Zeal For Your House Has Eaten Me Up!

The is nothing wrong inherently with zeal. It is something that is inside of most Christians. The fact is, it is how the Christian uses that zeal that is in question. Do you remember when Jesus made a whip and cleansed the temple and when He did, His disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for your house has eaten me up (John 2:17 ; Psalm 69:9) It is very easy for a Christian to be eaten up with zeal for the Lord and there is nothing wrong with that except when the zeal is less than righteous and upright. Zeal apart from knowledge can be damning. (Romans 10:2) Zeal without wisdom is dangerous. Zeal mixed with insensitivity is often very cruel, Whenever zeal disintegrates, compounds and turns into uncontrolled passion, it can be deadly. As Christians we must never let misguided zeal get the best of us. The zeal must be accompanied with love, because all things that we do as Christians must be done in love. Love is like the oil in the hub of a wheel, it keeps everything going

Blessed is the Nation Whose God is the Lord

Remember Patrick Henry and his famous quote: “ Give me liberty or give me death”Here is another quote from him: “It cannot be emphasized to strongly, or to often that this great nation was founded not of religionists, but by Christians, not on religion, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ”

Our forefathers had much to say about the Bible. These were people who through much time, tears,bloodshed, toil, and love of God in their hearts made this country great. Most people do not even know who these people are or what some of the quotes they said about this country. Listed here are some of our forefathers quotes for you to read:

[1] George Washington:“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible”

[2] Noah Webster:“Education is useless without the Bible”

[3] Patrick Henry:“The Bible is worth all other books that have ever been printed”

[4] Theodore Roosevelt:: “A  through knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college Education”

The news papers and TV in this country magnify the evil things in our country and overlook, or put aside the good and God given blessings that we have in this country. Every where that a person looks in this country we can see God and what our forefather had to say or thought! Here are some examples of this:

[1] At the top of the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC you will see engraved, as you enter, a group of law givers. All of then are looking toward one man and that man is Moses and he is holding the ten commandments. When you enter the court room inside the supreme court you will find that the two oak doors have the ten commandments engraved on each lower position of the door. Inside the court room you can see the wall, just above, where the supreme court Judges sit, is again, a display of the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses. There is also Bible verses etched all over the federal buildings and monuments in our nations capital.

[2] Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer, the American citizen, since 1777. Fifty two of the fifty five founders of the constitution were members of the established Orthodox church in the thirteen colonies. The very first Supreme Court Judge, John Jay, said, “Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers”

[3] James Madison, who was the forth president of our country and also known as “The father of our constitution” said this: “We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self government, upon the capacity of each and everyone of us to govern ourselves, according to the Ten Commandment of God”

[4] Thomas Jefferson: our third president, worried about that the courts would over step their authority and instead of interpreting the law, would begin making law an oligarchy, which is rule of a few over many.

How has such a great nation such as ours gotten to the point that everything we have done since the start of this nation is now all wrong and unconstitutional ?

The Resurrection ........

Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrectionat the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believethin me, though he were dead , yet shall he live : [John 11: 23,24,25]

Jesus was telling Martha, in these scriptures, that the Ressurection is not a philosophy or the study of some great academic thing or not even a doctrine or a law, but it is a person! And that person is Jesus The Christ.  Only He is the resurrection, the same way that He is The Way (The only way), The Truth (That is found through out the Scriptures), and The Life! (There is no other life, but in Him) [John 14:6] The true and clear meaning behind all this is this:  All the power of the Resurrection, all the power of life (forever) is present and is in this one person Jesus The Christ! It is not Allah and there is no way that a true follower of Christ will compromise this, but this is exactly what some in the church world is doing today by allowing a religion such as christizm to come into the doors of the church and into their heart! There is a way that seems right to man, but is it right? Brother and sisters in the Lord, stand fast your ground! Ony Jesus can satifiy the Longing in your soul and only Jesus can save your soul! As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord Give me that old time Religion, it was good enough for my mother and father, and it is good enough for me!

It is Warfare!!

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching . [Hebrews 10:25] It is amazing to read in the Bible how David had men massed around him until it was a mighty army. [ Hebrews 10:25] Our Lord and Savior is doing the same thing these last days. The only difference is the kinds of battles we're fighting. David and his men fought a physical warfare against the Philistines and some Canaanite tribes. While we are fighting a spiritual war against "...principalities, against powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." [Eph: 6:12] In the annual antelope migration in a National Park in Africa thousands of antelope, slowly move in groups across the plain. They are are always followed by stalking lions. But the lions never attack the herd – they just wait and watch for the stray antelope, who is either careless or thinks the grass is greener on the other side, he then separates himself from the main (larger) groups of animals. The separated and detached antelope will become the prey of the lions, very quickly, who attack that lone antelope with lightening speed and fury. In the day that we live in, spiritual warfare separation is just as dangerous, as our enemy roams like a roaring lion looking for separated brothers and sisters to prey upon. We all need real Christian relationship and a spiritual gathering for protection against Satan and his demons who is always and forever stalking the vulnerable Christian as prey. It's not enough for Christians to just simply go to church. We need to be in the body and community of believers (The church)(A body of believers), passively involved in loving, serving, praying, counseling, encouraging, admonishing, rejoicing, weeping, and forgiving as the family of God. To many believers are separated, and seriously assailable to the attacks of Satan. We need to strive everyday to not be one of them, because this is a very dangerous state to be in. In the Bible David's army was prospering and safe because they were together in mind heart and purpose. They were together in everything that they did. There was unity. The antelope, also endured and pulled through when they, as a body, stuck together as a single unit. Christians need to do the same thing unit. They need to find a spiritual church and be faithful to it.

What is there not to like about my Dad?

My dad was always a provider for our family. My family always had a place to live. food to eat, and guidance as we needed it. He was a kind of dad that did as he said and not a dad that was, do as I say and not as I do. He not only sent my brothers and sisters to church, he went with us! He saw that we went Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, Wednesday nights, to pray meetings in different homes, and to the camp meetings in the Summer.   He has been a minister of the Gospel for over fifty years and at 84 years old he still stands behind the Scared Desk and brings forth God's Word under the Anointing! His days are alway one of witnessing for the Lord, visiting nursing homes and telling the world about the Blessed Hope of our Savior. He still visits the sick with words of encouragement and hope. Remarkable for a 84 year old man!

Before he became a pastor he was in the bus ministry for the Church of God in Federalsburg and he went out into the highways, the back streets and into homes most people would not go and would not give up until the bus was packed every Sunday. He would not give up. His reasoning for all this is was: In the end only what you do for Christ will last"

But I will always remember him for this: He has never compromised the standard that is set forth in the word of God. He has never allowed false doctrine to take hold or even come into the church. He will speak out (always in love) and  in a heart beat against false doctines and how the world has come into the church. He has always said that the church must preach a well rounded Gospel, in love, because a preacher is not giving his flock the whole truth other wise.  In my opinion, he is one of the last of a line of preachers across our nation and around the world that still holds the banner high!

I try my best as the oldest child in our family to fill his shoes but I fall short. It is through him that I came to know Jesus as my personal Savior. It is because of his fatherly leadership that my whole family is saved and serves the Lord. What is not for me to love about my dad?

The King

 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. [1 Samuel 22:1-2]

When we read the story of  David in the Bible and see how he was anointed king over Israel by Samuel, he didn’t take his place at the throne immediately and start ruling. He had to wait, until Saul was removed from power, before succeeding to the throne as King. Like His earthly ancestor David, Jesus, was received as Israel's king at the triumphal and joyful entry, which is called "Palm Sunday" by most of the Christian World, and then he was anointed King of the Jews, He received His true title from the Romans, when they hung him on the cross. But He is still waiting to reveal His identity as King on earth, and that will be when His kingdom will replace the kingdoms of this world at His second Second Coming. [Rev. 11:15].

Now, while David was waiting for his kingship to take place, he was chased and persecuted by Saul, driven into the wild and caves, and places in the Land. There, he found other outcasts who became his followers; men who were in distress, in debt, or discontented in one way or another; those that felt they had no part in this life any longer. 

Rather than casting these people away from him, because, after all he was a king, David drew them to himself, by the anointing on his life and the strength of his character; and they, of all people, recognized that he was the chosen King of Israel. David's true kingly nature embraced these lowly men and transformed them into a mighty army.

Jesus does exactly the same with us, even while He has been rejected as king of this world. Outcasts, broken, indebted, despised, discontented people like what is found in[1 Cor. 1:26-28] are chosen out of the world, and transformed by Him into powerful vessels to serve his purposes while we wait for His kingdom to come. We are the Lord's army!

The people in this world who are in distress, or struggling with debt, or unhappy with their life. Need to met the outcast King of the Jews? In fact, to go a step further, the whole world needs to meet our soon coming King! They need to follow the One whose own people did not receive Him. His present kingdom is not of this world, because He's waiting for His house to be filled, before He returns? People need to recognize the One who this old world has not known and serve Him! We are called, like the men who were around David. However we must remember, that our battle is not with flesh and blood like it was in David's time, but it is against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

 

Look Up!

THE BUZZARD:  If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner . The reason for this is that a buzzard always begins his flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without this space to run, as its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top!

THE BAT:The ordinary bat that flies at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, can not take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly, and no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then at once it takes off like a flash.

THE BUMBLE BEE:A bumble bee, if dropped into an open tumbler or jar, will be there until he dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persist in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom... It will seek a way where none exist, until it completely destroys itself.

PEOPLE: In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumble bee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up! That's the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem. Just look up. Sorrow looks back. Worry looks around. But Faith looks up!!