WISDOM

Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. – James 3:13 KJB – Wisdom and understanding aren’t just in being able to use big words. It’s not just about our intellect. The best way to display our wisdom is to live it out in our lives – humbly and meekly. Just because one is wiser than others, it does not mean that they have the right to gloat and lord it over everyone – that, in turn, is foolishness.

GOD IS

GOD IS

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, 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.

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 old. 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 Israel. he did not say to make a decision upon what words you want to believe. He did not leave Israel 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.

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 a dream that man has advanced from a knuckle dragging, illiterate that attempts to make us a superior specimen. This does away with God and a seven day creation.

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 from which they were copying. 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 be established and never changing. Oh, wait, it is. It is established and never changes.

Psa_119:89  LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy wordis 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_119:160Thy wordis true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Endureth forever. This 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_119:140Thy wordis very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.

God’s words are pure and therefore when we find it we should embrace it and hold it close.

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 notunto 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 wordabove all thy name.

Do you know what that means? It means, we better get it right. We honor God and Jesus and their names. Consider these words of John.

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,.

Consider the implication of this passage of scripture. You declare that any version of the Word is fine, this is being said about Jesus Christ and we are manipulating the very Son of God.

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.

The evidence of the handy work of God is all around us. Where is the proof there is no God? The evolution theories of how earth and animals and men came about have never been proved. 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 not 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 in case 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 of context.

THE KEEPER OF THE WORD.

The promise has been made that the Word is forever settled in heaven.

 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. I truly believe that God’s Word is settled here on earth also. To make it simple, when God gives His Word, to us it is permanent. His inspired Word is preserved. He does not want us to wonder about where His Word is, or what His Word is, He simply makes His Word available and we are to find His true Word. We preachers preach about Satan imitating God’s Church. Satan has done everything to imitate the work and Word of God. God’s Word has not passed away as previously stated. Who is responsible for keeping the true Word of God? God and those he gives that responsibility.

THE KEEPERS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

God had His chosen people to write and keep the authenticity of the Old Testament. These were men of God who wrote the words that God gave them to write. The accepted text is called the “Masoretic text.” The Masorites were rabbis who made it their special work to copy the Old Testament. They separated the apocryphal from the canonical books, Several editions exist and vary a lot. The received and authoritative text is that of Jacob ben-chayim ibn Adonijah. Two other important textual evidences bolster the confidence of textual critics that it is accurate. The discoveries of manuscripts at Qumran by the Dead sea in 1947. These portions of manuscripts agree with the Jacob ben-chayim ibn Adonijah Masorete text. There is also the comparison of the Masoretic text to the Greek translation called the Septuagint, which was written around 200-150 B.C. The consistency of agreement between the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls assure us that God divinely and sovereignly protects His Word through thousands of years of copying and translating. If your version has in the Book of Daniel chapter 3 and verse 25 the last part of that verse saying, “…and the form of the fourth is like the sons of gods.”, you have the wrong version. That verse should say,”..and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Some evil translator has taken that verse from Divine to devilish.

I have layed out here an introduction to the reasons that I believe the King James Bible is the inspired Word of God. There is so much more that I will eventually put together. I do believe that Satan is trying to destroy confidence in the Word of God by putting out versions that confuse people and destroy the faith in God’s Word.

3 THINGS IN LIFE

3 THING IN LIFE

3 things in life that never

comes back when gone:

– Time

– Words

– Opportunity

3 things in life that should

never be lost:

– Peace

– Hope

– Honesty

3 things in life that are

most valuable”

– Love

– Faith

– Prayer

3 things that make a

person:

– Hardwork

– Sincerity

– Commitment

3 things that can destroy a person:

– Lust

– Pride

– Anger

3 things in life that are

constant:

– Change

– Death

– God

3 who love you and who

will never leave you alone:

– The Father

– The Son

– The Holy Spirit

I asked God for these three things:

– To bless you

– To guide you

– To ALWAYS protect you.

BECAUSE I LOVE YOU

CLOUDS

The thickest clouds often bring the heaviest showers of blessings. How often do we sing, -Showers, showers of blessings, showers of blessings we need. Mercy drops round us are falling.  We search the clouds each day for the blessings to be revealed.

So we Honor God

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. – Psalm 96:9

Think on this:
Think about the reverence that is shown Kings and Queens. Those who enter their presence do so with reverence in their dress and manner. When we think about our heavenly father, who is higher and mightier than any earthly king or queen, we should also enter his presence with reverence. We would honor him with our best. When approaching the throne of the creator of all the earth, we should approach with fear and trembling. We are not like him – our worship should be humble.

Salvation 1

Salvation 1

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

This is probably the most quoted scripture in the Bible. I believe it is often quoted without much thought to the meanings of each part. I want to take each part and do a little explanation on it.

For God so loved the world.– The crowning glory of Gods creative work was creating man out of the dust of the earth. Every other creative act was done in preparation for the creation of man.

The first creative act was to separate the light from darkness. The benefit for man was a measured time of twenty four hours because man would be created with a need to keep track of time. How else could man tell how old he is and without time, man would miss a lot of birthday cake and ice cream.

We see that God separated the firmament from the firmament. Upon further explanation we find that waters were separated from waters. Because of this act, we have the waters that we call oceans, lakes, rivers and streams. We also have the moisture in the heavens that brings us refreshing rain to cleanse the earth and to water the vegetation so man can grow vegetables and fruits.

God gathered the waters that were under heaven together and dry land appeared. This was now a place where man to live and work. We find the beginning of man and his evening walk or stroll with his live mate, his wife in the garden of Eden. Here man and wife walked with God in the cool of the evening. They talked and spent wonderful leisurely time together. God knew that man would need this personal time with the two love of mans life, his wife and God.

God now brings forth the vegetation. This is the third day of creation and the first mention of grass. But God goes on to mention the herb and the fruit tree. God created purple hull peas so that man would acquire purple thumbs from shelling these delicious morsels. We also have the delicious okra that is so tantalizing when it is fried and yet slimy for those odd ducks that like it pickled. God gave us melons of many different kinds and an amazing selection of corn to tickle our taste buds. This corn can be ground to coat our okra and make it so appetizing. God has overwhelmed man with the delicious varieties of foods created for mans consumption. Peaches were hung on a tree and man found out they were delicious. They had a natural blush that was so appealing that man could not resist making homemade peach ice cream. Oh yes the grass. God gave us the grass. God did not give us lawn mowers. How did man begin mowing grass? Satan had a plan. Man became so fearful of snakes which hid in the grass that man began cutting grass so that sneaky snake, as Tom T. Hall calls this reptile and sings about, so that sneaky snake could not sneak up behind you and drink all your root beer. This grass mowing caused a competition from neighbors. How creative can I be in cutting my grass so that it looks more appealing than the neighbors. This brought envy into the neighborhood and now man spends more time in the evening trying to cut his grass in a manner that looks more beautiful than the neighbors and spends less time walking with God in the cool of the evening. This is Satan’s great diversion.

The fourth day, God gives man a calendar. Man becomes a slave to time. When God divided night form day by creating the greater light, the sun and the lesser light the moon, he gave us a time to work and a time to rest. God also gave man the ability to mark time. Since man created a calendar, he has been busy trying to fill it up with what he considers pleasurable activities. Man has succumbed to this beautiful creation of God that he now worships what God created instead of the Creator. Man has filled his calendar with golf, sports, mowing grass, piano lessons, and school activities so much that there is not room for God on the calendar.

I have to make special mention of the stars here. They were created by God. They twinkle as an allurement to young people to go star gazing. This is an innocent activity for people to find shapes in the alignment of the stars. Stars are also used to plot a course for great ships at night. Of course we do know that young lovers spark and plot a course for life while sky gazing at night under the stars. These guiding lights lead men. A bright star lead the wise men to Jesus. How beautiful they are and God hung each and everyone in heaven for man.

God then created all the creatures in the waters. My don’t we love fishes big and small. We love them so much, we bring the little ones into our homes and put them in aquariums so that we can talk to them as we feed them. We will spend several thousand dollars to ride in a huge ocean liner to watch whales swim and porpoises jump out of the water. The best for the southerner is the fried catfish. This has created an explosion of restaurants that cater to the consumer that wants good fried catfish. Another delicacy of the south that has to be served where catfish is revered and consumed is the hush puppy. That is a deep fried morsel created out of corn meal. Here I am with my mouth watering because God loves me so much he created fried catfish and hush puppies.

I do have to mention the fowls of the air. The depth of love that God has for man is evident in one particular fowl called the chicken. It is a Baptist essential. Chicken is represented at every Baptist potluck. When the pastor in invited to come and dine, there will be fried chicken served. Have you noticed, there is not a live chicken around a Baptist church building. Baptist have enabled two great chicken processing businesses in our nation to employ thousands of people in raising and processing chickens for Baptists to consume.

God then created the beasts of the field. God loves truly loves us. Cows give us milk to drink and steaks to eat. Here is the cornerstone of a manly diet. Meat. From roasts to ribs to steaks, this is the foundation of a healthy diet. God has given us hogs. Ham sandwiches and pork chops are so savory, they have caused many to over indulge. Then there is the enticing and alluring bacon. God has gone above and beyond with tantalizing bacon. God truly loves us.

Now that God has prepared everything necessary for man to inhabit the earth. He kneels down and draws together the dust of the earth and forms man. You notice that this kind of attention was not given to any of the other creative acts. He kneels in the dust and forms man. Here is the intimate moment. From the lips of God to the lips of man, God breathed.

God breathed life into man.

GOD TRULY LOVES MANKIND.

Old Man

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; – Ephesians 4:22-23

We are commanded here to actively dismantle the “old man,” our old sinful nature. We are to willingly submit to God renewing our minds and strengthening the new man. Notice that “lusts” (fleshly desires) are “deceitful” and lead to a corrupt conversation. Note that “conversation” as used here is an older English term meaning “conduct of lifestyle.”

Refreshing

Act_3:19  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

A time of refreshing is coming from the LORD. It was prophesied long ago by God’s prophets. It will come upon all the earth when the Kingdom of God appears, first for a thousand years and then on into eternity with a New Heaven and New Earth. The Jews were not wrong to expect an earthly Kingdom, for it had been promised to them, but they forgot about the spiritual nature of the Kingdom. They supposed that entrance into it could be based on being physical sons of Abraham. Instead, repentance is required to enter the Kingdom of God.

Law or Grace

Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 

Rom 8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

The Law of Moses was not able to redeem us; it simply served to show us how fallen our state was and how incapable we were of attaining right standing with God, in our own power. When Christ resurrected a new order came in which was the law of the Spirit of Life. We are not led by inscriptions on stone tablets anymore. We are led by the Spirit of the Living God.