. . . friends and family of the dead and wounded asked questions. Why and how did this happen? What would possess a person to commit such an atrocious crime? We may blame it on his dilemmas, his childhood, or a wrecked brain, but the devil stirred the pot.
Dressed as the 'Joker' in Batman, this Ph.D student in neuroscience killed 12 people, and 11 of the 58 injured remain in critical condition. After midnight of July 19, 2012, devastated and shocked fans fled The Dark Knight Rises movie, their perspective jarred by the shots, the blood, and the dead bodies.
Arriving later at the scene, one policeman commented about how weird it was to hear cell phones playing in the empty theater, and no one was there to answer.
Bereaved families, struggling to deal with this horror, need consolation that only God can give. Pray for them.
Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not for I am with thee; be not dismayed for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
If I go, I will come again.
The Lord promised to return for His people. Some will go to heaven through the valley of the shadow of death, but those who are alive when Jesus returns will never see death. They will be changed to be like Christ and will go to heaven.
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also.
Since heaven is the Father's house, it must be a place of love and joy. When the Apostle John tried to describe heaven, he almost ran out of symbols and comparisons (Rev. 21-22). Finally, he listed the things that wouldn't be there: Death, sorrow, crying, pain, night, etc. What a wonderful home it will be, and we will enjoy it forever.
Thro' the gates to the city in a robe of spotless white,
He will lead me where no tears will ever fall;
In the glad song of ages I shall mingle with delight,
But I long to meet my Savior first of all
Fanny J. Crosby
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also.
Since heaven is the Father's house, it must be a place of love and joy. When the Apostle John tried to describe heaven, he almost ran out of symbols and comparisons (Rev. 21-22). Finally, he listed the things that wouldn't be there: Death, sorrow, crying, pain, night, etc. What a wonderful home it will be, and we will enjoy it forever.
Thro' the gates to the city in a robe of spotless white,
He will lead me where no tears will ever fall;
In the glad song of ages I shall mingle with delight,
But I long to meet my Savior first of all
Fanny J. Crosby
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
The brook in the way is not about obstruction,
...but about encouragement and refreshment.
Psalm 110:7 He shall drink of the brook in the way; therefore shall he lift up the head.
David selected the five stones that killed the giant from the brook in the way. Barnabus was Paul's brook in the way, and Jonathon was David's. They are no different than we are.
Too often we are more like ocean water, rubbing salt in wounds, discouraging people, or we are like slimy, dead-end snake ponds with no spiritual progress. That's not how Christians ought to behave.
Everybody should and can be a brook in the way. It's so simple. It's about the water. Let God flow through you so you can refresh people in your life. Sunday school teachers, preachers, Christian parents and friends are brooks in the way. They encourage others to live for Christ.
Do you need a brook in your way? Maybe you need to provide that fresh brook for someone else. God will open the door to fill that need. There is a world dying and going to hell. They need a brook in the way.
Psalm 110:7 He shall drink of the brook in the way; therefore shall he lift up the head.
David selected the five stones that killed the giant from the brook in the way. Barnabus was Paul's brook in the way, and Jonathon was David's. They are no different than we are.
Too often we are more like ocean water, rubbing salt in wounds, discouraging people, or we are like slimy, dead-end snake ponds with no spiritual progress. That's not how Christians ought to behave.
Everybody should and can be a brook in the way. It's so simple. It's about the water. Let God flow through you so you can refresh people in your life. Sunday school teachers, preachers, Christian parents and friends are brooks in the way. They encourage others to live for Christ.
Do you need a brook in your way? Maybe you need to provide that fresh brook for someone else. God will open the door to fill that need. There is a world dying and going to hell. They need a brook in the way.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
If I go, I will come again; the Lord
... promised to return for His people. Some will go to heaven through the valley of the shadow of death, but those who are alive when Jesus returns will never see death.They will be changed to be like Christ and will go to heaven.
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also
Since heaven is the Father's house, it must be a place of love and joy. When the Apostle John tried to describe heaven, he almost ran out of symbols and comparisons (Rev. 21-22). Finally, he listed the things that wouldn't be there: death, sorrow, crying, pain, night, etc. What a wonderful home it will be, and we will enjoy it forever.
Thro' the gates to the city in a robe of spotless white,
He will lead me where no tears will ever fall;
In the glad song of ages I shall mingle with delight,
But I long to meet my Savior first of all.
Fanny J. Crosby
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also
Since heaven is the Father's house, it must be a place of love and joy. When the Apostle John tried to describe heaven, he almost ran out of symbols and comparisons (Rev. 21-22). Finally, he listed the things that wouldn't be there: death, sorrow, crying, pain, night, etc. What a wonderful home it will be, and we will enjoy it forever.
Thro' the gates to the city in a robe of spotless white,
He will lead me where no tears will ever fall;
In the glad song of ages I shall mingle with delight,
But I long to meet my Savior first of all.
Fanny J. Crosby
Observing from the piano bench
. . . near twenty pews filled with twice our normal congregation, my heart melted as Monica sang He is here -- He is calling out your name -- you can touch Him -- you will never be the same. Today may have been our first Sunday service in the new building, but that sweet Spirit with us had blessed us again and again at the old Bethel Baptist Church.
Then Ryan, one of our new teenagers, sang In The Garden, beautifully rendered as he played his guitar. Wow, God sent us more talent. And Brother Paul sang a spirit-filled song about Jesus, the answer to all our problems.
Brother Randell mentioned Morgan, one of our new teenage girls, posting on Facebook that she loved, loved, loved her church. He then preached about loving our church, being kindly affectionate one to another, being a family.
Bethel is "big" on potlucks, but we'll have to wait until we get carpet in the sanctuary and remove the pews from the fellowship hall. According to the way the Lord has so graciously blessed us, that may happen sooner than we think.
God is good.
Then Ryan, one of our new teenagers, sang In The Garden, beautifully rendered as he played his guitar. Wow, God sent us more talent. And Brother Paul sang a spirit-filled song about Jesus, the answer to all our problems.
Brother Randell mentioned Morgan, one of our new teenage girls, posting on Facebook that she loved, loved, loved her church. He then preached about loving our church, being kindly affectionate one to another, being a family.
Bethel is "big" on potlucks, but we'll have to wait until we get carpet in the sanctuary and remove the pews from the fellowship hall. According to the way the Lord has so graciously blessed us, that may happen sooner than we think.
God is good.
Monday, July 16, 2012
The father is for us...
. . . and proved it by giving His Son. The Son is for us and so is the Spirit. God is making all things work for us.
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
The believer needs to enter into each new day realizing that God is for us. There's no need to fear, for our loving Father desires only the best for His children, even if they must go through trials to receive His best.
God cares for the birds and sheep and even the lilies; surely He will care for His own. God is dealing with us on the basis of Calvary grace, and He freely gives all things to His own.
When God declares the beliving sinner righteous in Christ -- born again, that declaration never changes. Our Christian experience changes from day to day, but justification never changes. We may accuse ourselves, and men may accuse us, but God will never take us to court and accuse us. Jesus has already paid the penalty and we are secure in Him.
I sing because I'm happy. I sing because I'm free. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
The believer needs to enter into each new day realizing that God is for us. There's no need to fear, for our loving Father desires only the best for His children, even if they must go through trials to receive His best.
God cares for the birds and sheep and even the lilies; surely He will care for His own. God is dealing with us on the basis of Calvary grace, and He freely gives all things to His own.
When God declares the beliving sinner righteous in Christ -- born again, that declaration never changes. Our Christian experience changes from day to day, but justification never changes. We may accuse ourselves, and men may accuse us, but God will never take us to court and accuse us. Jesus has already paid the penalty and we are secure in Him.
I sing because I'm happy. I sing because I'm free. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
The law cannot condemn you.
Christ has already suffered that condemnation for you on the cross. Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Without the Spirit of God, the unsaved person's mind is centered in the things that satisfy the flesh. But the Christian has the Spirit of God within, and his mind is fixed on the things of the Spirit. That doesn't mean that the unsaved person never does anything good or that the believer never does anything bad. It means that their lives are different. One lives for the flesh, the other lives for the Spirit.
The unsaved person is alive physically, but dead spiritually. He may be moral and even religious, but he lacks spiritual life. He needs "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus". He needs peace with God. He needs salvation.
The evidence of conversion is the presence of the Holy Spirit within, witnessing that you are a child of God. (Romans 8:16)
When we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us, then we have an abundant, victorious life in Christ.
Without the Spirit of God, the unsaved person's mind is centered in the things that satisfy the flesh. But the Christian has the Spirit of God within, and his mind is fixed on the things of the Spirit. That doesn't mean that the unsaved person never does anything good or that the believer never does anything bad. It means that their lives are different. One lives for the flesh, the other lives for the Spirit.
The unsaved person is alive physically, but dead spiritually. He may be moral and even religious, but he lacks spiritual life. He needs "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus". He needs peace with God. He needs salvation.
The evidence of conversion is the presence of the Holy Spirit within, witnessing that you are a child of God. (Romans 8:16)
When we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us, then we have an abundant, victorious life in Christ.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Monday through Friday I watch three Gunsmoke
...episodes on Encore Westerns. No commercials, interesting plots, and Chester's stiff leg lure my attention.
Yesterday, one episode showed an old man quoating scripture as he beat another man with a whip because he had sinned. He said he was beating righteousness in him. This is the extreme of legalism, the old sinful nature trying to be righteous by living the Law.
Legalism makes a believer wretched because it grieves the new nature created in Christ and aggravates the old nature. The Pharisees were legalists with beautiful outward appearance, but despicable inward attitudes.
The believer's old nature wants to keep him/her in bondage. The Apostle Paul struggled with this. Romans 7:18 For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not.
If we depend on the energy of the flesh, we cannot serve God, please God, or do any good thing. But if we yield to the Holy Spirit, then we have the power needed to obey His will.
As the old legalist withered on the ground from a gun fight, Matt Dillon poked his gun in the side holster and quoated scripture. Proverbs 16:19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Yesterday, one episode showed an old man quoating scripture as he beat another man with a whip because he had sinned. He said he was beating righteousness in him. This is the extreme of legalism, the old sinful nature trying to be righteous by living the Law.
Legalism makes a believer wretched because it grieves the new nature created in Christ and aggravates the old nature. The Pharisees were legalists with beautiful outward appearance, but despicable inward attitudes.
The believer's old nature wants to keep him/her in bondage. The Apostle Paul struggled with this. Romans 7:18 For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not.
If we depend on the energy of the flesh, we cannot serve God, please God, or do any good thing. But if we yield to the Holy Spirit, then we have the power needed to obey His will.
As the old legalist withered on the ground from a gun fight, Matt Dillon poked his gun in the side holster and quoated scripture. Proverbs 16:19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)