Why listen to a Car Salesman anyway?

You know what they say about salesmen, especially a car salesmen, they’re just crooks and lie to you just to get your money. Yep you’ve probably heard all the horror stories. Thats why you question them about every aspect of the sale. And well I don’t blame you, you should ask questions.

But, why don’t you ask questions of your pastor, prophet, prophetess or bishop when they tell you things from scripture? Let me try and answer that, you trust him he’s the one who’s connected to the Lord and has all the answers. We’re quick to jump up and say it “preach, you gone bishop” “praise him” “amen” we’ll affirm what they are saying without any bit of reservation.

Let me ask you another question what if, what if something inside you says something just don’t sound right? What then, do you throw up a quick affirmation or are you going to go to the scriptures and read it for yourself, pray and ask the Lord are these words I’m hearing from the pulpit what you’ve spoken in your Word? I pray that you do. Yet many of us don’t. And thats why this car salesman is writing this post. Because I’m troubled in my spirit. I feel like Elihu after hearing Jobs 3 friends, burning with anger. (When you have a chance read what he said in ch 32)

When I really began to dive into scripture the first thing that I was told was to read scriputre in its context. Read a paragraph before and after the verse your focusing on. I would add that you should do more than that you may need to read a chapter or more before just to get the full scope of what the Lord is saying.

If you’re not familiar with these two words let me help you out a bit the first is eis·e·ge·sis:
an interpretation, especially of Scripture, that expresses the interpreter’s own ideas, bias, or the like, rather than the meaning of the text. the second is ex·e·ge·sis:critical explanation or interpretation of a text or portion of a text, especially of the Bible. Question: “What is the difference between exegesis and eisegesis?”

Answer: Exegesis and eisegesis are two conflicting approaches in Bible study. Exegesis is the exposition or explanation of a text based on a careful, objective analysis. The word exegesis literally means “to lead out of.” That means that the interpreter is led to his conclusions by following the text.

The opposite approach to Scripture is eisegesis, which is the interpretation of a passage based on a subjective, non-analytical reading. The word eisegesis literally means “to lead into,” which means the interpreter injects his own ideas into the text, making it mean whatever he wants.False teachers err on the side of eisegesis.

Brothers and sisters, If you never read what I write again listen to what I’m saying right now. When a person that is teaching you the Word of God 1st open your bibles and read the passage that he is preaching from, secondly if what you are hearing is contradictory to what written you may in fact find that you’re now worshiping in the jim jones sanctuary and you’re drinking the cool aide, now committing spiritual suicide. My brother in Christ Shai Linne pinned this song so perfectly in “False Teachers” http://youtu.be/pl4WevY-GPU

By all means study Gods word for your own edification, so when that moment comes and you hear something that doesn’t line up with scripture you can quickly discern the truth from a lie. And in the end just like you would question that car salesman, ask the bishop when you see what he’s saying just don’t add up.

We Mourn

Each day we mourn, we mourn the loss of our loved ones, the tragedies we see. Many lives ripped from our hands, babies killed, grandfathers robbed and women tortured and burned. Many live in a pit of despair and discouragement coping with day-to-day issues. Unsure as to how they will make it in fear of what’s around the corner. We mourn.

Sadly we buy into the systems they entrap us thinking that they will free us. Yet we find that in neither terminating the life of the unborn because we feel we cannot provide for them, nor legalizing a drug that inhibits our thinking or in changing the covenant of marriage to suit our own lascivious passions, there is no freedom because all these actions are abominations to God. We mourn.

Today, we all are guilty of doing what is right in our own eyes, we have forsaken the LORD. We have forgotten His words: “-I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery – you shall have no other gods before me.” We continually ignore Him, we do not listen; we continually whore after other gods and bow down to them. WE continually do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, because not only have we forgotten the Lord, we have rejected Him.

The Lord says, “Return o faithless Israel, return o faithless children. I am your master; I have given you a Shepherd after my own heart.”

Just as the Apostle Paul warnd the Ephesians, fierce wolves have also come in amongst us and they have not spared us. From amongst us these wolves have risen speaking twisted things drawing many after them.

Father, I pour out my soul to You and pray that the faithful ones whom you have left amongst us would hear your voice, tend to the flock not in compulsion but willingly as You would have, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering but being examples so that when Jesus Christ our Chief Shepherd returns that they receive your reward of an unfading crown of glory.

Today, many of us are lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents; – we are ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self control and, brutal. We do not love God. Not loving good, we are treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. We have the appearance of godliness, but we deny its power. We have forsaken God, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for ourselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water, continuously building our homes on sinking sand. WE mourn!

To make matters worse, some of these wolves have walked in and captured weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions; always learning and never able to arrive at the knowledge of truth. But they will not get very far.

People you must find Christ! Look for him diligently, then ask him to forgive you and to guide you- surrender to him and follow where he leads, do all he commands.

I have been asking myself this year what is greater in my life, my love for things or my love for God? I’m finding out that I have commingled the ways of the world with what the Lord is teaching me. But when we put on Christ, we put off the old for the new. This means that we have to daily kill off those desires of the flesh, surrendering ourselves to Him because we lack the power within ourselves to do this. In many cases we don’t even have the desire to do it! We mourn!

My brother asked me the other day what can be done to build and strengthen the church. My response was that, we need to deal with racism, hurt, and guilt. Yet when you look at all of these the root cause is sin, our fallen nature being separated from God! Paul says, “-I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized”

Are you genuine? Are you recognizable amongst those with whom you’re involved on a daily basis? Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud opinion contrary to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Today’s ills will only increase for they are of a spiritual nature. No government or secular institution can help solve these issues. There is only One; He is our Balm of Gilead, he is our redeemer the Savior of us all. Therefore, we have been given the responsibility of sharing him with all those that are dying around us. You are the only one who can help the person next to you. Can you say that you are innocent of the blood of all whom you encounter? The Lord has revealed His word in His Son Jesus Christ all who follow Him are His watchmen. To not share the Savior with those who are perishing is the same as watching a man commit suicide and not intervene to stop him.

We must put aside all the pettiness, and listen to the Truth. Let us all repent and turn from our wicked ways. The Lord will hear our prayers and will heal our lands. Let all those whose hearts belong to Him sing: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. Who was, and is, and is to come!”

Djohn

Let your voices be heard – let the whole earth hear

I’m no musician nor can I sing great melodies. However the Lord in his greatness always seems to plant grand songs in my heart. As I was reflecting on Psalm 100 and 101 the opening verses say, “ Sing to the Lord, make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth! Sing of steadfast love and justice to you o Lord”

I can hear flutes, horns strings and keys all in glorious harmony, as the people join in singing Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God almighty- Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God almighty- Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God almighty- The whole earth is full of His Glory- Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God almighty- Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God almighty- Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God almighty- Who was and is and is to come! In a lower key they continue on.

One speaking for the people- “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever Amen.

As you approach the throne of God let the melody sing to your heart and join in with all the saints and sing to Him- Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God almighty-

Confiding in God’s government and the use of means

In my morning reading I picked up Thabiti Anyabwile’s book “May we meet in the Heavenly world”. Let me say if you don’t have this book in your library pick it up. It’s a wonderful read packed with some delightful highlights from Lemuel Haynes life.

I want to bring to light one of those treats for you. It’s from his “Divine decrees”(1805) in Black Preacher to White America

” Faith in divine purposes will excite the people of God to the diligent use of means, as He has appointed them as instruments by which He will accomplish His designs and has commanded them to be workers together with Him; indeed, without the exertions of men, it is impossible that they should take place. God revealed to Abraham that his seed should go down into Egypt and at such a time be delivered, but this supposed series of second causes [was} all dependent on the first cause; without them the event could not take place. one was the edict of Pharoah to destroy the male infants of the Hebrews, that Moses should be born and hid three months, that he should be educated at the expense of the King of Egypt, that the Egyptians should be visited with ten plagues, etc. I might with propriety make the same remark with respect to the deliverance of Israel from Babylonian captivity, and the birth and death of Christ. the people of God consider themselves as active instruments to bring about His holy designs and are, in a good degree, cured of that unreasonable temper of mind that will deduce unnatural consequences from certain promises, in order to gratify a licentious conduct.

The truly pious are pleased with the absolute decrees of God, as what will promote the greatest possible good. if it is desirable that all God’s counsels should stand, then it must be pleasing to saints to be in the use of such means as tend to bring them to pass- without which they cannot exist; this makes them cheerful in the service of God, as they are seeking the same glorious ultimate object with Him. Jochebed and her husband doubtless understood that God, by this remarkable child, designed the deliverance of the church from the iron furnace, which was an animating object; all they did in fitting him for this work afforded satisfaction. Although the children of God cannot always see the connection between means and ends, yet they put such confidence in the divine Being as delights their souls in persevering in the path of duty- believing that God will effect the greatest good by it.

The friends of God delight in expressing their obedience to Him. The use of means affords them opportunity to glorify God and commend Him to others. if love and obedience are delightful exercises to the saints, then to express them will be pleasing. As god cannot exhibit any true virtue or moral excellence without pursuing a plan, so neither can we, unless we regard His will and interest and are workers together with Him.

The humble Christian will feel his own weakness and insufficiency to do anything of himself and will see that all his sufficiency is of God, and his faith and all- which will be a motive to diligence. This will be the foundation of his trust and will excite him to work out his salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God that worketh in him, both to will and to do of His good pleasure ( Phil. 2:12-13). This supported the parents of Moses amidst all their care about him and [was the reason] ” they were not afraid of the king’s commandments.”

Christians will diligently attend to means, as they will see much to be done. Wherever they turn their eyes, they will behold work laid out for them. It is criminal to stand idle in the marketplace. The good man will see enough to employ his head, his heart, his hands, and his temporal interest in the service of God. the reason that so many can find but little to do for God is on account of a slothful and indolent heart that refuses to labor.”

Make your life worth living…

Last night I lost my Uncle Carl. I learned a lot from him. Most of all, how to love your family. So I want to close this year with another of his poem’s.

” Do good when you are able;
rejoice in things you do;
then your heart is stable,
Happy, pure, and true.

Don’t pretend when you do things,
make sure you’re on the track,
then in reminiscence,
with pride you can look back.

Make the best of everything,
make your life worth while;
when you encounter trials,
meet them with a smile.

Be sure your deeds are noble,
no matter what others do
then in retribution,
it all comes back to you.

Life is really what you make it;
but no bowl of cherries,
so make your life worth living
devoid of woes and wearies.”

May your smiles always shine down upon us from heaven. We love you.

D John

Jesus is all

I would have never believed that the next and last time I saw him would have been when we were to bury him. All of a sudden gone! The hurt and pain of losing a loved one hard to describe. All the emotions one has unsearchable. Trial after trial all along the way Our Lord training, preparing, protecting me for the what next in my life

Fulfill the ministry, are the words Paul tells Timothy in what will be the last time they see each other. And to Archippus ” see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord”

I’m reading 2 Timothy 3-4:5 Paul is preparing Timothy for what is to come.

times of difficulty

people lovers of self

the word used here Philautos is defined in reality it is not the one who simply loves himself but one who loves himself more than he ought. a person who is characterized by an undue sparing of self and whose primary concern is that things be easy and pleasant on himself. Simply put it is one who loves his life so much that he seeks ignobly to save it.
lovers of money

they never find contentment in what they have.

proud

walking around as if the king or queen peacock showing themself above their fellow-man.

arrogant,abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless

here we have a compound word astorgos – without family love. So up to this point times will be difficult we have people who only care about themselves greedy proud arrogant abusive now uncaring of their families. You can see why marriage is difficult. Yet the list continues

unappeasable

absolutely irreconcilable refusing to lay aside his enmity or to listen to terms of reconciliation. Where do you find yourself, are you willing to listen?

slanderous

without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having an appearance of godliness, but denying its power.

I was awakened this morning by some words I read from a friend, her words of regret lost in thought pain hurt bitterness racing through her mind. And immediately these verses came racing to mind. How do we get through the myriad of stuff in our lives when all that is going on in and around our lives are tied up in these things Paul is saying here.

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed. What is it that we firmly believe? Knowing from whom you learned it. What is it that we have learned? For Timothy from childhood has been acquainted with the sacred writings. ( Old Testament Scripture) Are we acquainting ourselves and our children with these precious words of life or have we disqualified them as useless triviality? These words are to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

A. W Tozer wrote ” Believing, then, is directing the hearts attention to Jesus” ” Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus. Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it self-regarding. Unbelief has put self where God should be, and is perilously close to sin of Lucifer who said,” I will set my throne above the throne of God.” Faith looks out instead of in and the whole life falls into line”

In a declaration of Jesus he tells us… ” Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

He Intercedes for us…

Evening- Octavius Winslow

“But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the Holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Heb 9:11,12

“In approaching God in any spiritual service, why is it that your person is an object of His complacent delight? Because Jesus presents it. Why do your prayers, imperfectly framed and faintly breathed, come up before the altar with acceptance and power? Because Jesus is in heaven, and as your pleading Advocate separates your petition from all its flaws, and as your interceding Priest purifies it from all its sin, and presents it as a “golden vial full of odor” to His Father. And when in pensive sadness you have trodden your lonely path, the spirit chafed, the heart wounded, the world desolate, and a thousand images of terror and of gloom filling the vast void, oh little did you think that within that veil, so awfully mysterious to you, there stood One- your Friend and Brother, your Advocate and Priest- who knew your secret sorrow, and who at that moment was pouring out His full heart, His whole soul, in powerful and prevalent intercession, that your tried and wavering faith might not fail.”

Hate & Joy

While praying for my family and friends two words came to mind hate and joy, two emotions happening simultaneously. It always happens, in the life of one who chooses to follow the Lord with all their heart. Not from the person, but from Satan and The Lord. Satan is seething mad because all of his schemes and lures have failed yet again.

He has no way of winning against the Lord yet he continues to trip the believer and make him feel at many times helpless and lost. All the while, the Lord is rejoicing when He sees His prodigal returning home. What then? That leaves us sandwiched, God is removing the junk and clutter that doesn’t belong, we’ve asked him in our surrender to  (Ps 51:10) Create in me a clean heart, o God, and renew a right spirit within me, and He said, He would in (Ez 36) I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, I will sprinkle clean water on you, and I will give you a new heart, and a new Spirit I will put within you. You see Satan can’t stand this language and activity so he will do whatever he can to confuse you with all forms of fear and intimidation.

We have a firm foundation that promises us a wealth of blessing that continue on to our offspring.( Ps 112) The Lord gives us some encouraging words because He knows that we are going to fill some earthquakes (v. 6) for the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

How then do we put this to everyday living?  Look at Deut 31:1-6  the children of Israel have been called out of bondage Moses is their leader and is about to die and he has appointed a successor to take them into the promised land. First the Lord through Moses tells them He will go before them. God called you so he will lead you so follow Him. Second, he will clear the way for you. When we have been called from bondage and lead to the land of promise the trash has to be removed. We don’t have the power within ourselves to remove it so we have to allow God to do the work for us.  Lastly, be strengthened, because the Lord is going before us and clearing out the trash he’s going to be right there as we are going through. Our confidence comes in that he promises us he will never leave us nor forsake us.

D John

Proverbs:A Mini-Guide to Life

 

Originally Posted By Tim Keller On March 16, 2010 @ 8:13 PM

In my regular, daily Bible reading over the past year I read through Proverbs 3, a passage I’ve studied and preached through many times. But during this reading, I realized that in verses 3 through 12 we have all the themes of the rest of the book, and therefore a kind of mini-guide to faithful living. There are five things that comprise a wise, godly life. They function both as means to becoming wise and godly as well as signs that you are growing into such a life:

1. Put your heart’s deepest trust in God and his grace. Every day remind yourself of his unconditioned, covenantal love for you. Do not instead put your hopes in idols or in your own performance.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart (Prov 3:3-5a)

2. Submit your whole mind to the Scripture. Don’t think you know better than God’s word. Bring it to bear on every area of life. Become a person under authority.

Lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov 3:5b-6)

3. Be humble and teachable toward others. Be forgiving and understanding when you want to be critical of them; be ready to learn from others when they come to be critical of you.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. (Prov 3:7-8)

4. Be generous with all your possessions, and passionate about justice. Share your time, talent, and treasure with those who have less.

Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. (Prov 3:9-10)

5. Accept and learn from difficulties and suffering. Through the gospel, recognize them as not punishment, but a way of refining you.

My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. (Prov 3:11-12)

As I meditated on these five elements–rooted in his grace, obeying and delighting in his Word, humble before other people, sacrificially generous toward our neighbor, and steadfast in trials–I thought of Jesus. The New Testament tells us that the personified ‘divine wisdom’ of the Old Testament is actually Jesus (Mt 11:19.) And I realized that a) he showed the ultimate trust and faithfulness to God and to us by going to the cross, b) he was saturated with and shaped by Scripture, c) he was meek and lowly in heart (Mt. 11:28-30), d) he, though rich, became poor for us, e) and he bore his suffering, for us, without complaint. We can only grow in these five areas if you know you are saved by costly grace. That keeps you from idols, from self-sufficiency and pride, from selfishness with your things, and from crumbling under troubles. Jesus is wisdom personified, and believing his gospel brings these character qualities into your life.

For a number of weeks I have been spending time praying for these five things for my family and my church leaders. There’s no better way to instill these great things in your own heart, than to pray intensely for them in the lives of those you love.

***

Editor’s Note: This post originally ran at Redeemer City to City ^[1].

LOVE

From the Country Parson

By

George Herbert

 

 

 

Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,

Guilty of dust and sin.

But quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slack

From my first entrance in,

Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,

If I lack’d anything.

 

A guest, I answer’d, worthy to be here:

Love said, you shall be he.

I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear,

I cannot look on thee.

Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,

Who made the eyes but I?

 

Truth Lord, but I have marr’d them: let my shame

Go where it doth deserve.

And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame?

My dear, then I will serve.

You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:

So I did sit and eat.