Come and see - DB

And Nathaniel said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Phillip saith unto him, Come and see. John 1:46

The first thing Phillip did after he met Jesus, was to find his friend Nathaniel and invite him to meet Jesus of Nazareth. Phillip’s response was less than enthusiastic: ”Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

Phillip did not argue with his friend, but he also did not give up. He encouraged his friend to come and meet Jesus for himself. Like Phillip, we may not have all the answers, but we can encourage others to come and see for themselves.

Rev DB

A Lesson from Abraham DN

In my devotion this morning, although My mind is a tad slow ( well it's more than just a tad ) I was needing the Lord to speak to me, and He did. I thought it might be a blessing to someone else. 
It's Been said,
No desire will ever be placed in you by the Holy Spirit unless He intends to fulfill it. So let your faith rise up and soar away to claim all the land you can discover. 
S. A. Keen

Genesis 13:14-15 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

1) Abraham's Challenge: 14a (after Lot had left )
Life has it challenges, does it not?
Some of the greatest will be with one's family.
Lot, Abrahams nephew, had made Abrahams journey challenging. 
In fact, instead of getting on with his journey, Abraham was constantly having to deal with Lot. 
Rescuing him from the kings of of Sodom to Dealing with the strive between his herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen.
The lesson here for us, Accepting God's will and promises for us has its challenges. Those things that we deal with, that have nothing to do with the will of God in which we are pursuing.

2) Abraham's Command: ( lift up now ... )
All that you see ...north south east west
If you can see it it's yours, even if you can't see it , it's yours...not just yours, but your seed forever .
Lift up, don't be afraid to look!
It can be fearful, when you look up and see where God wants to take you, yea! at what God wants to give you. 
Do not let the uncertainty or the distance between you and God's promises hinder you. 
Jesus told Martha, did I not say unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God.

3) Abrahams Certainty: God said, I will give it! 
My the surety found in those words. Has God moved you toward some task. Some event demanding faith and leaning on his strong arm?
If he has, just step forward and lean on his unfailing promises. 
God who can not lie, will bring it to past!

REV DN

relationship with the Lord -KK

In his book, The Fullness of Christ, author D. Stuart Briscoe tells of his attendance at a symphony where Tchaikovsky’s “Pathetique” was performed. Initially, Stuart was less than excited about being at the performance. But something happened throughout the evening. The soar of the music, the rhythm of the instruments, the applause of the crowd began to affect his mindset.

At the end of the symphony he found his head, heart, and hands engaged in the event. “The difference in attitude and reaction,” said Stuart, “came about when the music ceased to be all around me, and managed to get right into me.” 

For Stuart, there was an invasion. He not only heard the symphony, he felt it as well. The external force became an internal reality.

The same can be said of the indwelling Christ. When our relationship with the Lord is reduced to external happenings (church attendance, good works, religious obligations), we may become just as bored as Stuart at a Tchaikovsky’s recital. But I submit, that Christ, like soaring music, has invaded our souls. He has taken up residence in our hearts. When this is understood, better yet, when this is experienced, we will find ourselves raptured in delight, caught up in divine bliss. Christ is not just something that happens around us, He is Someone Who abides within us.

Rev. KK

Place of Truth

Place of truth

I Timothy 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Paul writes Timothy to tell him how to act among the congregation. Timothy, you need to know that the church is the house of God. It is God’s people come together to learn. It is the place that shares the truth. It is the pillar and ground of the truth.

The church is the pillar of the truth. The word is used figuratively. It gives the idea of supporting, sustaining, upholding the truth. The ground speaks of the church providing a firm base for the truth.

That means Timothy better learn the truth. He better learn how to teach the truth. He better teach the truth correctly. We have an essential job to do. We need to realize the supreme importance of the church. It is the place where you can come and learn the truth. You can learn what the Word of God says. It is the very Word of God. It is the truth.

What is your attitude toward the Bible? How much time do you spend poring over its contents seeking the truth? Now let’s learn it and teach it.

Rev AG

Read the Book - AG

Read the Book

I Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

Paul writes Timothy and tells him to put effort and attendance into the reading of God’s Word. God’s people need to know what God has to say. They need to hear divine authority speak. Many would not have had their copy of the Word of God due to the cost and size of scrolls.

When they got to church, they could have the Bible read to them. They could hear what God has to say. Remember that in another place Paul said: “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God!” It is the Word.

We all now have copies of the Bible. They are everywhere. You can have them on your phone, your computer, any electronic device, plus the leather bound paper cover. You can read, You should read. You should give attention to reading.

One of the reasons I like to read the Scriptures at our church is to have you hear them. I fear too many people have grown lazy in their reading. One of the reasons that we preach the Bible verse by verse is so that you can hear all it says. It will build your faith.

So he was to give attention to reading. Then he was to exhort, motivate, challenge God’s people to do what the Scriptures say. Then he was to show them the teachings of the Scriptures, doctrine.

Let’s get into the Bible. Let’s learn all we can.

Rev AG

Be careful - AG

Be careful

I Timothy 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Paul writes Timothy and tells him that he better be cautious. He has to watch out because Satan will attack him. He must be cautious in his spiritual life. He must be careful not to fall into any of the traps Satan will be setting for him. Sexual, financial, prideful traps are laid for all buts especially men of God. Be careful.

He needed to be careful about the doctrine he had been taught. He needed to stay in right doctrine. He needed not to be carried about by every wind of doctrine. Popular doctrinal fads come and go. Get in the Bible. Read the Bible more than you read any books. Read the Book and examine books. Don’t read books about the Book.

Remember that commentaries are just a man’s comments about the Bible. All men have an agenda. If he is Lutheran, then look for a Lutheran tilt. None of us are as fair as we claim to be in approaching the Scripture. Do not be led astray. Sometimes the person with fewer books and more time in the Book will have a better doctrine.

If you read long enough and deep enough in one area you will accept that area. You can become a vegetarian or a flat earther, a person that still believes the earth is flat. You can become a member of whatever you study long enough and deep enough.

So get into the Bible.
Rev AG

What God Says He will DO - DN

What God Says He will DO
1 Ch 17:23 Therefore now, LORD, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said.

The Promises of God are not to be treated as a bag of lucky charms. 
I've discovered a person can make Gods Word say what they want it to say, to fit whatever situation they may be in. 
I've done it a time or two, in fact more times than I want to admit.

The Promises of God are built upon four pillars.
1) His Holiness: nothing he does, is at the expense of his Holiness
2) His Justice
The first two are His justice and holiness, which will never allow Him to deceive us. 
3) His Grace 
This pillar will not allow Him to Forget
4) His Truth
This pillar will no not allow him to change.

What God does is never at the expense of these pillars of truth. Every promise of Scripture is a letter from God, which we may plead before Him with this reasonable request: 
Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope" (Ps 119:49).

1) Must be a Conscienceness of God's Promises:
How will a person know and claim these promises, without an awareness of His promises. Show me someone with a closed Bible and I'll show you someone that will never know what God says and can do.

2) Must be a Cause for His Promises:
It may be a crisis, a burden, a need.
Where there's a need there's a promise.

3) Must be a Claiming of God's Promises:
A cashing in of a check, if you please.
A being fully persuaded, The Bible said in relation to Abraham, that being fully persuaded that what he had promised, he was able also to performed.

4) Must be a Collecting of His Promises:

I've had people make me a promise, and once I've done what I was told to do, I discovered it wasn't quiet like they said it would be. I was unable to collect. 
Never, ever was it this way with God..What he has said, he will and has always done.

Rev DN