Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.

2 Samuel 1:23-25

On September 11, 2001 we received a reminder of the brevity of life and the presence of sin and evil in our world. For a brief period after this tragedy many people showed a renewed interest in spiritual things. That did not last long, however. Soon, most returned to the same careless approach to life despite the reminder that should have focused their attention. That does not have to be true of us.

It is proper that we pause today to remember those who were killed on that day, and the thousands who have died during other wars. While we grieve for those who perished, this reminder of the brevity of life and the certainty of death should also cause us to examine our hearts. Are we living in such a way that we are prepared to meet God? Are we living in such a way that our death would be a cause for genuine sadness rather than fleeting regret? Are we living in such a way that we are honoring and glorifying God?

None of the people who were killed in that terrorist attack were planning on their lives ending that day. They had plans for the future and hopes not yet fulfilled. Today we should commit ourselves again to living each day with the realization that it could be our last—and so that if it is, we will not be filled with regret.

We must never forget the sacrifices that have been made for our freedom, and we must never forget that God is our only sure defense.

The Biggest Room I Ever Seen

“ I press toward the mark for the prize the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”- Philippians 3:14

“ The status quo,  “ the norm” , “the way we are” - these phrases are replete with the spirit of defeatism. The Student must understand that there is always room for growth and improvement .

            God’s Word commands us to grow “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord “ (Ephesians 6:4) . In I Peter the Bible says that we are to grow from spiritual babes on a diet of mild, to spiritual adult son a diet of meat. The Apostle Paul , at the end of his ministry ,was not content to rest and reflect while sitting in a prison cell. He asked his faithful follower Timothy to bring him the books and especially the parchments.

Even while his earthly ministry was dwindled to its few final days , this giant of the New Testament wanted to continue to grow, to learn and to sharpen himself.

Those who truly understand the heart of the Lord and the mind of Christ realize the necessity for contend growth and learning . This growth goes beyond the boundaries of academia into skills and character qualities as well.

My dear pastor friend of mine  Troy Kelley while in his eighties was often still studding his Greek on a daily basis, memorizing verses and reviewing the thousands of verses he had previously committed to memory challenged me. I ask him why he continued to study Greek at such an advanced age. He said , “God tells us to occupy until He Comes”

Every instructor, whether parent or teacher must realize that potential is a word that , while sometimes overused ,is also frequently never realized…

Doctrine: God Part I

The Bible does present any argument for the existence of God; it takes the FACT of God for granted. God is the infinite and perfect Spirit in whom all things have their source, support and end.
The Word of God reveals God to us. Because God is infinitely beyond our human comprehension, the Bible often "couches' God in Human langue to help us understand the edges of who God is..

WHO MADE GOD?

Answer: No one! God is eternal. The fact that we cannot grasp this does not make it not so. (We many not understand how electricity works completely - but we do not sit in the dark until we figure it all out..)

Hebrews 11:6 .."Those that come to God must believe that he......IS..."

To first start to understand God you must believe that he IS GOD..

WHO IS ON THE LORDS SIDE?

Exodus 32:25-27

A. There are only two sides ..

            1. The Lord’s Side

            2. The Enemies’ Side

B. These two sides may be indiscriminately mixed up ..

            1. Jehovah’s worshipers in Israel’s camp

            2. The Idolaters worshipers in Israel’s camp

C. The need of Separation

            1. It was called for -II Cor 6:17

            2. Reason for it ..V27..Judgment

            3. Response to it ..Faithful took a stand

D. The Blessing of it

            1. Public knew where they stood for the Lord

            2. They knew where they stood with the Lord 

Wisdom from the Word

"The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?"

Proverbs 18:14

Viktor Frankl was a prominent Jewish psychologist in Vienna during the 1930s. During the Holocaust, he and virtually all of his family members were rounded up and placed in concentration camps. One by one they perished at the hands of the Nazis. By the time the American army liberated the camp Frankl was in, the only surviving member of his family was a sister who had fled to Australia before the war started.

After the war, Frankl wrote a book about his experiences called Man’s Search for Meaning. He detailed the suffering he endured, but he also noted the vital importance of attitude and outlook to whether a person survived that awful experience. Though Frankl was not a believer, he had hit upon an important truth found in Scripture. The spirit of man—our inward thoughts and emotions—plays a vital role in our success or failure in life.

Certainly Daniel had a great deal about which he could have complained. His nation had been conquered, and he had been carried far from home and placed in a training program designed to destroy his allegiance to God. Rather than allow his circumstances to dictate his outlook, he kept his spirit right. On the night the handwriting appeared on the wall in Belshazzar’s palace, the queen described Daniel this way: “an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding… were found in the same Daniel” (Daniel 5:12).

We do not have to let what is going on around us dictate our inward thoughts and attitude. Paul wrote, “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). As believers we have access to a source of strength and power that will allow our spirit to overcome injury and trouble.

Principle: 

Guard your spirit well—keep it in submission to the Holy Spirit, and life will not overcome you.

JOSHUA: Training for Leadership

Joshua 1:1-8

Much of our learning comes through the power of examples. Therefore, the wise Christian will deliberately find godly examples and follow them. In  Joshua we see a man who spent years in preparation under a great leader, and so became fit to become the leader himself in God's own time..

We think of Joshua as a great warrior, whose power and success were due to the blessing of God on his life. At the same time , it is important four us to see that Joshua was a trained and prepared man as well. God used Joshua's time of training under Moses to prepare him for the leadership of the nation . If we will take  the time and effort to become prepared, God will be able to use us more effectively as well..

Monday Moment

Being controlled by the opinions of others is a guaranteed way to miss God’s will for your life. — Author Unknown 

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him." Exodus 32:26

Even if no one else stands with you, you will always be on the right side while you stand on God’s side.

It does not take great men to do great things, it only takes consecrated men..

2015 Maranatha Baptist Church .. Covington Indiana

ROOTED & GROUNDED

“That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land; And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.”

Judges 6:8–10

The Children of Israel failed in their assigned task to drive out all of the inhabitants of the Promised Land. They made progress during the days of Joshua and those who knew him, but once that generation was gone, they settled into an uneasy coexistence with the Canaanites. When God rebuked them for their failure, He revealed that Israel had a misplaced fear. Rather than fearing God and trusting Him, they were fearing the gods worshiped by their neighbors. As a result, they refused to obey God and claim the victory that He had promised to deliver into their hands. When we fear the wrong thing, wrong actions are certain to follow.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but fearing God actually makes us more courageous. “In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge” (Proverbs 14:26). That is because the fear of God places us in a position of obedience that leads to a place of safety and blessing. When we fear men or circumstances more than we fear God, we are on a path of trouble. However, if our faith is strong, our courage will be as well, and our obedience will place us on the path to victory.

Rooted Principal : 

If we view God as He really is, it will not be hard for us to find the courage to obey Him.

Abiding in His Presence

John 15:1-4  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

How many times did you use the word abide this week? probably not once. We have said "Lets go' or "hurry up.." We tend to use lingo that keeps us going but words like abide usually come rarely..

Webster defines the word abide this way "to remain or settle down" Our world today places such emphasis on being upwardly mobile , that the very thought of remaining with something or someone has negative connotations. Americans are on the move from relationship to relationship , state to state, company to company spouse to spouse and church to church.. The tragedy is that fewer people are finding God and abiding in a close-knit relationship with Him. Even television has trained us to point that about six minutes from now your are going to need a commercial break from this blog... You will want to set down your tablet and go to the fridge and get some water or a coke . Culture conditions us to be in motion- constantly on the go. 

The Lord Jesus Christ spoke the words in our text .. NO fewer then eight times in this passage He tells His disciples "Abide in me. Remain with me" Settle down into a relationship with me" Let it be normal and natural that we would commune together day by day and moment by moment" 

In this passage, Jesus was somewhere between the upper room and the Garden of Gethsemane, quite possibly surrounded by vineyards. In John 15 , Jesus was not inviting His disciples to "try Him out" or "see what it might be like" He was inviting them to remain with Him. What does it mean to abide , personally, with Jesus Christ? It is just some figurative concept or is it something we can really enjoy? What does it mean to abide in the presence of Christ?

Sermon on a Stick

                                               LOT: THE MAN WHO LINGERED 

Genesis 19:16       And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife , and upon the hand of his two daughters ; the Lord being merciful unto him; and they brought him forth,and set him without the city..   
I.
              A. WHEN LOT LINGERED
                         1.  When it was time for decisive action
                         2. When His godly uncle was praying for him
                         3. When Heavenly messengers were urging him to go
                         4. When Judgment was imminent
                         5. When he know better than to linger
                         6. Comments by J.R. Ryle
                                a. Slow when he should have been quick
                                b. Backward when he should have been forward
                                c. Loitering when he should have been hurrying
                                d. Clod when he should have been hot
              B. WHY LOT LINGERED
                       1. He Made a wrong Choice early in life (Gen 13:5-11)
                       2. He found fellowship with sinner ( Gen 13:11-13)
                       3. He had raised his family in Sodom
                       4. He treasures were all in Sodom
                       5. He felt too old to start again
                       6. Sodom was home
              C. ARE YOU LINGERING LIKE LOT?
                        1. Do you know more truth then you live ?
                        2. Do you believe in heaven but don't long for it ?
                        3. Do you know time is short but live as if it were long ?
                        4. Do you build your life around things below ?
                        5> Do you understand the battle but consort with the enemy?
                       6. Do you say you love Jesus but don't truly live for Him ?

Wisdom from the word

The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

Proverbs 1:1–2

Industrialist Charles Schwab was a key figure in Andrew Carnegie’s steel empire. Frustrated with his inability to get everything done, he once reluctantly agreed to meet with a consultant named Ivy Lee, who was recommended to him by John D. Rockefeller. Schwab had little use for consultants, but since Rockefeller recommended Lee so highly, he scheduled the meeting. Lee’s proposal was elegantly simple.

He told Schwab to make a list of the six most important things he could do the next day to further the overall health and function of U.S. Steel. At the end of the day, Schwab was to review the list, move anything that had not been finished to the top of the next day’s list, and then add enough items to make a total of six again. Within fifteen minutes, the meeting concluded. Lee told Schwab to follow this practice for thirty days, and then send him a payment based on how much Schwab thought the advice was worth. After the month ended, Schwab sent Lee a check for $25,000!

This story illustrates the great value of receiving instruction in wisdom. Wisdom can be defined as “skillfulness in the use of knowledge.” It is more than just education and the accumulation of facts. Wisdom is being instructed in God’s views and values and living accordingly. It is so important, in fact, that God has given us an entire book of Scripture designed to instruct us to live wisely.

Throughout this year, we will be studying in these devotions the wisdom recorded in Proverbs. This book is the written advice that Solomon wrote and compiled for his son Rehoboam, to help prepare him to do right and lead the nation of Israel. May we apply our hearts to wisdom today and throughout our lives.

Principle: 

Allow God’s Word to guide the development of your values and live by its principles, and you will receive the benefits of wisdom.

Monday Minute

" No Learning can make up for the failure to pray, No earnestness, no diligence, no study, no gifts will supply its lack "- E.M. Bounds