Leastmost: "I like to sing" ~ Michael James Stone


-excerpt from "Utmost with the Least Most"

I like to sing.

I enjoy just about every kind of music you can imagine and much of it affects me both positively and negatively.

There are great movements in classic operas, some driving beats in BeBop and Rock.., well even disco to rap has a lyric and msuic to it. I have listened to all  of them and found some good in each.

Today I dragged out my guitar I can't play very well because I have steel strings on it and my fingers like Acoustic with narrow neck. I could fix it......, maybe I will....... by buying easier to play strings, but for now I sing one song to the Lord and he listens.

I spent one winter in Alaska writing songs in the basement apartment I lived in, then during summer I sang those songs on the roof of the garage.

I would go up each night to be alone with God. You could call me the Gypsy on the Roof....

Today during these Holy Days God said we would celebrate in his kingdom to come, I replay an old tear jerker I wrote and play often in simple chords and gentler tones:


Light the Candle of my Life,
Torch the fire in my soul,
You are my only light,
You're the One I want to know.

You're my God,
You're my God
You're my God
..and I am yours.


Strike the spark within my heart,
Breathe on me and let it grow,
I am here to do my part,
Let your Spirit through me blow.


Your my God,
Your my God
Your my God
..and I am yours.

(bridge)


Let there be no other Gods
                      (Let there be no other Gods)  [echo] 
Let there be no other Lords
                    (Let there be no other Lords)  [echo] 
You're the Master of my life
                  (You're the Master of my life)  [echo] 
You're the Maker of my soul,
                (You're the Maker of my soul)  [echo] 

You're my God,
You're my God
You're my God
..and I am yours.

Light the Candle of my Life
Torch the fire in my soul,
Strike the spark within my heart,
You're the One I want to know.   

You're my God.....


So Far........,
              God hasn't quit listening to me sing to him.
Isn't it time you sang to him too, instead of listening?

It gives us a bold expectation of love ~ Bob Caldwell



4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
John continues with the revelation and centrality of love as the single most defining aspect of knowing God and being born of God. God's love is declared to be the central essence of His being (v. 7). The justice, holiness, eternal existence and all other things God is declared to be in scripture is seen in their rightful glory because it has been infused with His love. It is His love that becomes the defining force for those who are His spiritual offspring. It is this love that should infuse our relationships with other believers and our world. Without a tangible expression of God's love lived out through us, our entire Christian life is brought into question (v. 8).
John reminds us here of what God's love means so that we who believe have a basis for judging the reality of our own personal faith. We are told God's love is that which had extended itself to us before we had yet extended our hearts toward Him. While we were in fact His enemies, without any personal recognized need for His salvation, He became the propitiation (accepted payment) for our sins (v. 9-10, Rom. 3:25). He took all judgment due our sin and experienced the dark agony of judgment and complete alienation from His Father upon the cross for us. In His cry, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" He experienced the eternal agony of a lost soul (Matt. 27:46), the agony that awaits all of those who reject their need for a just forgiveness in Christ.
Once we put faith in Christ, God's love is also manifested within us by the resulting freedom from fear of His rejection and judgment. It gives us a bold expectation of love from God that is ever before us, around us, and within us (v. 16-18). This love is so transforming that it naturally turns our hearts to God in love. It is this type of love that John says we should expect from ourselves when he writes, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (4:11).
Let love, therefore, be our first pursuit. Love God, love people unselfishly, and all other spiritual victories are sure to follow.


1 John 4:1-21
 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Knowing God Through Love
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Seeing God Through Love
12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
The Consummation of Love
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
Obedience by Faith
20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.


1 John 4:1-21
v. 1 Beloved – Of all the Greek words for the various types of love, this is the highest and noblest form of love. The Apostle addresses his readers in a way that truly represents Christ's attitude toward them (1 John 4:19).
Do Not Believe Every Spirit – John is indicating here that not every spiritual experience should be embraced as a message from God. There are many lying spirits (John 8:44; Acts 5:3; 2 Thess. 2:9, 10; 1 Tim. 4:1). Many false religions began when a man heard from a false spirit and believed its message. Mohammed heard from a spirit. Joseph Smith also heard from a spirit. Today's text indicates that a false or lying spirit can even speak to and deceive Christians.
Believepisteuo (Gk.) to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in
Test The Spirits, Whether They Are Of God – We are charged here with the responsibility to put every spirit to the test. The word spirit here has a wide variety of applications and meanings. It can mean anything from God's Holy Spirit, to the spirit of man, to a demonic spirit. Therefore, we can take this word in context to mean a spiritual influence or message of any kind. As John will point out, the scriptures never point to these kinds of feelings or experiences as authoritative tests for truth.
Many False Prophets Have Gone Out – When Lucifer and his angels rebelled against God's authority they were cast out of heaven and became evil spirits (Is. 14:12). Since the fall of Satan and his demons, evil spirits have covered the earth with deceptive experiences and lies to draw men away from the truth. Because of this we have many false prophets in the world. A false prophet is one who claims to bring God's message of truth but is actually telling lies. A false prophet can either be knowingly and purposefully deceiving others, or may actually be deceived himself.
v. 2 Jesus Christ Has Come In The Flesh – Here, John corrects a common false doctrine of his day. There was a heresy called Gnosticism at this time. The Gnostics believed that all matter is evil and only that which is spirit is good. Because of this belief they rejected the fact that Jesus came in an actual body of real flesh. They taught that Jesus was a mere phantom or divine Spirit. This erroneous thinking led to many departures from Biblical truth (2 John 1:7). It is essential that we understand the true nature of Jesus Christ. He was 100% man (1 Tim. 2:5). But He was also 100% God (Col. 2:9). Jesus was God incarnate (or God in the flesh) (John 1:1-14). Jesus Christ has indeed come in the flesh. For a deeper study on this topic, see Matthew 1:23; John 1:1, 14:9; Philippians 2:6-8; Colossians 1:19, 2:3, 9; Hebrews 1:3.
v. 3 Spirit That Does Not Confess…Not of God – Here John directly attacks the Gnostic teaching that Jesus did not have a body of flesh. This teaching is set in deceptively spiritual language, but is not of God. There are some today who still hold to Gnostic teachings. Jesus was not just a spiritual concept or an intangible spirit. He was and is a real person (Is. 45:23, Rom. 14:11, Phil. 2:10).
Spirit Of The Antichrist – An antichrist is one who opposes or seeks to replace Christ in any way. One of the deceitful tactics of an antichrist spirit would be to distort the true character and nature of Jesus Christ. The spirit of antichrist in the world is continually working to distort the facts concerning the real Christ. There will also be the final Antichrist who comes in the last day. But there are already many lying spirits and antichrists today as well.
v. 4 You…Have Overcome Them – True children of God are not to fear the antichrist or the spirit of the antichrist. We have been given authority in Christ (Luke 10:17-19). We have victory over the antichrist spirit and have overcome the lies of antichrist by truth of the Word of God and the blood of Jesus Christ (Rev. 12:11).
He Who Is In You Is Greater Than He Who Is In The World – The Holy Spirit is He who is in those who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit is not an it (John 14:17-23, 1 John 4:13). Our confidence and strength is in the fact that the person of God's Holy Spirit resides and abides in us to lead, guide and protect us from the evil one. And He is greater than any spiritual or earthly enemy.
v. 5 They Are Of The World – John is speaking of false prophets led by the spirits of the antichrist. They are a part of the fallen world system John has already written about in 1 John 2:15-17.
of The World – kosmos (Gk.) Referring to the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ.
They are of The World…The World Hears Them – Each people group listens to the ones who they identify with and belong to. People listen to those who speak their language. God's people listen to God. Satan's people listen to Satan (John 10:25-30).
v. 6 We are of God – Here John is referring to himself and the rest of the Apostles who taught the way of God in truth. He makes this statement in contrast to the false prophets who malign the truth and are of the world and not of God.
He Who Knows God Hears Us; He Who Is Not Of God Does Not Hear Us – There have been many religious organizations and cults that have quoted this statement and arrogantly and presumptuously sought to apply it to themselves. But John is making exclusive reference to himself and the original Apostles of Jesus Christ. Because the apostles have written down for us the original doctrines of the Gospel, we can say in truth, Those who listen to and embrace the words of the New Testament are of God. Those who reject the teachings of the New Testament are not of God.
By This We Know – John is in effect giving us a formula to test and know truth. He is saying, We can know, and this is how…
The Spirit Of Truth And The Spirit Of Error – John has been warning us of the false spirit of the antichrist. In contrast to the spirit of the antichrist is the spirit of truth (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13; 1 John 4:6) or the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9; 1 Peter 1:11). Those who trust in the teachings of Jesus and the writings of the apostles found in the New Testament are of the spirit of truth. Those who reject or distort the writings of the New Testament are of the spirit of error. One of the signs of a cult is that they claim that you cannot trust the teachings of the Bible without their special interpretations or insights. They will claim that the Bible has been mistranslated and that only they can tell you the original meaning. Or they will tell you that the Bible doesn't really mean what it appears to be saying. They will try to convince you that they are the only ones who can properly interpret the scriptures for you. Beware of such groups. We have been given the scriptures. And we can trust them completely to lead us to truth.
v. 7 Beloved – Five times in this short letter the apostle John calls his readers beloved (1 John 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7, 11). If anyone knows what love is and how to love it is certainly this author. Keep in mind that as John expresses his love for us he is accurately representing God's heart toward us.
Let Us Love One Another – The original Greek text for this sentence is quite revealing: agapetoi agapomen; those who are loved, let us love. In other words, since we are beloved of God, let us love each other with that same love that we are receiving from God (Luke 7:47).
Love – agape (Gk.) brotherly love, affection, good will, charity, benevolence
Love is of God – A few of the modern versions translate this phrase love comes from God. This helps us to understand a clearer meaning of this group of words. If love comes FROM God, and love is OF God, then without God you can have no real love.
Everyone Who Loves is Born of God And Knows God – John continues his reasoning. Because without God you cannot love, then love is the evidence that one has come into true relationship with God and is born of God (John 3:3-16; 1 John 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18) and knows God (John 17:3; 2 Cor. 4:6; Gal. 4:9).
v. 8 He Who Does Not Love Does Not Know God – Love is the determining factor of a person's relationship with God. A person who truly loves truly knows God. A person who is filled with hate obviously does not know God because God is love.
God is Love – God has many glorious attributes that work together with His love. When we say God is love, we are not saying everything about God. But love is the fundamental feature of His character, and colors every aspect of His nature. Everything God does, in one way or another, expresses love.
v. 9 The Love Of God Was Manifested – The greatest and most obvious manifestation and revelation of God's love toward us was in His sending Jesus to die for our sins (John 15:13, Rom. 5:8).
His Only Begotten Son – Jesus is the only one who came from and is of the same nature as God. Begotten implies one who is born from the same gene pool of another. Humans give birth to humans. Divine God gives birth to divine God. This word begotten emphasizes that Jesus is of the same nature and substance as God the Father. Thus, the greatest manifestation of God's love for us is in the fact that God Himself came (in the flesh) in the person of Jesus Christ to save us and bring us to Himself. This can ONLY be said of Jesus Christ.
That We Might Live Through Him – The purpose for God sending His only begotten Son into the world was that we might live. But that life is only through Jesus (John 10:10). The life John is describing here is not a mere temporary existence but a life eternal in the presence of God (John 17:3, 1 John 5:11-13).
v. 10 This Is Love…That He Loved Us And Sent His Son – The origin of love is not found in our love toward God, but in His love toward us. God is the originator and initiator of love and we are the responders (4:19).
Propitiation – hilasmos (Gk.) appeasing atonement or satisfactory payment. The idea of propitiation is the idea of a payment or sacrifice that appeases and satisfies the wrath of God. Jesus paid for our sins through His sacrificial death on the cross. His death was the satisfactory payment for our sins. Because God has accepted Christ's sacrifice as a satisfactory payment for sins, we can be forgiven and are now in right standing with God. Our right standing with God is based upon what Christ did for us and not what we can do for God.
Sins – According to scripture, the penalty of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and must be atoned for by blood (Heb. 9:22).
v. 11 If God So Loved Us, We Also Ought To Love One Another – Again we see the principle of God being the originator and initiator of love, and we ourselves being responders to His love. God loves us. We respond in loving God back. And we also respond by loving those whom God loves.
v. 12 No One Has Seen God At Any Time – It is not possible for sinful man to look upon the totality of Holy God and live (Ex. 33:20, John 1:18, 1 Tim. 6:16). Any allusion to seeing God's face in the Old Testament is a figure of speech or a reference to seeing the afterglow or back of God (Ex. 33:21-23). But some day we will see God face to face when we are transformed into the image of Christ and receive our glorified bodies (1 Cor. 13:12, 1 John 3:2).
If We Love One Another, God Abides In Us – Love is the greatest evidence of the abiding presence of God in our lives. Where God is present and working, there will be love for others.
His Love Has Been Perfected In Us – When God's love is perfected in us, then we too will love others with His love. The NLT paraphrases this, His love has been brought to full expression through us.
v. 13 By This We Know – The evidence of God's presence is the presence of love and as the later part of this verse indicates, the presence of God's Holy Spirit.
We Abide In Him, And He In Us – The relationship pictured here is a mutual abiding, Jesus in us and we in Him. To abide means to dwell and remain. John is describing here those whose dwelling place is in the Lord Himself (John 15:4, 7).
He Has Given Us Of His Spirit – There is a spiritual connection through the working of the Holy Spirit of God in the life of a Christian (John 7:38, 39). The presence of His Spirit in our lives makes clear and distinct changes evidenced by love and the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-26).
v. 14 We Have Seen And Testify – John writes as one giving personal eyewitness testimony of Jesus Christ along with the rest of the original eyewitnesses (the apostles). Compare this statement with John's opening lines of this letter in 1 John 1:1-3.
The Father Has Sent the Son – This verse reveals a Father-Son relationship of love working together in unity with one mind and one purpose, offering salvation to the world (John 10:30).
Savior – soter (Gk.) deliverer, preserver. The title was given by the ancients to deities, especially to guardian or protector deities and to princes and kings (as flattery to their high position) Notice here that the Son is not a savior or Savior of the Jews, but Savior of the world.
v. 15 Whoever –This condition is open to everyone.
Confesseshomologeo (Gk.) to say the same thing as another, i.e. to agree with, to concede. To confess here means to agree with God and acknowledge something to be true.
The Son of God – Jesus is the only one of His kind (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18). He is not merely a son of God John 1:12; Rom. 8:14, 19; Phil. 2:15; 1John 3:1, 2), but He is the Son of God. This is an essential doctrine of Christianity (John 20:31; Acts 8:37, 9:20; Rom. 1:4).
God Abides In Him, And He In God – Now after clarifying the deity of Jesus Christ (v. 9-10, 15), John reveals the connection between confessing the God nature of Jesus and abiding in God. Our confessions of faith bring us to salvation. And our confessions of faith reveal that we are saved.
v. 16 God Is Love, And He Who Abides In Love Abides In God, And God In Him – A condensed summary of verses 8 through 13.
v. 17 Love has been Perfected Among Us in This – The word used for love here is the Greek word agape. Agape is a spiritual love rather
than a fleshy lust. It is God's kind of love – the kind of love that gives freely and unselfishly for the benefit of the one being loved without demanding anything in return. That's why this word is often translated charity in the KJV (1 Cor. 13:1-4, 8, 13; 14:1; 16:14; Col. 3:14; 1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 3:10; 1 Peter 4:8; 2 Peter 1:7; 3 John 6). John goes on in this letter to reveal to us how we can tell when God's agape love is perfected or fulfilled in us.
Boldness in the Day of Judgment – One of the evidences of God's perfect love being made complete in us is boldness in the face of judgment. When we know God's love for us and are walking in God's love we can have great confidence before God. Verse 18 gives more insight to this.
Day of Judgment – A future day when God will judge all mankind according to their deeds (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Peter 3:5-7, 10-14).
as He is, so are We in this World – The reason we have confidence and even boldness as we look to the Day of Judgment is because we have been identified with Christ in His death and resurrection. This means that our sins have already been judged and we have already been justified. And we have been made righteous with the righteousness of God because of our trust in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).
v. 18 No Fear in Love – This most certainly is referring to the Christian's attitude toward facing God in judgment. Because of His love we have, no fear.
Perfect Love Casts Out Fear, Because Fear Involves Torment – John is putting this already stated truth in another way. Because fear of the judgment day would be fear of being tormented, and because we know that by God's love toward us we have been forgiven of our sins and given the very righteousness of God in Christ, we will not fear God's judgment. God's perfect love has cast out our fear of torment.
He Who Fears Has Not Been Made Perfect in Love – To be made perfect in love here refers to being made complete in love. This is the condition in which God's love has worked its way into your life and fulfilled its purpose. There are Christians who live in fear of God's judgment. But these are unaware or immature Christians who have not yet been made perfect in love.
v. 19 We Love Him Because He First Loved Us – This is a response of love to love. Any good thing we are or do is a reaction to what God is and has first done for us (1 John 4:10). Many people imagine that God loves them because of some good thing they have done for Him. But the fact is, God loved us when we were His unlovable enemies (Rom. 5:10, Col. 5:21).
v. 20 If Someone Says, I Love God, and Hates His Brother, He is a Liar – This is an undeniable fact. This statement is not up for debate. You cannot hate your brother and love your God at the same time.
How Can He Love God Whom He Has Not Seen? – John reasons further with his readers. It is so much easier to love someone you can see than to love someone you have never seen. So if we can love an invisible God who we have never seen, certainly we should be able to love our brother in Christ.
v. 21 This Commandment We Have From Him – Love is not a suggestion. Love is a command from God. This also means that love is not an out of control feeling. Love is something you can choose to do or refuse to do. Love involves not just the heart, but also the will.


Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. –1 John 4:7
We see the pattern laid out for us in Your Word today. We are to love, not for what we get in return, but because You created love and You call us to love one another.


 New Again Thrift Store
How I love coming in each week to teach the 2-year-old Sunday school class! Their sweet little hands and bright faces help me to show my faith in the best way: as a simple, childlike faith. I get the forget about all the "religious" noise in our world that tries to pull us away from the simple message of Jesus Christ.
Prayer Points
  • for the Lord to fill the spirits of those sweet little ones
  • for the love that they take from Jesus Christ would go into their homes and spread to everyone in their families
  • that they would know the Lord early in life and never forsake Him

Goldstone UN Gaza Report ~ Dry Bones

   


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the Goldstone UN Gaza Report

the Goldstone UN Gaza Report

UN Defamation of Israel's actions in Gaza: Dry Bones cartoon.
>From the ZOA press release response to the shocking UN Report:
"The very title of the Report - ‘Human Rights in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories: Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict’ – contains a falsehood – namely, that Gaza is “occupied” by Israel when, under Article 6 of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, a foreign power is only considered an occupier “to the extent that such Power exercises the functions of government in such territory” – something Israel has not done since 2005."
And also:
"the Report claims that “The data provided by non-governmental sources with regard to the percentage of civilians among those killed are generally consistent and raise very serious concerns with regard to the way Israel conducted the military operations in Gaza.’ Yet, as British journalist Melanie Philips points out, Israel provided a detailed breakdown of the Palestinians killed in Gaza and stated that the vast majority of these were Hamas or other terror operatives. Even the UN eventually acknowledged that some 75% of the dead in Gaza were Hamas terrorists."
And:
"ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “The ZOA condemns this atrocious, new installment in the international effort to delegitimize Israel, using perverted and spurious norms of international law in order to invalidate Israel’s elementary, fundamental right and obligation to defend its territory and its citizens. It is nothing less than an anti-Semitic, Israel-bashing, immoral piece of trash. We are appalled that Justice Goldstone was willing to ruin his legal reputation by participating in this dishonestly-conceived and fraudulent investigation. Most serious, perhaps, is the fact that Richard Goldstone was willing to bend and pervert legal norms – such as the definition of occupation and of combatants – in order to pin non-existent legal responsibility on Israel for acts were both justified and indeed necessary in self-defense."
To read the complete Press Release from ZOA (America's oldest Zionist Organization) in response to this latest example of Jewish Defamation and UN anti-Israel bias, click on ZOA Press Release.
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Taking the hand of your enemy ~ Greg Laurie


The power of forgiveness

We must learn to forgive others.

Why? Because as flawed people, we will hurt one another, be it intentional or unintentional.
Husbands will offend wives, and wives will offend husbands. Parents will hurt their children, and children will hurt their parents. Family members will offend one another.

That is why we must learn to forgive.

Jesus said, “So if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there beside the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God” (Matthew 5:23–24 NLT).

Taking the hand of your enemy

In my last post, I began to tell the story of Corrie Ten Boom. Incidentally, I recommend that you read her amazing autobiography, The Hiding Place. Her story was also made into a movie of the same name by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

After surviving the Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbrück, Corrie traveled the world, ministering to people.
She tells this story in The Hiding Place:
It was a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbrück. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there–the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain-blanched face.
He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein,” he said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!”
His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.
Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.
I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.
As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.
And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.
An example to follow
Corrie Ten Boom gave us an example to follow. The example of forgiving people, whether we feel they deserve it or not.

One final thought. When you forgive a person, you set a prisoner free . . . yourself!

“Look, you haven‟t gone too far ~ Kay Arthur


Have you or someone you know, Beloved, walked so far away from God that you think or they think, “It‟s no use. I‟ve gone too far. I‟ve made my bed. I‟ve got to sleep in it.” He‟s saying, “„Return, [to Me] O faithless sons, [and] I will heal your faithlessness….‟” (Jeremiah 3:22)

Now what are you going to believe? Are you going to believe what God Almighty says, or are you going to believe what you feel? We‟ll talk about it today.





Jeremiah‟s message just isn‟t easy, is it? And yet when you look at it, it is filled with such hope, such compassion, such everlasting love that you get a glimpse of God. You get a glimpse of His righteousness, His holiness, but you also get a glimpse of His justice, and God has to judge sin.

And so, He is reaching out to these people that are literally on the brink of disaster. The enemy is going to come down; the enemy is going to take them captive.

And what is His message to this woman, this wife of God, Israel, Judah, that has played the harlot with many lovers? It‟s: Return to me. “„Return, O faithless sons, [and] I will heal your faithlessness….‟”(Jeremiah 3:22)

We‟re going to talk today about eight principles or precepts about returning to God. But before we do that, Beloved, we need to go back because there‟s two more things that I needed to share with you about what happens when a nation walks in harlotry. What happens when a nation turns its back on God and goes after other lovers? What does God have to do?

So we have two more principles that you need to write down.

And I want to make sure that you get them. I told you that there were seven things; we‟ve looked at five. Number one, harlotry pollutes the land. When we turn away from the knowledge of God, when we go after other gods, and remember when we get idols in our lives, and the Bible says in Colossians chapter 3 that greed is idolatry, (See Colossians 3:5) then what does it do? It pollutes the land. Number two, it invites the judgment of God through nature. God moves, and He tells them, He says, [“OK, this is why I‟ve withheld the spring rain. I‟m in charge of the rain. I‟m in charge of the elements.”] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 3:3)

It is not Mother Nature. It is all Father God.

The third thing that you learn is this: that harlotry consumes the labors of the people and it consumes our children. It hurts our children. And the children in the United States of America are suffering because of the harlotry, the infidelity of their parents. We have walked away from God. We have raised a generation, the little schools, the playschools, the childcare agencies, have raised a generation that doesn‟t know the Word of God.

We have a generation that is totally oblivious even to the stories of the Bible.

We have a generation that sin is normality and righteousness is abnormal; it is strange. The fourth thing it does, it brings the judgment of God. God has to move in judgment. Not just in the weather, but He begins to move in other ways. With Israel, He‟s moving and bringing an enemy into their land. And we saw how that happened in 9/11.

The fifth thing is this, that evil touches the heart. Your heart does not go unaffected when you get involved in evil. So then the sixth thing is this, it brings devastation. And I want you to look at Jeremiah chapter 4 because our two chapters of study this week are chapter 3 and chapter 4.

So in Jeremiah chapter 4, in verse 20, this is what he says, “Disaster on disaster is proclaimed, for the whole land is devastated; suddenly my tents are devastated, my curtains in an instant. How long must I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?” (Jeremiah 4:20-21)

The trumpet says the enemy is coming, and he says my tent, my house, is falling apart. It is devastated because it brings devastation. Look at verse 27, “For thus says the LORD, „The whole land shall be a desolation…,‟” and then He says this, and this is the heart of God, “„…Yet, I will not execute a complete destruction.‟” (Jeremiah 4:27)

I won‟t execute a complete destruction. Why? Because He loves us with an everlasting love, and that‟s why no matter wherever you are, it is not too late to return. This is what God shows us, He shows us this principle, this precept about Him in the book of Jeremiah.

Well, what‟s the seventh thing that harlotry does? And this is what is so sad: It destroys you. You are destroyed by what you love. In other words, that awful thing that you go after, you take a drug, then you want a little bit more, and then you‟ve got to have more. And it destroys you. They‟re ruining their minds. They‟re self-destructing.

And what we see in verse 30 and 31 is this, of Jeremiah chapter 4, “And you, O desolate one, what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold, although you enlarge your eyes with paint, in vain you make yourself beautiful. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.”(Jeremiah 4:30)

You see, the things that people have come and offered others. They‟ve offered them drugs. They‟ve offered them alcohol. They‟ve offered them money. They‟ve offered them fame. And in the process, they have seduced them. They are destroying their lives. They don‟t care about them. God is the one that cares about you.

And He is saying, “Look, you haven‟t gone too far. You haven‟t gone too far because I, Almighty God, am saying to you, “„Return, O faithless sons, [and] I will heal your [unfaithfulness]….‟” (Jeremiah 3:22) So it destroys you. In verse 31 it says, “…I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, the anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands, [and] saying, „[Oh,] woe is me…I faint before murderers.‟” (Jeremiah 4:31)

Help me, help me, help me. And God wants to help. This is what harlotry brings upon a land. This is what happens, you are seeing it in the United States of America. And I want you to know, Precious One, you have just seen the beginning. If there is not a wholesale returning to God, it‟s going to get worse, and worse, and worse until we destroy ourselves, all because we would not return.

So what I want us to do is I want us to look at eight precepts that will help us return to God, that show us how to return to God. All right, the first one is seen in chapter 3, in verse 7. But what I want us to do is I want us to lead up to these verses because I do like to take you verse-by-verse. In chapter 3, verse 1 it says, “God says, „If a husband divorces his wife and she goes from him and belongs to another man, will he still return to her…?‟”(Jeremiah 3:1)

Now what He is doing is He is taking them mentally back to the law, back to the book of Deuteronomy, where God allows them to divorce their wives, as Jesus tells us in Matthew 19 because of the hardness of their heart. (See Matthew 19:8) Now what He is doing is He‟s trying to protect the wife. So He says if a man is displeased with his wife, and he gives her a bill of divorcement.

Then he has to know the consequences. He has to say, “OK, I‟m divorcing her because she displeases me. Here is the bill of divorcement.” She‟s not an immoral woman, and then when she leaves him she can never come back. (See Deuteronomy 24:1-4)

She can never come back because when she marries husband number two, then she is never allowed to return to husband number one. You know why? It pollutes the land. It confuses a society. It messes us up. I mean the average family get together in the United States of America is with all sorts of relatives from different families, but not the original mother or the original father together.

So this is what He is saying, He says, “„…Will not that land be completely polluted? But you are a harlot with many lovers; yet you turn to Me,‟ declares the LORD. „Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see; where have you not been violated…?‟” Look up to the bare heights. Look down here. Is there a place where you have not been violated? “„…By the roads you have sat for them like an Arab in the desert….‟”

You have sat, and you have waited for your lovers to come along. “„…And you have polluted a land with your harlotry and with your wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld…there has been no spring rain yet you had a harlot‟s forehead…,” He says, “„…You refused to be ashamed.‟” (Jeremiah 3:2-3)

What you and I need to do as we study Jeremiah is, we need to not only take in these things, but we need to communicate these truths to our culture, the society that you run in.

If you‟re on Facebook, if you are on MySpace, let‟s get on there and let‟s put out the Word of God.

You say, “But I‟m afraid of the criticism.” O Beloved, don‟t be afraid. Be afraid instead of the face and judgment of God.


Beloved, because this lesson is so absolutely crucial. It can be an absolute life changer. The problem is that many times people don‟t sense or grasp the gravity of their sin. They look around them; and everybody else is acting this way. Everybody else is being immoral. Everybody else is drinking their alcohol, doing their drugs, and stuff like this.

It‟s the society that we move in where there is really, in a sense, no knowledge, no acceptance of the fact that there is good and that there is evil, and that there is a distinction, and that there are absolutes. So what happens? We think, “OK, God‟s not gonna stay mad at me forever. God‟s a God of love. He is going to come, and He is going to accept me.”

Listen to what it says in Jeremiah chapter 3, verse 4, “„Have you…just now called to Me, “My father, You are the friend of my youth? Will He be angry forever? Will He be indignant to the end?”….‟” He says, “…„Behold, you have spoken and… done evil things, and you have had your way.‟”(Jeremiah 3:4-5)Yes, I will be indignant with you. Yes, I will judge you. But if you‟ll [return to me faithless one, I will heal your unfaithfulness.] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 3:22)

But just know this I‟m not going to get weary of my righteousness. I‟m not going to change. I‟m not going to alter. You are the one that needs to return. Remember we saw it in the first day of this week‟s lessons and that was “shub” return. Come back, turn from evil, and turn to good. So then we come to verse 6, and in verse 6 it says, “Then the LORD said to me in the days of Josiah the king, „Have you seen what faithless Israel did…?‟” (Jeremiah 3:6)

Now when it says, “in the days of Josiah the king” that‟s a time phrase.

Now remember Jeremiah started his ministry in the thirteenth year of Josiah‟s reign. And so when he started his ministry, we know from this passage that this prophecy, because his ministry goes all the way through Zedekiah the final king of, of Judah, who is destroyed by Babylon.

So he‟s prophesying all that way. So any time we find mention of the days of a king we want to mark it. It‟s a time phrase. It puts us into context. Because the book of Jeremiah is all over the place chronologically. It is a message. It is the call of God to His people to return before He has to judge them. And so this is the appeal of Jeremiah so it says, “Then the LORD said…in the days of Josiah the king, „Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up under every high hill and…every green tree…she was a harlot there.‟”

She just laid down in her harlotry, in her prostitution. “„[And] I thought, “After she has done all these things she will „return‟ to Me….‟” (Jeremiah 3:6-7) Remember I told you how to mark that word. You underline it, and then you bring that arrow around, showing that there is a return. And He said, “„I thought, [surely] “After she had done these things…,” after she had been out there, after she had played the harlot that “…she [would] return to Me;” but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.‟”(Jeremiah 3:7) Now you may be like many, many Christians: Who is this faithless Israel? Who is this faithless Judah?

So I want to stop and explain for a minute.

Now, if you got the study guide that goes with this, then you know all of this because it‟s right there. You have a marvelous chart that shows you what happened when Israel and Judah separated from one another. Remember in our last program we looked at Solomon, and how God was going to judge Solomon? What did He do?

After Solomon died because his heart was turned away from God because he played the harlot, so to speak, in his heart by following the idols of his wife, then God tore the kingdom in two. (See 1 Kings 11:1-13) It‟s in 1 Kings 12, where the kingdom is divided. (See 1 Kings 12:16-24)

And it‟s divided into two parts, 10 tribes that become the kingdom of Israel, two tribes that become the kingdom of Judah, or the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom.

So the Northern kingdom goes all the way up to Tel Dan, OK? Its southern border is very close to Jerusalem. Then below that is the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

The Southern Kingdom is made up of Benjamin and Judah; those two tribes.

What happens is God sees the harlotry of the Northern Kingdom, the Kingdom of Israel. And what happens is He judges them, because they go into idolatry immediately, you can read about it after the program. It‟s fascinating. Just read 2 Kings 12 when there were 12 tribes, and the 12 tribes were divided into two kingdoms. And then read 2 Kings chapter 13, and you will see that they went into idolatry immediately. So in 722 B.C., and this is before the days of Josiah, God sends the Assyrians down. And the Northern Kingdom of Israel is taken into captivity.

And so God is using this as an illustration. And He‟s saying, “You saw what your sister did, and I would expect you to learn a lesson from it.” Just as I‟m saying to you, “You see what God did to Israel, America, learn your lesson.” He said, “„…But she did not return, and her treacherous sister…saw it. And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel,

I…sent her away…,‟” into captivity is what He is saying, “„…and [have] given her a writ of divorce…,‟” like He was talking about there. “„…yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear…she went and…[she played the] harlot also.‟” (Jeremiah 3:7-8) It‟s like the words, “„“Will He be angry forever? Will He be indignant [forever]…?”‟” (Jeremiah 3:5) God‟s righteousness demands His judgment on sin. And so it says, “„Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and [she] committed adultery with stones and trees.‟” (Jeremiah 3:9)

Now what do I want you to see?

This is the first precept for returning to God. And that is to understand number one:

God wants you to return. God is saying, “Return to Me. Return to Me. I will give you a new heart.” Well, as you look at this, I just want to make sure that you understand that no matter where you‟ve been, that no matter what you have done, Precious One, it is God‟s desire for you to return to Him.

Not to say, “Oh God will change His mind.” But to acknowledge that God has every right to judge you, and yet His heart towards you is that your heart would return to Him. This is the longing of God‟s heart. And if you will return, He says, He “„…will heal your faithlessness….‟” (Jeremiah 3:22)

So the choice is really yours, isn‟t it? No excuse. It‟s not that you have gone too far, and it‟s not that God‟s gonna change His mind.

He says, “Return to Me.”

Seeds of willfulness and independence ~ Chuck Swindoll


God Takes Action in Response to Defiance
by Charles R. Swindoll
 

1 Kings 11:14-40
King Solomon planted seeds of willfulness and independence that reaped a harvest of rebellion in his heart. God's first reaction to Solomon's defiance was a strong statement of divine anger (1 Kings 11:9). Okay, what else does the Lord do? After stating His anger, He raises up human adversaries. Look at how He does this—it's intriguing. Read carefully 1 Kings 11:14 and then verse 23.

Solomon probably knew nothing of Hadad. He was an Edomite, a former king-in-the-making who never made it. He was a forgotten man. But not to God. You see, when the Lord saw the defiance in Solomon's life, He began to whistle for the adversaries, much like you would call the dogs on an attacker. "Hadad, sic him!"
There's another adversary the Lord used to afflict Solomon. Read verses 23 and 24.

The Hebrew says Rezon led "men who killed." The marauding band was a killing body of men. Rezon is living in Damascus, and Solomon doesn't know anything about him. Everything is going well with extravagant Solomon. He's waltzing along the first twenty years of his life, relaxing. All kinds of palaces, storehouses, and cities are being built. Everything seems to be sailing along smoothly. But erosion is happening. Ever so silently, Solomon turns against God, knowing nothing about a guy named Hadad or another one named Rezon. Neither of them, however, will ever forget David and his reign. Finally, both men make their long-awaited move. Operation revenge!
So [Rezon] was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, along with the evil that Hadad did; and he abhorred Israel and reigned over Aram. (v. 25)
So there was evil done against Solomon by Hadad. There was also havoc wrought by another adversary named Rezon. I take it that from this time on, these guys began to harass and make life generally miserable for a king who hadn't even known the bad dogs existed. God unleashed both of them: "Sic 'em, Hadad! Sic 'em, Rezon!"

Talk about practicality

When we have the audacity to defy the living God, when we walk against His holiness and resist His authority over our lives, He has ways of calling all kinds of dogs from any number of alleys. We don't even know they're there, then boom! He brings them in. Sometimes they come in the form of a memory . . . it haunts you, it won't leave you alone. It stays there and plagues you. It stays on top of you. You find yourself restless. It's like a monkey on your back—it stays, plagues, works, harasses, beats you black and blue emotionally. Perhaps your sense of defiance gets stronger, and you stiffen your neck and stand your ground. Guess what? God just calls more of those dogs out of the alley. "Go get him. Work on him." Just as God never runs low on "clerks" or "pawns," He also never runs low on "attack dogs."

He is persistent when dealing with defiance. He will not give relief to His children who deliberately walk away from His will. That includes your children who may have grown up in the Lord but are now running wild. They have their own Rezons and Hadads, trust me. It's just a matter of time before they will surrender.


I memorized a statement many years ago by Lord Byron from his work "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage." I find the content appropriate and penetrating:
The thorns which I have reap'd are of the tree
I planted,—they have torn me—and I bleed:
I should have known what fruit would spring from such a seed.
Seeds that one plants grow. Often they bear ugly, treacherous thorns. They grow to such proportions that they bite and sting and hurt and infect us. God uses those thorns to prick us, to get us back on the right path. Why? He's jealous for our lives. He misses the close relationship He once had with us.


There is one more person you should meet. Solomon's other two adversaries brought external oppression. This man brought internal rebellion. Jeroboam was on his way to the top of the kingdom ladder. Why? He'd won the heart of the king. Then, smack-dab in the middle of this promotion, wham! He turned and rebelled against Solomon. Did you catch that in 11:26? "[He] rebelled against the king."

The word rebelled comes from a root verb in Hebrew that means "to lift one's hand against." Perhaps he physically fought with Solomon in addition to the misery that he brought the king. What an adversary! He did an "inside job" on Solomon.


So Solomon, who months earlier had known only relaxation and extravagance to the point of boredom, is now faced with pit bulls like Hadad and Rezon, as well as a sleek Doberman, Jeroboam, biting and snarling and fighting with him, the king.


There is a proverb that aptly describes Solomon's woe. "The way of the treacherous is hard" (Proverbs 13:15b). You can't defy the living Lord without having misery move in alongside.


David writes in Psalm 32: "For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; / My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer" (v. 4).

The Lord's hounds are a lot more effective than the FBI's finest. He always gets His man—or woman. Always! He knows where we are all the time. He won't give up.


Living in a tough situation at home right now? Having difficulty with defiance among those who work under you or serve over you? The Lord has never met His match. He is never intimidated by defiance. He just moves so slowly sometimes, doesn't He? Don't you wish He'd get on His horse and ride faster? "Come on, Lord, how long is this gonna take?" I understand. I've asked the same question.


Verse 40 of 1 Kings 11 says: "Solomon sought therefore to put Jeroboam to death; but Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt to Shishak king of Egypt, and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon."


As if the presence of adversaries weren't bad enough, he also encounters personal frustration. I mean, here's the king. Surely he ought to be able to kill anybody in the land. He's even got an army available. But here's a guy who escapes! Solomon is so frustrated—he can't even put a hit man on Jeroboam and finish him off. It's as if his hands are tied. So it is when you're in defiance; things refuse to work out. Try all you like, you cannot find relief in wrongdoing.

Be Faithful ~ Joyce Meyers




So then . . . consider Jesus . . . [See how] faithful He was to Him Who appointed Him [Apostle and High Priest], as Moses was also faithful in the whole house [of God].
—Hebrews 3:1-2




In Hebrews 3, we are told that both Moses and Jesus were faithful. In the New Testament, the Greek word translated faithful means "to be trusted, reliable," in other words, to be dependable. Do you know what it means for us to be dependable? It means we have to keep our word. If we tell somebody we are going to do something, then we need to do it. If we say we are going to be somewhere at a certain time, we need to be there and on time. It is amazing how many people are just not dependable. They can't be counted on to do what they say they will do or be where they say they will be when they say they will be there. Again, it doesn't matter how gifted a person is; if he is not faithful, God cannot use him.


And we must understand that God tests faithfulness. It is not enough to say, "Oh, yes, I'm faithful," because God will say, "Well, let's see." Do you know how God tests our faithfulness? He assigns us to do something for a period of time that we don't want to do, something that is not fun or exciting, something that may require us to submit to someone else's authority for a while, and He'll tell us in our heart, "Just be faithful." Faithfulness is not just showing up day after day—it is showing up day after day with a good attitude. God will reward that kind of faithfulness. Luke 16:12 tells us that if we are faithful over what belongs to someone else, God will give us our own.

Proverbial Tweets from Rick Warren




  1.     Never judge a book by its movie. Especially the Bible. from web
  2. @MarcosWitt 's Papa Holder died tonight."Precious inthe sight of theLord is thedeath of his saints" Ps116:15 Send love! from web
  3. http://twitpic.com/is9gz - "The secret of GREAT WRITING is LOVE!"-Ray Bradbury,friend,89 Fri.Had PDL on his home desk! from TwitPic
  4. Paul’s devotion 2doctrine didn’t(reduce) his magnificent tolerance.He was more interested n the message than mannerofpresentation-Machen from web
  5. I’ve been notified a malicious party is trying to hack my acct.Authorities are on it. So if u get anything goofy...FYI from web
  6. I must change for things to change.Only changed people change the world."Change your life,not just your clothes"Joel2:13mes from web
  7. U can learn from ANYONE if u ask wise questions"Good advice lies deep within a person's heart &the wise draw it out"Pr20:5 from web
  8. The history of progress is innovation, not merely conservation. from web
  9. All leaders r learners.The moment u stop learning,u stop leading I learn asmuch as Ican,from asmany as Ican,asoften as Ican from web
  10. RT @jeremydelrio Classy leadership transition:Saddleback shows how2do it right when staff leave http://tinyurl.com/l5rjup from web
  11. http://twitpic.com/io93j - You'll ALWAYS need mentors.I have 6 who help me.JohnStott,birdwatcher,sent this Saddleback Bird painting! from TwitPic
  12. "This is the day the Lord has made!"=Simple "Have a nice day!"=Superficial & Shallow. Not the same. Be simple,not shallow. from web
  13. Jesus taught profound truth in simple ways.We do the opposite. Many "deep" teachers are actually just muddy!It's arrogance. from web
  14. U dont fully understand a thing til u can explain it in a simple way. Confusing people is easy.U must THINK 2 be simple! from web
  15. You'll never do anything creative,innovative or worldchanging if u FEAR criticism.Pioneers r easy targets 4 arrows!Mt10:28 from web
  16. Gallup:Stil only 39% of America accept evolution theory.Why?Spontanous generation by chance requires far more faith than ID from web
  17. Growing churches require growing leaders.The moment you stop growing,so does the church.Read to lead. from web
  18. You can give without loving,but you cannot love without giving."God so loved the world that he GAVE his only son." Jn.3:16 from web
  19. http://tiny.cc/DRVpw USA Today interview:"Warren on Compassion,Politics& Church Health" 1st print interview in 9 months from web
  20. If u serve on a church staff & i'm not following u back yet,TELL me!"The godly in the land are my true heroes!"Ps16:3NLT from web

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