From Gary... Of sticks and paths and hearing ears!

A newborn learns, a child discovers and an adult begins to understand. But, an elderly person has learned from a lifetime of experience to apply wisdom to their acquired knowledge. Today, we, as a culture, ignore the senior citizens- they are as out-of-touch as this dog with only a stick for a toy. Unless someone is tech-savvy, they are deemed irrelevant, and unworthy of attention. What a waste!!! And this concept of irrelevancy has been carried over to morality as well. Just look at the breakdown of the family, the foul language, and the tendency to violence that pervades society! Where does all this come from? Why is this happening?  Consider the words of God through the prophet Jeremiah....

Jeremiah, Chapter 6 (WEB)

  10  To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they can’t listen. Behold, Yahweh’s word has become a reproach to them. They have no delight in it.  11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of Yahweh. I am weary with holding in. 

“Pour it out on the children in the street,

and on the assembly of young men together;

for even the husband with the wife shall be taken,

the aged with him who is full of days.

  12 Their houses shall be turned to others,

their fields and their wives together;

for I will stretch out my hand on the inhabitants of the land, says Yahweh.”

  13 “For from their least even to their greatest, everyone is given to covetousness;

and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely.

  14 They have healed also the hurt of my people superficially,

saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ when there is no peace.

  15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?

No, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush.

Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

at the time that I visit them, they shall be cast down,” says Yahweh.

  16  Thus says Yahweh, “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, ‘Where is the good way?’ and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’  17 I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen!’  18 Therefore hear, you nations, and know, congregation, what is among them.  19 Hear, earth! Behold, I will bring evil on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not listened to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.

If this country will not listen to the wisdom of its elders, founding fathers and most of all, God; then what hope remains? I know of none!!  I am convinced of the validity of verse 16 above because over six decades I have seen countless examples of changed lives because of the word of God. Will you listen or reject God's call for you to live a "good way"? Do you even want "rest for your souls"?  

and then there are the words of Jesus...

Matthew, Chapter 13 (WEB)

1 On that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside.  2 Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the multitude stood on the beach.  3 He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow.   4  As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.   5  Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.   6  When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.   7  Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them.   8  Others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.   9  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 

 18  “Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.   19  When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.   20  What was sown on the rocky places, this ishe who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it;   21  yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.   22  What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.   23  What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit, and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.” 

When God's word is proclaimed, how do you hear it? With intellect, feeling and a life of experience to guide you. If other things get in the way, you may in fact become like those of Jeremiah's time who rejected God and his message. The word Jesus spoke of is an eternal word; it has not and will never change. If received with a good heart, a keen intellect and a submissive life, it will germinate into a GOOD LIFE NOW AND AN EVEN BETTER ONE IN ETERNITY!!! 

Question: If you had one stick and it worked; why would you ever want something else????

From Gary... Bible Reading December 2

Bible Reading  

December 2

The World English Bible

Dec. 2

Ezekiel 21-24

Eze 21:1 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Eze 21:2 Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and drop your word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel;

Eze 21:3 and tell the land of Israel, Thus says Yahweh: Behold, I am against you, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.

Eze 21:4 Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:

Eze 21:5 and all flesh shall know that I, Yahweh, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more.

Eze 21:6 Sigh therefore, you son of man; with the breaking of your thighs and with bitterness you will sigh before their eyes.

Eze 21:7 It shall be, when they tell you, Why do you sigh? that you shall say, Because of the news, for it comes; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it comes, and it shall be done, says the Lord Yahweh.

Eze 21:8 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Eze 21:9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says Yahweh: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;

Eze 21:10 it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning: shall we then make mirth? the rod of my son, it condemns every tree.

Eze 21:11 It is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the sword, it is sharpened, yes, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the killer.

Eze 21:12 Cry and wail, son of man; for it is on my people, it is on all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my people; strike therefore on your thigh.

Eze 21:13 For there is a trial; and what if even the rod that condemns shall be no more? says the Lord Yahweh.

Eze 21:14 You therefore, son of man, prophesy, and strike your hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded: it is the sword of the great one who is deadly wounded, which enters into their chambers.

Eze 21:15 I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied: ah! it is made as lightning, it is pointed for slaughter.

Eze 21:16 Gather you together, go to the right, set yourself in array, go to the left, wherever your face is set.

Eze 21:17 I will also strike my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest: I, Yahweh, have spoken it.

Eze 21:18 The word of Yahweh came to me again, saying,

Eze 21:19 Also, you son of man, appoint two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they both shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city.

Eze 21:20 You shall appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.

Eze 21:21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows back and forth, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver.

Eze 21:22 In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts.

Eze 21:23 It shall be to them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths to them; but he brings iniquity to memory, that they may be taken.

Eze 21:24 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because you have come to memory, you shall be taken with the hand.

Eze 21:25 You, deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity of the end,

Eze 21:26 thus says the Lord Yahweh: Remove the turban, and take off the crown; this shall beno more the same; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high.

Eze 21:27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

Eze 21:28 You, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and say you, A sword, a sword is drawn, for the slaughter it is furbished, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning;

Eze 21:29 while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies to you, to lay you on the necks of the wicked who are deadly wounded, whose day is come in the time of the iniquity of the end.

Eze 21:30 Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your birth, will I judge you.

Eze 21:31 I will pour out my indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of my wrath; and I will deliver you into the hand of brutish men, skillful to destroy.

Eze 21:32 You shall be for fuel to the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land; you shall be no more remembered: for I, Yahweh, have spoken it.

Eze 22:1 Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Eze 22:2 You, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? then cause her to know all her abominations.

Eze 22:3 You shall say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: A city that sheds blood in the midst of her, that her time may come, and that makes idols against herself to defile her!

Eze 22:4 You have become guilty in your blood that you have shed, and are defiled in your idols which you have made; and you have caused your days to draw near, and are come even to your years: therefore have I made you a reproach to the nations, and a mocking to all the countries.

Eze 22:5 Those who are near, and those who are far from you, shall mock you, you infamous one and full of tumult.

Eze 22:6 Behold, the princes of Israel, everyone according to his power, have been in you to shed blood.

Eze 22:7 In you have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of you have they dealt by oppression with the foreigner; in you have they wronged the fatherless and the widow.

Eze 22:8 You have despised my holy things, and have profaned my Sabbaths.

Eze 22:9 Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood; and in you they have eaten on the mountains: in the midst of you they have committed lewdness.

Eze 22:10 In you have they uncovered their fathers' nakedness; in you have they humbled her who was unclean in her impurity.

Eze 22:11 One has committed abomination with his neighbor's wife; and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in you has humbled his sister, his father's daughter.

Eze 22:12 In you have they taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by oppression, and have forgotten me, says the Lord Yahweh.

Eze 22:13 Behold, therefore, I have struck my hand at your dishonest gain which you have made, and at your blood which has been in the midst of you.

Eze 22:14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken it, and will do it.

Eze 22:15 I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you through the countries; and I will consume your filthiness out of you.

Eze 22:16 You shall be profaned in yourself, in the sight of the nations; and you shall know that I am Yahweh.

Eze 22:17 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Eze 22:18 Son of man, the house of Israel is become dross to me: all of them are brass and tin and iron and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are the dross of silver.

Eze 22:19 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because you are all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

Eze 22:20 As they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire on it, to melt it; so will I gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will lay you there, and melt you.

Eze 22:21 Yes, I will gather you, and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.

Eze 22:22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so you will be melted in its midst; and you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out my wrath on you.

Eze 22:23 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Eze 22:24 Son of man, tell her, You are a land that is not cleansed, nor rained on in the day of indignation.

Eze 22:25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in its midst, like a roaring lion ravening the prey: they have devoured souls; they take treasure and precious things; they have made her widows many in its midst.

Eze 22:26 Her priests have done violence to my law, and have profaned my holy things: they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

Eze 22:27 Her princes in its midst are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.

Eze 22:28 Her prophets have daubed for them with whitewash, seeing false visions, and divining lies to them, saying, Thus says the Lord Yahweh, when Yahweh has not spoken.

Eze 22:29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery; yes, they have troubled the poor and needy, and have oppressed the foreigner wrongfully.

Eze 22:30 I sought for a man among them, who should build up the wall, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.

Eze 22:31 Therefore have I poured out my indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I brought on their heads, says the Lord Yahweh.

Eze 23:1 The word of Yahweh came again to me, saying,

Eze 23:2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:

Eze 23:3 and they played the prostitute in Egypt; they played the prostitute in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there was handled the bosom of their virginity.

Eze 23:4 The names of them were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister: and they became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem Oholibah.

Eze 23:5 Oholah played the prostitute when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbors,

Eze 23:6 who were clothed with blue, governors and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.

Eze 23:7 She bestowed her prostitution on them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them; and on whoever she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself.

Eze 23:8 Neither has she left her prostitution since the days of Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they handled the bosom of her virginity; and they poured out their prostitution on her.

Eze 23:9 Therefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, on whom she doted.

Eze 23:10 These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters; and her they killed with the sword: and she became a byword among women; for they executed judgments on her.

Eze 23:11 Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet was she more corrupt in her doting than she, and in her prostitution which were more than the prostitution of her sister.

Eze 23:12 She doted on the Assyrians, governors and rulers, her neighbors, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.

Eze 23:13 I saw that she was defiled; they both took one way.

Eze 23:14 She increased her prostitution; for she saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,

Eze 23:15 girded with girdles on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them princes to look on, after the likeness of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth.

Eze 23:16 As soon as she saw them she doted on them, and sent messengers to them into Chaldea.

Eze 23:17 The Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their prostitution, and she was polluted with them, and her soul was alienated from them.

Eze 23:18 So she uncovered her prostitution, and uncovered her nakedness: then my soul was alienated from her, like as my soul was alienated from her sister.

Eze 23:19 Yet she multiplied her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth, in which she had played the prostitute in the land of Egypt.

Eze 23:20 She doted on their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of donkeys, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.

Eze 23:21 Thus you called to memory the lewdness of your youth, in the handling of your bosom by the Egyptians for the breasts of your youth.

Eze 23:22 Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will raise up your lovers against you, from whom your soul is alienated, and I will bring them against you on every side:

Eze 23:23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; desirable young men, governors and rulers all of them, princes and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.

Eze 23:24 They shall come against you with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a company of peoples; they shall set themselves against you with buckler and shield and helmet all around; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments.

Eze 23:25 I will set my jealousy against you, and they shall deal with you in fury; they shall take away your nose and your ears; and your residue shall fall by the sword: they shall take your sons and your daughters; and your residue shall be devoured by the fire.

Eze 23:26 They shall also strip you of your clothes, and take away your beautiful jewels.

Eze 23:27 Thus will I make your lewdness to cease from you, and your prostitution brought from the land of Egypt; so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them, nor remember Egypt any more.

Eze 23:28 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will deliver you into the hand of them whom you hate, into the hand of them from whom your soul is alienated;

Eze 23:29 and they shall deal with you in hatred, and shall take away all your labor, and shall leave you naked and bare; and the nakedness of your prostitution shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your prostitution.

Eze 23:30 These things shall be done to you, because you have played the prostitute after the nations, and because you are polluted with their idols.

Eze 23:31 You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore will I give her cup into your hand.

Eze 23:32 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: You will drink of your sister's cup, which is deep and large; you will be ridiculed and held in derision; it contains much.

Eze 23:33 You shall be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of your sister Samaria.

Eze 23:34 You shall even drink it and drain it out, and you shall gnaw the broken pieces of it, and shall tear your breasts; for I have spoken it, says the Lord Yahweh.

Eze 23:35 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because you have forgotten me, and cast me behind your back, therefore bear you also your lewdness and your prostitution.

Eze 23:36 Yahweh said moreover to me: Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? then declare to them their abominations.

Eze 23:37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they have also caused their sons, whom they bore to me, to pass through the fire to them to be devoured.

Eze 23:38 Moreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my Sabbaths.

Eze 23:39 For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and behold, thus have they done in the midst of my house.

Eze 23:40 Furthermore you have sent for men who come from far, to whom a messenger was sent, and behold, they came; for whom you did wash yourself, paint your eyes, and deck yourself with ornaments,

Eze 23:41 and sit on a stately bed, with a table prepared before it, whereupon you did set my incense and my oil.

Eze 23:42 The voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with men of the common sort were brought drunkards from the wilderness; and they put bracelets on the hands of them twain, and beautiful crowns on their heads.

Eze 23:43 Then said I of her who was old in adulteries, Now will they play the prostitute with her, and she with them.

Eze 23:44 They went in to her, as they go in to a prostitute: so went they in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women.

Eze 23:45 Righteous men, they shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and with the judgment of women who shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.

Eze 23:46 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will bring up a company against them, and will give them to be tossed back and forth and robbed.

Eze 23:47 The company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.

Eze 23:48 Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.

Eze 23:49 They shall recompense your lewdness on you, and you shall bear the sins of your idols; and you shall know that I am the Lord Yahweh.

Eze 24:1 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Eze 24:2 Son of man, write you the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon drew close to Jerusalem this same day.

Eze 24:3 Utter a parable to the rebellious house, and tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh, Set on the caldron, set it on, and also pour water into it:

Eze 24:4 gather its pieces into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.

Eze 24:5 Take the choice of the flock, and also a pile of wood for the bones under the caldron; make it boil well; yes, let its bones be boiled in its midst.

Eze 24:6 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the bloody city, to the caldron whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! take out of it piece after piece; No lot is fallen on it.

Eze 24:7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it on the bare rock; she didn't pour it on the ground, to cover it with dust.

Eze 24:8 That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood on the bare rock, that it should not be covered.

Eze 24:9 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.

Eze 24:10 Heap on the wood, make the fire hot, boil well the flesh, and make thick the broth, and let the bones be burned.

Eze 24:11 Then set it empty on its coals, that it may be hot, and its brass may burn, and that its filthiness may be molten in it, that its rust may be consumed.

Eze 24:12 She has wearied herself with toil; yet her great rust doesn't go forth out of her; her rust doesn't go forth by fire.

Eze 24:13 In your filthiness is lewdness: because I have cleansed you and you weren't cleansed, you shall not be cleansed from your filthiness any more, until I have caused my wrath toward you to rest.

Eze 24:14 I, Yahweh, have spoken it: it shall happen, and I will do it: I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to your ways, and according to your doings, shall they judge you, says the Lord Yahweh.

Eze 24:15 Also the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Eze 24:16 Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke: yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears run down.

Eze 24:17 Sigh, but not aloud, make no mourning for the dead; bind your headdress on you, and put your shoes on your feet, and don't cover your lips, and don't eat men's bread.

Eze 24:18 So I spoke to the people in the morning; and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.

Eze 24:19 The people said to me, Won't you tell us what these things are to us, that you do so?

Eze 24:20 Then I said to them, The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Eze 24:21 Speak to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword.

Eze 24:22 You shall do as I have done: you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.

Eze 24:23 Your tires shall be on your heads, and your shoes on your feet: you shall not mourn nor weep; but you shall pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another.

Eze 24:24 Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you will do: when this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.

Eze 24:25 You, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their heart, their sons and their daughters,

Eze 24:26 that in that day he who escapes shall come to you, to cause you to hear it with your ears?

Eze 24:27 In that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped, and you shall speak, and be no more mute: so you will be a sign to them; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.

 Dec. 2

James 5

Jas 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.

Jas 5:2 Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.

Jas 5:3 Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days.

Jas 5:4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies.

Jas 5:5 You have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.

Jas 5:6 You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn't resist you.

Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain.

Jas 5:8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Jas 5:9 Don't grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won't be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.

Jas 5:10 Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Jas 5:11 Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Jas 5:12 But above all things, my brothers, don't swear, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath; but let your "yes" be "yes," and your "no," "no;" so that you don't fall into hypocrisy.

Jas 5:13 Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises.

Jas 5:14 Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord,

Jas 5:15 and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Jas 5:16 Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.

Jas 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn't rain on the earth for three years and six months.

Jas 5:18 He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.

Jas 5:19 Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,

Jas 5:20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins. 

From Roy Davison... “Fear God!” (1 Peter 2:17)

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/feargod.html

“Fear God!”
(1 Peter 2:17)

True worshipers are God-fearing people.
Job “was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1).
God told Abraham, “Now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son” (Genesis 22:12).
Cornelius “feared God with all his household” (Acts 10:2).

What does it mean to fear God?
To be God-fearing is to have an overwhelming feeling of profound respect for God that causes us to be highly conscious of our own inadequacy and dependence. God is so great and we are so small, that it is scary! Ezekiel fell on his face when he saw the glory of the Lord (Ezekiel 1:28). Fear is the reasonable response of mortal man in the presence of almighty God. Fear of God is the sober realization that our eternal destiny depends on His judgment.
The word fear is used in connection with God more than 300 times in the Scriptures.
Fear of God is a healthy fear, like fear of fire or fear of falling. Its effects are positive. Whom do you trust more, a God-fearing person, or someone who does not fear God?

Every person on earth is commanded to fear God.
“Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him” (Psalm 33:8).
“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth - to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people - saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’” (Revelation 14:6, 7).

We learn to fear God by reading the Scriptures.
“And Moses commanded them, saying: ‘At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the LORD your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God’” (Deuteronomy 31:10-13).
By reading the Scriptures or by hearing them read aloud, adults and children learn to fear God.

Leaders ought to fear God.
The king of Israel was to read the Scriptures to learn to fear the Lord: “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel” (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).
King David wrote: “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me: ‘He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God’” (2 Samuel 23:3, 4).
When King Jehoshaphat appointed judges, he charged them: “Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. Now therefore, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes. ... Thus you shall act in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and with a loyal heart” (2 Chronicles 19:6, 7, 9).

Fear of God is a prerequisite for wisdom.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments” (Psalm 111:10). “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).

We fear God because He is our judge.
Jesus said: “My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!” (Luke 12:4, 5).
Although we fear God as our judge, genuine love can dispel fear of punishment. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).
John refers to fear of punishment, not fear of God. People who love God do not fear condemnation because they “serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28).
Those who fear God are comforted: “Fear not, for I am with you” (Isaiah 41:10). When Daniel saw the Son of Man [compare Daniel 10:5, 6 with Revelation 1:12-15] he “stood trembling” but was told, “Do not fear, Daniel. ... O man greatly beloved, fear not!” (Daniel 10:10, 12, 19).
Christians are commanded: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).
Although perfect love casts out fear, lack of fear does not prove love! Someone who does not fear God, does not fear judgment. And many who are confident that they are saved will be lost because they did not build on the Rock by obeying Christ (Matthew 7:22, 23). If they had truly loved God and feared Him as judge, they would have obeyed Christ.

A God-fearing person wants to please God.
Of Hezekiah, king of Judah, it is said: “Did he not fear the LORD and seek the LORD’s favor?” (Jeremiah 26:19).
They who fear God want to be faithful and true. Joshua told Israel, “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth” (Joshua 24:14). Later, Samuel reminded them: “Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you” (1 Samuel 12:24).
God has promised that we can be His sons and daughters if we separate ourselves from the uncleanness of the world (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Paul continues in the next chapter: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

A God-fearing person wants to obey God.
“Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him” (Deuteronomy 8:6). “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul?” (Deuteronomy 10:12). “You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him” (Deuteronomy 13:4).

A God-fearing person wants to avoid evil. 
“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:7). “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13).

God takes care of those who fear Him.
“The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. ... Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him” (Psalm 34:7, 9).
“The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them” (Psalm 145:18, 19).
“Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God” (Ecclesiastes 8:11-13).
“Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name. ‘They shall be Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘on the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him’” (Malachi 3:16, 17).

God extends grace to those who fear Him.
“His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation” (Luke 1:50). “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy” (Psalm 33:18). “The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy” (Psalm 147:11).
“He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them” (Psalm 103:10-18).

Let us walk in the fear of the Lord.
“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied” (Acts 9:31).
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
“You who fear the LORD, praise Him!” (Psalm 22:23).
“Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” (Revelation 19:5). Fear God! Amen.
Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc.,
Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

From Jim McGuiggan... CEMETERIES DON'T TELL ALL THE TRUTH

CEMETERIES DON'T TELL ALL THE TRUTH

You’ve driven by a cemetery! You’ve probably visited one. You might have heard them speaking. You haven’t? You would if you listened really hard. You say, “Don’t be silly. Graveyards can’t talk!” Oh, come on, use your imagination! Don’t be in a hurry…listen.

All those graves are speaking.

How about their tones? Happy tones? I’ve heard a few that sounded that way but mostly they have a mournful sound. The younger ones as well, of course, but listen to the really old ones—graves that have been there for hundreds of years. [There’s one down the street from where I used to live in Northern Ireland. If I recall correctly, the man was buried something like fifty years after the KJV was first published in 1611.]

The old graves, the ones with the stones barely able to stand up, weed surrounded and with dates difficult to make out—they're the ones with the deepest and most mournful tones. But I’ve noticed that they’re the ones that speak with conviction.

What do the cemeteries and graves say when you pass by or walk around them? I’ve heard them say a lot of things. “You’ll be here too before you know it.” Things like that. Sometimes they all speak at the same time and say the same words and they say, “Dead people stay dead!” I may be wrong here but I think that happens most often when the rain is falling and it’s beginning to drip down the neck of your shirt and a cold breeze ceaselessly whispers.

It’s easy enough for Christians to sing happy songs in a church building and read great stories like the one in John 11. You know the one I’m talking about! Lazarus is bad sick, Jesus is sent for, he finally turns up and says to the girl whose hope for her now dead brother lies in the doctrine of the day of resurrection—“You’re looking at the resurrection!” Jesus in his Father’s name calls Lazarus out of the stench of death and sets him free.

It’s a great story! One of the best!

But Christians need to acknowledge the dirge sung in gloomy tones by graveyards all over the planet where the dead of the ages outnumber the living who are on their way to death.

It’s right to smile and maybe even to laugh as some fine preacher tells the story well. We’re supposed to rejoice in light of the story but we’re not to pretend that Death doesn’t stalk the world [even though we know Someone who is the Lord of Death].

Our teachers need to help us grasp the depths of the Lazarus story. We must be helped to rejoice in the truth of it but we must be helped to reflect on and examine the story from many perspectives. When they are done unpacking the story we’re supposed to be startled, assured, inspired, challenged, strengthened—we need more than information; we need transformation.

We’re not to strut! We’re not to be dismissive of the agony of the human family. Profound suffering, loss and bereavement are sacred places we should enter with reverence. The truth that graveyards tell is truth—though graveyards don’t know as much as they think they know! But death is real and graves, known and unknown, visited and unvisited, speak reality to us! Christians need to realize the power of Death over those without the Story.

In John 12:1-11 we’re told that Lazarus is now sitting at a meal, restored to happy sisters and smiling friends and people believed on Jesus. Then we’re told that some senseless leaders still thought that killing Jesus and Lazarus was the cure for their fears. Jesus delivers Lazarus from the corruption of Death and people without the Story still think that Death is lord. Such is Death’s power.

Tomorrow, Sunday, the Lord’s Day, the eighth day and the first, the day of a new beginning, the Resurrection day hosts of people will gather and announce the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ—the many meanings of the death of Jesus Christ. One of those truths is this: Cemeteries don’t tell the whole truth and sometimes they lie!

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.