Worthy is the Lamb: 05/23/17

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

I WONDER...IS THIS TODAY'S CHURCHES "SPEAKING IN TONGUES?" NOT SURE BUT IT IS BIBLICAL!

THIS IS NOT DOCTRINE, IT'S A THOUGHT AND THE FIRST THING THAT CAME TO MIND WHEN I HEARD THIS. BE YE NOT DECEIVED. WE HAVE A YOUNG MAN OF GOD THAT CANNOT SPEAK THE LANGUAGE SO WHAT DOES HE HAVE ON HAND? AN INTERPRETER. JUST WONDERING AND THINKING ABOUT IT. HE PREACHES THE RIGHT JESUS CHRIST AND RIGHT GOSPEL OF SALVATION. GOD BLESS HIM.

God Bless Us All in the World and Spread the TRUE Gospel of Salvation and the TRUE JESUS CHRIST IN FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:1-11

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Death +Burial + Resurrection - Trust and Believe and be SAVED!

DEFENDING GOD!

Read: Luke 9:51–56
Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 19–21; John 8:1–27

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.—Proverbs 15:1

The anti-God bumper stickers covering the car seized the attention of a university professor. As a former atheist himself, the professor thought perhaps the owner wanted to make believers angry. “The anger helps the atheist to justify his atheism,” he explained. Then he warned, “All too often, the atheist gets exactly what he is looking for.”

In recalling his own journey to faith, this professor noted the concern of a Christian friend who invited him to consider the truth of Christ. His friend’s “sense of urgency was conveyed without a trace of anger.” He never forgot the genuine respect and grace he received that day.

Believers in Jesus often take offense when others reject Him. But how does He feel about that rejection? Jesus constantly faced threats and hatred, yet He never took doubt about His deity personally. Once, when a village refused Him hospitality, James and John wanted instant retaliation. “Lord,” they asked, “do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” (Luke 9:54). Jesus didn’t want that, and He “turned and rebuked them” (v. 55). After all, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17).

It may surprise us to consider that God doesn’t need us to defend Him. He wants us to represent Him! That takes time, work, restraint, and love. —Tim Gustafson

Lord, when we are confronted with hate, help us not to be haters but to respond as Your Son did: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

The best way to defend Jesus is to live like Him.

INSIGHT: Luke 9:51 says, “Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” Christ was deliberately going to Jerusalem to face even more opposition because of His commitment to die on the cross for our redemption. When James and John rightly perceived opposition to their Master, they wrongly responded with an attitude of vindictive punishment. Most likely they were thinking of Elijah calling down fire from heaven (2 Kings 1:10-12) and the fire that fell in judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19). Yet they missed the point that Jesus’s truth claims are submitted for human consideration without coercion or duress.As one theologian wisely said: “God is a Gentleman and will not violate our own free will.” The time of judgment that is most certainly coming has its own set time in God’s calendar. Before it arrives, each human being who hears the gospel has the freedom to believe it or reject it. God is “patient with [us],” the apostle Peter wrote, “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

How might you show grace and faithfulness in letting your gospel light shine today regardless of the response? Dennis Fisher

Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

3436 BY UNASHAMED OF JESUS CHRIST

3436

by @unashamedojesus

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20

We live in a world today, that instead of dealing with our sins we justify them. This is obviously a big problem for your salvation. You can’t be forgiven for your sins if you don’t repent or confess them. However, if you don’t recognize what sin is, you will never repent of them. Therefore, God becomes angry with people who justify sin. This is also why you should study The Bible for yourself, to understand what sin is and why it destroys the foundation of humanity

Sin is lawlessness, (1 John 3:4) meaning anyone who continues to sin is following Satan and waging war against God. Sin didn’t come from God (James 1:7) Sin originated from Satan who wants to be God and destroy his kingdom.

The word “Woe” in the Bible means “Great sorrow” “misery” “a curse” “denunciation” When you continue to live in Sin, which is rebel against God, your living under a curse. Great sorrow and misery will follow your life. This is not a scare tactic, this is straight from the Word of God. If you want to know why your life seems so hopeless and miserable, its probably because you have a sin problem.

The Good News is God so love you that he sent his only begotten Son to free you from the curse and bondages of sin. Jesus is the only way to become set free, call upon him today and become reborn Amen!

CHRISTIAN SCHOOL PUNISHES STUDENT WHO GOT PREGNANT AND REJECTED ABORTION

Editor's Note: And people wonder why I've abandoned going to church and instead control who and what I hear through the internet and fellowship with TRUE Christians who just want to give God the glory and support those who are struggling. What is WRONG with the "Christian" churches and schools? Be ye not comformed to this world.

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High school senior Maddi Runkles has attended Christian school for her whole life.

But when she became pregnant in January, the Christian school that she once was very much a part of left her feeling alone and unsupported.

Students for Life of America, which is supporting Runkles and her baby, said Heritage Academy in Hagerstown, Maryland will not allow the young woman to participate in her graduation ceremony even though she publicly apologized for her actions.

The student pro-life organization, along with many other pro-lifers, are urging the school to support Runkles and her unborn child.

“When we heard about Maddi’s situation, we wanted to not only help her, but also show all of her peers at the school, and in schools across the nation, that choosing not to have an abortion is a good thing and should be supported as such, not made into a cruel embarrassment,” said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life.

Breitbart reports Runkles maintained a 4.0 grade point average and served as president of the student council at Heritage Academy. And like most Christian school students, she signed a pledge to avoid premarital sex, drugs and alcohol.

Then January came, and she discovered she was pregnant out of wedlock.

Keep up with the latest pro-life news and information on Twitter.

The young woman said she did consider abortion, but the support she received from her parents and church made all the difference.

“… I was so afraid of what I was going to face, because I was just afraid of what everyone was going to think of me and the family that I come from,” Runkles said. “It was just going to hurt my reputation and everything. It was hard to choose life, it wasn’t an easy decision, but I know it was the right decision.”

Many of the leaders at Heritage Academy were not supportive. According to the report, when the school discovered Runkles was pregnant, they stripped her of her role as student council president and insisted that she finish the rest of her classes at home.

In addition, she said her principal, David Hobbs, planned to tell the school that she had broken her pledge and was pregnant. Instead, Hobbs agreed to allow her to publicly confess to the student body instead, according to the report.

“I decided I wanted to confess what I did and ask for forgiveness from my school, but the other kids who had broken other rules – even when they were caught – they still lied about what they had done,” Runkles said. “It just seems unfair. I tried to make it right, but was still shot down.

“I stood there in tears while my dad read half of my prepared statement until I could compose myself and read the rest on my own, admitting my mistake but also saying that I chose life for my child. It was embarrassing but I wanted my peers and my friends to hear it from me,” she continued.

School officials are allowing her to finish her classes at school, but Students for Life leaders said the principal still will not let her participate in graduation.

Runkles’ father, Scott, resigned his position as school board president because of the way the school treated his daughter, according to Students for Life.

Runkles’ story gained national attention over the weekend when the New York Times profiled her. She said she hopes her story will challenge Christians to be more supportive of girls like her.

The young woman told Breitbart: “My main mission through all this is that Christians claim to be pro-life, but when a girl chooses to keep her baby they still don’t want anything to do with it. It kind of defeats the whole purpose of being pro-life, and says to girls, ‘Maybe you should have gotten the abortion because we could forgive you for that.’”

Students for Life said Christians need to re-evaluate the messages they send when they punish and shame young women like Maddi.

The pro-life group wrote on its blog:

What did Maddi’s peers think when she got up there in front of them to confess her sin? What if a pregnant, scared girl was sitting in that audience and saw the embarrassment that she had to endure along with the punishment she is receiving – would that girl make an appointment with the nearest Planned Parenthood to have an abortion? More than likely.

When these teens graduate and are confronted with situations that test their faith in college, they will remember what happened at Heritage Academy and how their Christian school treated Maddi. They will remember that it wasn’t with grace and compassion, that it wasn’t with love. That’s not a great legacy to leave with graduating students.

The school could have used Maddi’s story as an example of how to do the right thing and support a pregnant student. But they didn’t. The proper legacy to leave is a picture of a Christian school that chose to do the right thing by supporting a young girl who acknowledged her mistake but also chose to do the right thing in the end.

The young woman said she plans to attend community college in the fall and study business. She is having a boy.

Students for Life is collecting donations for a scholarship for Runkles and baby gifts for her unborn child. Donate here. People also can send Runkles messages of support here.

ACTION: Email Principal David Hobbs (dhobbs@heritage-academy.net) at Heritage Academy, and ask him to please reconsider the school’s decision not to allow Maddi to walk with her peers at graduation.

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WHO ARE YOU ENTERTAINING?

“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

My wife and I had stopped for a quick breakfast as we were returning home and did not know this decision would lead to a chance to bless and be blessed.

Birthday Girl

"It’s my birthday!" I heard the proclamation before I saw the face of the one uttering the statement. As I shifted my attention to the source of the words I saw a feisty and overly friendly employee of the small town fast food restaurant. The words were directed to her manager who was across the dining room but was heard by all.

My wife suggested we acknowledge her birthday with a blessing. I followed the birthday lady outside where she was picking up trash and said, “I heard a rumor about you.” A little concern flashed on her face as she asked what had I heard about her. I smiled at her and said, "I heard it’s your birthday." As a grin broke out on her face, she loudly proclaimed, "I’ll be 60 tomorrow!" I handed her three 20 dollar bills and said "here is a dollar for each year." After telling her that Jesus loves her and this was a gift in His name I returned to my wife who was waiting at the table for me.

The Reaction

As we prepared to resume our journey home the birthday girl ran to the table and with hugs and kisses and pushed us back into our seats. She was overcome by this stranger’s act of generosity, and with tears said, “I have heard of things like this happing but it has never happened to me before now."

Reminding her that the source of the blessing was from God, she begins to talk and in less than five minutes she told us her life story…

As a young woman diagnosed with breast cancer, she had a double mastectomy and discovered, when she was released from the hospital, that she had been abandoned by her boyfriend because of her disfigurement.

As she was attempting to take her life, she was rescued by the local police, and in her words, “They helped me get better.” Now the wife of a disabled veteran, she was recently widowed and struggling to make ends meet as she waits for survivor benefits from her husband’s disability.

Alone and struggling–not just emotionally but financial as well–she had to choose between paying her rent and paying for medical treatment and was facing eviction from her apartment. She, along with her employer, had worked out a payment plan with her landlord allowing her to remain in her home.

When I asked how much she was behind on her rent she gave me the amount and it was the exact amount of money I had in my wallet. A quick prayer for discernment was offered up to God and the money in my wallet was now in her hands. She was blessed by a stranger and the stranger was blessed by her.

What will your response be?

I recount the event to you, not to lift up myself as some great person, but to help you understand three things:

If we are going to be a part of God’s plan in people’s lives, we must be prepared.
If we are going to be blessed by God, we must be willing to bless others.
If we are to know and understand life situations others are facing, we must be willing to engage the people that God places in front of us.

Seek to serve others and Jesus as you live your life and God will put the right people at the right time for you to be a blessing and blessed as you serve the Saviour.

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HEBREW WORD OF THE DAY

I'm gonna be nice here but...I wanna be bad, lol. Today's word is....

FINGER....

I thought these were so cute

God Bless Us All and Share the Gospel of Salvation

First Corinthians 15:1-11

Ephesians 2:8-9

John 3:16-17

Acts 8:37

THROUGH THE BIBLE BY J. VERNON McGEE (GENESIS, LUKE AND REVELATION)

Part Seventy-Three of the book of Genesis...

The Next on the Series of the Gospel of Luke Chapters 2-4

The Next in the Series on Revelation

God Bless Us All and Share the Gospel of Salvation!

First Corinthians 15:1-11

Also, links to all his sermons and series are on the right hand side of my blog. It only changes as I add links. You can catch up or skip to whatever book you want on YouTube!