If Not Disciples…Rocks

    The first day of the last week, the King of kings rode humbly into Jerusalem on a colt. (see Zechariah 9:9) 

    Residents, aware of his miracles, joyfully spread their cloaks and palm branches on the road, praising God in loud voices: Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!   - Psalm 118:26  

    Pharisees, not buying the "king" idea, said, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" Jesus replied, "I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

If Not Pro-Lifers…Bones

    Marchers, lawyers and pregnancy center counselors battle long odds. We assume that some in government and media are looking for a way to silence pro-lifers. Would opposition to abortion end?

    “Maybe so,” wrote Marvin Olasky, “but the very bones cry out.”  

    He refers to a book, CHOICE WORDS, quoting 150 international authors, all committed to abortion, or at least, choice.

    Twenty of them included “poetry that shows how abortion sometimes leads to self-hatred and is always tragic,” Olasky wrote. One of them is Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize for poetry, in 1945.

    Pratibha Kelapure wrote of “blood, hope and the whisper of a life flowed away, leaving the elephant of guilt on your shoulder until your heart is buried too deep to pulse with life.”

    Farideh Mostafavi wrote, “Since your death in the eyes of all flowers, I am nothing but the wind with the bloody hands.”

    The book also shows how abortion hardens some. Leyla Josephine wrote, in part, “I will not be tamed. It will not be wasted. This is my body. This is my body. This is my body. I don’t care about your ignorant views.”

    In another column, Olasky wrote that abortion could be called “child sacrifice.”

            Jimmy

 

 

Let Creation Teach Us 

   You may have seen this, recently passing around the internet.

   Canary eggs hatch in 14 days.

      Barnyard hens hatch in 21 days.

         Ducks and geese hatch in 28 days.

            Mallard eggs, they hatch in 35 days. 

               Parrot and Ostrich eggs hatch in 42 days. 

   All horses rise first on their two front legs.

   All cows rise first on their two hind legs. 

   All elephants rise up on four legs, bending forward. 

   Every watermelon has an even number of stripes.

   Every orange has an even number of segments.

   Every ear of corn has an even number of rows.

   Every stalk of wheat has an even number of grains. 

   The lowest row of bananas on the bunch is an even number.

   Each row of bananas above the lowest row decreases by one.

   Waves of the sea splash on the shore at the rate of 26 times per minute, regardless of weather. 

   We're going to check that out.  

The Stairway

   We thought angels could fly. 😏 

   In Jacob's dream (Genesis 28), angels were walking up and down a stairway connecting earth with heaven. The Lord stood above it with a message that changed Jacob from self-centered to a believer worthy to carry forward grandfather Abraham's blessing. 

   So, how do we get blessed? 

   Ask the Pharisee of Pharisees, head of the class, straight A's, Summa Cum Laude. While Jesus' disciples had no formal education, Saul was an intellect and legalist, until the risen Christ surprised him (like Jacob), changing not only his name but his purpose.

   After much relearning, with the Holy Spirit's help, Paul (and others) began spreading the gospel throughout the Roman world, mostly to Gentiles. Hard and dangerous life. 

   He and other NT authors (see John 3:4-10), contrast the opposing powers of truth and of sin. Because all of us - since Adam's fall - are born in sin (selfishness; human desires), we must be born again with a new nature, into a new realm of life. 

   Children are welcomed by Christ. When we are old enough to be held accountable, we are held accountable. We are weighed down by the power of sin, like gravity. 

   When we surrender, the Lord's power enables us to rise, to begin a lifelong process of growing to be like him. It's a day by day effort.  

The above based on Romans chapter 6

   If...If there was a stairway, say - 100 steps of spiritual potential, from 1 to 100 percent - we know a man who was in church all his life. He didn't reach the first step until in his 30s. Thanks to a rough ordeal in his late 40s, he made it to step 2. All this in his opinion, not God's.  

   Should he grow cold, or even lukewarm, he risks the gravity of sin, pulling him off the stairway. The same can be said of a person on step 92. It's a grave matter. 

   Clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. - Romans 13:14  

        Jimmy

 

 

The Dead Are Judged

   We hope you followed "Power Week," from creation into the millennium. There is another exercise of power we did not include.

   Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence…  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne and books were opened.

   The sea gave up the dead…and each person was judged… Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. … If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. - Revelation 20:11-15

Lord or Savior? Which Comes First?

   Paul answers the question in Romans 10:9: If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

   Who is a lord (Greek hyrios)? A lord is someone with power, dominion, authority and the right to master.

   The earliest confession of the New Testament church was, Jesus is Lord. He is called Lord more than 450 times in Scripture; he is called Savior 16 times.

   In Acts 2:36-40, Peter, having spent time with the risen Christ, told his audience, God has made this Jesus … both Lord and Christ.

   Commentary: Jesus is worthy of power (Rev. 5:12), worship (Php. 2:10-11), trust (John 14:1; Heb. 2:13), obedience (Heb. 5:9), and prayer (Acts 7:59-60; 2 Cor. 12:8).

   Before we consider him our Savior, we allow him lordship over our life (Luke 6:46-49; John 15:14). This includes home, church, intellectual, financial, educational, recreational and vocational spheres of life. – Romans 12:1-2.

 

  

 

 

God is infinite

He is able to guide our thoughts.

He can speak to us through Scripture,

or the words of another person.

He has direct access.

He can plant a thought directly into our minds. 

Without our knowing it.

- John Ortberg 

GOD IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK             

   

Any thoughts must align with the written Word,

or they aren't from God. 

          Jimmy

Do we hear voices?

Some are distorted and destructive,

speaking of envy, resentment and fear.

Some are healthy and strong.

Christians are called to listen to one Voice.

Jesus said that he is the Good Shepherd and

his "sheep follow him because they know his voice." 

His words are variously known as "notions,"

"concerns," "promptings," or "leadings."

POWER WEEK!

5 of 5

God’s Power Made Perfect in Our Weakness

   Paul wrote to the Corinthians that he was sent to preach the gospel … not with human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.  My preaching…is not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.

A Time of Wrath is Coming

   God will pay back trouble to those who trouble. … This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.                  - 2 Thessalonians 6-7 

   The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful Word. - Hebrews 1:3 

   At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. They will see (him) with power and great glory. – Matthew 24:30

A Thousand Year Reign

   The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the Spirit of wisdom … understanding … counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.              – Isaiah 11:2

   And many people and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat (ask earnestly) him. – Zechariah 8:22

   The end will come when (Jesus) hands over the kingdom to God after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. – 1 Corinthians 15:24

And in Heaven

   You are worthy our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things. – Revelation 4:11

   Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise. – Revelation 5:12

   After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting, 'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments.' – Revelation 19:1