a natural lesson

A natural lesson with a spiritual application

There's an old saying that says "One rotten apple will ruin the whole bunch".  This has literally happen to me at my home, more recently with lemons.  I usually start my day with lemon water, before my coffee.  As I went to my fruit bowl, I found where one of the lemons had a rotten place on it. Of which after observing this I removed it from the bunch or bowl fearing it would indeed ruin the rest of the fruit.  Then God spoke to my heart and mind.

How many times, as we go through this world, do we fill our lives, literally our fruit bowl, and one thing  becomes distorted or rotten. If we leave it there it will ruin the rest or it could ruin our life.  In the bible, in the New Testament, the book of Galatians, Chapter 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: 

The Amplified version says But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,²³ Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [^[f]that can bring a charge].

Many times sin is to blame. the bible says in the book of James 4:17, Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Interestingly, in Galatians 5 there's a list of things that can ruin your spiritual fruit, I will use the NAS version,

 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: ^[i]immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, ^[j]factions, ²¹ envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Oh me, Dear God help me not to ruin the fruits in my life.  If I have a rotten fruit, please, Lead me and guide me so that you can remove it.  Lord, many times the bad fruit are so obvious, help me to remove it. For pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Dear friend, the sin of unbelief, never accepting God or His son, this is the first rotten apple or sin that YOU must deal with in your life. BUT, if you will do what the bible says in Romans 10:8-10

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, ^9 [e]that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; ¹⁰ for with the heart a person believes, ^[f]resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, ^[g]resulting in salvation.

Call on Him today and remove the bad fruit out of your life, for it will ruin the rest.

God Bless you,

RevDanSam

A earthly story

It has been said that a parable from the bible is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Our Lord Jesus quoted many and they were recorded in the bible in the New Testament. So, as it is with my post today.

I heard this story  recently from secular movie, some of you will recognize it. :-)  But it was said that there are two types of people, the astronomer type and the astronaut type.  One does the study of space, while the other study's going into space.  Both have their place and many do both.

And so it is for the Christian.  Many will study the bible in their world and many will take the bible into all the world. Of course, there's a need for both. BUT, which are you ??

For the christian, it's decided by God.  The call of God will come to you as you read your bible and pray. Many times one will study the bible and the words and ways of God will come out of you like a well of water springing forth out of the ground. Then you will want to share the gospel with others and you will go forth in Jesus name.  While others may be content to just study his word.

But first and always first will be the call of salvation, God will call you to be saved, to become a child of God. Then He will use you.

Really the process of order is, the call to be saved, then study the scriptures and the a call to service. Many times God's more interested making you than using you !! For if He can make you, He can use you.

So call on Him today while He is calling you to be saved. For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be save.  Only trust Him, only trust Him now.

God bless you,
RevDanSam

Truths from John 11

john 11:1-44

We are all familiar with the beautiful account of our Lord raising Lazarus from the Dead; many truths can be mined from the great story and a study of each character we can find application for different times, and areas in our life.

But as a simple overview of the account we can find several truths:

First is that God Loves us; no matter what our situation, circumstances, troubles or trials we can fully trust and believe with no shadow of doubt that God’s love has never and will never fail us. Vs. 3 “Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick”

Second is that God’s glory is the goal; even when things happen and we cannot see or understand what God is doing we have no doubt that we are in God’s hands and in his love and the glory of God is the goal. Vs. 4 “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby”

Third God cares for us; we find in vs. 35 “Jesus wept”. Volumes could be written about this short verse, these two simple words “Jesus wept” but in the midst of everything that is written and studied we can conclude that Christ our Savior cares for us.

Lastly, God’s desire is for us to Go; We find in vs. 39 “take ye away the stone” vs. 44 “Loose him, and let him go.” Often times in our lives we encounter things that are holding us back that must be removed: sin, doubt, and fear, so that we may GO for the Glory of God.

A copy & paste from a preacher friend of mine.

God bless

A prayer & verse

Lead us, Our Father, 
In the paths of righteousness, I pray that you would bless my Preacher friends today in a special way on this Sunday as they stand and speak for you.   May souls be saved & lives be forever changed, may the sad become glad, may hurt be helped today, for I pray in Jesus' name for His sake, Amen

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

May I Amplify this verse,

So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the [c]hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word.
And let us consider and give [d]attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities,
Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.

Dear friend, there's a heaven to gain and a hell to flee, for whosoever shall on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For with heart man believes and with your mouth confession is made, Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

God Bless you Friend

Tell them

Well, I am on a roll here today !!  (He's filling me faster than I can type) 2nd blog post today ... :-)

The Lord laid this on my heart today, may I share it with you.

Tell them

These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.

Titus 2:11-14

What things??  Well, let us see. 

In verse 11 we see salvation.  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

In verse 12 we see sanctification. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world

In verse 13 we see glorification, looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ

Also an explanation of Jesus in verse 14,  who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works

The Amplified bible says it this way, Tell [them all] these things. Urge (advise, encourage, warn) and rebuke with full authority. Let no one despise or disregard or think little of you [conduct yourself and your teaching so as to command respect].

The Apostle Paul was telling his young preacher boy, Titus, in the midst or in the heart of his letter this great truth.  It is definitely something we, as Christians should do as well in our conversations  in our Christian life. We have to TELL THEM.

God Bless you, have a great day !!

RevDanSam

The Grace of God

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men

Let's Amplify that verse:
For the grace of God (His unmerited favor and blessing) has come forward (appeared) for the deliverance from sin and the eternal salvation for all mankind

G-R-A-C-E God's Riches At Christ Expense :-)

God's unmerited favor also God's unmerited love, OR God's undeserved favor and God's undeserved love, any way you state it, it's the "Grace of God"

Grace saved us. For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  God loves the world, humanity, and He made a way of salvation through His son Jesus Christ. For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Grace schools us. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world

After we're saved, we need to pray, read our bible and go to church on the Lord's Day Sunday. And there learn about  God, Jesus and the bible to help us with our walk with the Lord. Your new christian life has lessons to learn and it comes from God's word and God's man, either a christian preacher or teacher. Grace schools us. (or it should)

Then Grace sets us.
looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Grace sets our minds for the blessed hope of Jesus returning to earth.  The song says, Jesus is coming soon. In the morning or at night or noon, he is coming soon, Then we will say good bye world good bye. Truly it will be a great glorious return, and we shall see Him just as He is.

But friend, are you ready ??  Have you ever been saved / born again, if not you can today, for whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved, for with the heart man believes unto salvation. Call on Him today.

God bless you,
RevDanSam

Working for Him

		Ever once and while I will come across something or an article that I like and I will copy and paste to this blog, I definitely agree with this one and I hope that it will be an encouragement to serve Him, also to be a stepping stone for your Christian life. From Dr. Charles Stanley - IN Touch ministry The Comfortable Church Matthew 28:16-20 I think it’s fairly evident that the society we live in is very self-centered, and this same characteristic can be present in a church. Whenever a local body of believers develops an inward focus, its fruitfulness in ministry begins to decrease, and each member’s Christian walk is hindered. Many believers want their church to be cozy and comfortable. They come to listen to a nice sermon, fellowship with friends, and have their needs met. But God never intended for the gathering of His people to be like a country club; He calls us to join an army that will bring the gospel into enemy territory. An effective church—one that poses a real threat to the Enemy—is a body of disciplined people who have been taught the truth of Scripture, trained for service, and helped to mature spiritually. But all this is accomplished for the purpose of going out into the world, not for becoming a self-contained sanctuary of Christian comfort. The urgency of the Lord’s command and the desperate condition of humanity should motivate us to leave the safety of our Christian fellowships and deliver the message of salvation through Jesus. To avoid this responsibility is to miss the Father’s plan for your life and the opportunity to help build His kingdom. None of us want to waste time or energy on trivial things and thereby miss the exciting fulfillment of God’s will. He has called us, not to a life of comfortable tradition, but to an adventure of obedience. Answer His call—you’ll help fill His kingdom with people from every tribe and nation.  --- A great thought from Dr. Stanley, as we should be about the Father's Business, working for Him while it is day. I hope you enjoyed this article, perhaps it's food for thought. But always remember, salvation is before service, a call to salvation will always come before the call of service, you must be born again.  For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.  God Bless you, RevDanSam