All about us? part III

  This blog has three parts.  I think that this will be the last part, but if The Lord gives more I will write more.
  I started with three men: two biblical characters, and Lester.  So, now about me.  After the encounter  with Lester we came home, and I started to pray.  "Lord how can I help my friend to have a better understanding of you."  Should I tell him how much You love him?  What can I do to help?
  A little time past, and these words came to me.  " I did it for you Lester."  "I asked what do you mean?"  The Lord started to take me through the day of His Crucifixion.  I didn't understand to begin with, but there is a very personal touch that I experienced, and I pray you will to.
  It was after we ate the Passover Meal, that we went to the garden to pray.  On the way I began to feel a heaviness.  I knew that all I was sent to do was about to start, and the burden was great, but the reward was greater.  The word says take my yoke, so your burden will be light.  The reason for my earthly journey had come of time.
  I asked my Disciples to pray with me, but they were tired, and I loved them so much finally I let them sleep.  By now I was in deep agony, because I would experience something I had never experienced, and I did it for you,  Lester.
  I heard the crowd coming to the garden, and saw Judas with them.  The people in the crowd were church members that I spent time with everyday.  They could have talked to Me anytime, why were they treating me like a thief?  Did they need swords, and staffs?  No,  I would go with them peacefully.   The agony of what I would experience caused My human body to sweat blood, but I did it for you, Lester.
  They took Me to the church, and asked for two witnesses that would condemn me, and when the two stepped forward they said that I had declared that I would destroy the Temple, and rebuild it in three days.  But that wasn't enough to put Me to Death.  Then Caiaphas asked,  are you the son of God?  Then I told him that he would see Me The Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God at his judgment.  Then Caiaphas tore his clothes, and accused Me falsely of blasphemy.  He asked the church what they wanted to do with me.   They demanded my death.  I did it for you, Lester.
  After they decided that death was the right punishment for Me, they spit on My face, punched Me, slapped My face, and said "If You are a prophet which one of us hit You?"  I did it for you, Lester.
  When they were done assaulting Me they took Me to Pilate' palace, and told him that I needed to be Crucified.  Pilate and his wife didn't want to punish me.  Pilate asked the people if they wanted Me or Barabbas.  The crowd was becoming riotous,  so Pilate washed his hands, and ordered Me to be Crucified.  But first, I was to be scourged with a cat of nine tails.  I did it for you,  Lester.
  After the scourging as I was being prepared for My Crucifixion, solders mocked Me, placed a crown of thorns on My head, and a robe to make me look like a King. I did it all for you,  Lester.
  I arrived at Golgotha with two thieves, every step that I took, every blow of the hammer to drive the nail's into my hands and feet, every time I raised  Myself to take a breath of air, I did it for you, Lester.  But the worst was yet to come.
  When I was hanging on The Cross I had to be sacrificed for all sin.  If you remember there came a time when I said;  "MY GOD MY GOD WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME."    I had never been out of the presence of My Father, and I did it for you,  Lester.  When I said it is finished I was back in the presence of My Father.  In life you only make two choices that count.  One will you accept Me and let me be your Savior, or will you reject Me and be separated from My Father for eternity ?  Remember I did it for you, Lester!
 After The Lord shared this with me I started a blog, when I finished it He said no to publishing it.  I asked why, and was going to publish anyway, but I didn't.  The next day I understood why The Lord showed me that I could take out Lester, and put in Del, so I did.  It made the event much more personal.  You too can take out Lester and use your name in place of his.  If you have never accepted what Jesus did for you, now would be a great time to say, You did it for me (use your name) would you be my Savior.


















       












                        

All about us? part II

   I stopped yesterday with this question:  "What will David do?"
  The decision that David made was to have an affair with Bathsheba.  He then arranged for her husband, Uriah, to die in battle.  He was very remorseful after Nathan the Prophet pointed out his sin.   Bathsheba conceived a child, and the baby died. David was grief stricken, and his servants were scared to ask what was wrong.  David was grieving about his sin more than the loss of their child, and to try to make things better he went to war, and defeated the city that took Uriah's life.  After the loss of their first child, they had a second child, Solomon, who became the King of Israel, and built the first temple, where sacrifices were made to God.  The first house of Worship.  Oh,  by the way King Solomon had 500 wives.
  Even though David committed adultery, and murder, God still used his bloodline to bring the Savior of the world to us, through Bathsheba, the one with whom his sin was committed.
     Recently Pat and I went to dinner at a local restaurant.  When we walked in, we noticed Lester, and his wife Edie.   We said hi, and asked the usual friend questions.  When they were ready to leave Lester stopped at our table and asked,  "Why don't you guys stop over some time?"  The conversation went on, and Lester always ends by saying,  "Well, I'm an old sinner, and probably will end up in hell. But I won't be the only one."  As soon as that statement came out of his mouth,  I replied, "What if when you go to hell, you find yourself all alone, in solitary confinement for all of eternity?"  All of a sudden he had a very serious look on his face, instead of that silly little smirk.
  Lester reads the Bible at least once a year; I know one year he read it twice.  The word says,   If you shall confess with your mouth The Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.  For with the heart man believes unto Righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation. Romans 10: 9-10 (KJV)
  Apparently Lester missed that one;  maybe I need to point it out to him.  It seems terrible to me that he could read The Word of God, and still miss going to heaven.
  I've written about three men.  Two were called Godly, and one does Godly things, but believes that he is going to Hell.  This is what led me to write this blog.  What did The Lord show me to share with Lester that might change his mind?            
                

All about us? part I

  I want to start this blog with some interesting people of the Bible, and a friend, then myself.  The  Bible  people that I want to write about are Noah and David.  Then I will talk about  my friend Lester, then myself.
  I have often wondered why the faults of great men of God were written about in Scripture.  Noah was a man of God.  His family were the only ones to escape death in the great flood.  God gave him instructions how to build the ark, and I heard a engineer tell that if Noah hadn't followed God's directions to the letter, the ark couldn't have withstood the pressures of the water.  After Noah was a builder he became a husbandman;  he grew grapes, and having more then enough to eat, he decided to make some wine.  One night he decided to taste the fruit of his labors,  drank too much and became drunk, and took off his clothes. " And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent." Genesis 9: 20-21  (KJV).  Noah's son Ham went into the tent, and when he saw Noah's nakedness, he preceded to expose the first drunk to his brothers.  They did the honorable thing, and covered him.  This is the first time in Scripture that drunkenness is mentioned.  A fault of a Godly man.
  The second person I want to touch on is David.  David was the son of Jessie, a ruddy red head, fair complected, not real Kingly looking, compared to his brothers.  Samuel the prophet went to Jessie's house as directed by The Lord.  Looked over all the brother's, but The Lord said no to all of the prospects.  Samuel asked Jessie "Do you have any more sons?"  Jessie said, "Just David.  He's out tending the sheep."  A shepherd watching his father's flock, not real King material.  While he was tending sheep he became bored, and took up music, flutes, and the harp.  He stood guard over the sheep, and learned how to kill lions and bears.  And I forgot, he also became good with the sling shot, just a boy doing boy things.
  When Samuel heard about David,  he told Jessie to bring him to him.  As soon as Samuel saw him The Lord said "This is the one" Samuel asked are you sure?  "  The Lord replied  "Yes."  Samuel took a horn of oil, and anointed David as King.  David didn't become King David immediately he had some things to do.  I won't go into the complete story of David, but he was a man after God's Heart, another Godly man.
  When David was 52 he decided to take the spring off, and not go to war, as all King's did.  It was early evening, and David decided to take some time on the top of the palace.  He looked to the east, then, the south, the north, but when he looked west he saw more than he should have:  Bathsheba.  He asked his servant,  "Who is that beautiful lady next door?"  The servant told him it was wife of Uriah the Hittite.  David knew that Uriah was at war.  Uriah was one of David's commanders.  What will David do?  







                             

One Way!

  I was raised a christian, so the title of this blog is what I want to talk about today.  When are you saved?
  As a young person, one day I was saved, the next day if I sinned I was lost.  If that were true I would be lost all the time. The Scripture says, " For all have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God."  Being justified (as though you never did it, my understanding) freely by His Grace, through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus.  Any time the Scripture says, in Christ, by Christ, Through Christ, it means, "The atoning work that was completed on The Cross!"
  As we celebrate His birth, although it's a important celebration,  the real reason that He came  was to die on the Cross, a pure sacrifice, for sinful man.  When The Holy Spirit reveals to us  that we are sinners, and need a Savior, The Cross of Christ is the only answer!
  My next point may seem strong, but as a preacher of the truth, I have no other choice!! "Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the Will of God and our Father", ( the standard of the entire process of Redemption): Galatians 1: 4 (KJV) Now we know the standard, and now you will know why I say" I have no other choice"!! " But though we, or an Angel from Heaven, Preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.  As we said before, so say I now again,  If any man Preach any other Gospel unto you than that you have received let him be accursed" Galatians 1:8-9 (KJV).  I have heard that the word accursed in the original text, should have been translated as damned.  This portion of Scripture is repeated twice, as a Preacher "I had better be right"!
  When I posted Four Generations on 11-16-2012.  I talked about traditions.  In that post, I mentioned that Pat and I were raised in churches that had traditions, that became ritualistic.  They could be dangerous, if the aren't scriptural.  I had a reader ask which church we belong to, it's just another denomination with traditions also.   We need the local church, but we need the truth of God's word more. When I stand before God, I will not be judged by what others believed.  I will be judged by what the Bible teaches.  So to be safe as a preacher,  I preach Christ and Him Crucified, as the only answer to all of man's sin, past, present, and future.
  So, what is the  answer to the question when are we saved?  The instant that we believe that only what He did on The Cross can save us!  How long are we saved?  As long as we keep believing that what He did on The Cross has saved us.  The word says, " For by Grace are you saved through Faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the Gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9(KJV)  Your Faith is what you believe, whether it is right, or wrong.  We will be held responsible, for our Faith by God.  " But without Faith it is impossible to please Him: for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He (God) is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6 (KJV).  His plan is, "I will go to the world, and die on a Cross for their Sin, as The Man Jesus"!

  Thank you Lord, for saving my soul! Thank you Lord for making me whole! Thank you Lord, for giving to me, Thy Great Salvation, so Rich, but Free. Amen

  

A scrap to riche's?

  There are some things that are worth knowing, and some that don't make much difference  I believe that first and foremost is a personal relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ.  If you don't have that the second will not have the power that we so need.  What can change my life and help me to have power?
  I love personal testimonies: stories about real people in a real world.  I recently listened to the testimony of a man named Jim Wolsey, who was a missionary in Peru.
  It was early in the morning, and one of the townspeople was coming home from a night of drinking. As he was walking along he found a piece of paper laying on the ground.  He picked it up and put it into his pocket.  The people of this town were garden farmers. They would take the produce to the city and sell it, come home and get drunk.  The whole town was suffering the effects of alcoholism.  They didn't have food to eat, clothes, shoes, everything that people need to live, because they spent their money on alcohol.  Wives and children were getting abused, murders were being committed; it was a Godless town.
  The next day as the man was digging through his pocket, he found the piece of paper, it wasn't a whole sheet just a scrap.  He later said that he almost threw it away, but he noticed that there was something written on it.  Through his hungover eyes he read,   "If My people, which are called by My Name (Believers), shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and forgive their sin, and will heal their land." He had never heard this before so he read it again.  So he decided to do what it said!  That evening when it was time to go drinking, he decided to stay home with his family.  The next day one of his friends came over wondering what had happened to him the previous night.  So he took the scrap of paper out of his pocket, and gave it to his friend to read.  After his friend read the scrap, the man said, " I did that! I prayed to God for help and he answered!"
  Now this man who found the scrap of paper wasn't just a regular guy. He was the meanest person in town.  He had influence, bad influence, and for him to miss a night of drinking was a big deal.  The men of the town started to watch him and wondered what had happened. And his friend that had read the scrap, was more than happy to share, " Oh, he found God!"  and they would laugh and drink  some more.  " It will only be a short time and he'll be back."  Time went on and he didn't come back. Soon others came to him and he would read the scrap to them, and they would pray with him.  It only took a matter of time and the whole town found God.
  As I had mentioned they were garden farmers and they used to take cart loads of produce to the city. Now they were taking truck loads!  The local church that previously had only women and children, was now filled with families, all because a man found a scrap of paper.  They had food, clothing, and the abuses stopped.
  Where did it come from, and what was that scrap?  It came from II CHRONICLES 7:14 a book in the Bible.  If a scrap of paper that has a Scripture on it has that kind of power, how much more power does the whole Bible have.  I have always said if the sermon doesn't preach to the preacher first it's probably not from God, and this has spoken to my heart. First I challenge myself to read the Bible from cover to cover. I have read a lot of it but some books aren't as interesting as others.  As God has been working in my life, it will be interesting to see how that has changed.  The word never changes, but how it ministers changes as we mature in The Lord.  The Bible: it's a challenge you might want to consider.                                               

To lie or not to lie?

  I was driving to Sioux Falls, and the speed limit was 75 mph.  So because I know that the Hi-way Patrol will allow me 5 or 6 mph over the posted limit, I chose  to drive 79 mph.  I didn't receive a ticket, but I was breaking the law, a  state rule of our government.  This brings up the next question.  What is this Government that is upon His Shoulder?
  For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given:  and the Government shall be upon His Shoulder:  and His name shall be called Wonderful, Councilor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His Government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.  The zeal of The Lord of Hosts will perform this Isaiah 9:6-7(KJV).
  I've been reading about Moses.  When The Lord gave him the instructions for the Passover, He told them  to eat only unleavened  bread for seven days.  As I was receiving this blog, I asked why un leaven bread?  This is is the answer His Spirit gave to me.  The food value is the same, but there is fluff in leaven bread.  In My Government there is no fluff.  If people would follow My Government, they wouldn't have to depend on the national government, to legislate morality.  You (meaning me Del) are responsible to police, My Government in your life, and because I have chosen you to be a minister of The Word,  you can't share fluff, because fluff will destroy the truth!  A little leaven (corruption) leavens (corrupts) the whole lump.Galatians 5:9 (KJV).  The introduction of a small amount of false doctrine will ultimately consume the entirety of the truth, there is no half truth, it becomes a lie!
  The Scripture that I used tells of two times when Jesus will appear on earth, the first has already happened, His birth, the second is still to come.
  When He was born, He came to be the sacrifice that would save His subjects, and they are Sanctified by the same sacrifice, and will be Glorified.  When He comes the second time He will establish His Kingdom.  When His Kingdom is established there will be no questions about His Government!  Things that the church is condoning, that are leaven, Will not be!  He will be the only One that will be worshiped, and the government that thinks it can pass laws that override His Government will not exist!  You can't legislate Righteousness.  And the church, can't ignore the Government of The Lord !

A great truth.

  I have had this thought on my mind for some time: which is more important, negative, or positive?  As I was comparing this thought to our modern society, and it seems we live in a society that likes to hear the positive, but not the negative!
  As I picked up students this morning, one of them was telling me that he sat through a lecture about protons, and electrons.  Dan started to explain protons, and they have a positive charge, and electrons have a negative charge.  If we as humans don't have a plus and minus in our system we die, it's essential to human life.
  Pat and I had a friend, who did all the right things.   He loved The Lord,  ate the proper food, exercised,  as a person he was concerned about his spiritual, and general health.  One night he wasn't feeling well, and got up about 1:00 am.   He told his wife that something didn't feel right.  When she asked what was the matter, his response was "I can't hear you", and he fell down, and those were his last words.  Knowing that he took care of himself, his wife requested an autopsy.  When the results came back they couldn't find anything that caused his death.  I told my cousin, who is a doctor,   what had happened, and that they couldn't find anything in the autopsy.   He said it was likely that something in his electrical system shorted-out.  Positive, and negative, are they essential to life?
  Pat and I were talking about an article she forwarded to one of our   blog readers and it pointed out our spiritual life is also plus, and minus.  We aren't always so pleased when we have to deal with negative.  If it isn't all positive some of us even believe it can't be of God!  I'm led to share some Scripture that was Paul's last charge to Timothy.
  "I charge you therefore before God, and The Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His Kingdom; Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and Doctrine.  For the time will come when they will not endure sound Doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they hear to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  And they shall turn away their ears from the Truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  But watch thou in all things endure afflictions, do the work of an Evangelist, make full proof of your Ministry. II Timothy 4: 1-5 (KJV).

  I'm going to become a weather forecaster for just a while to make it easier to understand.  We have a sunny day coming the 13th of January.  The temperature will be in the mid to high eighties, it will be a beautiful day to go to the lake and get a early start on that summer tan.  "My that sounds great! Honey, let's take the kids and have a day at the beach!"  But the truth is on Sunday in Watertown it's going to be -16 degrees below zero.  So the dad liked the eighty degree forecast better, and told the family they were going to the beach, and they did.  Mondays news "A local family found frozen to death on shores of Lake Kampeska!"  
  The weather forecast is a fable, but if it's received as the truth the same results.  In our spiritual life we have to compare what we are being taught, with the Word of God.  Adultery is a terrible sin, and has consequences here on Earth, but God will forgive us if we ask.  Spiritual adultery has eternal consequences, and we are responsible for what we believe.  We have to believe the Word of God, whether positive, or negative because it takes both to be complete..  Spiritual living isn't psychology101;  it's our eternal destiny!      

To My Friends in Russia.

  Just a short note to the people that read our blog in Russia. It was  only 136 years ago that my Great Grandfather immigrated from your homeland to the United States of America.  He was the main leader of 1267 people, that left the fertile land of Ukraine, in the year 1874.  He was only 32 year's of age.
  It is so humbling, and I am grateful to be abel to have a audience that is as big in the country that I live in, and the land my forefather's came from.  I so appreciate all of our reader's, but to have a audience in Russia, and the Ukraine, is special, and I wanted to acknowledge you as being special to me.  We love you and pray for you every day, along with our other readers.