Attached To The Vine

Matthew 3:5-12 KJV; Attached to the vine, who is Jesus the Christ, we produce good fruits. Without the abiding presence of the Spirit of Christ we can do nothing good.

Would You Listen To John And Jesus Today?

Matthew 3:1-8 KJV; Would you really listen to John or Jesus if they were physically present with you today?

Our Children WIll Be Tempted

The Sea Saw And Fled

Huron River at Million Dollar Bridge, Arvon Township, MI

When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;

Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.

The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.

The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.

What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?

Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs?

Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;

Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

                                                                                    (Psalm 119 KJV)

I cannot help but wonder why humankind does not have enough sense to tremble at the presence of the Lord. The earth did. When Israel came out of Egypt the sea saw and fled, the river Jordan turned back, but humankind has not the foresight to know that God is God. At the hand of God, water can spring forth from a rock, but people, refuse the water. People refuse the Word that can bring eternal life; that brings real and abundant life.

It just makes no sense to me that anyone would follow after false gods. Sadly, there is nothing I can do to change that. Only God can change people. Only God can lead people out of bondage to their false gods. But, He has given you free-will. Choose ye this day, whom you will serve: the one who keeps you in bondage or the One and only One who can free you.

There is something, though, that I can do, that I am called to do. It is what the LORD calls all of His disciples to do; that is to proclaim the Good News of His Kingdom open to all people through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, no, even if the message offends you, I will not stop proclaiming. Just as you deem it your right to proclaim a false gospel, a path that leads to destruction; I will proclaim the truth of the Kingdom of God. There is only one way to that Kingdom. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by him. (John 14:6)

God has shaken the mountains. He has dominion over the sea. He has dominion over all things. If the earth will bow down and worship Him, then why is it so difficult for humankind to see that God is Supereme. Does a rock or a river have more sense than we?

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The Israelites Repented

Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim; Israel was in great distress. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”  (Judges 10:6-10 NIV)

Well... they blew it again!  The Israelites (like us) had a tendency to turn their backs on God and worship other gods.  But, I have to give it to them - at least they had enough sense to repent - to turn back to God who has and will deliver them - when they are backed in a corner and need deliverance!  I am always amazed at the number of people who will not repent - who cannot even begin to acknowledge that the reason that they are in trouble is because of the false gods they've been following and serving.

I have to admit, on more than a few occasions, I have just wanted to say:  "What is wrong with you?  Can't you see that you've done this to yourself by making choices to follow a god - to follow a path - that can only lead to destruction?"  Actually, what goes through my head is usually not in such kind terms. 

It is just very difficult for me to believe that it is so hard for people to understand that all the bad stuff that might be happening in someone's life - is not everyone else's fault.  In this world, it is important that we take responsibility for our own actions and if the consequences are not so good then maybe we need to consider other courses of action.  Listening to the way in which the LORD, your only true God would have one go, would be a very wise thing to do - particularly if you're really sick and tired of being backed in a corner with no place to go.  Jesus saves!  Only God can deliver you from yourself. 

May the LORD, your God help you to follow in the way that He would have you go. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Water and Word

"And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins." Mark 1:5

Scripture is full of stories of the water. The Israelites passing through the Red Sea; Jesus promising to give us living water; baptizing us with water and the Word; John baptizing multitudes in the River Jordan are just a few examples.

It is no secret that I love the water and I highly enjoy living near it. My last home was in an awesome cedar swamp on the edge of a bay of Lake Superior. These days, at least temporarily, I am, once again, living just a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean on a beautiful little river. The waters remind me of what God has done for us; for me. He has washed us. He has made us clean and not just with water; but, with the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Word.

May God bless us with constant reminders that through Him our sins have been forgiven; we have been washed and made clean.

God's Peace - Pr. J