How We Avoid Hell 

     In the first book, Genesis, we find the answer in chapter 15-v. 6. Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 

     Is it that simple? When God promised Abram and his wife a child, and they both were beyond child-bearing years, Abram still believed God. Is that all? 

     Believe (Hebrew 'aman') means to persevere in trust and belief with obedient faithfulness. Abram trusted God. He was in a right relationship with God and his will. He received God as his shield and reward. So, no, belief isn't a one-time statement that carries us through to salvation. 

     In Genesis 22 Abraham's faith was tested when God told him to take his son Isaac to a mountain and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. When this father had raised his knife, an angel intervened, saying, "Now I know that you fear God..." Now, God knew that Abraham was a God-fearing man whose chief concern was to do God's will.   

     Abraham had many offspring, and today he is considered the "father of all who believe." - New Testament, Romans 4:11. 

     Has yours truly been tested? Yes, but I didn't have to threaten my kids to prove my faithfulness. Have you been tested? We recommend you read all of Genesis chapter 22.

           Jimmy

 Prayer to Celebrate July 4th 

     Most of us, we hope, know our 250th-year celebration is drawing near. Our president has called on Americans to pray for us to "rededicate ourselves to one nation under God." 

     Yesterday our blog on birds noted that 91 million Americans are bird watchers. If only 91 million of us prayed daily for "one nation under God" to forgive us and to give us favor and understanding. 

     Pastor Robert Jeffress said, "There is no more important service for Christians to provide for our country and its leaders than consistent, fervent prayers on their behalf."  

     The U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development asked, "What if one million people prayed for our country every week until July 4th? What if each believer got together with 10 people - friends, family, colleagues, work associates - 10 people each week to pray for our country and fellow citizens?" 

     This, the Lord has already called us to do. "Scripture directs us to pray for 'all who are in high positions' because this 'is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.'" - (1 Timothy 2:2-4) 

     Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland, said: "When our nation feels divided, when political violence and fear threaten to harden our hearts, prayer is exactly what we need. We can draft laws and cast votes, but only God can change hearts." 

                Jimmy

 

Flocks Attract Younger Flocks   

     My boyhood home was on a street well named Shady Avenue. There were large maple trees on both sides of the street. Two trees shaded our front yard...perfect limbs and branches for huge flocks of starlings. Spring or fall, I don't recall, but annually they flew down for a rest. 

     Their rest was a test. You see, bird "bathrooms" were the shady trees. Much of their mess fell on our shady properties. Dad took a board and banged it on the cement railing. Better yet, our neighbor two doors up used his gun. One bang, and off they flew. 

     My uncle Bill might not have approved. He was the first head of Everglades National Park, following the war. We drove from Pennsylvania to Florida when I was 10 to visit them and another uncle and aunt. Before Bill passed away, he claimed to have seen and identified 500 birds all over the country. 

     Today, Bill would be happy to know more Americans, and younger ones, have taken up bird watching. They see a world around them that they never really observed. Bird watching helps one appreciate nature, and it becomes a hobby. Upwards fly the birds, and upwards is the number of American birders, 91 million, and the average age, 49, down from 53 in 2011. 

     Yours truly isn't one of them, but we salute people who can leave the television for a while and do something else. 

           Jimmy 

Jesus said:

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. - Matthew 7:1-2

Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is good - except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother. 

"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." Jesus looked at him and loved him. One thing you lack, he said. Go sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then, come, follow me. - Mark 10:18-21 

Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all - he is the greatest. - Luke 9:48 

Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.    - John 5:22-23   

U.S. Postal Service - Bankrupt?

     When this kid was very young, our mailbox was on our front porch. The mailman came off the sidewalk to deliver and to pick up any outgoing mail. A high school friend, Chuck, after the Army, became a mailman, his (Pennsylvania) walk sometimes freezing, snowy or rainy.  

     As for me, on our school's lunch hour I had a job bicycling mail from a factory to and from the post office. There were two other stops on my route. There is no part-time work for teenagers today. That factory and others no longer exist. Like so many northern businesses. 

     Today we seldom send mail, and most mail we receive is from organizations or politicians asking for money. With email, cellphones and such, the United States Postal Service is down from a high of 213 billion pieces annually to 109 billion...about half.  

     Last year the Service lost $9 billion, and it could go bankrupt in 2027. So said postmaster general David Steiner. 

     USPS has been funded by stamp sales and package fees, but two decades have passed without a profit. Steiner wants Congress to authorize borrowing more money so USPS can operate like an independent business. Really? USPS legally must deliver to all U.S. addresses. More than 70 percent of its routes are unprofitable.   

     USPS has a partnership with Amazon, more than 6% of its annual income. Any volunteer mail carriers out there?

            Jimmy 

Try Worshiping in China 

     Last October, governing authorities arrested and imprisoned 18 Christians. They are still held on charges of anti-government online activities. The daughter of a pastor arrested, now in the U.S., said "They didn't want to join government sanctioned churches, which would infringe on their ability to worship God wholeheartedly. This is just one example of a new wave of persecution." 

     "In 2018 the government made it impossible to rent out any other space, so the church started meeting online and offline, and it holds services through online media. The Chinese government claims this is illegal. But their sermons are still on YouTube, and people are meeting. It's not political, just the gospel," she says to WORLD magazine. 

     "Today, there are no direct family communications with any of the 18 detained. They are not allowed to meet the prisoners. They're not allowed phone calls or even letters. Lawyers who once provided information are having their licenses revoked." 

     "The Chinese government controls with Communist Party songs and core socialist values. They fear anything they can't control. Free Christians also provide services to the poor and vulnerable, as they do in other countries. But the government thinks it is the only party that can help people, so people rely only on the Communist Party." 

     But Christianity is growing in China. The daughter (above) believes persecution often makes the faith grow faster and firmer. She says "We know that God is faithful and is using this for good. When another pastor asked my father, 'How would you feel if they were coming for you?' My dad just said, 'Hallelujah, the gospel will spread even further.'" 

     She asks that we pray for those in prison, and their families. 

     I don't need to comment.   Jimmy  

Jews and Gentiles

Setting the Record Straight  

     Friends, from time to time this month we'll include a few verses from the informative book of Romans. After 25 years of spreading the gospel, Paul (a Christian Jew) planned to follow his letter to Rome. He wanted to correct rumors and attitudes about Jews and Gentiles, both ways.  

(Neither had plentiful Bibles until recent times. Today, American Christians and Jews in Israel have joined hands to help people in need. But Satan and other demons are at war with both. Easily fooled Americans chant the end of Israel. Every author in the New Testament was Jewish, except Luke, who wrote "Luke" and "Acts." Now, back to Paul:

     Romans chapter 2: "There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism."  

     Romans 3. "Let God be true, and every man a liar. What shall we conclude then? We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written, 'There is no one righteous, not even one' (Paul includes himself). Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his (God's) sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."

     "But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known. This righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are (can be) justified freely by his grace. God presented (Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. He did this...because He left the sins committed beforehand unpunished ... he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time."

     "Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes...since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that faith. We (Jews) uphold the law." 

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