Good Morning Quote ~02.27.19~

CHRISTian poetry ~ by deborah ann

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HEAVEN’S OFFER: A LIFE OF ADVANTAGE!

William Andrew Dillard

Enduring and mighty lessons spring from what many may see as strange and perplexing events in the Old Testament. Such is the case of the patriarch Jacob wrestling all night with an angel as recorded in Genesis 32.
In context, Jacob was returning from Padam-aram (modern Iraq) with his wives, children, livestock, and substance to his parental homeland. He was under a death threat from his brother, Esau who sold Jacob his birthright, but was extremely angered when Jacob engaged in trickery to actually obtain it. News had come to Jacob that Esau was coming with hundreds of armed men, so he assumed the worst and implemented a cunning plan of appeasement to preserve life and achieve peace. 
Moreover, in the long night before meeting his brother, Jacob is said to have wrestled with an angel until the dawning of day. Refusing to release hold on the angel until he should be blessed, Jacob was given his blessing, and with it a change of name to “Israel.”
“Israel” is a composite of two words: “Sara(h)” “prince(ss), royalty, possessor of power” and “El” “God”; hence, one who has power with God and prevails. This new word became the name of the patriarch from that day forward. Moreover, that name was transferred to the aggregate of his offspring, the Hebrew people who were the Old Testament people of covenant with God, and through Whose power they prevailed often against impossible odds. They had a real advantage (inside track) with God, But it was not after the flesh, but of God’s choosing.
Today, the homeland of the Jewish people is referred to as Israel, but what made that name significant, the presence and power of God, was withdrawn upon their final rejection of their Messiah Who said of them, ”Behold, your house is left unto you desolate…” Luke 13:35.
Jesus had come not only to pay the sin penalty for mankind, which men could not pay, but to bring His covenant people out from under the dispensation of law into the marvelous New Covenant of Grace. A remnant did so follow the Lord, and He also graciously incorporated the nations of all who would believe and follow Him. Hence, the beloved apostle Paul tells us that the true church of the Lord Jesus Christ is “the Israel of God.” Galatians 6:16. So long as the grace of God is extended in this dispensation of time called “today,” men have the blessed privilege of being a part of that Israel, “One who has power with God and prevails, even His people of the New Covenant.” Do you have an obedient and talking relationship with God? It really is an advantage of blessings both in time and in eternity!

Good Morning Quote ~02.25.19~

Thank you Deborah Ann

CHRISTian poetry ~ by deborah ann

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THE BIBLE STANDS.

Century follows century—There it stands. 
Empires rise and fall and are forgotten—There it stands.
Dynasty succeeds dynasty—There it stands.
Kings are crowned and uncrowned—There it stands.

Emperors decree its extermination—There it stands.
Atheists rail against it—There it stands.
Agnostics smile cynically—There it stands.
Profane prayerless punsters caricature it—There it stands.

Unbelief abandons it—There it stands.
Higher critics deny its claim to inspiration—There it stands.
The flames are kindled about it—There it stands.
Time gnaws at it—There it stands.

Infidels predict its abandonment—There it stands.
Modernism tries to explain it away—There it stands. 
—A. Z. Conrad

Understanding the Word

Our understanding should come from the Word of God. Psa_119:169  TAU. Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word. We are told to study the word and not trust our own understanding. Pro_3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Have you heard that God has exalted His Word above His Name? Yes that is true. Psa_138:2  I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. Do you know what that means? We better get it right.

There are many today that try to destroy God and His Word. A declaration that God does not exist does not cause God to go away or diminish. Psalm 14:1 states, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. I see the handy work of God all around me. Where is the proof there is no God? The theories of how earth and animals and men has never been able to prove evolution. When man “thinks” he has it figured out, then a flaw to “rational thinking” shows the impossibility and therefore another “theory” has to be brought into play.

Since there is a God that has created all things, He must have a desire to communicate to man. Leviticus 1:1,2 reveals that God used Moses as His spokesman to the children of Israel. Jeremiah 1:4 tells us that God sent His Word to Jeremiah and Jeremiah 1:5 reveals to us that God said to Jeremiah – “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. We find Revelation 1:1 where John makes the undisputed claim that God’s word was given to Him.

God wants to communicate His Words to us and He does not want His Word changed at the whim of man therefore God gave this warning. Moses, the first writer of the Bible gave a warning in Deuteronomy 12:32 – What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. God makes sure that this warning can be misconstrued to only apply to the Old Testament by adding a warning in the book of Revelation chapter 22 verses 18 and 19 – For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.  Oh yes, just incase this did not register with some people, he made this statement in Proverbs 30:5,6 – Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.  6  Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.  God didn’t stop there The first book of the New Testament, Matthew records a very important message for those that think God’s Word would be lost with the passage of time.

Mat 5:18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. What this should mean to us is very simple. Be sure you know what the scripture says. Don’t twist it, change it or take it out f context.

ANTEDELUVIAN LONGEVITY

W A Dillard
Methuselah is the longevity record holder at 969 years. Back then, proper names were often prophetic. “Methuselah” is a transliterated, composite word from at least three other words and translates, “When he dies, he will send it.” The reference is to the Noahic Flood. Methuselah’s father, Enoch, so named him because he was aware of the coming catastrophe. Consequently, he walked with God and was not because he was translated, being a mere 350 or so years old. Sure enough, in the same year that Methuselah died, the flood came: that was in 1656 Post Adam or 2344 B.C. So, Methuselah’s father is one of two men in human history to be translated rather than die, and his grandson built the ark to the saving of the human race. Hummmmm. Aside from all other indicators, what a strong argument this is that it pays to serve God.

THE VALUE OF “TODAY!”

William Andrew Dillard
Parson to Person

O.K. you wanted it, you’ve got it! Just think! Jeremiah recorded in Lamentations 3:22-24,”It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.” So, TODAY is a new day; a new year; a new crossroads with you having the opportunity to make really right, lasting choices of goodness. It might be illustrated by the little guy who was so happy with his birthday party that he wished he could have a birthday everyday. Well you may!
No, I have not lost it, the vacation did not make me crazy, but have you ever said or heard someone say, “If only I had the chance to do it all over again?” 
Well, today is the first day of the rest of your life! So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! 
Today you begin anew, all over again! The first Sunday of the rest of your life is coming up, too. So, whatever you wanted life to be for you within the will of God, let it begin today! In a manner of speaking, you really can do it all over again! But will things change? Will they be different or will they be the same piling up of more regret? Remember, God is leading, but He is not forcing! A commitment on your part to put Him first in regular church attendance, in Bible reading, in prayer, in witnessing, in reaching out to help others, in other words in the commitment of true perpetual worship will bring the enabling power of God to you through the Holy Spirit to weave a fabric of life that is truly different. What then is needed on your part? It is an unreserved commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, not only as your Savior, but as your Lord. Do it!!!!

I BELIEVE GOD’S WORD

And Jesus answered Him saying, it is written, That man shall not live by bread alone; but by every Word of God. – Luke 4:4

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my Words shall not pass away. – Luke 21:33

God has made several statements about His Word. To David, God had made a promise and when Solomon ascended to the throne, He asked God to do something for Him – “1Ki_8:26  And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.” God continues to verify His Word to us. Psalm 119:9 says “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.” If God gave an uncertain word, could a young man be cleansed according to God’s Word. An understanding of the responsibility of parents to teach their children the Word of God. Truly to memorize the Word of God. Also we need to understand the place and position and the responsibility of the scribe. These are not illiterate men.

Let us run back to the garden for a moment. When God created Adam, he did not create a baby or infant. He created a mature man. I believe that Adam had the intelligence that we have today. Adam named every animal that God had created. His vocabulary was great enough to name them all. We struggle to think of the names that have already been given to them. The idea of cavemen is dream that man has advanced from a knuckle dragging, illiterate that attempts to make us a superior specimen.

These scribes have rules that guided them in copying the Word of God that we call the Old Testament. They were required to have the same number of letters in each line as the original they were copying from. They were required to have the same number of words in each line. When they were done copying the page, another person came and checked the word and counted letters and words. If mistakes were made, they had to destroy the page.

Notice the interplay of statements in the following passages. Psalm 119:9 “BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Psa_119:41  VAU. Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word. Psa_119:58  I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word. Psa_119:65  TETH. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word. Psa_119:76  Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant. Here is the problem, if it is “according to thy Word, That Word had to be established and unchanging. Can you imagine someone walking up to God and saying I have done all things according to your word, and God responding, “that is not what I said.” God’s Word has to established and never changing. Oh, wait, it is. It is established and never changes. Psa_119:89  LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. If God’s word were not established and never changing, then we would have an uncertain God that would not be trust worthy. We can depend upon the truth of God’s Word. Psa_119:160  Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Endureth forever. Not is not the modern day statement. Today the culture dictates that men have to judge which words are God’s and which ones are not God’s. Yet the responsibility does not fall upon scholars to tell us what is God’s Word. The reason is, I will stand before God and give an answer, no scholar will answer for me. I will answer for my self. His Word endureth forever because – Psa_119:140  Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. Words that are pure and therefore when we find it we should embrace it and hold it close.

Our understanding should come from the Word of God. Psa_119:169  TAU. Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word. We are told to study the word and not trust our own understanding. Pro_3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Have you heard that God has exalted His Word above His Name? Yes that is true. Psa_138:2  I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. Do you know what that means? We better get it right.

I BELIEVE GOD

Why I believe the Bible is the Word of God? I have read the Bible since I was six years old. I am now seventy years olds. For the last 30 years, I have given special attention to the lineage of the Bible. I have read promises and prophecies. I have seen where prophecy has been fulfilled. I believe that when God gives a promise or a prophecy, I believe Him. Deuteronomy 12 gives a promise and prophecy that has been fulfilled. It will be completed in thousand year reign. Verse 28 says “… observe and hear all these words…” Deuteronomy 11:18 says ‘therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.” My God says to remember my words to ancient Isreal. he did not say to make a decision upon what words you want to believe. He did not leave Isreal with a group of words that they could choose from. He left them with precise instructions. I believe the very Word of God and not those that without investigation, deride the Word of God and say it was simply written by man. My God keeps His Word.

GOD

Some of the preacher friends of mine realize something that God has never done. He has never tried to prove He exists. Most that want to put out a belief or thought or plan attempt to give their bonafides, the reasons that they should be believed. They may roll out a string of alphabet as proof of their intelligence. Others make flat statements without proof of any kind and use ridicule to put down any objection. God simply says, “In the beginning…”. He does not have to prove He is. He does not have to prove that He is. Simply, He is. I like that. That is my God. I don’t attempt to prove He is, He has written His name on creation. His song is sung by the Birds. What He has created declares He is.