WE ARE SURROUNDED

Hebrews 12:1 
Therefore, since we are surrounded by
such a great cloud of witnesses, let us
throw off everything that hinders and
the sin that so easily entangles, and
let us run with perseverance the
race marked out for us.
________________________________

FAITHFUL (1)

In this race we run for Jesus
Who was victorious in LOVE
We are encouraged to be faithful
In the hope of our salvation

In the way we live for Jesus
Who is our Shepherd and LORD
We are instructed to be faithful
As we strive to be of one accord

In the work we do for Jesus
Who was obedient in His LIFE
We are commanded to be faithful
As we follow our Lord Jesus Christ

In the world we live for Jesus
Who is our Savior and LIGHT
We are reminded to be faithful
On this journey of eternal life
________________________________

FAITHFUL (2)

First and foremost all my future is in Jesus,
And His forgiveness for my unfaithfulness;
I am always forever grateful for His mercy,
Toward undeserving rebel-sinners like me.
He has rescued me out of a dead life of sin,
For His own purpose and plan of salvation;
Unable to save myself I repent of my pride,
Leaning full on new management in Christ.
________________________________

I have been crucified with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life
I now live in the body, I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and gave him-
self for me. —Galatians 2:20
________________________________

THANKFUL

To You Lord Jesus we sing grateful praise,
Happily blessed in the mercy of Your grace;
As we lift our hands to the One who is holy,
None are like You who in truth sets us free.
King of kings and Lord of lords, God of ALL,
Freely forgiving in Christ the cost of our fall;
Under Your strength Father we are thankful,
Leaning on The Holy Spirit to make us whole.
_________________________________

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author
and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy
set before him endured the cross, scorning
its shame, and sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God. For consider Him who
endured such hostility from sinners against
Himself, lest you become weary and dis-
couraged in your souls.  Hebrews 12:2-3
_______________

11/22/06
From Whom?
Jill Carattini

The four lines of what is commonly known as the Doxology
have been sung for more than three hundred years. 

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. 
Praise Him all creatures here below. 
Praise Him above ye heavenly host. 
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

It has been said that the Doxology, which literally means words of glory,
has done more to teach the doctrine of the Trinity than all the theological books ever written.  To this day, when I sing those powerful lines, I recall the colorful lesson of my first grade Sunday school teacher.  With something like cookie dough and bologna magically falling down on the table before us, she read us the story of a God who made the heavens rain bread and quail so that his grumbling people might live and know that He is God.  I was impressed.  And when we sung the Doxology at the end of the service, I thought it immensely helpful that I knew a little more of what it means when we sing that God is a God from whom all blessings flow.     
 
Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. once said pointedly, “It must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular.”  He was commenting on the odd phenomenon of finding, especially around Thanksgiving time, people thankful “in general.”  To be thankful “in general” is very strange, he
concluded.  “It’s a little like being married in general.”

Of course, his words are not dismissing the thought that it is good to
give thanks in all circumstances.  Rather, Plantinga raises an important
philosophical question.  Can one be thankful in general, thankful for the
blessings that flow, without acknowledging from where or from whom they might be flowing?

In what remains a revealing look at human nature, Moses describes life after Egypt.  Rescued Israel was a grumbling people sick of manna, wailing for meat, even longing to go back to the land God had mightily delivered them from.  And in the midst of revealing God’s promise for meat, Moses says to them, “You have rejected the Lord, who is among you” (Numbers 11:20).     

How revealing these words are to our grumbling prone lips.  If being thankful is by nature being aware and appreciative of things beyond ourselves, complaining is refusing to see anything but ourselves. It is refusing to see the one who is among us.  Moreover, it is an expression that serves only to affirm our own expectations, whether they are based on faulty visions of reality or not.  Certainly the Israelites didn’t want to go back into captivity, but in their grumbling even slavery began to look inviting.  

Choosing not to see the glory of God, choosing not to raise our eyes to God from whom all blessings flow is in essence to be content in blindness. It is choosing not to wholly consider reality, choosing to overlook the sovereign God at work beyond us, in all things, in all circumstances.    
 
In one of his own doxologies found in Romans 11, the apostle Paul declares the glory of God and lifts our eyes to the one worthy of our praise:  “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!  For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?  Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?  For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To Him be glory forever.  Amen” (Romans 11:33-36).

Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and living before one who is worthy of our praise, let us be thankful.  Let us worship God with reverence and awe, always remembering with praise and wonder the one from whom all blessings flow. 

Jill Carattini is senior associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
_______________

But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth
and to save your lives by a great deliverance.  — GENESIS 45:7 NIV

THE SHAPE OF YOUR HEART

Take it from Joseph
Who forgave his rotten brothers,
And like God your Father
Love one another.

Take it from King David
Who had so many enemies,
And like your Good Shepherd
Follow after the Prince of Peace.

Take it from Abraham
Who was a man of faith,
And like God your Redeemer and Friend
Step out for what is the ONE True-Way.

Take it from Jesus Christ
Who was crucified to make a way for you,
And like God your Reconciler and your Life
Let your heart be shaped by grace and truth.

Unfinished: 6/8/06
Jeffree E Pollock

“A farmer went out to sew his seed. 
 As he was scattering the seed,
 some fell along the path. . . .
 Some fell on rocky places. . . .
 Still other seed fell on good soil,
        where it produced a crop.”    

Hope and optimism are splashed over every page of David
Livingstone’s journal. The conversion of one Sechele, a tribal
chief, consumes many pages of the missionary’s notebooks. 
                                  ______________

When he at last applied for baptism, I simply asked him how he, having the Bible in his hand  and able to read it, thought he ought to act.  He went home, gave each of his superfluous wives new clothing and all his own goods which they kept in their huts for him, and sent them to their parents with an intimation that he had no fault to find with them, but that in parting with them he wished to follow the will of God.
     On the day Sechele and his children were baptized, great
numbers came to see the ceremony.  All the friends and families
of the divorced wives became the opponents of our religion. 
The attendance at school and church diminished to very few
besides the chief’s own family.  They still treated us with re-
spectful kindness, but to Sechele himself they said things which,
if they had said in former days, would have cost them their lives.
     It was trying, after all we had done, to see our labors so little
appreciated; but we had sown the good seed and have every
hope it will yet spring up.
                                                             DAVID LIVINGSTONE

‘Thinking Christianly’ is thinking by Christians about anything
and everything in a consistently Christian way — in a manner
that is shaped, directed, and restrained by the truth of God’s
Word and God’s Spirit.      — Os Guinness

_______________

“Be perfect!” – Matthew 5:48

THE REAL ME

Take the coward out of me,
the quivering heart that pretends to be brave;
Who depends on human understanding,
teaching others how to behave.

Take the hypocrite out of me,
the worst kind of actor who pretends to be free;
Who hides behind a mask of smiles,
breathing death-threats deep inside.

Take the murderer out of me,
the crazed killer who pretends to be sane;
Who slanders the innocent to save his own skin,
preaching that “the lost” must be saved.

Take the unrepentant liar out of me,
the callaused heart that won’t let light come in;
Who builds up private walls to keep in the truth,
reaching over occasionally to coddle my sin.

Lord, create in me the heart of a servant,
willing to give away the grace you’ve given me;
Help me Father to sacrifice myself completely,
as You are glorified ever more in the real me.

Jeffrey E. Pollock
October 16, 2006

Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things
which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness,
sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness;
full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are
whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters,
inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning,
untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing
the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such
things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also
approve of those who practice them.  –ROMANS 1:28-32

SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS

     Come unto Me.”

     Matthew 11:28
     http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=mt+11:28&sr=1

God means us to live a fully-orbed life in Christ Jesus, but there
are times when that life is attacked from the outside, and we tumble
into a way of introspection which we thought had gone.Self-consciousness is the first thing that will upset the
completeness of the life in God, and self-consciousness continually
produces wrestling. Self-consciousness is not sin; it may be produced
by a nervous temperament or by a sudden dumping down into new
circumstances. It is never Gods will that we should be anything less
than absolutely complete in Him. Anything that disturbs rest in Him
must be cured at once, and it is not cured by being ignored, but by
coming to Jesus Christ. If we come to Him and ask Him to produce
Christ-consciousness, He will always do it until we learn to abide in Him.

Never allow the dividing up of your life in Christ to remain without
facing it. Beware of leakage, of the dividing up of your life by the
influence of friends or of circumstances; beware of anything that is
going to split up your oneness with Him and make you see yourself
separately. Nothing is so important as to keep right spiritually. The
great solution is the simple one – “Come unto Me.” The depth of our
reality, intellectually, morally and spiritually, is tested by these
words. In every degree in which we are not real, we will dispute
rather than come.
_______________

The PROMISE of ETERNITY

Look forward and see,
The LIGHT of all eternity;
Who shines for everyone to see,
The LIFE Who died to set us free.

Look inward and see,
The PROMISE of eternity;
Who fills us when we’re empty,
With LOVE and grace and mercy.

Look outward and see,
The sovereign LORD of eternity;
Who sanctifies is in The Word that is holy,
Through the TRUTH Who rose for you and me.

Looking around I see,
God’s precious LAMB of eternity;
Who illumines all who chose to believe,
With the JOY of those who are redeemed!

JEFFREEE!!
4/12, 2006
_______________

“Be perfect!” – Matthew 5:48

This started as a study on the Beatitudes; without Jesus
Christ we’ll never get over ourselves into the Kingdom!
The way He slammed the Pharisees and insodoing condemns
all of our self-righteous behavior is awesome! Even while
perfection is impossible we are commanded to be perfect,
perfected in the sacrifice of Christ, and Christ alone,
So my prayer (and this poem) is one of surrender; that all
these remnants of the evil that lives in me will breath its last
at the Cross of my Redeemer and Lord, Jesus Christ. ENJOY!

TAKE IT ALL!

Take the coward out of me,
the broken heart who pretends to be brave;
who leans on a darkened understanding,
while teaching others to behave.

Take the hypocrite out of me,
the bad actor who pretends to be free;
who hides behind a mask of smiles,
while breathing death threats inside.

Take the murderer out of me,
the crazed killer who pretends to be sane;
who slanders the innocent to save his own skin,
while telling “the lost” how to be saved.

Take the liar out of me,
the callaused heart who won’t allow light in;
who builds up walls to keep in the truth,
while reaching over to coddle my sin.

Lord, make in me the heart of a servant,
willing to give all the grace you give me;
help me Father submit this life completely,
as You are glorified ever more in me,
the man You want me to be.

JEFFREE!
07-11-06

Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things
which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness,
sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness;
full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they
are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;
who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who
practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the
same but also approve of those who practice them. 
–ROMANS 1:28-32
_______________ 

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can
be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered
Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us
all things? . . . Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

There’s joy beyond the pains we curse
There’s hope beyond the grief we suffer
There is peace beyond our selfishness
There is life beyond the fear of death

There’s love beyond the hates we harbor
There’s eternity beyond the petty lives we live
There is happiness beyond our tears of remorse
There’s forgiveness beyond the consequence of sin

There’s faith beyond our acts of rebellion
There’s freedom beyond the laws of religion
There are true riches beyond our sacrificial poverty
There’s encouragement beyond our broken dreams

Beyond the grave there is the hope of redemption
Beyond our bodies weakness there is new strength
There is sanctification only in the Lord Jesus Christ
There is eternal rest beyond our sleepless nights

J. E. POLLOCK
OCT 24, 2OO6
________________________________________________

IS GOD’S WILL MY WILL?

This is the will of God, even your sanctification.
 1 Thessalonians 4:3
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=1th+4:3&sr=1

It is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify
me; is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me all that
has been made possible by the Atonement? Am I willing
to let Jesus be made sanctification to me, and to let the life
of Jesus be manifested in my mortal flesh? Beware of
saying – Oh, I am longing to be sanctified. You are not,
stop longing and make it a matter of transaction – “Nothing
in my hands I bring.” Receive Jesus Christ to be made
sanctification to you in implicit faith, and the great marvel
of the Atonement of Jesus will be made real in you. All
that Jesus made possible is made mine by the free loving
gift of God on the ground of what He performed, my
attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound
humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness),
a holiness based on agonizing repentance and a sense of
unspeakable shame and degradation; and also on the
amazing realization that the love of God commended
itself to me in that while I cared nothing about Him, He
completed everything for my salvation and sanctification
(see Rom. 5:8. R.V.). No wonder Paul says nothing is “able
to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”

Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him
one with God, and it is done only through the superb
Atonement of Christ.  Never put the effect as the cause.
The effect in me is obedience and service and prayer, and
is the out come of speechless thanks and adoration for the
marvellous sanctification wrought out in me because of
the Atonement.

  MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST
  O. Chambers / October 20
_______________

John 14:1-2 ESV
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;
believe also in me. In my Father’s house are
many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told
you that I go to prepare a place for you?

PREPARE ME A PLACE

Change me Spirit and lead me,
Harvest Your fruit of my heart;
Remove the blindness from me,
Give eyes that see through dark.

Hold me Jesus and protect me,
In Your truth renew my mind;
Use me for your Father’s glory,
Make for me a place at His side.

Love me Father and forgive me,
Work Your mercy into my soul;
Let me learn Christ-like humility,
Save me a place at Your table.

Search me God and know me,
Take control of all I call my own;
Capture me now and set me free,
Prepare me a place You call home.

Jeffrey E Pollock
December 2006          

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again
and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
John 14:3 ESV
_______________

Cross Way Publications Monthly News

————————————————————

Poem of the Month

————————————————————

The Fullness Of Christ

By: Jeffrey E. Pollock

In the fullness of Christ God’s WILL will stand
Against reason or rhyme with sovereignty in hand.
His providence is secure through the best and the worst;
From the first to the last He is LORD of the universe.

King of all of Heaven enthroned in GLORY,
The Lamb of God, our only victory;
Was slain for our sin and reigns with grace;
His precious BLOOD covers our fallen race.

As we call on our Father to answer our cries
For mercies upon MERCY, no one wants to die!
Without love in our hearts still the question is WHY
Should God care for me when I don’t hear and reply?

With faith in His Son Who gave us HIS all
To show us the WAY to rise when we fall,
Pressing on toward the goal shunning the darkness;
Advancing in the light of His RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Ours by proxy, a GIFT from God’s Son
To those faithful few who fight and don’t run.
When temptation comes testing our pride
We turn to the ONE Who rose when He died.

His WORD is our TRUTH, His BLOOD is our LIFE.
His LIGHT leads the WAY in the fullness of CHRIST.

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Scripture of the Month

————————————————————

15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16 And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

 
The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (Jn 1:15-18). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
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Quote of the Month

————————————————————
 
By his sanctifying grace, Christ works within us through faith, renewing our fallen nature and leading us to real maturity, that measure of development which is meant by “the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). The Gospel calls us to live as obedient servants of Christ and as his emissaries in the world, doing justice, loving mercy, and helping all in need, thus seeking to bear witness to the kingdom of Christ.
Akers, J. N., Armstrong, J. H., & Woodbridge, J. D. (2000). This we believe: The good news of Jesus Christ for the world (Electronic ed.) (Page 139). Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House.
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This Month’s Devotional Thought

————————————————————

The most evident attribute of a Spirit filled Christian is their inability not to proclaim the name of Christ. Since the work of the Spirit is to bear witness to the world of Christ, His filling in our lives will produce the same result. John bears this out in his actions in John 1:15. John bear witness of him and cried, saying, this is he of whom I spake. John’s cry is not a cry for help[i], it is also not a contemptuous or belittling cry[ii], it is a cry of warning and/or vengeance.[iii] There is a coming judgment an impending doom that awaits this present world. The Spirit of God filling the heart of the believer causes him or her to voice the warning and, much like the cry of the raven, the call is a natural reflex. Those under the control of God’s Spirit cannot stifle this cry. It comes naturally to their lips as they go about their daily activities.

The Greek word “krazo” also gives the implication of a cry that is inarticulate or brutish. To the person quietly walking though the woods the shriek of a crow disturbs and irritates but to other crows the cry is heard and welcomed. So it was with John and will be with all others who walk in faith. The majority of those who hear this cry will recoil with distaste but the children of God will accept the message with thanksgiving.

What is this cry which irritates some and rejuvenates others? It is the exclamation that the Savior has come and His attributes are as follows:

1.)  He is the eternal God. “He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.?” John understands that although Christ came into the world as a man He existed before John came into existence.

2.)  Christ has made Himself known to all creation. “And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.?” All of creation is without excuse. We have all received the breath of physical life which He has given and it is His continual life-giving presence that keeps us going from day to day. We also observe His grace in the world regardless of our relationship to Him.[iv]

3.)  He is the Author of salvation. “?For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Moses may have given the law but the law is merely a schoolmaster that points to something better and convicts the hearer. The law cannot save.  Its sole purpose is to show us our need of salvation and our inability to attain it. Christ, on the other hand, provides the grace needed to forgive our sin and instills in us the truth of salvation.

4.)  It is only through Christ that we can come into a right relationship with God. “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” We cannot get to God on our own nor can we find another mentor to lead us to Him. No one else has the ability to reveal God to us for only Christ is one with Father having no beginning and no end.

These truths declare that something is wrong in this world and there is only one remedy, Jesus Christ. This cry has echoed through the centuries. It has been seen as the senseless ranting of mad men and women to those who are outside the household of faith, but to those who are being saved it is the power of that salvation. Go forward this month proclaiming this truth and God will place His children the position to hear and receive.

Jerry

Cross Way Publications
“Poetry Proclaiming Christ As King”
http://www.christianpoetry.org
PO Box 3192
Williamsport, PA 17701-0192
_______________

LORD OF THE HARVEST

“…therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest.”
_______________

LOOKING FOR LIGHT

I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the darkness.

John 12:46 NLT

Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that
we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:15-17 (in Context) Hebrews 4 (Whole Chapter)

BUILDING A PRAYER

Standing before God’s awesome throne
    For words I choose a pebble stone
Throwing myself upon His grace
    I lay outstretched upon my face
 
Thinking my thirst is truly worthy
    To drink the waters of Thy mercy
Reviving the pain of apostles and prophets
    I’m baptized by the blood in their goblets

Sweating blood, as it were, to know God’s true will
   I’ll stay on my knees until my heart becomes still
Obeying Jesus truely means I must surrender my all
   So I’ll pray and I’ll wait and I’ll come when He calls

Building a prayer to the God of my fathers
    The words I choose must be those of Another
Desiring to be answered by the Father’s only Son
    In my heart I will stand on the prayers of Jesus
 
JEFF POLLOCK
MAR. 1, 2006
 
No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11).
 
My hope is built on nothing else than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
 
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.

When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace.
 
In ev’ry high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood, supports me in the whelming flood.
 
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found!

Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.
 
In Christ the solid Rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.
                                                                                                              

                                 Written by Edward Mote

No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11).

—– Original Message —–
 
To: J. E. Pollock
Sent: 2/11/2006 6:20:17 PM

Subject: BUILDING A PRAYER

Standing before God’s awesome throne
    For words I choose a pebble stone
Throwing myself upon His grace
    I lay outstretched upon my face
 
Thinking my thirst is truly worthy
    To drink the waters of Thy mercy
Reviving the pain of apostles and prophets
    I’m baptized by the blood in their goblets

Sweating blood, as it were, to know of God’s will
   I’ll stay on my knees ’till my heart becomes still
Obeying Jesus truely means I must surrender my all
   So I pray and I wait and I come when He calls

Building a prayer to the God of my fathers
    The words I choose must be those of Another
Desiring to be answered by God’s only Son
    In my heart I stand upon the prayers of Jesus
 
JEFFREE E POLLOCK
FEBRUARY 28, 2006
 

No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11).
 ___________________________________________________________________

 THE TIME HAS COME
The time has come to change your mind
Turn back to GOD and be revived
The time has come to believe the truth
Come to the CROSS and be renewed
The time has come for your heart to see
Open your blind eyes and be redeemed
The time has come to receive God’s free gift
Come to JESUS and surrender your life to Him
The time has come for you to submit to love
Come to GOD and choose to love His only Son
The time has come and I pray for you even now
You will stop trying and let Him show you how
The time has come for grace to wash over you
Come to Christ and let His blood cleanse you
This time is now and your new way is assured
Follow the One who is the only Good Shepherd
The time has come for your soul to find peace
Accept the joy Christ came to give to His own
The time has come for you stand up for truth
The time is now for you to act on what you say you BELIEVE
The time has come to disregard your fears and guard your heart
The time has come for you to tell someone else about the gospel
The time has come to celebrate your life and enjoy God’s love
The time is now for you to lay down your fear of going to HELL
The time has come for you to claim your inheritance in Heaven
The time has come for you to wake up to the pull of eternity
The time has come for you to choose which side you’ll be on
The time is now and it’ll soon be gone so choose today and SEE.

 ____________________________________________________________

Title: Good News

Author: Woodrow Kroll
Tony Beckett
Leviticus 23-24, Mark 1:1-22
Key Verses: Mark 1:14-15

The preaching of Jesus is described as “proclaiming the good news of God” (v. 14).
The Gospel is the Good News of God. Specifically, it is what Jesus preached
about God. What He had to say is indeed good news.

David Garland observes that “preaching the gospel today
is not simply giving testimony to timeless truths, providing
tips on successful living from pop psychology, or regaling
congregations with entertaining stories designed to make
them feel good about themselves and the preacher” (The
NIVApplication Commentary: Mark, p. 62). To learn what the Gospel is, one needs look no further than the next verse.

“The time has come.” No more delay in the working out of God’s plan.

“The kingdom of God is near.” No more distance.
The kingdom is not far off but at hand.

“Repent and believe.” No more doubt. Repentance
is a change of mind that brings about a change of
life. Jesus included the need to believe. A
disciple is not just a morally good person but
also believes in Jesus.

This is the good news about believing in Jesus.
Through His death, burial and resurrection, He
paid completely the penalty for our sin. There is
no better news than this!

Do you ever share good news with others? Of
course you do. Today tell someone the good news
about Jesus.
____________________________________________________________

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Here’s a little poem that made me stop and think a little. ENJOY!
 
FOCUS ON HIS LOVE
 
To satisfy my rebellious heart,
I could write another love poem;
Choose my way and mistake my claim to joy,
Or surrender to Jesus Christ and live set apart.
 
I could sing another love song,
To soothe this sin-troubled soul;
Walk away and create my own self-image of God,
Or worship The Creator as He will be known.
 
I could find another love light,
To guide me through the great divide;
Do it my way and praise my own name,
Or believe the LORD alone is my strength.

I’d rather choose to follow The Perfect love life,
Glorify God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son;
I would live a pure life and lift holy hands up high,
Carry my cross with Jesus and focus on His love.

JEFFREY E POLLOCK
FEBRUARY 20, 2006

“God answers all knee mails.”

      — Author Unknown

 
So everywhere we go, we tell everyone about Christ. We warn them and
teach them with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present
them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.

Colossians 1:28 NLT
 
How deep is Jesus?
How wide is His love?
How long is His patience?
How high is Jesus?
How high is Jesus?

Who was born to teach us how to die?
Who was stretched out and crucified?
Who waits for you to believe and obey?
Who watches over you?
Who watches over you?

Only ONE is eternally begotten from the Father.
Only ONE has perfectly obeyed His command.
Only ONE will christen you a son and a brother.
Only Christ can cause you to stand.
Only Christ can cause you to stand.

FOCUS ON THE CROSS
 
I could write another love poem
To satisfy my rebellious heart
Choose my way and mistake my claim to joy
Or surrender to Jesus Christ and live set apart
 
I could sing another love song
To soothe this sin-troubled soul
Walk away and create my own image of my God
Or I can worship The Creator as He chooses to be known
 
I could find another love light
To guide me through the great divide
Do it my way and praise my own name
Or I can believe the Lord alone is my strength

I will choose to follow The Perfect love life
Glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and His Father as God
I would live a pure life and lift up holy hands on high
As I walk in His light and keep my focus on the Cross

________________________________________________________
Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I
sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
                                –Micah 7:8

LIGHT

Let there be light,
As we hold each other tight;
Let there be love,
As we obey the law of Jesus.

Let there be love,
As we talk to each other of God’s truth;
Let there be love,
As we do our best to act like Jesus would.

Let there be joy,
As we sing to God our songs of worship;
Let there be love,
As we share the supper of Christ’s fellowship.

Let there be light,
as we walk by faith on the way to Heaven;
Let there be love,
to lighten your burden and tighten your grip on the grace of Jesus. 

JEFFREE E POLLOCK
FEBRUARY 06, 2006

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest. Take My yoke upun you and learn from Me, for
I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for
your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

MATTHEW 11:28-30

Shining Light of the Gospel

    4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the
minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see
the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand
this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact
likeness of God.
    5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves.
We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are
your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let
there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine
in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is
seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

|| II Corinthians 4:4-6 || NLT ||

    Once again, Paul points to the ultimate, undeniable centrality
of Jesus Christ in all things. He is our peace. (5:19) In Him all
things hold together. (Col. 1:17) Here Paul looks back all the way
to the moment of creation; to that instant when God began by speak-
ing light into being with His Word. In what is surely one of the
most sublimely metaphysical statements in the New Testament, Paul
asserts that that same light has become radiant in our hearts as
it is gloriously reflected in the face of Jesus. It is all one
continuum from creation to cross, with the light of Christ as the
essence of all that is the gospel.

HE CAME FOR ME

For me
My redeemer
Came for me
To set me free
A prisoner
He came for me

For me
My healer
Came for me
To let me see
A world in need
He came for me

For me
My shepherd
Came for me
To bend my knee
A servant
He came for me

For me
My savior
Came for me
To get me home
A saint
He came for me

JEFFREEE
Feb 4, ‘06

PHILIPPIANS 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
 
LIFE BY FAITH
 
In this world of broken hearts,
Fractured by their faithless falling;
Nothing else can help the divided see,
But the Truth of Christ that sets them free.
 
In this world of clay-pot people,
Hardened by their adventures in sin,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus Christ,
Will cleanse them from the filth we’re in.
 
In this world of beachfront castles,
Built up on foundations of shifting sand;
Nothing keeps you safe in life’s many storms,
Except the Holy One who can cause you to stand.
 
In this world of darkness unmoved,
Light has been shown to those who will see;
Nothing will save you besides Christ who loves you,
So open your eyes and do not be deceived.
 
In this world where weakness is spit on,
Strength can truly be found only One Way;
Follow the Lord who chose to be humble,
Die to your self and live your life by faith.
 
JEFFREEpollock
01/09-20/2006
 
“I am the way, the truth and the life.”
JOHN 14:6a

> Galatians 6:7-9
> “A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful
> nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to
> please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.  Let us not
> become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
> harvest if we do not give up.”

> TWO ROADS TO TRAVEL

> There are two
> Paths to choose from;
> One leads to life,
> Take the other
> And you will die.
> There are only two singular
> Destinations to choose from;
> One will guide you home,
> The other will reveal
> The dying seeds
> You have sown.
> There are only two
> Roads to travel;
> One will save you,
> The other
> Directs you to Hell.
> There are but two
> Types of people really;
> Those who live by faith,
> And those who choose
> Not to believe and obey.
> There is just one way
> To Heaven for me and you;
> Don’t move until you’re sure
> You are behind your Shepherd
> When you step into eternity,
> There are only two!
>
> JEFFree!
> 01/18/06

> Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our
faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning
its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so
that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3

-/ \/ \——————————————————-
  \     /  MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST    –     http://www.heartlight.org/
-  \ /——————————————————–
                                                      January 15, 2006
DO YOU WALK IN WHITE?

     Buried with Him … that … even so we also should walk in newness of life.

     Romans 6:4
     http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=ro+6:4&sr=1

No one enters into the experience of entire sanctification without
going through a “white funeral” – the burial of the old life. If
there has never been this crisis of death, sanctification is nothing
more than a vision. There must be a “white funeral,” – a death that
has only one resurrection – a resurrection into the life of Jesus
Christ. Nothing can upset such a life, it is one with God for one
purpose, to be a witness to Him.

Have you come to your last days really? You have come to them often
in sentiment, but have you come to them really? You cannot go to your
funeral in excitement, or die in excitement. Death means you stop
being. Do you agree with God that you stop being the striving,
earnest kind of Christian you have been? We skirt the cemetery and
all the time refuse to go to death. It is not striving to go to
death, it is dying – “baptized into His death.”

Have you had your “white funeral,” or are you sacredly playing the
fool with your soul? Is there a place in your life marked as the last
day, a place to which the memory goes back with a chastened and
extraordinarily grateful remembrance – “Yes, it was then, at that
‘white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God.”

“This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” When you realize
what the will of God is, you will enter into sanctification as
naturally as can be. Are you willing to go through that “white
funeral” now? Do you agree with Him that this is your last day on
earth? The moment of agreement depends upon you.

This is something I began while contemplating 1 John 3; which
lead me to the following hymn:
http://www.cgmusic.com/potpourri/songs/beholdw.htm –a hymn
by Isaac Watts. And while I was at it I included something written long
ago by Augustine as he apparently thought over the same verses. I might imagine my prayer would be the same as theirs: May whoever reads or
hears these words that are written for the glory of God find pure joy and
true blessing. 
___________________________________________________________________
1 John 3:1-3
 1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be
called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children
of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know
that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
3Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

LOOKING FOR THE LIGHT

My heart
Searching the Word
Looking for the Light
Who makes me new

My mind
Changing its habits
Looking for the Way
Who is my Shepherd

My hope
Coming back for me
Looking for the Truth
Who is my Lord

My soul
Singing with peace
Looking for the Life
Who is my Savior

LOOKING FOR THE LIFE

My heart has Spirit-eyes,
Searching through the Word;
I’m looking for the Living Light,
Who will lead me to my Father.

My mind wrestles with faith,
Changing its well-worn habits;
I’m looking for the Living Way,
Who will make all the changes.

My hope is ancient and new,
Coming back in time to get me;
I’m looking for the Living Truth,
Who has died to make me free.

My soul is now well and right,
Singing songs of grace and joy;
I’m following the Risen Life,
Who is my Lord and Savior!

Jeffree E Pollock
January 16, 2006

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.” — John 14:6

1 John 1-3 (New International Version)

The Word of Life
 
1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched–
this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2The life appeared; we have
seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was
with the Father and has appeared to us. 3We proclaim to you what we have
seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4We write this
to make our joy complete.

Walking in the light

5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is
light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship
with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not
in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us
our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his
word has no place in our lives.

1 John 3
1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. Allow the words of this fifth-century Christian leader to sink into your mind and heart. 
It is a prayer appropriate for all of us in the twenty-first century.  Here is cleansing for the start of a new year.
 
ACT OF HOPE
 
For your mercies’ sake, O Lord my God, tell me what you are to me.  Say to my
soul: “I am your salvation.”  Speak that I may hear, O Lord; my heart is listening to you; open it that I may hear you, and say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”
After hearing this word, may I  come in haste to take hold of you.
    Hide not your face from me. Let me see your face even if I die, lest I die with longing to see it.  The house of my soul is too small to receive you; let it be enlarged by you.  It is all in ruins; do repair it.  There are things in it—I confess—that must offend your sight.  But who shall cleanse it?  Or to what others besides you shall I cry out?  From my secret sin cleanse me, O Lord, and from those others spare your servant.  Amen.
 
                                                    AUGUSTINE
 
http://www.cgmusic.com/potpourri/songs/beholdw.htm

LOOKING FOR THE LIGHT

My mind
Changing its habits
Looking for the Way
Who is my Shepherd

My hope
Coming back for me
Looking for the Truth
Who is my Lord

My soul
Singing with peace
Looking for the Life
Who is my Savior

My heart
Searching the Word
Looking for the Light
Who makes me new

John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.

LOOKING FOR THE LIFE

My heart has Spirit-eyes
Searching through the Word
I’m looking for the Living Light
Who will lead me to my Father

My mind wrestles with faith
Changing well-worn habits
I’m looking for the Living Way
Who makes all the changes

My hope is old and new
Coming back in time to get me
I’m looking for the Living Truth
Who has died to make me free

My soul is now well and right
Singing songs of grace and joy
I’m following the Risen Life
Who is my Lord and Savior

JEFFREE!
01/16/2006

1 John 1-3 (New International Version)

The Word of Life
 
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched–this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our
fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.

Walking in the light
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
 
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

http://www.cgmusic.com/potpourri/songs/beholdw.htm
 
Allow the words of this fifth-century Christian leader to sink into your mind and heart. It is a prayer appropriate for all of us in the twenty-first century.  Here is cleansing for the start of a new year.
 
For your mercies’ sake, O Lord my God, tell me what you are to me.  Say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”  Speak that I may hear, O Lord; my heart is listening to you; open it that I may hear you, and say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”
After hearing this word, may I  come in haste to take hold of you.
 
 http://www.cgmusic.com/potpourri/songs/beholdw.htm

John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.

LOOKING FOR THE LIFE

My heart has Spirit-eyes
Searching through the Word
I’m looking for the Light
Who will lead me to my Father

My mind wrestles faith
Changing its bad habits
I’m looking for the Way
Who does the changing

My hope is old and new
Coming back to get me
I’m looking for the Truth
Who has made me free

My soul is now right
Singing songs of joy
I’m looking for the Life
Who is my Lord and Savior

JEFFREE!
01/15/2006

LIVE LIFE BY FAITH
 
In this world of broken hearts,
Fractured in their hopeless fall;
Nothing else helps the blind man see,
But the Truth of Christ that sets them free.
 
In this world of heartless blokes,
Hardended by their endless sin,
Nothing but the blood of Christ,
Will cleanse them from the filth their in.
 
In this world of beachfront castles,
Built on foundations of shifting sand;
Nothing will keep you safe in life’s storms,
Except the One who can cause you to stand.
 
In this world of darkness unmoved,
Light has been shown to those who will see;
Nothing will save you besides Christ who loves you,
So open your eyes and do not be deceived.
 
In this world where weakness is spit on,
Strength can truly be found only One Way;
Follow the Lord who chose to be humble,
Die to yourself and live life by faith.
 
JEFFREE!
01/09/06
 
“I am the way, the truth and the life.”
JOHN 14:6a
 
“For God so loved the world he gave his
only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.” (JOHN 3:16  NIV)
 
FOREVER

Focused on the future
Our hope is true and
Redemption is sure
Each time we stand
Victorious at the Cross
Eternity reminds us to
Rest by faith in Jesus

JEFFREE IN JESUS

Send forth your light and Your truth,
let them guide me, let them bring me
to your holy mountain, to the place
where you dwell.  PSALM 43:3

Happy New Year!  Honestly, my determined plan was to take a week and not write anything.  I guess I failed my resolution again!  I’ve never been very good at keeping those things. Well, with that said… I thought I’d rethink a thought or two and see what happens. Enjoy!
 
FOREVER
Focused on the future
Our hope is true and
Redemption is sure
Each time we stand
Victorious at the Cross
Eternity reminds us to
Rest by faith in Jesus

“For God so loved the world he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but will have eternal life.” 3:16

ALWAYS and FOREVER

On the wings of eternal love
The peace I now carry in my soul
Brings me ever higher over valleys
Into the mountains where I’m known

Looking down upon this world
The hope I now have in Christ alone
Transports me ever deeper into joy
And guides my heart in search of Home

Standing tall upon the Rock of Truth
I’ll be ready when my Redeemer comes
Taking me with Him to be forever new
And brings me to His Father in Heaven

Borne again by our Lord and Savior Jesus
Faith will fly away as we rise to follow Christ
It won’t be needed when we reach our True Home
Where reality will always and forever be Eternal Life

J. E. POLLOCK
JAN 05, 2006
———————–

1 John 3:2
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet
been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
 
1 John 3:1-3 (in Context)
 
01/5/06
“The Magnificent Defeat”
Jill Carattini

The disciples of Jesus had been through more in two weeks than most can say
of a lifetime.  They were undoubtedly exhausted and confused, still
processing all that had taken place.  Recounting words, reliving
experiences—everything they knew was touched and altered in the three
years they spent with Jesus of Nazareth.  They were fishermen, tax
collectors, and physicians who became students, friends, and followers of
a rabbi that set something terrible and wonderful in motion—even if they
did not yet have their minds around it, there was an awareness that they
were standing on holy ground.  They saw him perform miracles.  They saw
him worshipped and despised.  They saw him beaten and killed and buried.
They saw the body.  And then they saw him alive—twice. 

Early in the morning, possibly out of habit, possibly out of a need to be
in waters familiar to their time with the one they just lost, the
disciples went fishing (see John 21).  As they were fishing, Jesus stood
on the shore, but the disciples did not realize who it was.  From the
shore he called out, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

“Throw your net on the right side of the boat,” he said, “and you will
find some.”

Perhaps since they had hopelessly exhausted all other options, perhaps
because the advice seemed hopefully familiar (see Luke 5), they listened
to the one on the shore.  And when they did, they were unable to haul the
net in because of the large number of fish.

Immediately one of them cried out in recognition: “It is the Lord!”  As
soon as Peter heard it, he jumped into the water and swam to the shore.
The other disciples hurriedly followed in the boat, towing the net full of
fish.  When they came ashore, they saw a fire of burning coals there with
fish on it and some bread.  And Jesus said to them, “Come and have
breakfast.” 

Whether it is the first or the fiftieth time hearing John’s retelling of
the appearance of the resurrected Jesus, it is a story that saturates its
readers with anticipation.  It is a story to rightfully get caught up in.
Once again in the midst of the one who called them to follow, the disciples
approach the fire, their hearts burning within them as they stand beside
the Lord.  And in this third appearance of the one they saw dead and
buried, Jesus invites them to eat with him. 

Humbled by the tremors of God’s glory, the hope that something was at work beyond them, the disciples were silenced before the life before them; they were surrendered to truth of God in the presence of Christ.  John recounts the common sentiment among them.  His words seem almost to bow before Jesus’ invitation to nearness:  Writes John, “None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ For they knew it was the Lord” (John 21:12). 

There was a time when I found myself yearning to add my voice to that
fireside quietness.  Struggling with the God whose persistence I found
exhausting, whose very will required me to relinquish my own, unlike the
disciples, I dared to ask.  “Who are you?” I wanted to shout, “And what do you want from me?”  

Yet as French philosopher Michel de Montaigne once wrote, “There are
triumphant defeats that rival victories.”  Along the human road of
surrendering to God, the battle seems an unavoidable illustration.  And
there is truth to the thought that surrendering to God is a struggle that
begins again every day as if nothing had yet been done.  But it is in this
great surrendering where we find, as Fredrick Buechner observes, “the
magnificent defeat of the human soul at the hands of God.”  

In the presence of the one that moved mountains of sin and unawareness and brought them to the feet of God, the disciples found reason to surrender.
Might we also be humbled by the God who refuses to leave despite the words we shout in protest, despite our refusal to surrender.  Might we be awed by the God who says, “Follow me!” and expects us to trust that He will not leave or forsake us.  And might we marvel at the God who, carrying in his body the scars of defeat, invites us to the nearness that is our victory.

————————————————————
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM)
http://www.gdwm.org/Resources/readingplans.htm

FOREVER
Focused on the future
Our hope is true and
Redemption is sure
Each time we stand
Victorious at the Cross
Eternity reminds us
Rest by faith in Jesus

“For God so loved the world he gave his only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 

(JOHN 3:16  NIV)

ALWAYS and FOREVER

On the wings of eternal love
The peace I now carry in my soul
Brings me ever higher over valleys
Into the mountains where I’m known

Looking down upon this world
The hope I now have in Christ alone
Transports me ever deeper into joy
And guides my heart in search of Home

Standing tall upon the Rock of Truth
I’ll be ready when my Redeemer comes
Taking me with Him to be forever new
And brings me to His Father in Heaven

Borne again by our Lord and Savior Jesus
Faith will fly away as we rise to follow Christ
It won’t be needed when we finally reach our True Home
Where reality will always and forever be Eternal Life

JEFFREE E POLLOCK
JANUARY 04, 2006
———————–

1 John 3:2
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.
But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
 
1 John 3:1-3 (in Context)
1 John 3 (Whole Chapter)
 

“For God so loved the world he gave his only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 

(JOHN 3:16  NIV)

ALWAYS and FOREVER

On the wings of eternal love
The peace I now carry in my soul
Brings me ever higher over valleys
Into the mountains where I’m known

Looking down upon this world
The hope I now have in Christ alone
Transports me ever deeper into joy
And guides my heart in search of Home

Standing tall upon the Rock of Truth
I’ll be ready when my Redeemer comes
Taking me with Him to be forever new
And brings me to His Father in Heaven

Borne again by our Lord and Savior Jesus
Faith will fly away as we rise to follow Christ
It won’t be needed when we finally reach our True Home
Where reality will always and forever be Eternal Life

JEFFREE E POLLOCK
JANUARY 04, 2006
———————–

1 John 3:2
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
 
1 John 3:1-3 (in Context)

 

Psalm 119:105
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
 
Matthew 11:28-30 (New International Version)
28″Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I
will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from
me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
 
YES, I BELIEVE
 
My eyes see the words of Jesus,
And I come, I come;
My ears hear the words of Jesus,
And I come, yes, I come.
 
My mind searches the words of Jesus,
And I come, I come;
My heart thirsts as I read Jesus’ words,
And I come, I come.
 
My soul craves after Jesus’ words,
And I follow, yes, I follow;
My spirit saves up the words of Jesus,
And I grow, yes, I grow.
 
My hands hold the truth of Jesus,
And I come, and I stand;
My flesh drinks deeply the Word of God,
And I live as I obey His commands.
 
My heart seeks the Light of Jesus,
So I come, I receive;
My hope depends on His Living Word,
So I come, and YES, I BELIEVE!
 
JEFFREE!
01/04/06
 
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall. PSALM 55:22
 
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
Psalm 119:105
 
http://www.gdwm.org/Resources/readingplans.htm
 
http://jeffpoems.homestead.com/All4Jesus.html
 
“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15).

TODAY

I will love you,
I will forgive you first;
I will hold you,
I will stay your hunger.

I will cherish you,
I will forgive your worst;
I will comfort you,
I will quench your thirst.

I will satisfy you,
I will answer all your prayers;
I will protect you,
I will save you from your fears.

I will accept you,
I will adopt you as my own;
I will receive you,
I will never leave you alone.

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15).

Jeffree Pollock
April 03, 2006
_______________

MATTHEW 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upun you and
learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy and my burden is light.”

LIGHT

Let there be light,
As we hold each other tight;
Let there be love,
As we obey the law of Jesus.

Let there be love,
As we talk to each other of God’s truth;
Let there be love,
As we do our best to do as Jesus would.

Let there be joy,
As we sing to God our songs of worship;
Let there be love,
As we share the supper of Christ’s fellowship.

Let there be light,
As we walk by faith on the way to Heaven;
Let there be love, To lighten your burden,
And tighten your grip on the grace of Jesus. 

J. E. POLLOCK
JUNE 22, 2006

Shining Light of the Gospel

    4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the
minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see
the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand
this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact
likeness of God.
    5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves.
We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are
your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let
there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine
in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is
seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

|| II Corinthians 4:4-6 || NLT ||

    Once again, Paul points to the ultimate, undeniable centrality of Jesus Christ in all things. He is our peace. (5:19) In Him all things hold together. (Col. 1:17) Here Paul looks back all the way to the moment of creation; to that instant when God began by speaking light into being with His Word. In what is surely one of the most sublimely metaphysical statements in the New Testament, Paul asserts that that same light has become radiant in our hearts as it is gloriously reflected in the face of Jesus. It is all one continuum from creation to cross, with the light of Christ as the essence of all that is the gospel.

HE CAME FOR ME

For me
My redeemer
Came for me
To set me free
A prisoner
He came for me

For me
My healer
Came for me
To let me see
A world in need
He came for me

For me
My shepherd
Came for me
To bend my knee
A servant
He came for me

For me
My savior
Came for me
To get me home
A saint
He came for me

Jeffree Pollock
JUNE 22, 2006

Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I
sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
                                –Micah 7:8
_______________

And it all started with His persistent knock….
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

This Knock I hear at the door of my heart
Awakened my mind from sleep in the dark
This Knock that wouldn’t let me sleep sound
Kept me aware when I might have fallen down

This Knock haunts me like a Ghost from the past
Chasing and Pounding me with Hope that will last
And just as I invited this Knock to come in
He revealed to me what He always had been

The Knock I heard at the door of my heart
Broke down my pride and tore me apart
The Knock I ignored for so long in my life
Changed me inside and Shook up my mind

The Knock I now answer to
was at first just a noise
But now thanks to Jesus Christ
I know how to rejoice

The Knock finally broke through my pride
with forgiveness found only at Jesus’ cross
When I opened my heart to Jesus Christ
I found a place of peace in Almighty God
And it all started with His persistent knock

J. E. POLLOCK
APR 21, 2006

REVELATION 3:20 – “Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling
and open the door, I will come in, and we
will share a meal as friends.
_______________

“In Thee, O LORD, do I put my trust” (Psalm 71:1).

IN THEE, O LORD

In Thee, O Lord,
I put my trust;
In Thee, O Lord,
My Hope is Jesus.

In Thee, O Lord,
I stand by faith,
In Thee, O Lord;
Is Mercy, is Grace.

In Thee, O Lord,
I move and breathe;
My God, my Savior,
I trust in Thee.

JEFFREEE!
4.26.2006
_______________

IN MEMORY
 
In memory of lives laid down to assure our right to life,
This poem is a salute to thank them for their sacrifice;
Today, as we sing songs of pomp and circumstance,
Remember every fallen soldier, guard, sailor, marine and airman.
 
In memory of sons and brothers who gave their all to secure the peace,
We praise the Lord who taught: Father is a God of Justice and Mercy;
Today, as we turn our thoughts to those who made supreme sacrifices,
We thank our God His grace is present even as the world is in crisis.

In memory of men and women who went to war for the U.S.,
This song is written to honor their best and last courageous service;
Today, as we watch old movies about World Wars I and II,
Remember they’re the reason there is freedom now for me and you.
 
In memory of the souls who met their Maker in each and every conflict,
This is a dirge made to mourn their deaths as we humbly learn to live;
Today, as we march along to the brazen beat of our own drums,
We must remember the flag we fly is stained by their blood.
_______________

Jeffrey E. Pollock
May 27-29, 2006

Fact of the Day: Memorial Day
Memorial Day was originally set aside to honor the Civil War dead from the North by decorating their graves with flowers and it at first called “Decoration Day.” In 1866, the first commemorations were held in Waterloo, New York, and in Columbus, Mississippi. The American flag was flown at half-staff and a veterans’ parade marched to the village cemetery, where patriotic speeches were given. The first national Decoration Day was held on May 30, 1868 by Union Army veterans known as the Grand Army of the Republic. The May 30 date was close to the date of the final surrender of the Confederate Army (May 26, 1865). The Southern states started remembering their soldiers on a Confederate Memorial Day on various dates. After World War I, the American Legion took over the observance, renaming it Memorial Day, setting it for the last Monday in May, and dedicating in honor of all those who died in U.S. wars. Some southern states continue to observe a separate day to honor the Confederate dead.
_______________

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Corinthians 2:9).

HOW MUCH MORE?

How much clearer can it be,
For eyes that will not see?
For ears that will not hear,
God’s love cannot be found

What more can be explained,
For minds that will not think;
For men who will not drink,
From the fountain of His joy?

We much plainer can God be,
When He says we can’t conceive;
The joy that He has planned
For those who hear Him speak?

How much more can we expect,
From a Father such as our God;
Who did not spare His only Son,
But watched Him die on a cross?

THE CELEBRATION – - – - -
by Max Lucado

God loves to surprise us. He waits for us to despair of human 
strength and then intervenes with heavenly. God waits for us to give 
up and then—surprise!

Has it been a while since you let God surprise you?

God is at his best when our life is at its worst. God has been known 
to plan a celebration in a cemetery.

Have you got God figured out? If so, then listen.

Listen to the surprise as Mary’s name is spoken by a man she loved—a 
man she had buried.

“Miriam.”

God appearing at the strangest of places. Doing the strangest of 
things. Calling names in a cemetery.

“Miriam,” he said softly, “surprise!”

Mary was shocked. It’s not often you hear your name spoken by an 
eternal tongue. But when she did, she recognized it. And when she 
did, she responded correctly. She worshiped him.

The scene has all the elements of a surprise party—secrecy, wide 
eyes, amazement, gratitude. But this celebration is timid in 
comparison with the one that is being planned for the future. It will 
be similar to Mary’s, but a lot bigger. Many more graves will open. 
Many more names will be called. Many more knees will bow. And many 
more seekers will celebrate.

It’s going to be some party. I plan to make sure my name is on the 
guest list. How about you?

“No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him.”
(I Corinthians 2:9)
______________________________________

 From Six Hours One Friday
Copyright 1989, Max Lucado
_______________

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.”  REVELATION 14:13  NIV

HOPE MADE REAL

When I was a boy I had one huge hope.  I hoped that heaven was the
glorious golden city with jeweled walls and gates of pearl that I’d seen
pictured in my storybook.  And I hoped that there was no one there I
knew but the angels, and they were all strangers to me.
     But after a while my little brother died; then I thought of heaven as
the great city, full of angels, with just one little fellow in it–my brother. 
He was the only one I knew there.  Then another brother died, and there
were two in heaven that I knew.
     Then my friends and acquaintances began to die, and their number
grew larger all the time.  But it was not until one of my own little ones
was taken that I began to feel that I had a personal interest in heaven. 
It almost seemed as if I had more friends and loved ones in heaven than here.
     In some strange way, my hope for everlasting life in a place God has
prepared has become more real.  It’s no longer something that I hope
about, but it has become an assured hope.

                                            AUTHOR UNKNOWN

 ____________________________________________________________________

SAILING

Oh, if only it were true
And all the world revolved around you
We’d each be STUCK in our own orbits
Sailing, sailing the Ocean Morbid

Oh, if only it were plausible
And life was designed to be just-causible
We’d each sing & pray to our own private gods
Praising forever only our own AMAZING thoughts

Oh, but the world doesn’t revolve around us
And all of us must eventually come to Jesus
We’ll grow in GRACE when we choose to be fraternal
Thirsting for fellowship with others on the Ocean Eternal

Oh, but it is truly, truly possible
That life is designed to bring joy to God’s people
And HOPE is the sail that carries our ships into their docks
When we believe in Christ and surrender our ways up to God’s

JEFFREE!
May 1, 2006
_______________

“We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.”

————————————————————

VICTORY SONG

In Christ, In Christ
The hope of life we have in Christ
In Christ, In Christ alone
Is the LIFE who is our hope

In Christ, YES, in Christ
The hope of peace we have in Christ
In Christ, only in Christ
Is the TRUTH who came to us divine

In Christ, God’s Son crucified
The hope of joy is forever true
In the WAY of Christ, AMEN, in Christ
The victory we sing is always new

In Christ, in the Lord Jesus Christ
In hope we look forward to His glorious face
In Christ, as we surrender all our earthly lives
The great celebration starts NOW in God’s grace

Jeffree E Pollock
APRIL 06, 2006
______________

Hope in Victory

Thou art my King, O God; command deliverances for Jacob.  PSALM 44:4

There is no foe to your growth in grace, no enemy in your Christian work,
which was not included in your Savior’s conquests.
  
     You need not be afraid of them.  When you touch them, they will flee
before you.  God has promised to deliver them up before you.  Only be
strong and very courageous.  Fear not, nor be dismayed.  The Lord is with
you, O mighty men of valor—mighty because you are one with the
Mightiest.  Claim victory!

     Be sure that you have a share in that triumph which Jesus won, not for
Himself alone, but for us all; remember that you were in Him when He
won it, and claim victory!

     Reckon that it is yours, and gather spoil.  Neither the Anakin nor fenced
 cities need daunt or abash you.  You are one of the conquering legion. 
Claim you share in the Savior’s victory>

    F. B. MEYER

     “Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-57
Daily devotions for 06-10-2006:

Title: After the Victory
Author: Warren Wiersbe
Devotion: Psalms
Scripture References:
Psalm 60:1-12
____________________________________________________________

Title: After the Victory

Read  Psalm 60:1-12
“Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down
our enemies” (v. 12). Psalm 60 is unusual because David didn’t write
it in the midst of trouble.

So many of his psalms were written from a cave or a battlefield.

But this psalm was written after a great victory. The army had
achieved a tremendous victory in Edom for the people of God.

What do we learn from this psalm? First, we must be cautious after
victory. “O God, You have cast us off; You have broken us down; You
have been displeased; oh, restore us again!” (v. 1). David was crying
out to God and saying,

“O God, we have just won a great victory. But there are battles yet
to fight.” Some of God’s great people had their biggest defeats after
their victories. Elijah won a great victory on Mount Carmel, and then
he became discouraged and suffered a great defeat.

We must be careful to win the victory after we have won the battle.

Second, we are always carrying God’s banner.

Even after the victory has ended, we are still His ambassadors.

“You have given a banner to those who fear You, that it may be dis-
played because of the truth” (v. 4). We carry a banner of truth because
we are standing for the Word of God. After we’ve won the victory, let’s
ot put down the banner. Let’s continue to carry it to the glory of God.

Third, we must give God the glory. David gave Him all of the glory for
what He had done. It’s so easy to claim the victory for yourself. It’s so
easy after the victory to say, “This is what I have done.” Pride moves
in, and that can lead to defeat.

* * *

One of your most vulnerable times comes after God has given you a
victory, for you may let down your guard.

And the Devil stands poised to attack again. How do you seal the
victory? Always carry the banner of God and be sure to give Him
the glory. The next time God gives you a victory, stay grounded in
the truth of His Word and avoid entertaining any prideful thoughts.

God deserves all the glory.
_______________
_______________

This is a song of worship to our God.  It works as a rap-song, which
I certainly didn’t set out to make, but while listening to a song with
a strong back-beat I began to sing it out loud in a rap-style. ENJOY! 

Psalm 32:1-2
Blessed is he  whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man
whose sin the LORD does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.

Galatians 4:6
Because you are God’s children, God has sent the
Spirit of His Son into us to call out, ‘Abba! Father!’”

FORGIVEN IN FULL

Thank You Abba Father
For Your Grace and Love,
Merciful, Strong and Holy;
Thank You Abba Father,
For Your good plan for us.

Thank You Father
For Jesus Your Son,
our Joy and our Light;
Thank You Lord Jesus
For securing our Salvation.

Thank You Shepherd-Savior
For the Sword of Your Word,
the WAY, TRUTH AND LIFE;
Thank You LORD and GOD,
For our Hope at Your Cross.

Thank You Holy Spirit
For ALL that You do,
our Counsel and Comfort;
Thank You Holy Spirit,
For Telling us the Truth.

Thank You Jesus
Broken and Humble,
our Redeemer and Friend;
Thank You, Thank You Father,
We are Forgiven in Full!

J. E. Pollock
June 20, 2006

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose.  ROMANS 8:28  (NIV)

All For Good

How wonderful it the providence of God in overruling things most disorder-
ly and turning to our good things which in themselves are most pernicious!
We marvel at His mighty power, which holds the heavenly bodies in their
orbits. We wonder at the continually recurring seasons and the renewal of
the earth. But this is not nearly so marvelous as His bringing good out of
evil in all the complicated occurrences of human life and making even the
power and malice of Satan with the naturally destructive tendency of his
works to minister good for His children.
     “All things work together  for good.”  This must be so for three reasons. 
First, because all things are under the absolute control of the Governor of
the universe.  Second, because God desires our good, and nothing but our
good. Third, because even Satan himself cannot touch a hair of our heads
without God’s permission, and then only for our good.
     Not all things are good in themselves, not in their tendencies; but God
makes all things work for our good.  Nothing enters our life by blind chance,
nor are there any accidents.  Everything being subservient to God’s eternal
purpose works blessing to those marked out for conformity to the image of
the Firstborn.  All suffering, sorrow, and loss are used by our Father to
minister to the benefit of believers.

     A. W. PINK

The Gift of Eternal Life

In the message “A Life of Discipleship” we saw that being discipled is
a life-long process which actually begins prior to Salvation with a
clear presentation of the gospel.  In the message “Enter Through The
Gate” we emphasized the importance of teaching the true gospel: “I
{Jesus} am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved” (John10:9). 
As Jesus was talking with Nicodemus, He gave clear instruction on what
it means to enter through the gate.

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The moment we truly believe, our heart is transformed and we are given
the gift of eternal life: “It is by grace you have been saved, through
faith” (Ephesians 2:8).  However, we need to consider what Jesus meant
when He said, “whoever believes in Him.”  The prior verses help yield
a better understanding: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the
desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes
in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).

When Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt, they began to
complain about the lack of “proper” food and water: “Why have you
brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread!
There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” (Numbers
21:5).  God punished the people for this sin by sending poisonous
snakes.  Many began to die from snake bites, so they went to Moses and
said: “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you.  Pray
that the Lord will take the snakes away from us” (Numbers 21:7).

Moses prayed and God replied: “Make a snake and put it up on a pole;
anyone who is bitten can look at it and live” (Numbers 21:8).  To be
saved from the snakes, the people had to recognize their sin, repent of
their sin, and understand death was certain without God’s
intervention.  They then had to believe God’s Word and act in faith:
“Look at the snake and you will live.”

Our Salvation “process” is the same today.  We have all been snake-bit
by sin!  We must recognize our sin (Romans 3:23), desire to turn away
from our sin (repentance), and understand eternal death is certain
without God’s intervention (Romans 6:23).  We must then believe God’s
Word: “God presented Him {Jesus} as a sacrifice of atonement, through
faith in His blood” (Romans 3:25).  His sacrifice paid the penalty for
our sins!  “Everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins”

(Acts 10:43).  We must believe the sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient for
complete forgiveness and then act on that belief by submitting our life
into His hands.

God gave us His Son, that whoever, by faith, enters through the gate -
whoever “believes in Him” – will not perish but receive the gift of
eternal life.

Have a Great Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

*****************************************************
Archive of previous devotions :  http://www.gdwm.org/archive06.htm
-/\/\—————————————————————–
 \  /  MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST    –     http://www.heartlight.org/
–\/——————————————————————

 

                                                         June 20, 2006
HAVE YOU COME TO “WHEN” YET?

     And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed
     for his friends.

     Job 42:10
     http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=job+42:10&sr=1

The plaintive, self-centred, morbid kind of prayer, a dead-set that I
want to be right, is never found in the New Testament. The fact that
I am trying to be right with God is a sign that I am rebelling
against the Atonement. “Lord, I will purify my heart if You will
answer my prayer; I will walk rightly if You will help me.” I cannot
make myself right with God, I cannot make my life perfect; I can only
be right with God if I accept the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ
as an absolute gift. Am I humble enough to accept it? I have to
resign every kind of claim and cease from every effort, and leave
myself entirely alone in His hands, and then begin to pour out in the
priestly work of intercession. There is much prayer that arises from
real disbelief in the Atonement. Jesus is not beginning to save us,
He has saved us, the thing is done, and it is an insult to ask Him to
do it.

If you are not getting the hundredfold more, not getting insight into
God’s word, then start praying for your friends, enter into the
ministry of the interior. “The Lord turned the captivity of Job when
he prayed for his friends.” The real business of your life as a saved
soul is intercessory prayer. Wherever God puts you in circumstances,
pray immediately, pray that His Atonement may be realized in other
lives as it has been in yours. Pray for your friends now; pray for
those with whom you come in contact now.</
FORGIVEN IN FULL

Thank You Abba,
Gracious and Loving;
Thank You Father,
Compassionate and Holy.

Thank You Father,
For Jesus Your Son;
Thank You Jesus
For giving me Salvation.

Thank You Shepherd-Savior,
For the Sword of Your Word;
Thank You Lord and GOD,
For the Hope of Your Cross.

Thank You Holy Spirit,
For ALL that You do;
Thank You Holy Spirit,
For Telling the Truth.

Thank You Jesus,
Broken and Humble,
Redeemer and Friend;
Thank You my Father,
I’m Forgiven in Full

JEFFREE!!
6/18/2006

Our Father, Who is in Heaven
Hallowed is Your Name, Thy
Kingdom come Thy Will be Done
On Earth as it is In Heaven
Give us This Day our Daily Bread
And Forgive us our Trespasses
As we Forgive those who
Trespass against us
Lead us not into Temptation but
Deliver us From Evil.
AMEN
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Abba! Father!
From the Oneplace Team…

Do you strive to please your earthly father, whether it is a realistic
goal or not? That idea originates from an earthly perspective. The Creator
of the universe is our Heavenly Father Who loves us as we are, in our sin
and all, and calls us His children! If His love was based upon our achiev-
ing certain goals, we would fail miserably in our own efforts and God’s
free gift of salvation would never be available! But as His love for us
was proven on a bloody cross over 2000 years ago, that ultimate sacrifice
gives us the assurance of His never-failing, never-ending love.

“Because you are God’s children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into
us to call out, ‘Abba! Father!’” Galatians 4:6

Rejoice that He is our strong shelter and provider, and that the Creator
of the universe longs to hear us call Him ‘Daddy!’
 
 
His Name Is Abba
Jill Carattini

Not far into John’s Gospel, Jesus was gaining enemies at every turn.  He
used a whip to drive men and livestock out of the temple.  He chose the
holy Sabbath to heal a man who could not walk.  But it was because of his
words that they sought all the more to kill him.  To their anger over the
Sabbath healing, Jesus simply replied, “My Father is always at his work to
this very day, and I, too, am working” (John 5:17).   

To the person well-versed in biting comebacks and fatal rhetoric, these
words don’t seem at all like fighting words.  But to Jews who knew a
history of combating (and failing to combat) the polytheistic influences
of surrounding nations, Jesus uttered what seemed the most blasphemous
notion possible.  He was calling God his own Father, making himself equal
with God. 

Even so, the notion of God as Father was not a new concept.  Even to the
Jews who took offense at Jesus’s words that day, God was understood as
Father in the sense that He is creator, that He is Lord, that He is
protector and forgiver.  Fourteen times in the Old Testament God is spoken
of as Father, and each instance depicts a sacred glimpse of divine
fatherhood. 

But here, Jesus adds to the notion of Father an element of intimacy and
uniqueness with himself.  Nowhere in Palestinian Judaism is God
addressed by an individual as “my father.”(1)  Jesus’s use of such an
title–and elsewhere the familiar “abba” or daddy–reveals the very
basis of his communion with God, a communion he boldly offers his followers: “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’”(Matthew 6:9-10).
 
It is easy to approach as ordinary the extraordinary mystery that Christ
is Son and God is Father.  “Heavenly Father” and “only Son” are phrases I
rarely wrestle with.  All too often I overlook the vast allowance of being
able to call God my own Father.  It is not a quality inherent in all
religions (it is, in fact, an obstruction to some, an enigma to others).
That you and I can approach God as Father is the unique and pressing gift
of the Son.

I was moved recently by the profundity of this gift as I listened to the
stories of a man named K.K. Devaraj.  Reverend Deveraj works among the
discarded lives of Mumbai, India.  For 16 years, the ministry he founded
has fostered life-saving outreach to orphaned children, drug addicts, and
prostitutes.  To each one he offers the same message as many times as
necessary: “Whenever you are ready, your Father’s house is waiting.”
Often, he offers for years.

Yet such is the startling, radical message of Christ.  There is a Father
who knows you by name, in whose house you are invited to be who you
are–to live and work and play as He created you.  “In my Father’s house
are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going
there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:20).  There is a Father who
waits, who longs to gather his children together and take them into his
arms.  Some will be transformed, some will be broken, some will refuse to
be gathered.  But He offers us a place, positioned within the greater
offer of adoption.  He is our Father whose name is hallowed and
whose kingdom we seek, whom we know through the Son and worship as
children.  His name is Abba.
Jill Carattini is senior associate writer at Ravi Zacharias
International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
(1) See Joachim Jeremias Jesus and the Message of the New Testament
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002).

——————————————————————-
Copyright (c) 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM)
_______________

FACE TO FACE

Face to Face with my Father
My joy is completed in Him
Head to Head with my Father
My mind is renewed in Him
 
Face to Face with my Savior
My joy is completed in Him
Hand in Hand with my Savior
I stand by His side free of sin

Face to Face with the Spirit
My joy is completed in Him
Heart to Heart with the Spirit
My soul is refreshed as I sing

Face to Face with my God
My joy is eternal in Him
Eye to Eye at Christ’s Cross
This hope lasts forever, AMEN

Jeffree Pollock
April 09, 2006
_______________

Evangelism Phobia
Joe Boot

It is as true today as ever before that we are living in a lost world, a
world of people missing out on the salvation found only in Jesus Christ.
Yet despite the necessity and urgency of evangelism, many Christians
hesitate to evangelize.  Is it because we are starting to accept that
sharing our faith today is intolerant, offensive, impractical and
impossible?  Or, worse still, that it is theologically unnecessary given
the contemporary consensus among so many people that God will
welcome one and all eventually–so long as they are on some sort of
spiritual pilgrimage?  Or are there other things that hold us back?

Evangelism is sharing the good news about Christ in a coherent, mean-
ingful manner.  If we do not really believe that it is appropriate, possible,
commanded, or necessary, then we will certainly lack confidence in the
value of living an evangelistic life.  Instead, there will be a fear of, or 
powerful resistance to, the very idea of sharing Christ.

If we are to rebuild confidence in our mission, first and foremost we
mustbe individually and corporately convinced of several related beliefs:
the objective exclusivity of the gospel, the absolute necessity of evan-
gelism, and the irrevocable validity of the divine command to “go into
all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15).

Another key trigger for evangelism phobia is self doubt. Many of us feel
that because we are broken people, because we have failed at various
points in our Christian lives, we are simply ill equipped or unqualified
to share our faith.  Perhaps we even feel hypocritical.

It is, of course, true that the church is full of broken people.  We live
in a fallen world with all its attendant problems, and we wrestle against
the “old nature” on a daily basis.  But this is precisely why people
need Christ: the one who binds up the broken, a savior who offers
total renewaland restoration of the human person.  Christ’s salvation
is to the uttermost–spirit, soul, mind, and one day, the body.  If we
were already whole and perfected we would not need the gospel at all. 
Part of our witness is that we are a redeemed people, a holy nation, a
people belonging to God.

When we shun sharing our faith because of some personal failure, we
have allowed a subtle form of pride to enter our hearts.  To suggest that
brokenness disqualifies us from the task is to say that Christ’s sacrifice
for my justification and sanctification is insufficient, and that the
gospel is dependent upon my state of mind and heart, rendering God
powerless.  It is pride of a highly destructive nature that leads us to
believe that because I am broken, I cannot share Christ the savior with
other broken people.

Yet the good news we offer carries an authority far beyond our deficient
words and imperfect testimony.  The God of Scripture calls us to speak.
If his Word did not carry divine authority then it would be the height of
arrogance to impose our opinion.  It is precisely because it is not a mere
opinion–but God’s infallible revelation–that we can have a holy boldness
seasoned with gentle grace as we share our faith. 
Joe Boot is executive director of Ravi Zacharias International
Ministries in Canada.

——————————————————————-
Copyright (c) 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM)
_______________

Subject : RE: ENCOURAGE ANOTHER
  
Date : Mon, Jun 12, 2006 01:01 PM     
 
Dear Jeff,

It never cease to amaze me of the encouragement you and Evelyn give me.  We might
not talk often but it always gives me pleasure.  Through eveything you endure you know
that God’s grace is sufficient.  This is an extreme encouragment to all that know you.  
Thank you for your prayers, encouragment and friendship.  love, Jamie

>Subject: ENCOURAGE ANOTHER
>Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2006 06:48:58 GMT
>
>ENCOURAGE ANOTHER
>
>A quiet prayer to God
>Can make all the difference
>In this desperate world
>That has turned its face away
>
>A sincere remembrance of worth
>Can encourage another
>Stranger walking here on Earth
>To hope another day
>
>A tender turning to Jesus
>Can make all the difference
>For a discouraged sinner-saint
>Who is still learning how to wait
>
>A simple widening of the eyes
>Can encourage another
>Citizen of Heaven
>To endure another day
>____________________
>
>Jeffree Pollock
>June 7, 2006
>
>Romans 15:5
>Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of
    the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,

1 Thessalonians 5:11
>Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

>Hebrews 3:13
>But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that
    none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
_______________

“[T]he people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:1-2, Matthew 4:16).

ON CHRISTMAS DAY

As the sun which rises over early morning
Fills one’s sight with the colors of daylight
Every morning replaces nightmarish visions
With the eternal life of One who came to die

As the Light that reaches out past the edges
Stills one’s heart in the soveriengty of God
Every soul is distilled by its own expectation
In a new year that will take us to the Cross

As the old Earth revolves around the new Sun
And the child changes us into lives of purpose
Every 365-cycle returns our darkened reasons
To our eternal hope at the resurrection of Jesus

As each new morning ushers in everyday mercy
Creating a true hunger for God’s bounty of grace
Every life is redeemed by Who that heart sees
In the Light of the World on Christmas day

JEFFree!
Nov. ‘06

11/15/06
Frame of Reference
Jill Carattini

God is so often not the God we expect Him to be, and often it is shocking
to discover it.  God comes near and offends our sense of understanding; He
affronts our categories and overturns our sense of familiarity.  In the
language of the parables, Jesus does the same.  With his stories, he
offended disciples, scribes, and crowds alike.  With the same stories, he
continues to jar hearers awake and move followers near. 
    
The Greek word for parable literally means “a placing beside.”  It is a
comparison of one thing beside another, an association of pictures that
teaches.  In a wider sense, the parable is a figurative discourse, a
riddle full of light and shadows.  In his parabolic language, Jesus
vividly lays a full and layered picture beside us:  The kingdom of
heaven is like a man who sowed good seed; it is like yeast, or a mustard
seed, or a master who prepared a great banquet.  His comparisons often
offer simple scenes or everyday images, and yet they are bafflingly
difficult.  How on earth is the kingdom of heaven like a seed? 

Thus, we are pulled into a parable on multiple levels.  At the narrative
level, there are countless nuances and peculiarities that compel us to
listen and question.  We react to the characters before us–to the foolish
prodigal son and what almost seems a foolishly loving father, to the master
of a great banquet and the guests that cruelly shun him.  But we also react
to the character of God on some level, his kingdom and its economy.  How is
this forgiving, welcoming father like our heavenly Father?  How am I
like his wasteful son or this frustrated older brother?  And how, then,
does this image call me to live?  We are jarred awake by a story; but so
we are moved to reckon with its implications. 
 
In other words, we are moved to reckon with nothing less than the kingdom
of God among us and the one proclaiming it.  The parables were not just
spoken by anyone; they were spoken by Jesus of Nazareth, whose preaching
fulfilled the cry of Isaiah and the promise of a savior:

“[T]he people living in darkness
              have seen a great light;
    on those living in the land of the shadow of death
           a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:1-2, Matthew 4:16).

As with his preaching, the parables of Jesus call hearers to respond to
the presence of God today, the kingdom in our midst, the person standing
before us.  We are remiss to interpret the parabolic language of Christ
apart from his entire ministry, his shocking narratives apart from his
shocking death, or the peculiar notion of the kingdom he describes apart
from the unfathomable notion of his resurrection, which touches both this
world and the next.  Like Isaiah before the throne, our former visions of
God are undone by the God in our presence. 

God will not let us remain blinded by our ideas of Him.  A prayer by
Walter Brueggemann expresses the power of our expectations and the danger
of clinging to them:

We are your people and mostly we don’t mind,
 except that you do not fit any of our categories.
We keep pushing and pulling and twisting and turning,
trying to make you fit the God we would rather have
and every time we distort you that way
we end up with an idol more congenial to us.(1) 

The parables draw pictures that, like Jesus, turn everything upside down,
exposing idols that look curiously like us.  It is in the light of his
words that we see the insufficiencies of our perceptions and the
incongruence of our behavior.  Like the one who voiced them, the parables
order a mandatory reframing of perspective.  “Thus it is with the Kingdom
of God,” Jesus declares, and he overturns our world like the
money-changers’ tables.  Jesus calls those who will see to see, and
sometimes it is a call for a different way of thinking.  Other times it
demands an entirely new frame of reference.  But he is always calling.
For who God is in our minds must always be shattered by who God is. 
Jill Carattini is senior associate writer at Ravi Zacharias
International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
(1) Walter Brueggemann Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth
(Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2003), 35.
Joachim Jeremias writes: 

 
——————————————————————-
Copyright (c) 2006 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM)
_______________

READ IT John 16:1-15

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13)

   The disciples knew something was about to happen.  They could feel it in their bones.  It troubled their hearts.  Minutes before, Jesus had touched those fears directly when He said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1).
   Jesus gave them two large reasons not to be troubled:  He had work to do elsewhere (14:2-3), and He was leaving behind a built-in Counselor.  He said, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, who the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (vv.16-17), Jesus gave us two parallel promises—the promise of a heavenly home and the promise of a heavenly Helper.
   During the Last Supper, Jesus had a lot to say about the work of the Holy Spirit.  The indwelling Counselor would have a special role regarding Jesus’ words.  He said, “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (vv.25-26).
   The Holy Spirit did carry out His immediate primary task in bringing about the writing of the New Testament.  He helped those men recall and record what Jesus said (2 Pet. 1:21).  Now the Holy Spirit continues His guiding, teaching and indwelling role.  His tool is the Word of God.  That tool can be light (Ps. 119:105), food (Heb. 5:12-14), scalpel (Heb. 4:12) or sword (Eph. 6:17) for us.
   Believers grow by leaps and bounds when they stop thinking of the Bible as a book they h a v e and begin thinking of the Bible as God’s Word that h a s them.  They carry the Bible as a living document that God’s Spirit uses to speak truth into their lives.  They anticipate what God has for them on those pages.  Troubled hearts or not, the way into God’s presence leads through His Word, and He has provided a reliable companion to guide every step of the way. —– Back To The Bible (Your Study Companion)

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
The Persistent Christian Journey
by David Jeremiah

The leader of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was Sir Ernest Shackleton, already a famous British explorer. The expedition left South Georgia Island and sailed for Antarctica in December, 1914. While still 100 miles from the coast of Antarctica, the Endurance became locked in surface ice. For nine months the frozen ocean slowly dragged the ship away from the continent, finally crushing the vessel and sinking it in November, 1915. The group set out on foot to walk 400 miles across the ice, towing Endurance’s three lifeboats and what they had salvaged from her. Traversing ice and water, they made it to barren, frozen Elephant Island, setting foot on soil for the first time in 497 days.

From there, Shackleton and five others set out in a lifeboat for their original point of embarkation. The lifeboat took them 800 miles across the fiercest seas on planet earth, the South Atlantic Ocean. Seventeen days later, almost a year and a half after leaving South Georgia Island originally, their tiny craft arrived. Shackleton and the others returned in a Chilean vessel to rescue the remainder of the crew from Elephant Island, not one of whom had perished.

The details of what these 28 souls endured during their odyssey are staggering. Living in frozen-stiff clothing which went unchanged for months. Frostbite. A diet of penguin and eventually their own sled dogs. Unrelenting sub-zero temperatures. And yet they endured. They persisted. They persevered.

The Christian life is a journey of persistence—an adventure, even, because we do not know what each day will bring. Like the Shackleton expedition, it is an adventure filled with unexpected twists and turns. One minute you’re making ground, basking in the warm glow of spiritual success, and the next minute you’re watching your soul shatter as you fall back losing precious progress. How can we find the constancy needed in a life where two steps forward and one step back is more the rule than the exception?

Preparation
Shackleton was a veteran explorer. So he knew the risks when he set out in 1914 and prepared accordingly. Many Scriptures warn us that the spiritual life is filled with dangers. In fact, we are told that trials are not unusual but are a normal part of the Christian life (Hebrews 12:1; James 1:2; I Peter 1:6; 4:12). To be forewarned is to be forearmed for the journey of persistence.

Balance
What would you have packed in your ship if you were leading Shackleton’s expedition? Too much of one resource, and not enough of another, could have caused problems depending on the particular circumstances they encountered. Balancing their resources required wisdom and breadth of experience.

Balance is key. You must know the Word, be accountable to others, spend time in praise and worship, have a ministry of service, be memorizing Scripture—all are important. If you become weak or vulnerable in one area, other strengths and resources are there for your defense.

Team
Shackleton wrote that his crew, even in “dark days and . . . continuous danger, kept up their spirits and carried out their work.” Who is your crew? Are you forging bonds with people who keep up their spirits and stay faithful in kingdom work even during the dark days? If you stumble and fall on the way, nothing will get you on your feet faster than the extended heart and hand of a strong friend.

Focus
Historical accounts agree that if Shackleton had not been the leader of the expedition to Antarctica, all might have perished. He was a man of great purpose. The Apostle Paul was of similar single-mindedness: “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14; Hebrews 12:1).

Orientation
Shackleton and his men knew where their home was. They had left friends and family in England and Ireland, the lands of their citizenship. The Scripture says our citizenship is in heaven, that we are aliens and strangers as far as this earth is concerned (Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 11:13-16). It’s important to keep your spiritual compass aligned at all times. Don’t get comfortable on foreign soil when things get hard. This world is not your home.

You will likely never experience what Shackleton and his men did. But sometimes your trials can feel just as painful. Preparation, balance, a strong team, focus, and orientation allowed Shackleton and his men to take two steps forward for every one back—as they will you. Start preparing for your own persistent Christian journey. The time to prepare for tomorrow’s challenges is today.
###

This article was excerpted from Turning Points, Dr. David Jeremiah’s Devotional Magazine. Call Turning Point at 1-800-947-1993 for your complimentary copy of Turning Points.
Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.

      — John Quincy Adams
_______________

[4] CHRIST ALONE

Don’t try to work for your salvation
Or stand up strong for supposition
When the Only Way to to paradise
Is by the BLOOD of God’s sacrifice

Don’t count on beads or virginmaries
Or silly tall-tales of woodland fairies
To help you through your 1-time life
All that you need is FAITH in Christ

Don’t get trapped in dead traditions
Of this old world of worn-out idols
If you really want your luck to change
TRUST your life to God’s chosen Way

Don’t believe in a white-smoked pope
Or what priestly-prayers of man can do
When the Truth is that your Only Hope
Is Jesus CHRIST ALONE will save you!

JEFFREE E POLLOCK
May 26 – June 6, 2006

#2657 – June 6, 2006 – “The Posture of Prayer” – 2

[Gauger:] Welcome to Proclaim!, the daily Bible teaching ministry of Dr. Michael Easley, President of the Moody Bible Institute. I’m Jon Gauger, so glad you’re here for our Tuesday edition of the broadcast. We’re working our way through the book of 1st Timothy. We’re in chapter 2 and yesterday Paul underscores the fact that there’s only one God. And today we come to the reality that we have no other mediator than Jesus Christ. Michael, that’s a different concept for some listeners.

[Easley:] It is and depending, again, on our church backgrounds or maybe not growing up in a church context at all, we have images of ways to get to God; praying through people or angels or through spirits, or through some type of channeling. This passage shows very clearly we don’t need any other mediator, only the work of Jesus Christ.

[Gauger:] Let’s pick up today’s message with this second, critical reality that will reshape our prayer lives.

[Easley:] Secondly, there is only one mediator. The mediator here is Jesus Christ. There is only one provision between sinful man and a holy God, and that is the mediator, Jesus Christ. He’s the only go-between. D. Edmond Hiebert says, “There is no mediation of saints or of angels in Scripture.” The mediation of saints or angels in unscriptural. You don’t need a saint, you don’t need an angel to run a message for you. You have Jesus Christ as the only mediator between God and man. That’s what Paul says; there is one God and one mediator also between God and man.

You may remember the craze just recently of all the angel programming and angel literature. There were many shows on television that had sort of this little angel motif for a while. Do you remember those? All those little Raphael angels appeared on every knick-knack they could print it on. And people had this great, keen interest in angels.

Whenever these things come, note; they always cycle. They will come and go in your lifetime and mine and things that were huge issues will fade and become big issues later on and things that are not issues now will cycle again. And a lot of this is just goofy, false teaching. And those shows had sort of a heart tug, there was a pull, there was a warm backlight and soft music that played and so “it had to be good.” And the attraction of even believers in Jesus Christ to misunderstanding about the roles of angels is really quite tragic.

If you want to do a fun study, just take you concordance and look at all the times angels appear in the Bible and look at man’s response. It’s a great study. Look at what the angels say, depending on man or woman’s response to the angels. It’s a fascinating study.

Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 9:15 underscore this same concept; there is one mediator between God and man, that is Jesus Christ. You need no other. You don’t need an amulet, you don’t need a talmud-type thing, you don’t need some widget, you don’t need a porcelain figure or a stone figure, and you don’t need to channel. Did you ever notice how when – I know you’ve never seen channeling but when you’ve heard about it – channeling is always this dark, sort of gravely voice. Where does that come from? It’s sort of weird the way we get pulled into these things and the whole New Age motif and all this type of stuff. There is one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ our Lord. He’s the only one you need.

Thirdly, the man Christ Jesus. And it is important that Paul, through the Holy Spirit’s pen, puts the word man in front of Jesus Christ. There is a connection between God and men, the man Jesus Christ. Because God cannot be connected to sinful man but God has to have man to have a connection, if you will. Or said another way, Jesus Christ becomes man so that He can connect to man. To redeem men, Christ had to become a man. To mediate between man and God, Christ has to be God. So you just need one mediator, the man Christ Jesus.

This is incarnation. This is the stuff of Christmas. This is the second Adam, born to die that we might live. In a perfect context, Adam was created, the image-bearer of God and he fell. And here is the second Adam, born without sin, who does not sin, who fulfills the Law, who is not just the image of God but He is God. And so we have the Trinitarian doctrine; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I heard Dr. J. I. Packer speak a few weeks ago and he said, “I like to think of the Trinity as the Divine Team.” That’s pretty good. The Divine Team; the three-in-one, the Godhead three, one God. Jesus Christ – fully God, fully man.

This mediator, fourth and last, gave Himself as a ransom. Please note the giving is a voluntary action on the part of Jesus Christ. He gave Himself, He submitted to the Father in every respect, to obey Him, to carry out His will.

The word ransom only occurs here in your whole Bible. It is a compound word and the idea is to free something by payment. It’s a ransom. And He is the ransom. We would see a theology, not unlike that, called substitution; that He has a voluntary, substitutionary, atoning work for you and for me and for anyone who trusts Christ.

One scholar put it this way: “His voluntary sacrifice reveals all the greatness of His love and settles once for all the charge of injustice on the part of God; that He unjustly punished the innocent instead of the guilty.” That’s a good statement.

Often we hear that’s it’s too narrow, it’s too restrictive, it’s bigoted to say that Jesus is the only way. And I often liken it to if there was one cure for cancer and it worked, would you continue to market all the other pharmacologies and chemotherapies that might work? How intolerant of that one pharmaceutical company to make one drug that worked. How bigoted for them to say that “You have to take our medication if you want to be cancer-free” and to say that all those other medications do not work. There’s one sin condition and there’s only one remedy – the man Christ Jesus. One God, one Mediator; the Man Christ Jesus, who voluntarily gave Himself as a ransom for all.

There are times that we have greater or lessor interest in our spiritual lives. Perhaps you at a younger age, perhaps me at a younger age, or as we get older sometimes these things roll around again and we have to embrace them. It’s a grand assumption to think that everyone that’s hearing this right now is a believer in Jesus Christ, even here. And there is but one God-man who paid the penalty for your sins and mine, willingly, voluntarily. He’s substituted Himself for you and for me. And by trusting in Christ and Christ alone you and I are given a free gift called eternal life. It’s a marvelous truth to remember, to learn and to go back to.

A number of years ago Green Peace was out trying to stop whaling. And this one particular article I read, they went and followed the Soviet whaling vessels out in the open ocean and they used these small inflatable rafts with very high-powered outboard motors on them so they could maneuver very quickly. And they would put themselves in line of the Soviet vessel and the whales with these little boats and on the bow of that boat is a grenade harpoon-head explosive device that kills whales. And they’d put themselves in front of the harpoon but they wouldn’t die for a whale. It’s a pretty wise decision in my opinion. They wouldn’t let themselves be exploded for the saving of a whale. They feigned it; they spun their boats around and tried to distract them until the Soviets finally said, “We’re firing on this count and if you’re there, too bad.” And they moved their little boats out of the way.

Jesus Christ did not. The innocent, born to die that we might live, voluntarily says, “I will take that on me. And I had to become the God-man in order to take that on me so that I could pay for their sins and at the same time make it possible for them to have a connection to You.” There is but one mediator between man and God. And that is the work of your Savior Jesus Christ who substituted His life for yours. He took all of your sins past, present, and future and He willingly, without sin, took them in your place – substitution. He’s a ransom for your life and for mine. And for any and all who have never trusted Christ, that is the issue.

You cannot be good enough to get to God. But God was good enough and kind enough to come to us. Fully God, yet fully man. Born to die that we might live.

We know a lot of our listeners and friends at Proclaim! have never come to that place to know with certainty where they’re going to spend eternity, Jon. And it’s our prayer here at the Moody Broadcasting Network and on the program we call Proclaim! that everyone who tunes in, that they would come to that knowledge, that relationship to know that Jesus Christ has been that mediator for them.

[Gauger:] The fact that you used the word certainty is a new reality for some.

[Easley:] Sure, well many of us have never settled it once for all. I often ask, “Do you know that you know that you know that you know when you die where you plan to spend eternity?” And based on the authority of the very words of Jesus Christ, by trusting in Christ and Christ alone for your salvation. Paul put it this way in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved, through faith, not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one can boast.” To embrace, to trust, to believe in Jesus Christ, that’s what God is asking you to do. If you’ve never come to that place in your own spiritual journey to know with certainty where you’re going to spend eternity, we can welcome you today into the family of God simply by praying a prayer like this: “Dear Father, I realize my sin separates me from You. And today for the first time I have understood that Jesus Christ was the mediator who died in my place instead of me. He took my sins upon Himself. And today I put my trust in Christ, in the work He accomplished and what He did for me on Calvary. And simply by faith, by believing in You, You give me a free gift called eternal life. Thank you for this incredible gift.”

And we would love to know our friends who have prayed that prayer along with us today. The prayer isn’t a magic formula, it’s putting your trust in Christ and Christ alone. Let us know if you put your trust in Christ today.

[Gauger:] And a great way to let us know is with an e-mail at proclaim@moody.edu. Maybe you have a few questions yet about this most important decision. Why don’t you give a call right now toll-free to 1-888-NEED-HIM. Someone is waiting to talk to you right now, answer your questions and give you the confidence that you can begin a relationship with Jesus. 1-888-NEED-HIM.

For Michael Easley and the team, I’m Jon Gauger inviting you back tomorrow for Proclaim!
_______________

[3] CHRIST ALONE

Do not work for false religion
Or stand up strong for supposition
When the Only Way to to paradise
Is by the BLOOD of God’s own sacrifice

Don’t count on beads or the virginmary
Or some silly tale of the woodland fairy
To help you get through your one-time life
All you need is FAITH in Christ

Do not stay trapped in dead traditions
In this world so full of worn-out idols
If you hope to somehow change your luck You should start right now to TRUST in Jesus

Don’t believe in the latest white-smoked pope
Or what man and priestly-prayers can do
When the truth is that your Only Hope
Is Jesus Christ ALONE will save you!

JEFFREE E POLLOCK
May 26 – June 5, 2006

#2657 – June 6, 2006 – “The Posture of Prayer” – 2

[Gauger:] Welcome to Proclaim!, the daily Bible teaching ministry of Dr. Michael Easley, President of the Moody Bible Institute. I’m Jon Gauger, so glad you’re here for our Tuesday edition of the broadcast. We’re working our way through the book of 1st Timothy. We’re in chapter 2 and yesterday Paul underscores the fact that there’s only one God. And today we come to the reality that we have no other mediator than Jesus Christ. Michael, that’s a different concept for some listeners.

[Easley:] It is and depending, again, on our church backgrounds or maybe not growing up in a church context at all, we have images of ways to get to God; praying through people or angels or through spirits, or through some type of channeling. This passage shows very clearly we don’t need any other mediator, only the work of Jesus Christ.

[Gauger:] Let’s pick up today’s message with this second, critical reality that will reshape our prayer lives.

[Easley:] Secondly, there is only one mediator. The mediator here is Jesus Christ. There is only one provision between sinful man and a holy God, and that is the mediator, Jesus Christ. He’s the only go-between. D. Edmond Hiebert says, “There is no mediation of saints or of angels in Scripture.” The mediation of saints or angels in unscriptural. You don’t need a saint, you don’t need an angel to run a message for you. You have Jesus Christ as the only mediator between God and man. That’s what Paul says; there is one God and one mediator also between God and man.

You may remember the craze just recently of all the angel programming and angel literature. There were many shows on television that had sort of this little angel motif for a while. Do you remember those? All those little Raphael angels appeared on every knick-knack they could print it on. And people had this great, keen interest in angels.

Whenever these things come, note; they always cycle. They will come and go in your lifetime and mine and things that were huge issues will fade and become big issues later on and things that are not issues now will cycle again. And a lot of this is just goofy, false teaching. And those shows had sort of a heart tug, there was a pull, there was a warm backlight and soft music that played and so “it had to be good.” And the attraction of even believers in Jesus Christ to misunderstanding about the roles of angels is really quite tragic.

If you want to do a fun study, just take you concordance and look at all the times angels appear in the Bible and look at man’s response. It’s a great study. Look at what the angels say, depending on man or woman’s response to the angels. It’s a fascinating study.

Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 9:15 underscore this same concept; there is one mediator between God and man, that is Jesus Christ. You need no other. You don’t need an amulet, you don’t need a talmud-type thing, you don’t need some widget, you don’t need a porcelain figure or a stone figure, and you don’t need to channel. Did you ever notice how when – I know you’ve never seen channeling but when you’ve heard about it – channeling is always this dark, sort of gravely voice. Where does that come from? It’s sort of weird the way we get pulled into these things and the whole New Age motif and all this type of stuff. There is one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ our Lord. He’s the only one you need.

Thirdly, the man Christ Jesus. And it is important that Paul, through the Holy Spirit’s pen, puts the word man in front of Jesus Christ. There is a connection between God and men, the man Jesus Christ. Because God cannot be connected to sinful man but God has to have man to have a connection, if you will. Or said another way, Jesus Christ becomes man so that He can connect to man. To redeem men, Christ had to become a man. To mediate between man and God, Christ has to be God. So you just need one mediator, the man Christ Jesus.

This is incarnation. This is the stuff of Christmas. This is the second Adam, born to die that we might live. In a perfect context, Adam was created, the image-bearer of God and he fell. And here is the second Adam, born without sin, who does not sin, who fulfills the Law, who is not just the image of God but He is God. And so we have the Trinitarian doctrine; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I heard Dr. J. I. Packer speak a few weeks ago and he said, “I like to think of the Trinity as the Divine Team.” That’s pretty good. The Divine Team; the three-in-one, the Godhead three, one God. Jesus Christ – fully God, fully man.

This mediator, fourth and last, gave Himself as a ransom. Please note the giving is a voluntary action on the part of Jesus Christ. He gave Himself, He submitted to the Father in every respect, to obey Him, to carry out His will.

The word ransom only occurs here in your whole Bible. It is a compound word and the idea is to free something by payment. It’s a ransom. And He is the ransom. We would see a theology, not unlike that, called substitution; that He has a voluntary, substitutionary, atoning work for you and for me and for anyone who trusts Christ.

One scholar put it this way: “His voluntary sacrifice reveals all the greatness of His love and settles once for all the charge of injustice on the part of God; that He unjustly punished the innocent instead of the guilty.” That’s a good statement.

Often we hear that’s it’s too narrow, it’s too restrictive, it’s bigoted to say that Jesus is the only way. And I often liken it to if there was one cure for cancer and it worked, would you continue to market all the other pharmacologies and chemotherapies that might work? How intolerant of that one pharmaceutical company to make one drug that worked. How bigoted for them to say that “You have to take our medication if you want to be cancer-free” and to say that all those other medications do not work. There’s one sin condition and there’s only one remedy – the man Christ Jesus. One God, one Mediator; the Man Christ Jesus, who voluntarily gave Himself as a ransom for all.

There are times that we have greater or lessor interest in our spiritual lives. Perhaps you at a younger age, perhaps me at a younger age, or as we get older sometimes these things roll around again and we have to embrace them. It’s a grand assumption to think that everyone that’s hearing this right now is a believer in Jesus Christ, even here. And there is but one God-man who paid the penalty for your sins and mine, willingly, voluntarily. He’s substituted Himself for you and for me. And by trusting in Christ and Christ alone you and I are given a free gift called eternal life. It’s a marvelous truth to remember, to learn and to go back to.

A number of years ago Green Peace was out trying to stop whaling. And this one particular article I read, they went and followed the Soviet whaling vessels out in the open ocean and they used these small inflatable rafts with very high-powered outboard motors on them so they could maneuver very quickly. And they would put themselves in line of the Soviet vessel and the whales with these little boats and on the bow of that boat is a grenade harpoon-head explosive device that kills whales. And they’d put themselves in front of the harpoon but they wouldn’t die for a whale. It’s a pretty wise decision in my opinion. They wouldn’t let themselves be exploded for the saving of a whale. They feigned it; they spun their boats around and tried to distract them until the Soviets finally said, “We’re firing on this count and if you’re there, too bad.” And they moved their little boats out of the way.

Jesus Christ did not. The innocent, born to die that we might live, voluntarily says, “I will take that on me. And I had to become the God-man in order to take that on me so that I could pay for their sins and at the same time make it possible for them to have a connection to You.” There is but one mediator between man and God. And that is the work of your Savior Jesus Christ who substituted His life for yours. He took all of your sins past, present, and future and He willingly, without sin, took them in your place – substitution. He’s a ransom for your life and for mine. And for any and all who have never trusted Christ, that is the issue.

You cannot be good enough to get to God. But God was good enough and kind enough to come to us. Fully God, yet fully man. Born to die that we might live.

We know a lot of our listeners and friends at Proclaim! have never come to that place to know with certainty where they’re going to spend eternity, Jon. And it’s our prayer here at the Moody Broadcasting Network and on the program we call Proclaim! that everyone who tunes in, that they would come to that knowledge, that relationship to know that Jesus Christ has been that mediator for them.

[Gauger:] The fact that you used the word certainty is a new reality for some.

[Easley:] Sure, well many of us have never settled it once for all. I often ask, “Do you know that you know that you know that you know when you die where you plan to spend eternity?” And based on the authority of the very words of Jesus Christ, by trusting in Christ and Christ alone for your salvation. Paul put it this way in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved, through faith, not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one can boast.” To embrace, to trust, to believe in Jesus Christ, that’s what God is asking you to do. If you’ve never come to that place in your own spiritual journey to know with certainty where you’re going to spend eternity, we can welcome you today into the family of God simply by praying a prayer like this: “Dear Father, I realize my sin separates me from You. And today for the first time I have understood that Jesus Christ was the mediator who died in my place instead of me. He took my sins upon Himself. And today I put my trust in Christ, in the work He accomplished and what He did for me on Calvary. And simply by faith, by believing in You, You give me a free gift called eternal life. Thank you for this incredible gift.”

And we would love to know our friends who have prayed that prayer along with us today. The prayer isn’t a magic formula, it’s putting your trust in Christ and Christ alone. Let us know if you put your trust in Christ today.

[Gauger:] And a great way to let us know is with an e-mail at proclaim@moody.edu. Maybe you have a few questions yet about this most important decision. Why don’t you give a call right now toll-free to 1-888-NEED-HIM. Someone is waiting to talk to you right now, answer your questions and give you the confidence that you can begin a relationship with Jesus. 1-888-NEED-HIM.

For Michael Easley and the team, I’m Jon Gauger inviting you back tomorrow for Proclaim!
_______________
 
[2] CHRIST ALONE

Do not work for false religion
Or stand up strong for supposition
When the Only Way to to paradise
Is by the BLOOD of God’s own sacrifice

Don’t count on beads or the virginmaries
Or some silly tale of a woodland fairies
To help you get through your one-time life
All you need is FAITH in Christ

Do not stay trapped in dead traditions
In this world so full of worn-out idols
And hope to somehow change your luck
When you should only TRUST in Jesus

Don’t believe in white-smoked popes
Or man and priestly-prayers can do
When the truth is that your Only Hope
Is Christ the Lord ALONE will save you!

JEFFREE E POLLOCK
May 26 – June 5, 2006

Subject : GDW 5-26-06 [John 5:7-10 - Lesson #50]
  
Date : Fri, May 26, 2006 02:32 AM
    
John 5:7-10 – Lesson #50

When Jesus went to the pool of Bethesda, He saw “a great multitude of
sick people” (John 5:3).  But Jesus passed through the multitude and
approached a man “who had an infirmity thirty-eight years” (John 5:5)

and asked him, “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:6).  Why did
Jesus single out this particular man?

John 5:7-9
“The sick man answered Him, ‘Sir, I have no
man to put me into the pool when the
water is stirred up; but while I am coming,
another steps down before me.’ Jesus said
to him, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk.’
And immediately the man was made well,
took up his bed, and walked. And that day
was the Sabbath.”

Everything Jesus did during His ministry
was for the purpose of presenting the glory
of God and His gospel plan of Salvation. 
His presentation was often in the form of
direct teaching, but He also taught truth
through confrontational exchanges and the
miracles He chose to perform.

Jesus passed through the multitude and
chose one.  The man chosen for healing did
not show ANY understanding of Jesus. 
Nicodemus, the woman at the well, and
the nobleman from Capernaum all showed
some level of understanding, but this man
knew nothing!  And yet, He was chosen;
“just as He chose us in Him before the
foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). 
Praise be to God!

This miracle was a physical healing and
says nothing about the Spiritual condition
of the man.  However, it certainly teaches
us many Spiritual truths.  The first truth is
simply that God does the choosing, not
because we deserve to be chosen; “not by
works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He saved us”
(Titus 3:5).  The second truth is seen in the
utter hopelessness of the man.  He knew he
was sick and knew he had no ability to heal
himself.  There is no room for the Savior of
true Salvation while we still believe there is
hope in our own ability.

Finally, Jesus healed the man and told him
to do what was impossible in his own strength,
“stand, pick up, and walk!”  The fact that Salvation
is a complete gift does not remove our responsibility. 
We are given the faith to believe and yet told,
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”

(Acts 16:31).  Those who are in Christ are
cleansed of all sin and yet exhorted to, “be holy
in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15).  Our gift
of forgiveness is always accompanied with a
call to holiness and to a life which would not
be possible without Christ.

Jesus continues to call those who have
reached the end of themselves – those who
recognize their need for a Savior and desire
to be saved.  He then performs a Spiritual
healing through the transformation of our
heart and the indwelling Holy Spirit.  And
with each new creation, He tells us to do
what would otherwise not be possible – to
stand and begin to walk as a new creation! 
Let’s stop placing our hope in the solutions
of man.  Let’s place our trust in Him alone
and begin to walk as one who has been
completely healed.

Have a Great Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

*****************************************************
Archive of previous devotions :  http://www.gdwm.org/archive06.htm

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Spanish Devotions:  http://www.gdwm.org/spanish

Scripture references: The Holy Bible: New International Version.
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

God’s Daily Word Ministries
P.O. Box 190
Lorena, TX  76655
*************************************************
_______________

[1] CHRIST ALONE

Don’t work for a false religion
Or stand up strong for supposition
When the Only Way to find paradise
Is by the blood of Christ’s sacrifice

Don’t count on beads or virginmaries
Or silly tales of a woodland fairies
To help you through your one-time life
When all you need is Faith in Christ

Don’t stay trapped in dead traditions
In your world full of worn-out idols
And hope to somehow change your luck
When you should put on Trust in Jesus

Don’t believe in white-smoked popes
Or what prideful men or priests can do
When the truth is that your Only Hope
Is for the Lord Jesus Christ to save you!

JEFFREE E POLLOCK
May Twenty-Six, 2006
February Seven, 2007

Subject : GDW 5-26-06 [John 5:7-10 - Lesson #50]
  
Date : Fri, May 26, 2006 02:32 AM
    
John 5:7-10 – Lesson #50

When Jesus went to the pool of Bethesda, He saw “a great multitude of sick people” (John 5:3).  But Jesus passed through the multitude and approached a man “who had an infirmity thirty-eight years” (John 5:5)

and asked him, “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:6).  Why did Jesus single out this particular man?

John 5:7-9
“The sick man answered Him, ‘Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk.’ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.”

Everything Jesus did during His ministry was for the purpose of presenting the glory of God and His gospel plan of Salvation.  His presentation was often in the form of direct teaching, but He also taught truth through confrontational exchanges and the miracles He chose to perform.

Jesus passed through the multitude and chose one.  The man chosen for healing did not show ANY understanding of Jesus. Nicodemus, the woman at the well, and the nobleman from Capernaum all showed some level of understanding, but this man knew nothing!  And yet, He was chosen; “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). 
Praise be to God!

This miracle was a physical healing and says nothing about the Spiritual condition of the man.  However, it certainly teaches us many Spiritual truths.  The first truth is simply that God does the choosing, not because we deserve to be chosen; “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5).  The second truth is seen in the utter hopelessness of the man.  He knew he was sick and knew he had no ability to heal himself.  There is no room for the Savior of true Salvation while we still believe there is hope in our own ability.

Finally, Jesus healed the man and told him to do what was impossible in his own strength, “stand, pick up, and walk!”  The fact that Salvation is a complete gift does not remove our responsibility.  We are given the faith to believe and yet told, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”

(Acts 16:31).  Those who are in Christ are cleansed of all sin and yet exhorted to, “be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15).  Our gift of forgiveness is always accompanied with a call to holiness and to a life which would not be possible without Christ.

Jesus continues to call those who have reached the end of themselves – those who recognize their need for a Savior and desire to be saved.  He then performs a Spiritual healing through the transformation of our heart and the indwelling Holy Spirit.  And with each new creation, He tells us to do what would otherwise not be possible – to stand and begin to walk as a new creation!  Let’s stop placing our hope in the solutions of man.  Let’s place our trust in Him alone and begin to walk as one who has been completely healed.

Have a Great Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

*****************************************************
Archive of previous devotions :  http://www.gdwm.org/archive06.htm

Subscribe/Unsubscribe by email to devotions@gdwm.org
Subscribe via web:    http://www.gdwm.org/subscribe.htm

Feedback and Prayer: http://gdwmboard.org/6/ubb.x
Send Invitation:        http://www.gdwm.org/invite.htm
NEW Audio/Podcasting: http://www.gdwm.org/audio.htm
Spanish Devotions:  http://www.gdwm.org/spanish

Scripture references: The Holy Bible: New International Version.
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

God’s Daily Word Ministries
P.O. Box 190
Lorena, TX  76655
*************************************************
______________________________

Romans 8: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us,
who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely
give us all things? . . . Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

BEYOND THE GRAVE

There’s joy beyond the pain we curse
There’s hope beyond the grief we suffer
There is peace beyond our selfishness
There is life beyond the fear of death

There’s love beyond the hates we harbor
There’s eternity beyond the small lives we live
There is happiness beyond our tears of remorse
There’s forgiveness beyond the consequences of sin

There’s faith beyond our acts of rebellion
There’s freedom beyond the law of religion
There’s riches beyond our unforeseen poverty
There’s encouragement beyond our broken dreams

Beyond the grave there is redemption in Jesus
There is eternal rest beyond our sleepless nights
There is strength beyond the body’s weakness
There is sanctification in the Lord Jesus Christ

JEFFreee! POLLOCK
OCTOBER 20, 2OO6
________________________________________________________

IS GOD’S WILL MY WILL?

This is the will of God, even your sanctification.
 1 Thessalonians 4:3
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=1th+4:3&sr=1

It is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me; is it
my will? Am I willing to let God do in me all that has been made
possible by the Atonement? Am I willing to let Jesus be made
sanctification to me, and to let the life of Jesus be manifested in
my mortal flesh? Beware of saying – Oh, I am longing to be
sanctified. You are not, stop longing and make it a matter of
transaction – “Nothing in my hands I bring.” Receive Jesus Christ to
be made sanctification to you in implicit faith, and the great marvel
of the Atonement of Jesus will be made real in you. All that Jesus
made possible is made mine by the free loving gift of God on the
ground of what He performed, my attitude as a saved and sanctified
soul is that of profound humble holiness (there is no such thing as
proud holiness), a holiness based on agonizing repentance and a sense
of unspeakable shame and degradation; and also on the amazing
realization that the love of God commended itself to me in that while
I cared nothing about Him, He completed everything for my salvation
and sanctification (see Rom. 5:8. R.V.). No wonder Paul says nothing
is “able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”

Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with
God, and it is done only through the superb Atonement of Christ.
Never put the effect as the cause. The effect in me is obedience and
service and prayer, and is the out come of speechless thanks and
adoration for the marvellous sanctification wrought out in me because
of the Atonement.

   MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST
   October 20
_______________

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

AS I SURRENDER

Whether I write a song today,
Or sing a hymn of joy and praise;
I do all things through Christ my strength,
As I seek His will and pray.

No matter what I choose to do today,
I will succeed with Jesus on my side;
I do all things by faith through grace,
When I surrender my plans to Christ.

Whether I give away something I have made,
Or share the gift of encouragement with love;
I look up to receive all things in Christ today,
Because every good gift comes from above.

No matter how I choose to share my heart,
By faith I know I will please my God and Father;
Everything I do for Jesus Christ is holy-set apart,
As I surrender all I am to my Lord and my Redeemer.

Whether I write a song today,
Or sing a hymn of joyful praise;
I will do all things through Christ my strength,
As I seek His Will in His Word and follow in His Way.

Jeffree E Pollock
March 21, 2006
_______________

All we like sheep have gone astray; we
have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity
of us all (Isaiah 53:4-6).

MERCY AND GRACE

Like a ship
On vast and stormy seas
Broken by winds and waves
We sink

Like a sheep
That wanders in the valley
Broken by fears and age
We stink

Like slaves
Who work when they’re beat
Broken by whips and chains
We fall

Like servants
Who stay at Jesus’ feet
We’re made whole again
By God’s mercy and grace

Jeffree!
Apr. 06

Christ loved us and gave himself
up for us, a fragrant offering and
sacrifice to God. – Ephesians 5:2
_______________

A Place Just for You
by: Chuck Swindoll

Of all the places in the world, where do you think would be easiest to grow closer to God? “At church,” would seem like a logical answer. After all, you talk and learn about God at church, and you’re with people who feel similarly about God. But if you’d like to grow spiritually, perhaps the best way to see God’s hand in your life is to serve the body of Christ in the place God has prepared especially for you.

Find Your Fit
Do you know how to find the perfect ministry fit for you? Ponder the following statements. Which one sounds like you?

I have an unusually strong desire to study God’s Word.
I spend a great amount of time praying for other people.
I would rather share the gospel or give my testimony than do anything else.
I seem to be very perceptive and discerning of other people’s motives and purposes.
When there is no leadership in a group, I will assume it.
I have a compelling desire to see others learn and grow.
I have a clear understanding of the gospel and can easily relate it to others.
I am already helping people when others are still talking about what to do.

Make Ministry Your Own
Did you find a few statements that say, “That’s me”? You may sense already where God has gifted you. Your spiritual gift will be one that naturally fits your skills and abilities. Study the verses such as Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:7-16, and 1 Peter 4:10-11 and ask yourself and others which ones may apply to you. You may find your place in the gifts category commonly called “service gifts,” which include skills like administration, faith, and helping. Perhaps you’re more comfortable in “support gifts” like teaching or evangelism. Be open to discovering something new about yourself — you just may be surprised! If you think you’re only the behind-the-scenes type, try teaching a children’s Sunday school class — you may find the perfect fit in ministry! Just as it’s easier to steer a moving car, it’ll be easier for you to find your perfect fit if you first try out a variety of ministries. As you develop and mature in your area of giftedness, you’ll realize how naturally your spiritual gift can be used to build up the body of Christ.

Once you discover your areas of strength, the adventure has only begun. Now that you know the tool you possess, don’t just store it in your garage. Get out and use it! Make it a lifetime goal to practice your gift, learn about it, and talk with others about how to apply your gift to your maximum potential. Here also is the perfect place to affirm others who possess strength in areas different than yours.

So, go ahead! Step out in faith, expecting God to direct you to the place of ministry prepared by God especially for you. Remember, “The body is not one member, but many . . . God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as he desired” (1 Corinthians 12:14, 18). Isn’t it time you discovered where God desires to use you?

When Christians serve in their areas of giftedness, they generally function less in their own strength and more in the power of the Holy Spirit. As they rely on God, ordinary people can accomplish the extraordinary!

For a more in-depth study of how to discover your spiritual gift, IFL recommends Unwrap Your Spiritual Gifts by Kenneth O. Gangel (Wheaton, Ill.: Scripture Press Publications, Victor Books, 1983).

This article has been adapted from Insights Newsletter, from the Bible-teaching ministry of Charles R. Swindoll (Plano, Texas: Insight for Living, July, 2000).

_______________

PS 46:1
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

PRESENT HELP

Help me, Father, I’m letting go,
Hold me, Father, when I’ve lost hold;
Help me, Father, when I hit bottom,
Hold me through my days of Autumn.

Help me, Jesus, I can no longer stand,
Hold me, Jesus, when I’m building on sand;
Help me, Jesus, when I’m tumbling down,
Catch me before I hit the hard ground.

Help me, Spirit, when I’ve lost my way,
Hold me, Spirit, when I choose to stray;
Help me, Spirit, when I’ve run my farthest,
Help me rise up when I’m lying in darkness.

God, help me fear losing your holy presence,
God, help me hear the prayer-needs of friends,
God, help me walk in the brilliance of Jesus,
God, help me talk of You more and me less.

Jeffree Pollock
MAY 05, 2003

“The helper whom I will send to you from
the Father will come. This helper, the Spirit
of Truth who comes from the Father, will
declare the truth about me. You will declare
the truth, too, because you have been with
me from the beginning.” —John 15:26-27

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth
give way and the mountains fall into the heart
of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and
the mountains quake with their surging.  Selah

  PSALM 46:2, 3
_______________________________________
 
Evening Verse
“A very present help.” Psalm 46:1
 
Covenant blessings are not meant to be looked at only,
but to be appropriated. Even our Lord Jesus is given to
us for our present use. Believer, thou dost not make use
of Christ as thou oughtest to do. When thou art in trouble,
why dost thou not tell Him all thy grief? Has He not a
sympathizing heart, and can He not comfort and relieve
thee? No, thou art going about to all thy friends, save thy
best Friend, and telling thy tale everywhere except into
the bosom of thy Lord. Art thou burdened with this day’s
sins? Here is a fountain filled with blood: use it, saint, use it.
Has a sense of guilt returned upon thee? The pardoning
grace of Jesus may be proved again and again. Come to
Him at once for cleansing. Dost thou deplore thy weakness?
He is thy strength: why not lean upon Him? Dost thou feel
naked? Come hither, soul; put on the robe of Jesus’
righteousness. Stand not looking at it, but wear it. Strip off
thine own righteousness, and thine own fears too: put on
the fair white linen, for it was meant to wear. Dost thou
feel thyself sick? Pull the night-bell of prayer, and call up
the Beloved Physician! He will give the cordial that will
revive thee. Thou art poor, but then thou hast “a kinsman,
a mighty man of wealth.” What! wilt thou not go to Him,
and ask Him to give thee of His abundance, when He has
given thee this promise, that thou shalt be joint heir with
Him, and has made over all that He is and all that He has
to be thine? There is nothing Christ dislikes more than for
His people to make a show-thing of Him, and not to use
Him. He loves to be employed by us. The more burdens we
put on His shoulders, the more precious will He be to us.
    —Morning and Evening by C. H. Spurgeon