April 3, 2014

From Gary.... And the birds will sing!!!

What a lovely day in Florida!!!!  This morning's walk was delightful. The sun was shining brightly, no visible clouds at all and the birds were singing. And then I sat down to do a posting and this is the first picture I saw. THANKS TO WALTER VOGT for this composition!!!!  As beautiful as some animals can be, they are nothing when compared to God's ultimate creation- every single man and woman who have ever lived. So, when we see beauty in them, think about how God views us as well. But, speaking of them... I wonder how they view us...???

Romans, Chapter 8
  16  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God;  17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him.  18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us. 19 For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
No one really knows what a bird thinks.  But since it is part of creation, then verse nineteen applies. Well, this could get confusing, but I think verse 19 is talking about the last state of human beings- resurrected in glory!!!  Frankly, I am unsure as to exactly that will be like, but I feel quite certain that the birds will sing a beautiful song on that last day!!!  I wonder what the song will be.....

From Gary.... Bible Reading April 2, 3





Bible Reading 
April 2, 3

The World English Bible



Apr. 2
Leviticus 21, 22

Lev 21:1 Yahweh said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, 'A priest shall not defile himself for the dead among his people;
Lev 21:2 except for his relatives that are near to him: for his mother, for his father, for his son, for his daughter, for his brother,
Lev 21:3 and for his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband; for her he may defile himself.
Lev 21:4 He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.
Lev 21:5 " 'They shall not shave their heads, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beards, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
Lev 21:6 They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
Lev 21:7 " 'They shall not marry a woman who is a prostitute, or profane; neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband: for he is holy to his God.
Lev 21:8 You shall sanctify him therefore; for he offers the bread of your God: he shall be holy to you: for I Yahweh, who sanctify you, am holy.
Lev 21:9 " 'The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, she profanes her father: she shall be burned with fire.
Lev 21:10 " 'He who is the high priest among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose, nor tear his clothes;
Lev 21:11 neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
Lev 21:12 neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him. I am Yahweh.
Lev 21:13 " 'He shall take a wife in her virginity.
Lev 21:14 A widow, or one divorced, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry: but a virgin of his own people shall he take as a wife.
Lev 21:15 He shall not profane his seed among his people: for I am Yahweh who sanctifies him.' "
Lev 21:16 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 21:17 "Say to Aaron, 'None of your seed throughout their generations who has a blemish, may approach to offer the bread of his God.
Lev 21:18 For whatever man he is that has a blemish, he shall not draw near: a blind man, or a lame, or he who has a flat nose, or any deformity,
Lev 21:19 or a man who has an injured foot, or an injured hand,
Lev 21:20 or hunchbacked, or a dwarf, or one who has a defect in his eye, or an itching disease, or scabs, or who has damaged testicles;
Lev 21:21 no man of the seed of Aaron the priest, who has a blemish, shall come near to offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. Since has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.
Lev 21:22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
Lev 21:23 He shall not come near to the veil, nor come near to the altar, because he has a blemish; that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.' "
Lev 21:24 So Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel.
Lev 22:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 22:2 "Tell Aaron and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, which they make holy to me, and that they not profane my holy name. I am Yahweh.
Lev 22:3 "Tell them, 'If anyone of all your seed throughout your generations approaches the holy things, which the children of Israel make holy to Yahweh, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from before me. I am Yahweh.
Lev 22:4 " 'Whoever of the seed of Aaron is a leper or has an issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goes from him;
Lev 22:5 or whoever touches any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatever uncleanness he has;
Lev 22:6 the person that touches any such shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he bathe his body in water.
Lev 22:7 When the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his bread.
Lev 22:8 That which dies of itself, or is torn by animals, he shall not eat, defiling himself by it. I am Yahweh.
Lev 22:9 " 'They shall therefore follow my requirements, lest they bear sin for it, and die therein, if they profane it. I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.
Lev 22:10 " 'No stranger shall eat of the holy thing: a foreigner living with the priests, or a hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.
Lev 22:11 But if a priest buys a slave, purchased by his money, he shall eat of it; and such as are born in his house, they shall eat of his bread.
Lev 22:12 If a priest's daughter is married to an outsider, she shall not eat of the heave offering of the holy things.
Lev 22:13 But if a priest's daughter is a widow, or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father's house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father's bread: but no stranger shall eat any of it.
Lev 22:14 " 'If a man eats something holy unwittingly, then he shall add the fifth part of its value to it, and shall give the holy thing to the priest.
Lev 22:15 The priests shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer to Yahweh,
Lev 22:16 and so cause them to bear the iniquity that brings guilt, when they eat their holy things: for I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.' "
Lev 22:17 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 22:18 "Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, 'Whoever is of the house of Israel, or of the foreigners in Israel, who offers his offering, whether it be any of their vows, or any of their freewill offerings, which they offer to Yahweh for a burnt offering;
Lev 22:19 that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without blemish, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats.
Lev 22:20 But whatever has a blemish, that you shall not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.
Lev 22:21 Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh to accomplish a vow, or for a freewill offering, of the herd or of the flock, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein.
Lev 22:22 Blind, injured, maimed, having a wart, festering, or having a running sore, you shall not offer these to Yahweh, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to Yahweh.
Lev 22:23 Either a bull or a lamb that has any deformity or lacking in his parts, that you may offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.
Lev 22:24 That which has its testicles bruised, crushed, broken, or cut, you shall not offer to Yahweh; neither shall you do thus in your land.
Lev 22:25 Neither shall you offer the bread of your God from the hand of a foreigner of any of these; because their corruption is in them. There is a blemish in them. They shall not be accepted for you.' "
Lev 22:26 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 22:27 "When a bull, or a sheep, or a goat, is born, then it shall remain seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for the offering of an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
Lev 22:28 Whether it is a cow or ewe, you shall not kill it and its young both in one day.
Lev 22:29 "When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Yahweh, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.
Lev 22:30 It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until the morning. I am Yahweh.
Lev 22:31 "Therefore you shall keep my commandments, and do them. I am Yahweh.
Lev 22:32 You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be made holy among the children of Israel. I am Yahweh who makes you holy,
Lev 22:33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. I am Yahweh."

Apr. 3
Leviticus 23, 24

Lev 23:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 23:2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'The set feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts.
Lev 23:3 " 'Six days shall work be done: but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no manner of work. It is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings.
Lev 23:4 " 'These are the set feasts of Yahweh, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season.
Lev 23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is Yahweh's Passover.
Lev 23:6 On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to Yahweh. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
Lev 23:7 In the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.
Lev 23:8 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation: you shall do no regular work.' "
Lev 23:9 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 23:10 "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its the harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest:
Lev 23:11 and he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
Lev 23:12 On the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb without blemish a year old for a burnt offering to Yahweh.
Lev 23:13 The meal offering with it shall be two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire to Yahweh for a pleasant aroma; and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin.
Lev 23:14 You shall eat neither bread, nor roasted grain, nor fresh grain, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Lev 23:15 " 'You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be completed:
Lev 23:16 even to the next day after the seventh Sabbath you shall number fifty days; and you shall offer a new meal offering to Yahweh.
Lev 23:17 You shall bring out of your habitations two loaves of bread for a wave offering made of two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast, for first fruits to Yahweh.
Lev 23:18 You shall present with the bread seven lambs without blemish a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to Yahweh, with their meal offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of a sweet aroma to Yahweh.
Lev 23:19 You shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings.
Lev 23:20 The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before Yahweh, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest.
Lev 23:21 You shall make proclamation on the same day: there shall be a holy convocation to you; you shall do no regular work. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
Lev 23:22 " 'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap into the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest: you shall leave them for the poor, and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.' "
Lev 23:23 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 23:24 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
Lev 23:25 You shall do no regular work; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.' "
Lev 23:26 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 23:27 "However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
Lev 23:28 You shall do no manner of work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before Yahweh your God.
Lev 23:29 For whoever it is who shall not deny himself in that same day; shall be cut off from his people.
Lev 23:30 Whoever it is who does any manner of work in that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
Lev 23:31 You shall do no manner of work: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Lev 23:32 It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath."
Lev 23:33 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 23:34 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say, 'On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tents for seven days to Yahweh.
Lev 23:35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation: you shall do no regular work.
Lev 23:36 Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. It is a solemn assembly; you shall do no regular work.
Lev 23:37 " 'These are the appointed feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh, a burnt offering, and a meal offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, each on its own day;
Lev 23:38 besides the Sabbaths of Yahweh, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to Yahweh.
Lev 23:39 " 'So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you shall keep the feast of Yahweh seven days: on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.
Lev 23:40 You shall take on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God seven days.
Lev 23:41 You shall keep it a feast to Yahweh seven days in the year: it is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall keep it in the seventh month.
Lev 23:42 You shall dwell in booths seven days. All who are native-born in Israel shall dwell in booths,
Lev 23:43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.' "
Lev 23:44 Moses declared to the children of Israel the appointed feasts of Yahweh.
Lev 24:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 24:2 "Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.
Lev 24:3 Outside of the veil of the Testimony, in the Tent of Meeting, shall Aaron keep it in order from evening to morning before Yahweh continually: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
Lev 24:4 He shall keep in order the lamps on the pure gold lampstand before Yahweh continually.
Lev 24:5 "You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenth parts of an ephah shall be in one cake.
Lev 24:6 You shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure gold table before Yahweh.
Lev 24:7 You shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be to the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
Lev 24:8 Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before Yahweh continually. It is on the behalf of the children of Israel an everlasting covenant.
Lev 24:9 It shall be for Aaron and his sons; and they shall eat it in a holy place: for it is most holy to him of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire by a perpetual statute."
Lev 24:10 The son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and the son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp.
Lev 24:11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name, and cursed; and they brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
Lev 24:12 They put him in custody, until the will of Yahweh should be declared to them.
Lev 24:13 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 24:14 "Bring out of the camp him who cursed; and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
Lev 24:15 You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.
Lev 24:16 He who blasphemes the name of Yahweh, he shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him: the foreigner as well as the native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.
Lev 24:17 " 'He who strikes any man mortally shall surely be put to death.
Lev 24:18 He who strikes an animal mortally shall make it good, life for life.
Lev 24:19 If anyone injures his neighbor; as he has done, so shall it be done to him:
Lev 24:20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has injured someone, so shall it be done to him.
Lev 24:21 He who kills an animal shall make it good; and he who kills a man shall be put to death.
Lev 24:22 You shall have one kind of law, for the foreigner as well as the native-born: for I am Yahweh your God.' "
Lev 24:23 Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they brought forth him who had cursed out of the camp, and stoned him with stones. The children of Israel did as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Apr. 2, 3
Luke 3

Luk 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
Luk 3:2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
Luk 3:3 He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.
Luk 3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.
Luk 3:5 Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will become straight, and the rough ways smooth.
Luk 3:6 All flesh will see God's salvation.' "
Luk 3:7 He said therefore to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, "You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Luk 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and don't begin to say among yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father;' for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones!
Luk 3:9 Even now the axe also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn't bring forth good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire."
Luk 3:10 The multitudes asked him, "What then must we do?"
Luk 3:11 He answered them, "He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise."
Luk 3:12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what must we do?"
Luk 3:13 He said to them, "Collect no more than that which is appointed to you."
Luk 3:14 Soldiers also asked him, saying, "What about us? What must we do?" He said to them, "Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages."
Luk 3:15 As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ,
Luk 3:16 John answered them all, "I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the latchet of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire,
Luk 3:17 whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Luk 3:18 Then with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people,
Luk 3:19 but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done,
Luk 3:20 added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison.
Luk 3:21 Now it happened, when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened,
Luk 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying "You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased."
Luk 3:23 Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
Luk 3:24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
Luk 3:25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,
Luk 3:26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah,
Luk 3:27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,
Luk 3:28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er,
Luk 3:29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,
Luk 3:30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim,
Luk 3:31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
Luk 3:32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,
Luk 3:33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Aram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,
Luk 3:34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
Luk 3:35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,
Luk 3:36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
Luk 3:37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,
Luk 3:38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

From Mark Copeland... A Servant Of God And The Lord Jesus Christ (James 1:1)

                         "THE EPISTLE OF JAMES"

             A Servant Of God And The Lord Jesus Christ (1:1)

INTRODUCTION

1. In our introductory study, we concluded that James, the Lord's
   brother, was most likely the author

2. If this is so, then it is interesting that James does not identify
   himself as such, but rather as simply "a servant of God and of the
   Lord Jesus Christ" (1:1)

3. Perhaps it was a case of humility; yet, calling himself a "servant"
   was not peculiar to James
   a. Paul described himself as such as well - Ro 1:1; Php 1:1
   b. So did Peter (2Pe 1:1) and Jude (Jude 1)

4. Why did these men refer to themselves as "servants"?
   a. The Greek term (DOULOS) literally means "a slave"
   b. Why use such a term to describe themselves?
   c. And why should WE think of ourselves as "servants"?

5. In this lesson, I shall explain why, and make some other observations
   concerning the idea of being a servant

[First of all...]

I. BEING A SERVANT IS "WHAT A DISCIPLE OF JESUS IS CALLED TO BE"

   A. JESUS STRESSED THIS TRUTH ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS...
      1. While pointing out the faults of the scribes and Pharisees
         - Mt 23:8-12
      2. During the Last Supper, with a vivid demonstration of servitude
         - Jn 13:12-17
      3. Even by His own example, as He came to serve - Mt 20:25-28;
         Php 2:5-8

   B. SPECIFICALLY, WE ARE CALLED TO SERVE...
      1. God - Jm 1:1; He 9:14
      2. Jesus Christ - Jm 1:1; 1Co 4:1
      3. Righteousness - Ro 6:17-18
      4. Each other - Ga 5:13; 1Co 9:19-23

[The early Christians called themselves "servants", because that is what
they were!

But what is so good about being a "servant"?  For one thing...]

II. BEING A SERVANT IS "A MARK OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY"

   A. AN IMMATURE PERSON IS USUALLY VERY SELFISH...
      1. For example, newborn babies are very ego-centrical
      2. Normally, as people grow older, they begin to concern themselves
         with the needs of others
         a. If they do, they are becoming mature
         b. If they remain selfish, it is an indication of immaturity

   B. A PERSON WHO SERVES OTHERS...
      1. Is certainly not selfish, but concerned with the needs of others
      2. And thereby demonstrates mature behavior

   C. JAMES' DESCRIPTION OF HIMSELF FITS IN VERY WELL WITH THE "THEME"
      OF HIS EPISTLE...
      1. Remember, the theme is:  MARKS OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY
      2. By being a servant, James is demonstrating his own spiritual
         maturity
      3. And we can make the point that one of the marks of spiritual
         maturity is truly being "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus
         Christ"!

[Are we trying to be servants of God, and of His Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ?  If so, then we are on the road to spiritual maturity!

But before we answer too hastily, let's consider that...]

III. BEING A SERVANT HAS SEVERAL "IMPLICATIONS"

   A. IT IMPLIES "ABSOLUTE OBEDIENCE"...
      1. In a slave-master relationship...
         a. The slave knows no law but his master's word
         b. He has no rights of his own
         c. He is the absolute possession of his master
         d. He is bound to give his master unquestioning obedience
      2. Does this describe our relationship to Christ?
         a. It should, especially in light of 1Co 6:19-20
         b. We have to come to Jesus on HIS terms, not our own - Lk 6:46; Mt 7:21

   B. IT IMPLIES "ABSOLUTE HUMILITY"...
      1. Otherwise, absolute obedience is not possible
         a. When we have a humble opinion of ourselves, we are receptive
            to the idea of complete obedience
         b. For example, consider Paul's self-estimation - 1Co 15:9-10;
            Ep 3:8; 1Ti 1:15
      2. Does this describe our relationship to Christ and His Will?
         a. Jesus said it should! - Lk 17:10
         b. But if we murmur or complain about what Jesus tells us to do,
            can we really be considered "servants"?

   C. IT IMPLIES "ABSOLUTE LOYALTY"...
      1. Since we become servants FREELY, it should be expected that we:
         a. Are to be loyal to Him first - cf. Ga 1:10
         b. Do not consider our own profit or preference important, but
            that of the One we freely serve!
      2. But it is amazing how anyone can claim to be servants of the
         Lord Jesus Christ, while:
         a. Complaining about having to do the will of God, OR...
         b. Being negligent or slothful in carrying out His will
      3. But some act as though they are being forced against their own
         will!
         a. They don't "have to" serve the Lord Jesus...
            1) Of course, the alternative is not very inviting
            2) If we don't serve Jesus, by default we serve Satan, and
               are destined for hell!
         b. But God by His grace has offered salvation, and how dare we
            ever grumble or complain that He calls us to life of service
            in grateful appreciation!

[These are some of the implications of being called a "servant".  It
is costly in terms of service, pride, and allegiance.

But consider also that...]

IV. BEING A SERVANT IS "A GREAT HONOR"

   A. FAR FROM BEING A TITLE OF DISHONOR, IT WAS THE TITLE BY WHICH THE
      GREATEST MEN OF THE OLD TESTAMENT WERE KNOWN...
      1. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob - Deut 9:27 ("Thy servants")
      2. Moses - 1Ki 8:53 ("Thy servant")
      3. Joshua - Josh 24:29 ("Servant of the Lord")
      4. Caleb - Num 14:24 ("My servant")
      5. Job - Job 1:8 ("My servant")
      6. Isaiah - Isa 20:3 ("My servant")
      7. The prophets - Jer 7:25 ("My servants")

   B. HOW WONDERFUL IT WOULD BE IF GOD LOOKED UPON US AS COMPANIONS OF
      THESE GREAT MEN...
      1. Who found freedom, peace, and glory!
      2. Who found it in perfect submission to the Will of God!

CONCLUSION

1. He will, IF we are willing to accept the call to serve Him and His
   Son Jesus Christ with...
   a. Absolute obedience
   b. Absolute humility
   c. Absolute loyalty

2. And when we are serving God, His Son Jesus Christ, and even each other
   in this manner, we are making great strides towards SPIRITUAL
   MATURITY!

"...a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" - can this be said
of us?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

From: Wayne Jackson, M.A.... Why Do Men Reject God?





http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=224

 

Why Do Men Reject God?

by  Wayne Jackson, M.A.

Most people in the world, throughout the ages of history, have believed in some concept of a Supreme Being. They may have had a perverted sense of Who that Being is, but they were convinced that there is a Personal Power greater than man. Given the evidence available, faith is reasonable. That is why the psalmist declared: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1). The Hebrew word for “fool” suggests one who is not thinking rationally.
Since unbelief is neither reasonable nor the norm, one cannot but wonder why some people become atheists. I am convinced, after reflecting upon the matter for many years, that religious disbelief does not result from logical conclusions based on well-researched data. Rather, generally speaking, emotional motivation of some sort is a primary causative factor.
Consider the following case. In 1996, Judith Hayes, a senior writer for The American Rationalist, authored a caustic, atheistic tirade titled: In God We Trust: But Which One? In this treatise, Mrs. Hayes revealed two clues as to why she left the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) and became an atheist.
As a youngster, she had a friend who was a Buddhist. Judith was very close to “Susan,” and she simply could not tolerate the idea that her friend, who did not accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God, might be lost apart from the biblical redemptive system. So, rather than carefully examining the evidence to determine whether or not the claims of the Lord (as set forth in the New Testament record—see John 14:6; Acts 4:12) are true, she simply decided, on an emotional and reactionary basis, that Christianity could not be genuine.
Eventually Judith married, but the relationship degenerated. Mrs. Hayes claims her husband was verbally abusive. Again, though, instead of considering the possibility that she might have been responsible for having made a bad choice in her marital selection, or that her husband decided on his own volition to be abusive (in direct violation of divine teaching—Ephesians 5:25ff.), she blamed God for her disappointment. “[H]ow could I possibly have wound up married to a tyrant? Why had God forsaken me?,” she wrote (1996, p. 15). God did not forsake her. He honored her freedom of choice, and that of her husband as well. Human abuse of that freedom is not the Lord’s responsibility.
The infidel William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) was known principally for his skeptical poem, Invictus. As a youngster, Henley contracted tuberculosis, and had to have one foot amputated. He suffered much across the years and became quite bitter. He wrote:
In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced or cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloody, but unbowed.
His disbelief, however, was emotional, not intellectual.
The late Isaac Asimov once wrote: “Emotionally I am an atheist. I don’t have the evidence to prove that God doesn’t exist, but I so strongly suspect that he doesn’t that I don’t want to waste my time” (1982, emp. added).
In one of his books, Aldous Huxley acknowledged that he had reasons for “not wanting the world to have a meaning.” He contended that the “philosophy of meaningless” was liberating. He confessed that the morality of theism interfered “with our sexual freedom” (1966, p. 19). This is hardly a valid argument for rejecting the vast array of evidence that testifies to the existence of a Supreme Being!
Here is an important point. When men have motives for resisting faith in God, and when—out of personal prejudice—they are predisposed to reject the Creator, they become “ripe” for philosophical skepticism.

REFERENCES

Asimov, Isaac (1982), “Interview with Isaac Asimov on Science and the Bible,” Paul Kurtz, interviewer, Free Inquiry, pp. 6-10, Spring. See also Hallman, Steve (1991), “Christianity and Humanism: A Study in Contrasts,” AFA Journal, p. 11, March.
Hayes, Judith (1996), In God We Trust: But Which One? (Madison: WI: Freedom From Religion Foundation).
Huxley, Aldous (1966), “Confessions of a Professed Atheist,” Report: Perspectives on the News, Vol. 3, June.

From Jim McGuiggan... Jesus forgiving our sin

Jesus forgiving our sin

A letter to a very shy and sensitive friend:
I'm happy that you want to come to terms with your sin but I would caution you against giving it too important a place. It's bad enough that we sin but it's part of the effect of sin that its paralyses us or diverts us from righteousness. It's too easy to reflect again and again and again on sins committed or attitudes adopted. A firm renunciation of them in the name of Christ and his cross and move on—this is smartest and most like Paul. You'll remember he said, "One thing I do...I forget the past...and move on." I talked to a young preacher—weeping bitterly he told me he had watched porn on the computer several days earlier. His first time. I asked him how long it took him, I forget, maybe fifteen minutes. I said, fifteen minutes to sin and now three days of paralysis. The time in weeping isn't "wasted"—nothing is wasted for those who are God's. But the time can be better spent. I put my hands on him (I judged he needed the physical touch) and in God's name said that his sins were forgiven in Christ and prayed with him, telling him he must now go on, made modest by his shortcomings, more understanding and patient toward sinners, more grateful for God's protection.
So must you. No one in Christ needs to feel frozen in his or her sin. There in your own little space, in God's name and through Christ I speak the forgiveness of your sins and tell you now to go on in righteousness. (I'm prfoundly aware that I'm a fellow sinner but I'm also aware that I minister the gospel of God in Christ.)
Be fevered by nothing because in Christ, as the poet said, "fought the fight, the victory won." He was speaking of Christ as you well know. Someone carried the colours of our human nature all the way to hell and back and it's in him that we have the victory (1 John 5:1-5).
No events in your life should be isolated and viewed as standing alone. There is a single precious package that is you and it's that whole package that Christ has taken as his own—there's nothing unknown to him, nothing that repulses him or would keep him away from you. What he sees as unlike himself only drives him to rescue you. Your sin is no threat to him, it is a threat to you and without him it would become Apollyon, the destroyer of souls; but Christ will not have it.
Yes, part of your shyness is almost certainly a sense of unworthiness. That need not be bad unless you’re fooled into thinking that you must focus on that. If you were a thousand times better than you are, in his presence you'd be unworthy, though he would never tell you that. You never hear or see Jesus act or speak that way. As well as you know him, can you imagine him with a curled lip speaking to some sinner and saying, "You understand you're not worthy to be in my presence"? Can you imagine that? If you heard someone say he was like that, for all your shyness you'd jump up and protest and you wouldn't care how many people heard you. You mustn't think that about him yourself. And if you think it—in any shape or form—you should stand up and protest against yourself. Let your repentance be one that gives him his due and come to him as one that said, "I have come to seek and save the lost." Come to him as one that has said, "I have come that you might have life and have it to the full." Let that be your deepest thought of him and let that inspire your righteousness.