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." (John 3:16)

 

It is singularly appropriate that we look at this greatest of all on Christmas Day, for it records the greatest of all gifts. The theme of giving is very prominent in the Bible, with such words as "give," "gift," "gave," etc., occurring more than 2,100 times. The first is when God created the sun, moon, and stars "to give light upon the earth," and the last is when Christ will return with His rewards to "give every man according as his work shall be." "He gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons," as well as "life, and breath, and all things".

 

But the greatest gift, clearly, was when God gave Himself for a lost and undeserving world. It was the greatest gift because it met the greatest need, revealed the greatest love, and had the greatest scope and purpose of any gift that could ever be conceived in the heart of an omniscient Creator.

 

That was not the end of His giving, of course. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"  "Trust in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy" .

 

This great gift of God is abundantly sufficient to provide salvation and everlasting life for the whole world. But a gift only becomes a gift when it is accepted, and the greatest of all tragedies is that this greatest of all gifts has been spurned and even ridiculed, or--worst of all--simply ignored by multitudes who need it so much. When they brazenly refuse God's free gift of everlasting life, they can only perish in everlasting death. God did all He could do when He gave His Son; for when He gave His Son, He gave Himself. 

Jeremiah 17:5

"Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD." (Jeremiah 17:5)

 

Jeremiah provides for us a striking contrast between the selfassured humanist and the one who has placed his trust in God. The man who looks to his own abilities or those of others to save him in time of trouble is "cursed." His existence will be one of futility, just as is that of a parched desert plant. Why? Because his "heart departeth from the LORD"

 

Actually, Jeremiah uses a play on words here. The two words for "man" in our text are different: the first means "warrior" or "strong man," and the second a "normal man." The warrior who should be strong is cursed because he is trusting in one who is weak; in this case, any other man's wisdom or might, or even his own strength, when overestimated. What sense is there in that?

 

In contrast, "blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD". "He shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and shall not be careful |i.e., anxious| in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit" . Why? Because his "hope the LORD is". Here again we see the warrior--one who might be considered strong--trusting solely in the true "strong man," the Lord.

 

It is a tragic fact that even many Christians fall into the mindset of the autonomous humanist and attempt to live their lives (even "the Christian life") under their own power. Do we trust in our own feeble power or in the Lord? Every heart, whether humanist or Christian, "is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Make no mistake! "I the LORD search the heart"; He knows our inner motives. Let us recommit ourselves to trust in the Lord and make Him our hope. 

Psalm 119:113-114

"I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love. Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word." (Psalm 119:113-114)

The Bible is replete with military imagery. We are told to "wrestle" against the "spiritual wickedness in high places" and to be sure that we put on "the whole armour of God". As the good soldiers of the King, we are told to "endure hardness"  and expected, as His army, to be about the "pulling down of strong holds".

David was a warrior king, and many of his psalms contain battle terms used both literally and figuratively to show the way God protects and provides for us in spiritual warfare. The "hiding place" David often mentioned was a secret retreat that provided shelter from the enemy. The "shield" can refer to the same sort of retreat, but is most often used to describe a soldier's defensive buckler. Faith is our shield in spiritual warfare.

Thus, in this stanza, the psalmist visualized God in the role of Protector and Captain. He looked to God for his life while being upheld "according unto thy Word". Safety was no doubt prominent in his thoughts while affirming that he had continual respect for God's statutes.

The psalmist was also fearfully aware of God's take-no-prisioners attitude toward those who are against Him. While our gracious Lord and King is patient toward all sinners, His ultimate plan is to "put down all rule and all authority and power". Knowing this, the psalmist concluded: "My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments". Only a fool refuses to fear the Creator's wrath.

Come out of your sin closet oh men of God (Part 3)

What is done in darkness is always brought to the light. 


You do not  have to believe me, look at 2nd Samuel Chapter 11& 12.  Our Heavenly Father called David a man after His own heart and yet David once tried to keep a sin hidden. In the days when a king was to lead his army into battle, David decided to stay home. As he was resting on the balcony of his palace, he noticed a woman bathing. Instead of looking away, he let his eyes rest on her and he became enticed by her beauty. He decided he must have her. After inquiring about her he found out that she was Bathsheba the wife of Uriah one of his commanders who was away at war. Even so he sent for her and she soon became pregnant by him. David hoped to hide his sin bringing back Uriah from the war and telling him to go and stay with his wife. Uriah refused and said that as long as there was a war he would not sleep in his home. David then decided that the only other way was to cover up was to let Uriah die in battle. So he commanded that he be put on the front lines. When the news came that he had been killed David took Bathsheba in to his house as his wife. David thought it was over and that his sin would never be found out. One day the prophet Nathan came to David and to him the story of a poor man who owned a lamb. That little lamb meant everything to that man. It was like a member of his family. But there was a rich man who owned many sheep. The rich man one day entertained a traveler and instead of serving him one of his own sheep, he slaughtered the poor mans lamb. David was angry at this tale and wanted to punish the rich man for what he had done. At this, Nathan told David that David was the guilty one and what he thought he had hidden God saw. David repented but his child that was born by Bathsheba died as a consequence of his sin.  Do you have a sin which you keep secret?  Yes I know many of you might think wow Dr. H, what a silly question to ask, but sometimes it us who is silly to think that we can hide anything from our Heavenly Father our sins. We hope no one will ever find out about? In America one of the big problems is hidden sexual sin. Adultery, pre-marital sex, incest, pornography. All of these are rampant. Perhaps you have problems with alcohol, drugs or gambling? Maybe even what you don’t think is such a big sin as lying or theft? The only one who knows is you and your Heavenly Father. And it is because the Father knows that unless you do something to deal with that sin, He will be forced to deal with it in His way. The way He will deal with it is never pleasant. He usually exposes it to our embarrassment. A few well known tela- evangelists (Bishop Long, Swaggart etc..)  have had their sins exposed to the entire world. 


"For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light."  (Luke 8:17)


Why would the Lord expose our sin? Because He loves us. Sin brings death and enslavement. When someone is suffering from cancer a surgeon must cut it out before it spreads. Surgery is never pleasant. But is necessary in order to save a life. So yes having our sin exposed hurts, but having it exposed and revealed can save our lives.  It's time we come to that place of repentance, for tomorrow is promise to no man. Our Heavenly Father is faithful and He will forgive us. We have pastors and elders and brothers and sisters in Christ  who are willing to help us get through it.  But key is to be able to come  to the Father and confess our sins for He is faithful and quick to forgive us.  So what are we waiting for?  I have reiterated to my children many times that if they have made a mistake or have an issue to come to me and let us together reason through it. I have learned the technic from my Heavenly Father who also invites each of us to come to him in the same manner. He stand there with His arms stretched out waiting.

Come out of your sin closet oh men of God (Part 2)

Sin committed in privacy, really do you actually think that our Heavenly Father does not see all that you do?  David said if I made my bed in hell also would you be, there is no where we can go or do that our Father is not able to see us. The only person you deceive is yourself when you think that your hidden in your sin closet.  Your wife may not know about you surfing those porn sites, the deacons might know about it, but the Father does, it is not His will that you or I should crawl around in the mud and filth of the pig pen.  Stand up on man of God, stand up!  You might have actually drunken the Kool Aide the enemy is tell you to drink, but remember this that If Christ can call the dead out of the grave. He is also  to set  men free of sexual sin, or anger, pride or even jealousy. For the Lord God sets free is free at last and is for eternity.

 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.  (Luke 8:17)

For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.  (Luke 12:2:3)

 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: (Ephesians 1:9-11)

Luke 12:51

Peace? On earth? Who are you kidding? Earth is filled with strife and violence. What were the angels talking about? What could their message mean, on that night so long ago, when they appeared to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem? Even the Messiah himself made it clear that His first coming to earth was not for the purpose of bringing peace on earth.


 "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. (Luke 12:51)

Then what were the angels rejoicing about? What was the big deal that night in Bethlehem? They were speaking of peace between the Father and man, not peace among mankind.  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through the Messiah, And that is why we can rejoice and celebrate Christmas: The Messiah did everything necessary to erase all alienation between our Heavenly Father and mankind.
. The Heavenly Father is not against us He is not vengeful , but instead he is merciful . The Father loves us. Our Heavenly Father is not our problem instead He is the answer to our sin nature for only he can  redeem us from sin. So, turn to the Father, instead of
turning away from Him. That is the true message of Christmas. Everyone can be right
with the Father, because of our Heavenly Father's perfect gift His only begotten son came down from glory to suffer much for a sinner like me. The truth gift of the season is the Messiah coming down from glory to take our place on the cross. To pay the price for our sin, to die in our place. The Messiah is the true reason for the season.


Our Heavenly Father gave us the gift that never stops giving for through the Messiah's blood our children and their children can be saved if they accept Him as their redeemer and savior.

MEMO FROM GOD:

Yea, Yea Yea I know I posted this one before, but I had to repost it, something about this I just want to make sure that we all get it!!!!!

So did you get it???
 You know what !!!
Did you get the memo???
Okay just in case you didn't here it is :)


MEMO FROM GOD:

Effective immediately, please be aware that there are changes you need
to make in your life. These changes need to be completed in order that I
may fulfill my promises to you to grant you peace, joy and happiness in
this life. I apologize for any inconvenience, but after all that I am doing, this seems very little to ask of you. I know, I already gave you the 10 Commandments. Keep them. But follow these guidelines, also.

1. QUIT WORRYING
Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you
forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for
you? Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little thing that comes
your way?

2. PUT IT ON THE LIST
Something needs done or taken care of. Put it on the list. No, not YOUR
list. Put it on MY to-do-list! . Let ME be the one to take care of the
problem. I can't help you until you turn it over to me. And although my
to-do-list is long, I am after all, God. I can take care of anything you
put into my hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take
care of a lot of things for you that you never even realize.

3. TRUST ME
Once you've given your burdens to me, quit trying to take them back.
Trust in me. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs,
your problems and your trials. Problems with the kids? Put them on my
list. Problem with finances? Put it on my list. Problems with your
emotional roller coaster? For my sake, put it on my list. I want to help
you. All you have to do is ask.

4. LEAVE IT ALONE
Don't wake up one morning and say, "Well,! I'm feeling much stronger now,
I think I can handle it from here." Why do you think you are feeling
stronger now? It's simple. You gave me your burdens and I'm taking care
of them. I also renew your strength and cove! r you in my peace. Don't you
know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where
you started? Leave them with me and forget about them. Just let me do
my job.

5. TALK TO ME
I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy.
Forget the worry and the fretting because you know I'm in control. But
there's one thing I pray you never forget. Please don't forget to talk to
me - OFTEN! I love you. I want to hear your voice. I want you to include
me in on the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk about
your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with
me. I want to be your dearest friend.

6. HAVE FAITH
I see a lot of things from up here that you can'! t see from where you
are. Have faith in me that I know what I'm doing. Trust me, you wouldn't
want the view from my eyes. I will continue to care for you, watch over
you, and meet you! r needs. You only have to trust me. Although I have a
much bigger task than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just
doing your simple part. How hard can trust be?

Come out of your sin closet oh men of God

"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly," (Matthew 6:6).
 I have sinned as great a sin as has any person that has lived. I understand the mind of a loss man. I know the anguish of coming face to face with my own sinful nature. It is a difficult, humbling thing to do. The hurt that accompanies the acknowledgement of personal weaknesses can be overwhelming. Many times it seems easier to just live with it. But that only hides the pain for a little while. Rather than showing you how to take your sin into the open, true love cares enough to point the way into the closet of prayer. Oh men of God its time we destroy that closet of sin and build up a prayer closet. Not a closet of shame, but the closet where there is rest, peace and mercy for all that will enter into it.  There was a time when I too created my own laws, a time when I ignored the authority of both man and God. In the course of the passing, right became wrong and wrong became right such that I stepped beyond even my wildest imaginations of where I might go if left to my own devices. Sin, in all of its ugly false promises, nearly destroyed my home, my family, and my life. But then Jesus came into my heart, and that which Satan sought to devour has been returned in a multiple beyond my understanding. The sin that once owned me without my knowledge is now an open enemy to be battle with all my might through a power that exceeds my personal weaknesses. It is God who now indwells this earthly vessel, and is His strength that overcomes my shames, my failures, and my pride at victories.

Even as a Christian there are times when the man in me would cast away scriptures that do not fit my fleshly desires. It is a day-by-day battle, this mortifying of the flesh. Sometimes I desire to lay down the oars that perhaps the war would end. Jesus said that the laborer should come to him, that the burdened should also come. End your self efforts is His meaning. Lay down your shame is His gift.

We are soldiers in  God's army, which though the battle is already won. There is a peace in the mist of the war that no Christian can explain to the lost. It is a peace that can never be gained through "Hiding out in your sin closet" while retaining the sin. It is a peace that surpasses all that this world can ever offer such that when full of all earthly needs I have within me the presences of Christ, and when lacking of all but the essentials of earthly survival I still have within me the presences of Christ.

There is only 1

Just last night I was up at 2 am which most of you know that is my normal hours, as I was flicking through channels I came across the Religion and one of the speakers were explaining that black could not enter into heaven until they went through a transformation of skin color. They would have to look like the white race all races would have to become white before entering into heaven. Now I do consider myself, to be somewhat intelligent, but no where in my studies did I read or see that there was one race and only the white race would enter into heaven. 
What does the bible say about race?  What about the origin of races? One searches the Bible in vain for this information, for neither the word nor the concept of "race" appears in the Bible at all! There is no such thing as a race--except the human race! Skin color and other supposed racial characteristics are mere recombinations of innate genetic factors, originally created in Adam and Eve to permit development of different family characteristics as the human race was commanded to multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28;  Genesis 9:1).

 

"Race" is strictly an evolutionary concept used by Darwin, Huxley, Haeckel, and the other nineteenth-century evolutionists to rationalize their white racism. But from the beginning it was not so! "God that made the world and all things therein; . . . hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth". "Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother?". Bottom line is we are one body one race one family. If you serve the Lord God then you are my brother or sister. My best friend Don likes to say, your going to spend eternity with me so you might as well start to love me now cause your going to have live with me forever and ever. One Family,for we are children of the living God.

Acts 20:24

 "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:24)

Some believers are tempted to give up on their faith in God whenever the least thing seems to go wrong in their lives. The apostle Paul suffered many things: beatings, stoning, and shipwreck -- yet he called them "light afflictions."  Hmm light afflictions being stoned and bitten by a viper light afflictions, this a man who knew whom he served and where he was going. Here is a man that did not look for fortune here in this world, nor did he consider this world his home. Where is your home?  Where are you storing up timber??? If this life was all there was, this would not be a wise way to live. But there is a life in heaven and a future world. We would be foolish to live as if this life is all there is.

So we should not forget eternity and focus only on the present. We must hold on to our faith in God, no matter how things seem to be going at the present. Because of our limited understanding, our ability to evaluate things accurately is limited. Our wonderful Lord Jesus can be trusted. He loved us enough to die in our stead, so we could go free. Why would He lie to us? We must be determined not to be moved by things our enemy does to get us off our faith in God's Word.

 Please keep my brother Matthew in prayer and my brother Mike also in prayer. Also pray for us on the 31st as the body steps out on faith and prepares a meal and serves and ministers to those that do not have a physical address. Sometimes most of us forget that we are just one pay check away from being homeless. It is by his grace and mercy. When my decided to get get the kids a Play station 3  last year, the kids thanks me, but I reminded them that everything that their earthly parents have is because of their Heavenly Father.  Let us count it all as glory whether God says yes to our desires or no. For sometimes His know is his ways of saying I love you to much to see this thing that you want hurt you.

Even after all that Job lost he still believe in the Father, we loose a lot less and feel like our Father is punishing us or has forgotten us, He knows you by name and loves so dearly that he gave his only begotten son as a witness of his great love for us.  So tell me what is that we can suffer in this world that could be greater than the rewards of spending eternity with God. The book of Revelations reminds us that their will be no more dieting there!!!! Did you hear me , okay did you read that, since you can't really hear me, unless your Yordon, Yeshua or Elizabeth or Dee or Don then can have heard me say this before. But to be serious for a moment if I might, There is much suffering that we must endure in this world, but we are told a time will come when there will be no more pain.  That our Father will wipe away ever tear.  I can't wait for that day, but for now I must strive to continue on in this race and not be distracted for I must continue my march forward never looking to the sides or behind me. But focused on the goal at hand.  Well done my true and faithful servant, that is my goal to hear those words from my Heavenly Father, nothing else matters.