June 11, 2018

A rock or a "hard place" by Gary Rose

Linda and I visited a church of Christ in Weeki Watchee  yesterday. I was amazed at the number of people who were afflicted by  some form of cancer.   The minister actually referred to it as an "epidemic"!  While only about 15 or so people were mentioned, keep in mind that the congregation is only about  40  in size.

Life is short and every day is a blessing. Sooner or later, though, this life will be over and we all will have to answer for what we have done. Why do we do what we do in this life? And, who do we put our trust in to give us guidance to live correctly?

Is it Jesus or just my own whims?  


Matthew, Chapter 7 (World English Bible)
24  “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock.    (emphasis added)     25 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock.   26 Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.   27  The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”   


And, because of the "Therefore" in verse 24

 15  “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.   16  By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?   17  Even so, every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit.   18  A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit.   19  Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.   20  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.   21  Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.   22  Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’   23  Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’ 

Many people think they lead a "good" life and therefore hope to enter heaven.  Not so. Those who hear what Jesus say and actually  obey his word are the ones who will make it there. Just doing "good" isn't enough, you have to obey.

After all, since Jesus is the one who paid your "entry fee" for heaven, doesn't it make sense to do what he says to do?

Something to think about on a Monday afternoon...

Bible Reading June 11, 12 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading June 11, 12
World English Bible
June 11
1 Samuel 15, 16

1Sa 15:1 Samuel said to Saul, Yahweh sent me to anoint you to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore listen you to the voice of the words of Yahweh.
1Sa 15:2 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, I have marked that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt.
1Sa 15:3 Now go and strike Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and don't spare them; but kill both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.
1Sa 15:4 Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
1Sa 15:5 Saul came to the city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
1Sa 15:6 Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
1Sa 15:7 Saul struck the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, that is before Egypt.
1Sa 15:8 He took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
1Sa 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the cattle, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and wouldn't utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
1Sa 15:10 Then came the word of Yahweh to Samuel, saying,
1Sa 15:11 It grieves me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments. Samuel was angry; and he cried to Yahweh all night.
1Sa 15:12 Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal.
1Sa 15:13 Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said to him, Blessed are you by Yahweh: I have performed the commandment of Yahweh.
1Sa 15:14 Samuel said, What means then this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the cattle which I hear?
1Sa 15:15 Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the cattle, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
1Sa 15:16 Then Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell you what Yahweh has said to me this night. He said to him, Say on.
1Sa 15:17 Samuel said, "Though you were little in your own sight, weren't you made the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh anointed you king over Israel;
1Sa 15:18 and Yahweh sent you on a journey, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.'
1Sa 15:19 Why then didn't you obey the voice of Yahweh, but flew on the spoil, and did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh?"
1Sa 15:20 Saul said to Samuel, Yes, I have obeyed the voice of Yahweh, and have gone the way which Yahweh sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
1Sa 15:21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and cattle, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God in Gilgal.
1Sa 15:22 Samuel said, Has Yahweh as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Yahweh? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has also rejected you from being king.
1Sa 15:24 Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Yahweh, and your words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
1Sa 15:25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Yahweh.
1Sa 15:26 Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel.
1Sa 15:27 As Samuel turned about to go away, Saul laid hold on the skirt of his robe, and it tore.
1Sa 15:28 Samuel said to him, Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you.
1Sa 15:29 Also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.
1Sa 15:30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, Please, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship Yahweh your God.
1Sa 15:31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshiped Yahweh.
1Sa 15:32 Then said Samuel, Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
1Sa 15:33 Samuel said, As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women. Samuel cut Agag in pieces before Yahweh in Gilgal.
1Sa 15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
1Sa 15:35 Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned for Saul: and Yahweh grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.

1Sa 16:1 Yahweh said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? fill your horn with oil, and go: I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided me a king among his sons.
1Sa 16:2 Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. Yahweh said, Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.
1Sa 16:3 Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do: and you shall anoint to me him whom I name to you.
1Sa 16:4 Samuel did that which Yahweh spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, Do you come peaceably?
1Sa 16:5 He said, Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. He sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
1Sa 16:6 It happened, when they had come, that he looked at Eliab, and said, Surely Yahweh's anointed is before him.
1Sa 16:7 But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Don't look on his face, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for Yahweh sees not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart."
1Sa 16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, Neither has Yahweh chosen this.
1Sa 16:9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. He said, Neither has Yahweh chosen this.
1Sa 16:10 Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, Yahweh has not chosen these.
1Sa 16:11 Samuel said to Jesse, Are here all your children? He said, There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is keeping the sheep. Samuel said to Jesse, Send and get him; for we will not sit down until he come here.
1Sa 16:12 He sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful face, and goodly to look on. Yahweh said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he.
1Sa 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers: and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
1Sa 16:14 Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh troubled him.
1Sa 16:15 Saul's servants said to him, See now, an evil spirit from God troubles you.
1Sa 16:16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp: and it shall happen, when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play with his hand, and you shall be well.
1Sa 16:17 Saul said to his servants, Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.
1Sa 16:18 Then answered one of the young men, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, and a mighty man of valor, and a man of war, and prudent in speech, and a comely person; and Yahweh is with him.
1Sa 16:19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.
1Sa 16:20 Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son to Saul.
1Sa 16:21 David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armor bearer.
1Sa 16:22 Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Please let David stand before me; for he has found favor in my sight.
1Sa 16:23 It happened, when the evil spirit from God was on Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

June 12
1 Samuel 17, 18

1Sa 17:1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle; and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.
1Sa 17:2 Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
1Sa 17:3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
1Sa 17:4 There went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
1Sa 17:5 He had a helmet of brass on his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
1Sa 17:6 He had brass shin armor on his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders.
1Sa 17:7 The staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and his shield bearer went before him.
1Sa 17:8 He stood and cried to the armies of Israel, and said to them, Why have you come out to set your battle in array? am I not a Philistine, and you servants to Saul? choose a man for you, and let him come down to me.
1Sa 17:9 If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then you will be our servants, and serve us.
1Sa 17:10 The Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
1Sa 17:11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
1Sa 17:12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken in years among men.
1Sa 17:13 The three eldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
1Sa 17:14 David was the youngest; and the three eldest followed Saul.
1Sa 17:15 Now David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
1Sa 17:16 The Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
1Sa 17:17 Jesse said to David his son, Take now for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry themquickly to the camp to your brothers;
1Sa 17:18 and bring these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and look how your brothers fare, and take their pledge.
1Sa 17:19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
1Sa 17:20 David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the place of the wagons, as the army which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle.
1Sa 17:21 Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.
1Sa 17:22 David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.
1Sa 17:23 As he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words: and David heard them.
1Sa 17:24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
1Sa 17:25 The men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
1Sa 17:26 David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
1Sa 17:27 The people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man who kills him.
1Sa 17:28 Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why have you come down? and with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride, and the naughtiness of your heart; for you have come down that you might see the battle.
1Sa 17:29 David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
1Sa 17:30 He turned away from him toward another, and spoke after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.
1Sa 17:31 When the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him.
1Sa 17:32 David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
1Sa 17:33 Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
1Sa 17:34 David said to Saul, Your servant was keeping his father's sheep; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock,
1Sa 17:35 I went out after him, and struck him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and struck him, and killed him.
1Sa 17:36 Your servant struck both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.
1Sa 17:37 David said, Yahweh who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. Saul said to David, Go, and Yahweh shall be with you.
1Sa 17:38 Saul clad David with his clothing, and he put a helmet of brass on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.
1Sa 17:39 David girded his sword on his clothing, and he tried to go; for he had not proved it. David said to Saul, I can't go with these; for I have not proved them. David put them off him.
1Sa 17:40 He took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his wallet; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
1Sa 17:41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David; and the man who bore the shield went before him.
1Sa 17:42 When the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair face.
1Sa 17:43 The Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks? The Philistine cursed David by his gods.
1Sa 17:44 The Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky, and to the animals of the field.
1Sa 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
1Sa 17:46 This day Yahweh will deliver you into my hand; and I will strike you, and take your head from off you; and I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild animals of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
1Sa 17:47 and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh doesn't save with sword and spear: for the battle is Yahweh's, and he will give you into our hand.
1Sa 17:48 It happened, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
1Sa 17:49 David put his hand in his bag, and took there a stone, and slang it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
1Sa 17:50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and killed him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
1Sa 17:51 Then David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him, and cut off his head therewith. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
1Sa 17:52 The men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until you come to Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. The wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron.
1Sa 17:53 The children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.
1Sa 17:54 David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
1Sa 17:55 When Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, Abner, whose son is this youth? Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I can't tell.
1Sa 17:56 The king said, "Inquire whose son the young man is!"
1Sa 17:57 As David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
1Sa 17:58 Saul said to him, Whose son are you, you young man? David answered, I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.

1Sa 18:1 It happened, when he had made an end of speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
1Sa 18:2 Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house.
1Sa 18:3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
1Sa 18:4 Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him, and gave it to David, and his clothing, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his sash.
1Sa 18:5 David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.
1Sa 18:6 It happened as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with instruments of music.
1Sa 18:7 The women sang one to another as they played, and said, Saul has slain his thousands, David his ten thousands.
1Sa 18:8 Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?
1Sa 18:9 Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
1Sa 18:10 It happened on the next day, that an evil spirit from God came mightily on Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand;
1Sa 18:11 and Saul cast the spear; for he said, I will strike David even to the wall. David avoided out of his presence twice.
1Sa 18:12 Saul was afraid of David, because Yahweh was with him, and was departed from Saul.
1Sa 18:13 Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.
1Sa 18:14 David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and Yahweh was with him.
1Sa 18:15 When Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he stood in awe of him.
1Sa 18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David; for he went out and came in before them.
1Sa 18:17 Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give you as wife: only be valiant for me, and fight Yahweh's battles. For Saul said, Don't let my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be on him.
1Sa 18:18 David said to Saul, Who am I, and what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?
1Sa 18:19 But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as wife.
1Sa 18:20 Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
1Sa 18:21 Saul said, I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Therefore Saul said to David, You shall this day be my son-in-law a second time.
1Sa 18:22 Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you: now therefore be the king's son-in-law.
1Sa 18:23 Saul's servants spoke those words in the ears of David. David said, Seems it to you a light thing to be the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?
1Sa 18:24 The servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spoke David.
1Sa 18:25 Saul said, Thus you shall tell David, The king desires no dowry except one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
1Sa 18:26 When his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. The days were not expired;
1Sa 18:27 and David arose and went, he and his men, and killed of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might be the king's son-in-law. Saul gave him Michal his daughter as wife.
1Sa 18:28 Saul saw and knew that Yahweh was with David; and Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him.
1Sa 18:29 Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul was David's enemy continually.

1Sa 18:30 Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it happened, as often as they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.

 Jun. 11, 12
John 14

Joh 14:1 "Don't let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.
Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many homes. If it weren't so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.
Joh 14:4 Where I go, you know, and you know the way."
Joh 14:5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going. How can we know the way?"
Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
Joh 14:7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him."
Joh 14:8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us."
Joh 14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, 'Show us the Father?'
Joh 14:10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works.
Joh 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works' sake.
Joh 14:12 Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father.
Joh 14:13 Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Joh 14:14 If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.
Joh 14:15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
Joh 14:16 I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever,-
Joh 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world can't receive; for it doesn't see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you.
Joh 14:18 I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.
Joh 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also.
Joh 14:20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
Joh 14:21 One who has my commandments, and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him."
Joh 14:22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?"
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered him, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.
Joh 14:24 He who doesn't love me doesn't keep my words. The word which you hear isn't mine, but the Father's who sent me.
Joh 14:25 I have said these things to you, while still living with you.
Joh 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.
Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don't let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
Joh 14:28 You heard how I told you, 'I go away, and I come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said 'I am going to my Father;' for the Father is greater than I.
Joh 14:29 Now I have told you before it happens so that, when it happens, you may believe.
Joh 14:30 I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me.
Joh 14:31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

I Will Build My Church by J. C. Bailey

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Bailey/John/Carlos/1903/Articles/iwillbui.html

I Will Build My Church

This, my friends, is the statement of the Saviour in Matthew 16:18. In this article we intend to ask, and with the Scriptures answer, certain questions.
God is a God of order, plan and design. In the working of nature, we see this amply demonstrated. "Let everything produce after its kind" was and is a fundamental law. By miracle He created the first oak tree but from that time forward the acorn produces the oak and the oak produces the acorn. The maple produces after its kind, and so with all nature. Man was given dominion (Genesis 1:26). He may produce different varieties within a class, but he cannot set aside God's law of reproduction.
David said, "The heavens declare the glory of God." So perfect is His system that man as he studies can foretell to the very minute when there will be an eclipse.
The God who thus controls the universe also has a fixed purpose in regard to the church. We ask the question and propose to answer it from the New Testament: What is God's purpose in regard to the church?
We shall begin our study in Ephesians 2:11-21. We find under the old law that there was a partition between the Jew and the Gentile. The Israelites were God's chosen people. The Gentiles were strangers, separate from Christ, without God and having no hope. In Christ Jesus we have been made near by His blood. Christ broke down the partition (law of commandments) on the cross, and in one body He proposed to reconcile both (Jew and Gentile) to God. In Ephesians 1:22, 23 we learn that the body of Christ is the church. So God's law is that all men are to be reconciled to Him in the body (church) of Christ. Denominations do not exist in the divine plan of God.
"Mark them that are causing divisions" (Romans 16:17). Christ died for the purpose of reconciling the world in one body (church). Man has set up human institutions. Are you a member of the body of Christ or of a man-made body? Christ purchased the church with His blood. He did not purchase a denomination. Jesus gave himself for the church (Ephesians 5:25). Christ is the head of the church as the husband is the head of the wife (Ephesians 5:23). The church is one body (not many bodies as some teach). There is no scripture that intimates that these various denominations are part of the body of Christ. Quite the reverse is true. These denominational churches are independent bodies (not a part of the body). They are additions to God' plan. Read God's condemnation in II John 9.
The apostles tell us further, the two shall become one flesh, and he said he speaks of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:31, 32). Are you trusting in God's law or do you think that God is going to sanction and endorse spiritual adultery by adding or joining many bodies to Christ? God forbid.
It is God's purpose that through the church the manifold wisdom of God is to be made known. Man regards this command (Ephesians 3:10, 11) with indifference. Are you trusting in God or man? Is it not time that all human dross were removed from our religion and we proclaimed only the wisdom of God? Peter says (I Peter 4:11), "If any man speaketh, speaking as the oracles of God...." When men speak only as the oracles of God, then all human institutions will cease to be and human societies will no longer encumber the work of Christ. The church will shine in all its beauty as the bride of Christ.
The next Scripture we wish to consider bears out much of what we have already adduced. "Unto him be the glory in the church and in Jesus Christ unto all generations forever and ever. Amen" (Ephesians 3:21). Are we obeying God's law or are we following man? Are you hoping God will set aside His law and accept your disobedience? Read Hebrews 10:28, 29; Hebrews 2:1- 4.
One more passage as to God's purpose in the church. It is the pillar and ground of the truth (I Timothy 3:15). Pilate asked the question, "What is truth?" but didn't wait for an answer. Jesus said in His prayer to His Father, "Thy word is truth." The church, therefore, is the pillar and ground of the Word of God.
How did Christ build his church? What is the foundation? It was to be a rock. The foundation is Christ (I Corinthians 3:11). The rock is Christ (I Corinthians 3:10). On Pentecost this fact is proclaimed (Acts 2:36). We are added as living stones (I Peter 2:5). Those who believe, repent, and are baptized are added to the body of Christ (see Acts 2:38, 41, 47). Acts 18:8 tells us that the Corinthians heard, believed, and were baptized. They thus are named the church of God (I Corinthians 1:2). We are baptized into one body (I Corinthians 1:13). He cleansed and sanctified (set apart) the church by the washing of water with the word (Ephesians 5:26).
Where are the records? The church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven (Hebrews 12:23). Are your name and mine written there?
Is my name written there
On the page white and fair?
In the book of thy kingdom
Is my name written there?
J. C. Bailey, 1936, Ogema, Saskatchewan
This article was published in the first issue of The Gospel Herald, March 1936.

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

WHAT ASTONISHED CHRIST by Jim McGuiggan

https://jimmcguiggan.wordpress.com/2017/11/

WHAT ASTONISHED CHRIST

Luke 7:1-10 (see also Matthew 11:5-10) tells us of a foreigner, a Roman officer, who despite being a part of the forces of occupation loved Israel and honored them and as a consequence he was esteemed by the Jewish leaders.
He had a servant he really cared for and that servant was very ill so the foreigner sent Jewish people to ask a favor of this young Jewish prophet. He wanted him to heal the sick man and Jesus was on his way to do just that. Before Christ got to the house the soldier sent word that he didn’t mean for Jesus to come to his house, only that he speak and the healing would be done. The soldier said he knew what authority was. He had soldiers under him and he himself was under others. When he or his superiors spoke the response was immediate–the order was carried out. He saw it as sufficient that Jesus simply command the disease to leave and it would.
Luke 7:9 tells us that Jesus was amazemed and turned to the crowd saying He hadn’t seen faith like that in His own nation. We’ve become accustomed to the idea that Jesus wept, became angry or was tender, that He was moved with compassion and pity but is there not something astonishing about Jesus being astonished? How did He look when He heard what the centurion had to say? What registered on His face? More important, what are the implications in the fact that He was astonished at the man’s great faith?It implies that something utterly unexpected had happened, doesn’t it? But what are the implications in that? Did Jesus not see Himself or His Father as worthy of such trust? No, that wasn’t the problem, He knew they were worthy. What astonished Him then? We can guess about the man’s pagan raising and that he was living in a town that Jesus cursed for its arrogance and hard heart (Matthew 11:23-24). Maybe that enters into it. Be that as it may, whatever the man’s past or present environment, it’s clear that Jesus thought it astonishing that such faith could be found in such a person. And that should remind us that it isn’t always easy to believe or to believe with deep conviction. If believing and believing profoundly were as simple as hearing the gospel there would be no reason to be astonished. Exodus 6:7 reminds us of that.That’s what’s so fine about Jesus Christ. That’s what leads millions to not only love Him but to like and admire Him. He just blurts out His pleasure when He meets up with something glorious and weeps His heart out when He meets something tragic. There’s an openness about Him that while it makes Him vulnerable to His enemies makes Him adorable to those with eyes to trust Him.
Neither Matthew nor Luke gives us a psychological study of Christ on this occasion but it’s not hard to see and sense His joy. “Can you beat that?” we can hear Him say to the following crowd. We understand very well that faith is God’s work in us but it isn’t coercive work; the believer is not turned into a mindless being, he or she must personally and freely give themselves in the process. And people can choose not to believe (see Mark 6:6). When we come across a believer we come across someone who has gladly allowed God to have His way with them.
All of that’s plain enough but still, Jesus was astonished! Given the norm, this man shouldn’t have that faith. Imagine Jesus with his eyes shining, turning to the centurion (compare Matthew 8:13 ), smiling and saying, “How’d you do that?” We can easily imagine the centurion saying, “Oh, sir, we both know that God accomplishes all such things in us.” Christ would totally agree but He is still mesmerized at a lovely human response.
We’ve met people who were raised and continue to live in horrendous circumstances and there they are, up to their hearts in trust. And I don’t find it difficult in the least to imagine Christ with joyful astonishment on His face looking at them and saying, “How’d you do that?”
Here’s to all you “centurions” who provoke in God’s chosen people a godly jealousy and a Christlike astonishment.