A Church Like No Other
I got started in church at a young age. Mom brought a small pallet which she put on the floor between pews and put me on it.
I grew to love and appreciate that church. In many ways it was ahead of its time. The church had an orchestra long before they were popular. Proportionately it was a large one. Darrel was on the trumpet, Bob on the clarinet, Mr. Ross and Mrs. Sally on violins, and Mr. Addison on the trombone beating time with his foot on the wooden floor. They were good.
I was saved during a revival, but there was another in which I almost rebelled against the church. It was a revival during the hot summer. As children we had played outside before the service. The sermon was long and not appealing to youth. Nevertheless I was trying hard to be interested. The sanctuary had folding doors down the side that closed off part of the assembly to be used as classrooms.
There were several of us boys sitting in one of those wings. The folded doors blocked my vision of the preacher. In all sincerity I leaned forward to see around the doors. My chin was propped up on my arm and hand with one finger beside my cheek. My chin slipped and that one finger momentarily covered my one closed eye the preacher could see from the pulpit. I am sure that from his perspective he thought I was sleeping. Forcefully he said, “A lot of you are sleeping and going to hell, like this boy sitting over here, and pointed me out. How not to reach youth.
There were many good days. One Sunday our Sunday School teacher announced we were going to have a picnic next Saturday at the artesian well. There was one caveat, everyone had to prepare their own lunch. On the big day I got out a jar of peanut butter and a banana. I squashed up the banana and blended it into the peanut butter, smoothed it out on a slice of bread, and capped it with another. Double play on a second.
At the picnic we played around for a while and the teacher called out, “Boys and girls, it’s time for the picnic.” I had been listening as we played and one cute little girl said, “In my picnic basket I have a whole fried chicken, a bowl of potato salad, some muffins, and a big jar of ice tea.” My lunch was in a brown paper sack. She said, “Nelson, why don’t we spread our lunches together.” I said, “Well, I think that is a very good idea.” Hers was in a picnic basket and mine in a brown paper sack. When we did spread all I had was hers and all she had was mine.
In like manner Jesus says to us, “Come on, my child, let’s spread together.” Wouldn’t it be foolish to say, “No, I want all of mine myself.” Whereas if you agree to “spread” with Him all He has is yours and fortunately all you have is His.”
All your anxieties, all of your fears take to the mercy seat and leave them there. In turn He gives you grace and peace. He said, “My grace is sufficient for you.”
If you have never repentantly called on Jesus asking for Him to forgive your sins, “spreading” that is, with Him, do it now to get His bountiful basket of blessings. When you spread your sin with Him He forgives and gives new life.
“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” Psalm 86:5
God Bless America
From a root should be expected a corresponding fruit. Deny the root and destroy the fruit. The root of America has been canonized by our Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Both have been minimized by revisionists who are trying to rewrite the basis of both. Not all involved in their authorship were Christians, but all, that is all, knew Scripture and Christian doctrine. The training of several was at the hand of ministers.
Those closely associated with the founding of our nation testify of the faith factor.
In a letter from John Adams written to Thomas Jefferson on June 28, 1813, Adams wrote: “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”
Benjamin Franklin did not shrink from acknowledging his belief in God at work in forging our Constitution. “I have so much faith in the general government of the world by Providence that I can hardly conceive a transaction of such momentous importance [as the framing of the Constitution]… should be suffered to pass without being in some degree influenced, guided, and governed by that…beneficent Ruler in whom all inferior spirits live and move and have their being.”
This being the celebration of our independence consider these factors regarding the Declaration of Independence. On the issue of independence all the colonies were agreed, but a few of the most cautious delegates still were not sure about the timing. Rev. John Witherspoon, a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, and a Founding Father of the United States, a delegate from New Jersey, answered their concerns as he said: “There is a tide in the affairs of men. We perceive it now before us. To hesitate is to consent to our own slavery. That noble instrument should be subscribed to this very morning by every pen in this house. Though these gray hairs must soon descend to the sepulcher, I would infinitely rather that they descend thither by the hand of the executioner than desert at the crisis the sacred cause of my country!”
The delegates went on to approve the Declaration of Independence. After the announcement of the vote, silence moved over the Congress as the men contemplated the magnitude of what they had just done. Some wept openly, while others bowed in prayer. After signing the Declaration with unusually large writing, the President of the Continental Congress, John Hancock, broke the silence as he declared, “His majesty can now read my name without glasses. And he can also double the price on my head.”
They knew the possible consequence might be their deaths. As Franklin suggested, they did “hang together, or we shall hang separately,” (meaning, we must stay together or we will be hang separately). Many of these signers as well as tens of thousands of colonists lost their lives, families, reputations, and property in order to purchase liberty for themselves and their posterity.
John Hancock furthermore said, “Let us humbly commit our righteous cause to the great Lord of the Universe…. Let us joyfully leave our concerns in the hands of Him who raises up and puts down the empires and kingdoms of the earth as He pleases.”
Please God, please bless America, and help us to live with brotherhood for all.
The Bible – Part Five
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (II Timothy 3: 16, 17) That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
The divine author of Scripture is God the Holy Spirit. Exactly how this process worked is a mystery. Scripture asserts that this did happen without explaining exactly how it happened.
In addition, the Lord divinely selected the writers of Scripture – there was no volunteering for the job.
The writers of the Old and New Testament were not merely stenographers who mindlessly wrote what God dictated to them. Their own experiences and personalities were involved when the various books were being composed. Ultimately, however, the final result was supernaturally guided by God.
The result of divine inspiration is that the Bible is the very Word of God. This includes the works, the ideas, and the specific vocabulary of Scripture. Therefore everything written in Scripture is correct—there are no errors of any kind since the ultimate source is God. This means that there are no errors of fact. No Scripture is from a human source. God spoke, that is, He communicated it through chosen penmen.
When we speak of the Bible being authoritative, it means that it is God’s accurate revelation of Himself to humanity. Though humans composed the various books of Scripture, the result was an error-free work in the original manuscripts. This is because all Scripture was God-breathed. God had His hand on the production in such a way that we can accept the entire Scripture as being trustworthy.
According to 1 John 1:4, John said, “These things I write unto you that your joy may be full.” The Bible also is the source of consummate joy, built on perfect peace and hope for time and eternity. This is the most powerful book in existence. And that is because in order to accomplish these living things, it must be not the word of men, but the word of the living God. And that is exactly what it is.
Study of the word of God results in joy. It results in peace that gives stability. Knowing it to be God’s standard for life gives confidence and assurance as to what conduct pleases God. Knowing this and living by the standard gives joy.
More than 2,600 times the Old Testament and 525 times the New Testament claim to be God’s Word. All (of this) Scripture is given by inspiration of God. (II Timothy 3: 16) “All” means all.
God’s appointed penmen wrote in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek. They wrote in the Sanai desert, the wilderness of Judea, the cave in Adulliam, the public prison in Rome, on the island of Patmos, the palaces of Shushan, by the rivers of Babylon, and on the banks of Chebar. All the words they wrote were God’s word.
It being such a supernatural, divinely inspired, authoritative word for today makes it worth our study and compliance with its teaching. What is it to you?
The Bible – Part Four
THE BIBLE IS – – –
DIVINELY INSPIRED,
SUPERNATURALLY AUTHORED,
INFALLIBLY AUTHORITATIVE.
It being God’s Word, what does it mean to you? Will you make it a habit to read it often, even study it using a reputable source, memorize portions, and endeavor to live according to its teachings? Make yourself a commitment.
You may own a Bible and thus it is a possession.
You might memorize the Bible and thus it is a precept.
When you live by the Bible it becomes a practice.
The objective is to move from it being a possession to a practice.
Is God smarter than you? If so, His Book is a reputable source of knowledge, a competent guidebook, a reliable field guide. If so, resolve, “I will make it ‘.. a lamp to my feet and light to my path.’”
THE CENTER OF THE BIBLE
Q. WHAT IS THE SHORTEST CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE”
A. PSALM 117
Q. WHAT IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE?
A. PSALM 119
Q. WHICH CHAPTER IS IN THE CENTER
A. PSALM 118
FACT: THERE ARE 594 CHAPTERS BEFORE PSALM 118
FACT: THERE ARE 594 CHAPTERS AFTER PSALM 118
ADD THESE NUMBERS AND YOU GET 1188
Q. WHAT IS THE CENTER VERSE IN THE BIBLE?
A. PSALM 1,188
THE NEXT TIME SOMEONE SAYS THEY WOULD LIKE TO FIND GOD’S PERFECT WILL FOR THEIR LIFE AND THEY WANT TO BE IN THE CENTER OF HIS WILL, JUST SEND THEM TO THE CENTER OF HIS WORD!
PSALM 118: 8
“IT IS BETTER TO TRUST IN THE LORD THAN TO PUT CONFIDENCE IN MAN.”
NOW ISN’T THAT ODD HOW THIS WORKS OUT,
OR WAS GOD IN THE CENTER OF IT.
PSALM 118: 8
The Bible – Part Three
The Bible consists of 66 books, 1,100 chapters, and 31,0000 verses, and 733,746 words. The story of the compilation of the books shows the spiritual effort involved in finding the mind of God. The compilation was known as the kanon, which is from a Hebrew word “qaneh” meaning reed or measuring rod. It was the standard by which the books were judged.
The Jewish historian Josephus (37 – 100 AD) was the first to explicitly distinguish books that were canonical. He determined them to be based on the proximity to the happening, and inherent authority. Regarding the New Testament added to these requirements was that the author had to have known or seen the resurrected Jesus.
Of the authors of the New Testament four were apostles, two were half-brothers of Jesus and one was a Gentile and second largest writer of the New Testament, Luke. One was Mark, a companion of Peter, and at times an assistant of Peter.
The earliest known recognition of the 27 books of the New Testament to which nothing could be added or deleted is the list preserved by Athanasius in 367 AD. The Synod of Hippos (393 A. D.) and the Third Synod of Carthage in 397 A. D. concurred.
A council of rabbis, called the Synod of Jamnia, met in 90A. D. and put together the Old Testament.
The first official New Testament appeared in the fifth century.
Political events hastened the canonization. Emperor Diocletian bitterly persecuted the Christians between 302 A.D. and 305 A.D. One of his edicts called for the burning of all Scripture. Christians had to decide what books were worth dying for. There criteria for inclusion:
Is the book authoritative — does it claim to be of God.
Is it prophetic – was it written by a prophet or apostle.
Its antiquity, how close was text written to the events.