rely on family members for our faith but that is not to be so: the faith we have needs to be our own. Our faith is built on nothing less than the word of God. If we try to gain faith by any other means it is a faith that is not lasting or is flighty to say the least. Remember, "...faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God..." (Romans 10:17) KJB.
Throughout the centuries, teachers like Timothy have been "gifted" to the church by God. We learn this from Paul also: "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:12-16) KJB.
If there is one thing I can impart to you today, and that is this, without the perfect love of God within us, we cannot even begin to love others as He loved us. In other words, without being saved it is impossible to love the love of God, for His love is perfected by His actions on the cross of Calvary. I am not saying that we need to die for others but rather that we die to self and allow the Holy Spirit to direct our lives, praying for everything before we attempt to do them.
By Dr. Terry Cleaveland, Pastor (retired), Preacher, Teacher of God's Holy Word, Grand Junction, Co.
Used with permission
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Daily Rules from God
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Jul 19, 2009 5:57 am
231 Views
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1. Wake Up!! Decide to have a good day. 'Today is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.' Psalms 118:24
2. Dress Up!! The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. 'The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance; but the Lord looks at the heart.' I Samuel 16
3. Shut Up!! Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking. 'He who guards his lips guards his soul.' Proverbs 13:3
4. Stand Up!!... For what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.. 'Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good...' Galatians 6:9-10
5. Look Up!!... To the Lord.
'I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me.' Phillippians 4:13
6. Reach Up!!... For something higher. 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, And He will direct your path.'
Proverbs 3:5-6
7. Lift Up!!... Your Prayers.
'Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING.'
Philippians 4:6
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