dW 06.01.07

Yesterday I listened to three sermons by Leonard Ravenhill. If this man's preaching doesn't light a fire inside of you then your wood must be wet! I am going to be using quotes by him for awhile so ya'll better brace yourselves.

Visit http://www.sermonindex.net/.

Scripture
Mark 8:38
Jesus said, "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels"

Quote
The greatest miracle that Deity can do is to take an unholy man out of an unholy world, to make that unholy man holy, and then put him back in an unholy world and keep him holy. Amen! That is the redemptive work of God in Christ. - Leonard Ravenhill

dW 05.31.07

scripture

Psalm 118:7

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

quote

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
T S Eliot

overseas experience

In the Middle East there are great distances between cities, towns, and villages on long, windy dirt roads. If you remember the story about the Samaritan, you’ll remember that these roads are not safe due to thieves that would hide in the clefts of the rock. The same is true to this day. For safety the military has set up check points where you check in and they telephone ahead so that if you don’t make it within a certain amount of time then they’ll come looking for you. Being that we were Americans they decided that we needed “extra protection”. In our case, their presence was as much about safety as it was spying on our doings. The truck that followed us between check points had two officers in the cab, one solder standing in the bed manning a .50 caliber, and then three men on each side of the bed were sitting on wooden benches. Each of these nine men carried their knives and machine guns while chewing their drugs and watching out for our well-being.

You are not supposed to take pictures of their military. I did anyway. We were driving between check points on a narrow, badly paved mountain road. I got my camera out and slide it up against the dashboard just above the glove box pointing out the windshield to get my pictures of our camo clad friends. I turned the flash option off and got ready. Just before I snapped the picture I realize what was going on. 1) there were three or four vehicles traveling together 2) we are all coming up on a blind turn that is bending to the left 3) the head vehicle is a leaking oil tanker and 4) the military truck has moved to the left in order to pass them. It is a great picture! There’s never a dull, calm moment in overseas mission work. J

dW 05.30.07

scripture

1 Samuel 24:12
May the Lord judge between me and you, and may the Lord avenge me upon you, but my hand shall not be upon you.

Luke 6:36-37, 41-42

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven… Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

story

I was driving to work this morning listening to a radio show and the topic was that of Vincent Brothers. This has been a huge case in Kern County. July 6, 2003 was when the murders took place, he wasn’t arrested until April 2004, and he was just convicted of the murders of May 15, 2007. Now this week the sentencing is taking place and it looks like he is eligible for the death penalty. Anyway, back to the radio show. The topic was “If you were left alone with Vincent Brothers in a locked room, what would you do to damage him emotionally and physically to the point that he suffers sufficiently for his crimes?”

thought

Revenge is thought to be sweet waters necessary to recover from wounds inflicted. However, once it is drunk one realizes that it was more like vinegar which parches the throat and does not satisfy.

quote

An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

dW 05.29.07

scripture 

Romans 12:12

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

quote

Sin: Bait has a lot less appeal when you know there’s a big, nasty hook inside of it. – K. Baher

dW 05.25.07

scripture

Matthew 5:27-30

"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

quote

Greg Gordon writes in his article, The Sinfulness of Sin, ‘C.H. Spurgeon the ‘prince of preachers’ over 100 years ago defined sin in one of his sermons: “Sin is a defiance of God to his face, a stabbing of God, so far as man can do it, to the very heart! Sin is a monster, a hideous thing, a thing which God will not look upon, and which pure eyes cannot behold but with the uttermost detestation. A flood of tears is the proper medium through which a Christian should look at sin.” Sin is surely a monster, an unnatural wickedness appearing so horrible to the mind of man. May we loath and hate sin.’

story

A few weeks ago I went to pick up a pizza at Rusty’s. As I approached the door I saw a couple walking up with two very adorable, small girls that were skipping. As I followed them inside I looked at the father’s shirt and became very angry. His shirt back had a black and white 4-5” image of a totally nude girl on the back. His girls ran up to him and asked if they could go see the arcade and my heart was crushed for these girls because of what their father was wearing.

Beginning some months ago I started to see vinyl stickers on cars of nude female silhouettes, one with a devil tail and the other with wings. I think that the same week that I saw those start becoming more popular I also saw full color nude magnets on a truck. Oh the ungodly madness this world craves.

thought

Do we hate sin or do we tolerate it? Do we tolerate it or do we even accept it? We as Christians should do neither! If we love God then we must hate sin. We must see sin for what it is. Let us stop looking at sin as just some trifle thing. Let us start calling a spade a “spade” and sin “sin”. It should not surprise us that the world acts like the world. However, it should upset us. It should bring us to a deep hatred for darkness and an even deeper love for the light. It should motivate us to evangelism with an urgency that souls are perishing while we often times stand idly by.

dW 05.22.07

scripture

Romans 11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

thought

A new born baby can only see about 8 to 12 inches in front of their face. Imagine a new born baby telling their mom and dad that they didn’t need their help or their advice. “Hey, we need to talk. I can see everything around me so I can handle this on my own.” Isn’t that how we treat God some times? Look again at the verses above. Think, “Have I ever finished God’s sentence? Have I ever given God advice? Have I ever done God a favor?” The answer is a resounding NO. Then Paul puts it all into perspective – “For FROM God and THROUGH God and TO God are all things. FOR God’s own glory.” Amen!

 

dW 05.21.07

scripture

Hebrews 10:23-24

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

quote

It's only forgetting yourself that you draw near to God.

Henry David Thoreau

dW 05.18.07

scripture 

Phillipians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice!

thought

Did you know that it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile? Maybe that’s why we are always so tired.

quote 

A Christian is just one beggar telling other beggars where to find bread.

Unknown

Twenty Dollars

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first let me do this." He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.
"My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE. You are special- Don't EVER forget it."

 

I don’t know if this man that spoke was a Christian or not, speaking to a church or not but look at the spiritual overtone here. “The worth of our lives comes by who we are and whose we are.” We belong to God. He gave us to His Son who redeemed us through His blood, and if God gave us to Jesus then nothing can take us away from Him. AMEN!

dW 05.17.07

scripture
Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

thought
I always thought that this verse meant brothers were born to make you tough. My pastor used this verse and commented that a friend is there only when things are good. But a brother will be there when things are bad.

application
Ask yourself, am I a friend or a brother to those around me? Will I offer help when it is within my power but not really convenient? Do I stop and talk to someone that’s hurting to offer encouragement even if it means that I am five minutes late to where I am headed? Or am I the friend that is there only when it is suits me?