November 14, 2016

Listen, BEFORE it is too late. by Gary Rose

 Truthfully, things are not so great in our country right now. We have thugs rioting in the streets, protesters petitioning the electoral college to change the results of a completely legal election and others in social media advocating assassination of the President-elect, Donald Trump.
The hate which characterized the debates is being carried over into the Trump administration. Our current joke of a president has not squashed this open rebellion. Based on his past actions, I would say that he probably agrees with them and would like to see our government overthrown and replaced by a dictatorship with himself in the leadership role. He may, in fact, use the current situation as an excuse to impose martial law and begin his maniacal agenda.
I wonder, what if God is allowing all these things to happen in our to cleanse us as a nation??? Stranger things have happened. Consider Naaman.

2 Kings, Chapter 5 (World English Bible)
    2Ki 5:1, Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
    2Ki 5:2, The Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maiden; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.
    2Ki 5:3, She said to her mistress, “I wish that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would heal him of his leprosy.”
    2Ki 5:4, Someone went in, and told his lord, saying, “The maiden who is from the land of Israel said this.”
    2Ki 5:5, The king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” He departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothing.
    2Ki 5:6, He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “Now when this letter has come to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.”
    2Ki 5:7, It happened, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to heal a man of his leprosy? But consider, please, and see how he seeks a quarrel against me.”
    2Ki 5:8, It was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
    2Ki 5:9, So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
    2Ki 5:10, Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you, and you shall be clean.”
    2Ki 5:11, But Naaman was angry, and went away, and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leper.’
    2Ki 5:12, Aren’t Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them, and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
    2Ki 5:13, His servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had asked you do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean?’”
    2Ki 5:14, Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
(emp. added, GDR)
Naaman didn't like what God told him to do and was angry. Isn't America acting a little bit like him? Could it be that God has a greater plan for our nation than the path it has gone down for the 40+ years? Could the "troubled waters" we are in be designed to purge us from sin? I think so!!!

America: turn to God, before it is too late and we are utterly destroyed from the face of the earth!!!
It is NOT TOO LATE, the election of Donald J. Trump is proof positive that God is working to change things.
America: repent, change yours ways- and live!!!!

Bible Reading November 14 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading November 14 (World English Bible)

Nov. 14
Jeremiah 5-9

Jer 5:1 Run you back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places of it, if you can find a man, if there are any who does justly, who seeks truth; and I will pardon her.
Jer 5:2 Though they say, As Yahweh lives; surely they swear falsely.
Jer 5:3 O Yahweh, don't your eyes look on truth? you have stricken them, but they were not grieved; you have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
Jer 5:4 Then I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish; for they don't know the way of Yahweh, nor the law of their God:
Jer 5:5 I will get me to the great men, and will speak to them; for they know the way of Yahweh, and the law of their God. But these with one accord have broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.
Jer 5:6 Therefore a lion out of the forest shall kill them, a wolf of the evenings shall destroy them, a leopard shall watch against their cities; everyone who goes out there shall be torn in pieces; because their transgressions are many, and their backsliding is increased.
Jer 5:7 How can I pardon you? your children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they committed adultery, and assembled themselves in troops at the prostitutes' houses.
Jer 5:8 They were as fed horses roaming at large; everyone neighed after his neighbor's wife.
Jer 5:9 Shall I not visit for these things? says Yahweh; and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Jer 5:10 Go up on her walls, and destroy; but don't make a full end: take away her branches; for they are not Yahweh's.
Jer 5:11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, says Yahweh.
Jer 5:12 They have denied Yahweh, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come on us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
Jer 5:13 and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done to them.
Jer 5:14 Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Armies, Because you speak this word, behold, I will make my words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
Jer 5:15 Behold, I will bring a nation on you from far, house of Israel, says Yahweh: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you don't know, neither understand what they say.
Jer 5:16 Their quiver is an open tomb, they are all mighty men.
Jer 5:17 They shall eat up your harvest, and your bread, which your sons and your daughters should eat; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; they shall beat down your fortified cities, in which you trust, with the sword.
Jer 5:18 But even in those days, says Yahweh, I will not make a full end with you.
Jer 5:19 It shall happen, when you shall say, Why has Yahweh our God done all these things to us? then you shall say to them, Like as you have forsaken me, and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
Jer 5:20 Declare you this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,
Jer 5:21 Hear now this, foolish people, and without understanding; who have eyes, and don't see; who have ears, and don't hear:
Jer 5:22 Don't you fear me? says Yahweh: won't you tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it can't pass it? and though its waves toss themselves, yet they can't prevail; though they roar, yet they can't pass over it.
Jer 5:23 But this people has a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.
Jer 5:24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear Yahweh our God, who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season; who preserves to us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
Jer 5:25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld good from you.
Jer 5:26 For among my people are found wicked men: they watch, as fowlers lie in wait; they set a trap, they catch men.
Jer 5:27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and grew rich.
Jer 5:28 They are grew fat, they shine: yes, they overpass in deeds of wickedness; they don't plead the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and the right of the needy they don't judge.
Jer 5:29 Shall I not visit for these things? says Yahweh; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Jer 5:30 A wonderful and horrible thing is happen in the land:
Jer 5:31 the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will you do in the end of it?

Jer 6:1 Flee for safety, you children of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise up a signal on Beth Haccherem; for evil looks forth from the north, and a great destruction.
Jer 6:2 The comely and delicate one, the daughter of Zion, will I cut off.
Jer 6:3 Shepherds with their flocks shall come to her; they shall pitch their tents against her all around; they shall feed everyone in his place.
Jer 6:4 Prepare you war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us! for the day declines, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
Jer 6:5 Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
Jer 6:6 For thus has Yahweh of Armies said, Cut down trees, and cast up a mound against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.
Jer 6:7 As a well casts forth its waters, so she casts forth her wickedness: violence and destruction is heard in her; before me continually is sickness and wounds.
Jer 6:8 Be instructed, Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from you; lest I make you a desolation, a land not inhabited.
Jer 6:9 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn again your hand as a grape gatherer into the baskets.
Jer 6:10 To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they can't listen: behold, the word of Yahweh is become to them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
Jer 6:11 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.
Jer 6:12 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.
Jer 6:13 For from the least of them even to the greatest of them everyone is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely.
Jer 6:14 They have healed also the hurt of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
Jer 6:15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, 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.
Jer 6:16 Thus says Yahweh, Stand you in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk therein.
Jer 6:17 I set watchmen over you, saying, Listen to the sound of the trumpet; but they said, We will not listen.
Jer 6:18 Therefore hear, you nations, and know, congregation, what is among them.
Jer 6:19 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.
Jer 6:20 To what purpose comes there to me frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
Jer 6:21 Therefore thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people; and the fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them; the neighbor and his friend shall perish.
Jer 6:22 Thus says Yahweh, Behold, a people comes from the north country; and a great nation shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
Jer 6:23 They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roars like the sea, and they ride on horses, everyone set in array, as a man to the battle, against you, daughter of Zion.
Jer 6:24 We have heard its report; our hands wax feeble: anguish has taken hold of us, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
Jer 6:25 Don't go forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy, and terror, are on every side.
Jer 6:26 Daughter of my people, gird you with sackcloth, and wallow yourself in ashes: make you mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come on us.
Jer 6:27 I have made you a tester of metals and a fortress among my people; that you may know and try their way.
Jer 6:28 They are all grievous rebels, going about with slanders; they are brass and iron: they all of them deal corruptly.
Jer 6:29 The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed of the fire: in vain do they go on refining; for the wicked are not plucked away.
Jer 6:30 Men will call them rejected silver, because Yahweh has rejected them.

Jer 7:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,
Jer 7:2 Stand in the gate of Yahweh's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of Yahweh, all you of Judah, who enter in at these gates to worship Yahweh.
Jer 7:3 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
Jer 7:4 Don't you trust in lying words, saying, The temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh, are these.
Jer 7:5 For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if you thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor;
Jer 7:6 if you don't oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, and don't shed innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your own hurt:
Jer 7:7 then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, from of old even forevermore.
Jer 7:8 Behold, you trust in lying words, that can't profit.
Jer 7:9 Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known,
Jer 7:10 and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered; that you may do all these abominations?
Jer 7:11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it, says Yahweh.
Jer 7:12 But go you now to my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.
Jer 7:13 Now, because you have done all these works, says Yahweh, and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you didn't hear; and I called you, but you didn't answer:
Jer 7:14 therefore will I do to the house which is called by my name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.
Jer 7:15 I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
Jer 7:16 Therefore don't you pray for this people, neither lift up a cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me; for I will not hear you.
Jer 7:17 Don't you see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
Jer 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
Jer 7:19 Do they provoke me to anger? says Yahweh; do they not provoke themselves, to the confusion of their own faces?
Jer 7:20 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, my anger and my wrath shall be poured out on this place, on man, and on animal, and on the trees of the field, and on the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
Jer 7:21 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat meat.
Jer 7:22 For I didn't speak to your fathers, nor command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:
Jer 7:23 but this thing I commanded them, saying, Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk you in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.
Jer 7:24 But they didn't listen nor turn their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.
Jer 7:25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:
Jer 7:26 yet they didn't listen to me, nor inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff: they did worse than their fathers.
Jer 7:27 You shall speak all these words to them; but they will not listen to you: you shall also call to them; but they will not answer you.
Jer 7:28 You shall tell them, This is the nation that has not listened to the voice of Yahweh their God, nor received instruction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.
Jer 7:29 Cut off your hair, Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the bare heights; for Yahweh has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
Jer 7:30 For the children of Judah have done that which is evil in my sight, says Yahweh: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it.
Jer 7:31 They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I didn't command, nor did it come into my mind.
Jer 7:32 Therefore, behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of Slaughter: for they shall bury in Topheth, until there be no place to bury.
Jer 7:33 The dead bodies of this people shall be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth; and none shall frighten them away.
Jer 7:34 Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become a waste.

Jer 8:1 At that time, says Yahweh, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves;
Jer 8:2 and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the army of the sky, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried, they shall be for dung on the surface of the earth.
Jer 8:3 Death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue that remain of this evil family, that remain in all the places where I have driven them, says Yahweh of Armies.
Jer 8:4 Moreover you shall tell them, Thus says Yahweh: Shall men fall, and not rise up again? Shall one turn away, and not return?
Jer 8:5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
Jer 8:6 I listened and heard, but they didn't speak aright: no man repents him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? everyone turns to his course, as a horse that rushes headlong in the battle.
Jer 8:7 Yes, the stork in the sky knows her appointed times; and the turtledove and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people don't know Yahweh's law.
Jer 8:8 How do you say, We are wise, and the law of Yahweh is with us? But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has worked falsely.
Jer 8:9 The wise men are disappointed, they are dismayed and taken: behold, they have rejected the word of Yahweh; and what manner of wisdom is in them?
Jer 8:10 Therefore will I give their wives to others, and their fields to those who shall possess them: for everyone from the least even to the greatest is given to covetousness; from the prophet even to the priest every one deals falsely.
Jer 8:11 They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
Jer 8:12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among those who fall; in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, says Yahweh.
Jer 8:13 I will utterly consume them, says Yahweh: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.
Jer 8:14 Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities, and let us be silent there; for Yahweh our God has put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against Yahweh.
Jer 8:15 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold, dismay!
Jer 8:16 The snorting of his horses is heard from Dan: at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones the whole land trembles; for they are come, and have devoured the land and all that is in it; the city and those who dwell therein.
Jer 8:17 For, behold, I will send serpents, adders, among you, which will not be charmed; and they shall bite you, says Yahweh.
Jer 8:18 Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! My heart is faint within me.
Jer 8:19 Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off: isn't Yahweh in Zion? Isn't her King in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their engraved images, and with foreign vanities?
Jer 8:20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
Jer 8:21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt: I mourn; dismay has taken hold on me.
Jer 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? why then isn't the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

Jer 9:1 Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a spring of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jer 9:2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
Jer 9:3 They bend their tongue, as it were their bow, for falsehood; and they are grown strong in the land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they don't know me, says Yahweh.
Jer 9:4 Take you heed everyone of his neighbor, and don't you trust in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders.
Jer 9:5 They will deceive everyone his neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity.
Jer 9:6 Your habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, says Yahweh.
Jer 9:7 Therefore thus says Yahweh of Armies, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how else should I do, because of the daughter of my people?
Jer 9:8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceit: one speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he lays wait for him.
Jer 9:9 Shall I not visit them for these things? says Yahweh; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Jer 9:10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none passes through; neither can men hear the voice of the livestock; both the birds of the sky and the animals are fled, they are gone.
Jer 9:11 I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.
Jer 9:12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of Yahweh has spoken, that he may declare it? why is the land perished and burned up like a wilderness, so that none passes through?
Jer 9:13 Yahweh says, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein,
Jer 9:14 but have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them;
Jer 9:15 therefore thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
Jer 9:16 I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.
Jer 9:17 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, Consider you, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skillful women, that they may come:
Jer 9:18 and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
Jer 9:19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we ruined! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.
Jer 9:20 Yet hear the word of Yahweh, you women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and everyone her neighbor lamentation.
Jer 9:21 For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from outside, and the young men from the streets.
Jer 9:22 Speak, Thus says Yahweh, The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung on the open field, and as the handful after the harvester; and none shall gather them.
Jer 9:23 Thus says Yahweh, Don't let the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, don't let the rich man glory in his riches;
Jer 9:24 but let him who glories glory in this, that he has understanding, and knows me, that I am Yahweh who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, says Yahweh.
Jer 9:25 Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will punish all those who are circumcised in their uncircumcision:
Jer 9:26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, who dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.

 
Nov. 14
Philemon

Phm 1:1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker,
Phm 1:2 to the beloved Apphia, to Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the assembly in your house:
Phm 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Phm 1:4 I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers,
Phm 1:5 hearing of your love, and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints;
Phm 1:6 that the fellowship of your faith may become effective, in the knowledge of every good thing which is in us in Christ Jesus.
Phm 1:7 For we have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
Phm 1:8 Therefore, though I have all boldness in Christ to command you that which is appropriate,
Phm 1:9 yet for love's sake I rather beg, being such a one as Paul, the aged, but also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
Phm 1:10 I beg you for my child, whom I have become the father of in my chains, Onesimus,
Phm 1:11 who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me.
Phm 1:12 I am sending him back. Therefore receive him, that is, my own heart,
Phm 1:13 whom I desired to keep with me, that on your behalf he might serve me in my chains for the Good News.
Phm 1:14 But I was willing to do nothing without your consent, that your goodness would not be as of necessity, but of free will.
Phm 1:15 For perhaps he was therefore separated from you for a while, that you would have him forever,
Phm 1:16 no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much rather to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
Phm 1:17 If then you count me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.
Phm 1:18 But if he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, put that to my account.
Phm 1:19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self besides).
Phm 1:20 Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord.
Phm 1:21 Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even beyond what I say.
Phm 1:22 Also, prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.
Phm 1:23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you,
Phm 1:24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
Phm 1:25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that” (James 4:15) by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/040-Lordwilling.html

“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that”
(James 4:15)
Believers recognize their dependence on the will of God.

James admonishes: “Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.' But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16).


Arrogant boasting is evil.

It does not show proper respect for God.

Some people are always boasting about the great things they are going to do in the future.

As king Ahab of Israel replied to arrogant BenHadad, king of Syria, whose army God had decided to deliver into the hand of Israel, “Let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off” (1 Kings 20:11).

But what is so wrong with saying, “We will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”? Many people see nothing wrong with that at all.

This is arrogant boasting because due consideration is not being given to man's dependence on God.

Jesus illustrates this truth in a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-20).

This man did not include God in his plans. God blessed him with abundance. But rather than laying up treasure in heaven by helping the poor (Luke 18:22), he was self-centered and thought only of his own comfort. He was not rich toward God and he was not prepared to die. God calls him a fool. It is never wise to plan for this life without giving priority to the afterlife.

Jesus asks, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

James warns the rich that they will suffer misery if their wealth was gained unjustly: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter” (James 5:1-5).


Saying 'Lord willing' recognizes our dependence on God.

“Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that'” (James 4:15).

Our lives are in the hand of God. He “gives to all life, breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). As Solomon says, “No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, and no one has power in the day of death” (Ecclesiastes 8:8).

Our lives are short. “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). Job says, “My days are but a breath” (Job 7:16).

God has established a maximum lifespan, but there is no guaranteed minimum. Today can be the last day for any one of us. Thus we “ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that'” (James 4:15).


Paul submitted his life and plans to the will of God.

When Paul was zealously persecuting Christians, he mistakenly thought he was doing the will of God (1 Timothy 1:13). Because of his sincerity, God intervened that he might truly know His will. The preacher, Ananias, informed Paul: “The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth” (Acts 22:14).

Paul began many of his letters with, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (see the first verses of 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians and 2 Timothy).

When he departed from Ephesus on his second missionary journey, he told the brethren, "I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing" (Acts 18:21).

He wrote to the brethren at Corinth: “But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills” (1 Corinthians 4:19).

To the saints at Rome he wrote: “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you” (Romans 1:9, 10). Near the close of the letter he asked them to pray with him “that I may come to you with joy by the will of God” (Romans 15:32).

These statements show that Paul was ever conscious of his dependence on the will of God.

On the way to Jerusalem after his third journey, he told the brethren at Ephesus: “And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more” (Acts 20:22-25).

As he neared Jerusalem, when he was at Philip's house in Caesarea, a prophet named Agabus revealed what would happen to Paul: “When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, 'Thus says the Holy Spirit, “So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.”' Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, 'What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.' So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, 'The will of the Lord be done'” (Acts 21:11-14).


What have we learned from the Scriptures about our dependence on the will of God?

It is evil to arrogantly boast about what we are going to do in the future without consideration of the brevity of life and the providence of God. When we qualify our plans with 'Lord willing' we recognize our dependence on God. We can look to the apostle Paul as an example of someone who was ever conscious of his life being circumscribed by the will of God.

“Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that'” (James 4:13-15). Amen.
Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.
Permission for reference use has been granted.
Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

What was the Inscription on the Cross? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=650&b=John

What was the Inscription on the Cross?

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Controversy has surrounded the death of Christ on the cross for almost two millennia. In the days of the apostle Paul, it served as a “stumbling block” to the Jews and “foolishness” to the Greeks (1 Corinthians 1:23). Throughout the past 2,000 years, men and women of all ethnicities have rejected—for many objectionable reasons—the story of the crucified, resurrected Savior. Sadly, for some today, even the physical cross itself has become a stumbling block. Because of an alleged contradiction surrounding the actual words written on the cross of Christ, some believe that the message of the cross once preached by John, Paul, Peter, Philip, and others simply cannot be trusted. According to skeptics, the Gospel writers disagreed regarding what the title read that appeared on the cross above Jesus’ head.
  • Matthew: “This is Jesus the King of the Jews” (27:37).
  • Mark: “The King of the Jews” (15:26).
  • Luke: “This is the King of the Jews” (23:38).
  • John: “Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews” (19:19).
Question: Did Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John disagree on what was written on the cross, or did these four independent writers record trustworthy statements?
Before answering the above question, consider the following illustration. Tonight after getting home from work, I inform my wife (Jana) about an accusation I read on a billboard on the way home regarding one of our friends who is running for city council. I proceed to tell her that the accusation read: “John Doe is a thief.” The following day, our niece (Shanon) comes by the house and mentions to Jana that she just saw a billboard (the same one that I had mentioned a day earlier) that read: “City council candidate John Doe is a thief.” Finally, the next day, a friend (Rhonda) visits Jana and informs her about the same sign, saying it reads: “Montgomery City Council candidate John Doe is a thief.” Question: Would anyone have justification for saying that Shanon, Rhonda, and I disagreed regarding what the billboard said? Certainly not! We all three reported the very same accusation (“John Doe is a thief ”), except that Shanon mentioned the fact that he was a “city council candidate,” and Rhonda added that he was a candidate from “Montgomery.” All three of us reported truthfully the allegation we saw on the billboard. Similarly, the accusation above Jesus on the cross is the same in all four narratives—“the King of the Jews.”
  • Matthew: “This is Jesus the King of the Jews” (27:37, emp. added).
  • Mark: “The King of the Jews” (15:26, emp. added).
  • Luke: “This is the King of the Jews” (23:38, emp. added).
  • John: “Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews” (19:19, emp. added).
The only variation in the inscription is in the personal name of Jesus. This alleged contradiction is easily explained by acknowledging that John recorded the full inscription, while the other writers assumed all to understand the personal name, and therefore simply focused on the accusation on which the crucifixion was based. The accusation was not that this man was Jesus of Nazareth, since there was no controversy regarding His name, nor His hometown. It was a known fact that the man crucified between the two thieves was indeed “Jesus of Nazareth.” Somewhat like the controversial accusation mentioned above regarding John Doe, the key charge levied against Jesus was that He was “the King of the Jews,” and this title was mentioned by all four Gospel writers.
Also involved in this alleged problem regarding the accusation that appeared on the cross is the fact that the superscription was written in three different languages, and translation may have been involved in some instances. According to John, the title was “written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin” (John 19:20; cf. Luke 23:38). Pilate is said to have written the inscription (John 19:19), and he (or whomever he ordered to write the inscription—cf. John 19:1) could have written a slightly different wording in each of the languages according to his proficiency in each language, or according to how much time he wanted to spend writing each one. Furthermore, as Bible commentator Albert Barnes noted: “One evangelist may have translated it from the Hebrew, another from the Greek, a third from the Latin, and a fourth may have translated one of the inscriptions a little differently from another” (1997).
The inscription on the cross of Christ mentioned by all four Gospel writers proves yet again, not that the Bible contains discrepancies, but that the narrators wrote independently. They did not rely upon one another to ensure that their facts were exactly correct. Rather, their accurate accounts of Jesus’ life stand solidly upon the “inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16).
REFERENCES
Barnes, Albert (1997), Notes on the Old and New Testaments (Electronic Database: Biblesoft).

Deism, Atheism, and the Founders by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=1654

Deism, Atheism, and the Founders

by  Dave Miller, Ph.D.

The standard claim by those who wish to minimize the role that Christianity has played in the establishment and propagation of American civilization is that the architects of American political institutions were deists and atheists who did not subscribe to religion in general or Christianity in particular. It is further claimed that they insisted that religion be confined to private life, excluded from public life, i.e., public schools and government. Of course, abundant proof exists to refute this outrageous, though widely believed, claim. But one must go back to the original documents—not history books written in the last fifty years—to allow the Founders to speak for themselves.
Were the Founders “deists”? A standard dictionary definition of the word is: “The belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation” (American Heritage..., 2000, p. 479). One would be hard-pressed to identify a Founder that fits this description. Indeed, the writings of the Founders are replete with their belief in and promotion of the Christian religion in its enlarged sense. Even Thomas Jefferson, who probably questioned the deity of Christ, nevertheless advocated and defended true Christianity. In a letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush on April 21, 1803, he wrote:
Dear Sir, In some of the delightful conversations with you, in the evenings of 1798-99, and which served as an anodyne to the afflictions of the crisis through which our country was then laboring, the Christian religion was sometimes our topic; and I then promised you, that one day or other, I would give you my views of it. They are the result of a life of inquiry & reflection, and very different from that anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian, in the only sense he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others (“The Thomas Jefferson Papers...,” n.d., emp. added).
Among the small handful of those who were not particularly whetted to the Christian religion, Thomas Paine is conspicuous, especially in his production of Age of Reason. Though he challenged the inspiration of the Bible, denounced the formal world religions, including the perversions of Christianity that were in abundance, and opposed the promotion of any national church or religion, nevertheless he was not an atheist. He claimed to believe in God and afterlife: “I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life” (1794). He also wrote: “Were man impressed as fully and as strongly as he ought to be with the belief of a God, his moral life would be regulated by the force of that belief; he would stand in awe of God and of himself, and would not do the thing that could not be concealed from either” (1794). Paine not only believed in “the certainty of his existence and the immutability of his power,” he asserted that “it is the fool only, and not the philosopher, or even the prudent man, that would live as if there were no God.” In fact, he stated that it is “rational to believe” that God would call all people “to account for the manner in which we have lived here” (1794).
Nevertheless, Paine styled himself a “deist” and hurled some rather uncomplimentary epithets against the Christian religion. But the real issue—one that has been largely ignored by the revisionist historians of the last fifty years—is whether Paine’s views were representative of the Founders and the citizenry of America at the time. The historical record proves that they were not. In fact, Paine’s production of Age of Reason nearly two decades after the Declaration of Independence drew heavy fire from several of the Founders who expressed strong aversion to Paine’s ideas in no uncertain terms. Consider the following examples.
John Adams played a central role in the birth of our nation, as evidenced by a string of significant participatory activities, including delegate to the Continental Congress (1774-1777) where he signed the Declaration of Independence, signer of the peace treaty that ended the American Revolution (1783), two-time Vice-President under George Washington (1789-1797), and second President of the United States (1797-1801). Yet, Adams’ sentiments regarding Paine’s writing were, to say the least, blunt: “The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity, let the Blackguard Paine say what he will” (3:421, 1856). “Blackguard” was an 18th century term for a thoroughly unprincipled person—a scoundrel.
Zephaniah Swift, who was a member of the U.S. Congress from 1793-1797, offered a strong reaction to Paine:
[W]e cannot sufficiently reprobate the beliefs of Thomas Paine in his attack on Christianity by publishing his Age of Reason.... He has the impudence and effrontery to address to the citizens of the United States of America a paltry performance which is intended to shake their faith in the religion of their fathers.... No language can describe the wickedness of the man who will attempt to subvert a religion which is a source of comfort and consolation to its votaries merely for the purpose of eradicating all sentiments of religion (1796, 2:323-324).
John Jay was another brilliant Founder with a long and distinguished career in the formation and shaping of American civilization from the beginning. He not only was a member of the Continental Congress from 1774-1776, serving as President from 1778-1779, he also helped to frame the New York State Constitution and then served as the Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court. He co-authored the Federalist Papers, was appointed as the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by George Washington (1789-1795), served as Governor of New York (1795-1801), and was the vice-president of the American Bible Society (1816-1821). In a letter dated February 14, 1796, he affirmed:
I have long been of the opinion that the evidence of the truth of Christianity requires only to be carefully examined to produce conviction in candid minds, and I think they who undertake that task will derive advantages.... As to The Age of Reason, it never appeared to me to have been written from a disinterested love of truth or of mankind (Jay, 1833, 2:266).
Several of the Founders were severe in their denunciations of Paine. John Witherspoon, member of the Continental Congress (1776-1782) and signer of the Declaration of Independence, insisted that Paine was “ignorant of human nature as well as an enemy to the Christian faith” (1802, 3:24). Another signer of the Declaration, Charles Carroll, pronounced Paine’s work as “blasphemous writings against the Christian religion” (as quoted in Gurn, 1932, p. 203). Yet another Declaration signer, Benjamin Rush, called The Age of Reason “absurd and impious” (1951, 2:770). William Paterson, signer of the federal Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court justice appointed by George Washington, became so indignant over those few Americans who seemed to agree with Paine, that he declared: “Infatuated Americans, why renounce your country, your religion, and your God? Oh shame, where is thy blush? Is this the way to continue independent, and to render the 4th of July immortal in memory and song?” (as quoted in O’Conner, 1979, p. 244). [NOTE: Observe that Paterson believed that independence depended on loyalty to the Christian religion and God.] In a similar vein, John Quincy Adams, referring to Paine’s Rights of Man, insisted that “Mr. Paine has departed altogether from the principles of the Revolution” (1793, p. 13). Patrick Henry asked: “What is there in the wit, or wisdom of the present deistical writers or professors…? And yet these have been confuted, and their fame decaying; in so much that the puny efforts of Paine are thrown in, to prop their tottering fabric, whose foundations cannot stand the test of time” (as quoted in Wirt, 1817, pp. 386-387, emp. added; cf. Arnold, 1854, p. 250), and the President of the Continental Congress, Elias Boudinot, published The Age of Revelation in direct rebuttal to The Age of Reason (1801).
Even Benjamin Franklin, one of the least religious of the Founding Fathers, though a longtime friend of Paine, viewed Paine’s thinking with great disfavor, as evidenced by Franklin's critique of a previous manuscript written by Paine:
I have read your Manuscript with some Attention. By the Arguments it contains against the Doctrine of a particular Providence, tho’ you allow a general Providence, you strike at the Foundation of all Religion: For without the Belief of a Providence that takes Cognizance of, guards and guides and may favour particular Persons, there is no Motive to Worship a Deity, to fear its Displeasure, or to pray for its Protection. I will not enter into any Discussion of your Principles, tho’ you seem to desire it; At present I shall only give you my Opinion that tho’ your Reasonings are subtle, and may prevail with some Readers, you will not succeed so as to change the general Sentiments of Mankind on that Subject, and the Consequence of printing this Piece will be a great deal of Odium drawn upon your self, Mischief to you and no Benefit to others. He that spits against the Wind, spits in his own Face. But were you to succeed, do you imagine any Good would be done by it?.... I would advise you therefore not to attempt unchaining the Tyger, but to burn this Piece before it is seen by any other Person, whereby you will save yourself a great deal of Mortification from the Enemies it may raise against you, and perhaps a good deal of Regret and Repentance. If Men are so wicked as we now see them with Religion what would they be if without it? I intend this Letter itself as a Proof of my Friendship.... (1840, 10:281-282, emp. added).
Sadly, friendless and shunned due to his irreligious views, Thomas Paine died in Greenwich Village, New York City, on June 8, 1809. At the time of his death, most U.S. newspapers reprinted the obituary notice from the New York Citizen, which read in part: “He had lived long, did some good and much harm.” Only six mourners came to his funeral (“Thomas Paine,” n.d.).
The overwhelming majority of the Founders and the bulk of the American population at the beginning of our nation held strong convictions regarding the primacy of the Christian religion over all other religions (as well as no religion at all). What a change has come over the country. God has blessed America in the past—undoubtedly due to the willingness of the Founders and the citizenry to acknowledge Him as the one true God and Author of the one true religion. Now that so many are rejecting the one true God, while accommodating false religions and ideologies, we can well expect that the bestowal of God’s blessings on our national well-being will come to an end. In the words of George Washington:
I am sure there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a Divine interposition in their affairs than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that Agency which was so often manifested during our revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them (1838, 10:222-223).
The psalmist was even plainer: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17).

REFERENCES

Adams, John (1856), The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States, ed. Charles Adams (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, & Co.).
Adams, John Quincy (1793), An Answer to Pain’s [sic] “Rights of Man” (London: John Stockdale).
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin), fourth edition.
Arnold, S.G. (1854), The Life of Patrick Henry of Virginia (Buffalo, NY: Miller, Orton, & Mulligan).
Boudinot, Elias (1801), The Age of Revelation, or, The Age of Reason Shewn To Be An Age of Infidelity (Philadelphia, PA: Asbury Dickins).
Franklin, Benjamin (1840), The Works of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Jared Sparks (Boston, MA: Tappan, Whittemore, & Mason).
Gurn, Joseph (1932), Charles Carroll of Carrolton (New York: P.J. Kennedy & Sons).
Jay, William (1833), The Life of John Jay (New York: J.&J. Harper).
O’Connor, John (1979), William Paterson: Lawyer and Statesman (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press).
Paine, Thomas (1794), Age of Reason, [On-line], URL: http://www.ushistory.org/paine/reason/singlehtml.htm.
Rush, Benjamin (1951), Letters of Benjamin Rush, ed. L.H. Butterfield (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press).
Swift, Zephaniah (1796), A System of Laws of the State of Connecticut (Windham, CT: John Byrne).
“The Thomas Jefferson Papers Series 1. General Correspondence. 1651-1827” (no date), Library of Congress, [On-line], URL: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mtj1&fileName=mtj1page028.db& recNum=190&itemLink=%2Fammem%2Fcollections%2Fjefferson_papers%2Fmtjser1. html&linkText=6.
“Thomas Paine” (no date), Wikipedia, [On-line], URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine.
Washington, George (1838), The Writings of George Washington, ed. Jared Sparks (Boston, MA: Ferdinand Andrews).
Wirt, William (1817), Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry (Philadelphia, PA: James Webster).
Witherspoon, John (1802), The Works of Reverend John Witherspoon (Philadelphia, PA: William Woodard).