Mountain Climbing

If the going is easy, you aren’t climbing. How often does the Bible say, Jesus went into the mountain to pray.
Mic_4:1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. KJB . One day it will be mountaintop living. For now we climb out of the valley of sin, degradation, and sorrow, to reach the mountain of rejoicing.

A Mighty Oak

Good Morning – Joh 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.

Remember this – A mighty oak was once a little nut that stood his ground!

Packages

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small package.

What We Miss

Too many people miss the silver lining because they are expecting gold.

Who Has Control?

God should be our steering wheel, not our spare tire. How inconsiderate to be the master of our lives until trouble strikes and then and only then call upon God to fix what we messed up.

THE AGE OF EXPERIMENTATION

William Andrew Dillard

Just imagine a world in which clocks and calendars were either non-existent or largely meaningless if they did exist. This world would host men of great talent in musical arts, metal craft, animal husbandry, etc. Moreover, this imaginary world existed in an ideal climate all year long, century after century. Additionally, there were not a lot of regulatory laws, making human freedom the best humanity has ever enjoyed. Furthermore, the diseases that plague humanity today were unknown in this pristine environment. Does this sound divine; too good to be true; something that could only exist in one’s imagination? Well think again!
The world under consideration did in fact exist for a long 1656 years, from Adam to Noah. The antediluvian world though devoid of most conveniences enjoyed today, had a lot going for it including individual longevity approaching one thousand years. It could be called the age of experimentation. What will sinful mankind do, left largely to himself? Will he be grateful for his blessings, and seek after his Creator? Will he respect himself and his neighbor, and seek to make a better world for himself and his offspring?
In Genesis Chapter Six, God looked down to see what was going on in the world of men. What He saw was corruption; moral degradation, base sensuality reigning as king in an epicurean, drunken, sex crazy world. It was a world of faithlessness. Thus, it repented Him that He had made the human race, and He determined to destroy it.
Today, in spite of vaunted progress, the world is quite similar to that ancient society. It is a sign. Jesus said that when He comes again, the world will be as it was in the days of Noah. Matt 24:37-39.
But consider that it is not the absence of sin that divinity seeks in mankind. That is impossible. But it is the presence of faith. When the Son of man shall come, will He find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8. In the absence of faith, men, nations, and the world are wrong, and they degenerate into the sensual, violent quagmire of Noah’s day.
The good news is that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a man of faith; a righteous man, perfect in his generations. It would be his lot to inherit a new world, a new beginning. Do you see a pattern here? People of faith in God and His eternal Word will inherit the universe with Christ Jesus, while those who submerge themselves in base pleasures of the flesh are destined to loss of life’s reward at best and eternal condemnation at worse. How much of your life is given to matters of faith in God and His Word? Every person is either contributing to the cause of Christ and goodness in the world or else to the cause of Satan and evil in the world. Sin cannot be eliminated from our world, but it can be repented of, and faith can find a dwelling and growing place in human hearts. The age of experimentation is history, but it bears unerring witness of an inevitable conclusion. In keeping with the pattern of the ages: in the absence of faith, no one may be right in the sight of God.

Acknowledge Him

In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:6, KJB)

Temptation

When you flee temptation, don’t leave a forwarding address

THE REPROACH OF A PICKED TREE

William Andrew Dillard

Orchard owners look with great expectation to the trees under their care. They nourish, protect, and defend them from pestilence, and anything else that would prevent full fruition. They are happy with the many blossoms, small buds, and developing fruit. Anticipation of Harvest time is truly filled with excitement, and the joy of abundant blessings. But once harvest is over, then what? The tree is still valuable, but it has given all that it can give. There will be no more fruit to glean, and the eye of anticipation no longer sees as it did before. It is a tree, now ordinary and fruitless, having given all. It is interesting to note that this idea is presented in the Word with reference to our Lord and Savior.
In Psalm 22 which is prophetic of the life and sacrifice of Jesus, the word used to describe him in verse six is “reproach.” The verse states, “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.” The word “worm” here is the “tolah” worm that was crushed to yield the blood used to dye fabrics with the color of royalty. The term “reproach” is a translation of the Hebrew word “Charaph.” which conveys the idea of a picked tree with nothing more to give. That term used here of Jesus describes how many people see Him as He has given all for the harvest of the souls of men. The people expected that the miracles He invoked for others would surely be invoked for Himself thus giving them a super personage in which to glory in the flesh. They were sadly disappointed.
However, while the forces of sin and evil rejoiced at the crucifixion, the crushing of that “tolah” worm, wrought robes of righteousness for the royal children of the King. Moreover, those who avail themselves of the fruit yielded by that tree find eternal, spiritual sustenance, and a white robe of royal righteousness in which to stand before the Creator. To the world, and to most of Jewish rulers, the tree was picked, and not worthy of a second glance, but to those who have tasted the fruit of that tree found life and hope of so much more that is to come.
So, how do you see Him dear reader? Is He a disappointment, or a wellspring of eternal joy? Is He a picked tree to be turned away from, or is He the Living Tree of Life with the fruit of eternal righteousness to all who receive Him in repentance and faith? My prayer is that you see Him as the latter, even the bread of life that one may eat and not hunger again; as the fruit of all righteousness that one may receive and have no sin imputed by the heavenly Father. There He is, the TREE at the crossroads of time and eternity in the life of everyone.

HOW WE SHOULD LIVE

We ought to be living

as if Jesus died yesterday,

rose this morning,

and is coming back this

afternoon.