LAMP UNTO MY FEET

The new "What does the bible say"

Daily Bible Readings

Daily walk through the Bible

why I perfer animals LOL

2007-02-12T13:29:00.001-08:00

I hope this comes through!!

And what is not in here is the fact that they do not judge each other and they love unconditinely, and forgive and never try to play mind games. seems that when you cry they cry with you. I only met one Christian couple I would have laid down my life for, because they practiced what they preached. They were taken advantage of a lot, bless thier heart, because they would loan money or anything they had, as they said "It belongs to GOD not us, and we share it. if they steal it, they steal from GOD, not us" I loved them and miss them so much. & GOD KEPT BLESSING THEM IN MATERIAL THINGS, they did have a lot of sorrow, but they said it tought them compassion for others.

( i THINK THEY WERE PART ANIMAL, LOL-- GOD BLESS AND KEEP M. AND MRS CJ PURVIS.

i WISH i HAD 1/8 THE FAITH AND LOVE THEY HAD. They are the ones who tought me about the new covenet, and helped free me from guilt over the law.

Subject: Three Monkeys - this is good

has music

speakers on?

Have a nice day!

THREE MONKEYS

Three monkeys sat on a coconut tree,
Discussing things as they're said to be.

Said one to the other, "Now listen, you two.
There's a certain rumor that can't be true ~

That man descended from our noble race.
The very idea is sure to disgrace.

No monkey ever deserted his wife,
starved her babies, and ruined her life.

And, you've never known another monkey
To leave her babies, with others to bunk,
Or pass them on from one to another.

And another thing you will never see,
A monkey build a fence around a coconut tree ~

And let the coconuts go to waste,
Forbidding all other monkeys to taste.

Why, if I put a fence around this tree,
Starvation would force you to steal from me.

And here's something else a monkey won't do,
Go out at night and get on a stew ~

Or use a gun, or club, or knife
To take some other monkey's life.

Yes, man descended ~ ornery cuss.
But, brother, he didn't descend from us.

~ author unknown ~

May the Lord bless and keep you, and may you always know the joy of the Lord.

Answered Prayer: After a Delay Part 5

2007-02-11T20:56:00.001-08:00

Previously, in this series, we learned thata four ways that God answers prayer are:

Literally and immediately
He refuses to honor the petition. He says no.
By sending something other than requested.
He answers our prayer gradually.

Today we will learn that another way that God answers our prayers is:

God answers our prayers after a delay.

According to Genesis 22:1-19, God tested Abraham by telling him to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering on Mt Moriah.

What is interesting is in verse 5. Abraham tells his servants "We will worship, and then we will come back to you." Abraham is saying that he and Isaac will go and worship, and he and Isaac will return to them. Abraham believed by faith that God would provide the sacrifice and spare Isaac. In verse 6, Isaac asks his father an important question, "where is the lamb for the sacrifice?" To which Abraham says that God will provide the sacrifice. When they reached the location to worship, Abraham was obedient, and he bound Isaac and prepared to sacrifice him. However, Abraham's faith in God was true, and God stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac - and provided the sacrifice of a ram, which was caught in a thicket.

According to Luke 8:40-56, Jesus delayed in going to see Jarius' daughter, who was dying. Word came to Jarius that his daughter died, and when Jesus heard this, he told Jarius to believe and she will be healed. When Jesus arrived at Jarius' house, there were people wailing and mourning for the daughter. Jesus told them to stop wailing. He said that Jarius' daughter was dead, but the people laughed at him, because they knew that she was dead. Jesus went in to the room where the girl lay. He only allowed Peter, James and John and the girls' parents to enter with Him. He took the girl by the hand and told her to get up. Her spirit returned to her, and she arose. This astonished the parents.

According to John 11:1-4, Jesus hears that his friend Lazarus is sick. However, Jesus stays where He is for two more days. Then when He found that Lazarus was already dead and in the tomb for four days, Jesus went to the tomb and said to take away the stone. Then he called Lazarus to come out. Lazarus came out, and Jesus told them to unbind him.

So we find that God answers prayers after a delay

This is to glorify God, so that you know that you are incapable of doing anything on your own apart from God, and that with faith in Him, all things are possible.

Series to be continued.

God Bless You, My Friends!
Rob

May the Lord bless and keep you, and may you always know the joy of the Lord.

Twelve Steps for Christian Living Part 4

2007-02-10T21:53:00.001-08:00

Step 4 - We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Steps One through Three are preparatory steps for Step Four. Here is a brief summary of the first three steps. Step One: We recognized that we are powerless over our sinful nature and that our lives have become unmanageable on our own. In Step Two, we came to believe that the God who created us could restore us to sane living. Step Three: We simply made a decision to turn our lives and will over to the care of God.

For me, and I would think most Christians, we go through life doing the Steps One, Two, Three; One, Two, Three and on we waltz, dancing through life to our own tune never making it to the fourth step. We realize there is a problem, cry out to God for help and then think we make a decision to turn our lives and will over to God. As time passes and the problem subsides, we fall back into our self-centered ways. No need for God right now, everything is going great! Or we do the famous cafeteria-style of Step Three: Here, God, you can have this, that and a helping of this, but you can't touch these parts of my life.

Step Three can be a spiritual plateau on which we become stuck. We settle in on this comfort zone. Like water in a puddle, we become stale, stagnant and stoic Christians -- or worse, we slip off the plateau to where we once were. Plateaus can be and really should be wonderful events in our lives. They are places to rest, catch our breath and contemplate the future, but they are not a place to stop forever.

Step Four begins the process of implementing our decision to turn our lives and will over to God. This is a lifelong process. We will grow, plateau, then grow some more, all in God's time and His will.

Step Four can be a scary process for most of us. The Psalmist's prayer above is a frightening prayer. I urge you to pray this prayer when doing Step Four. This does not need to be a scary step; rather, it can be an exciting step to help us out of our bondage of rationalization and delusional, sinful living. This step simply identifies the faults that have separated us from God.

1 John 1:8-10 If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

The above Bible passage is one of my favorites. It takes us out of a delusional state of mind. I define delusional here as "making our own reality". It is not real that none of us are without faults. It is not real that we are perfect. It is, however, real that we can become developing followers of Christ. We can live a life that moves along a path of growth -- not of perfection but rather progression.

At this point in the 12 Step process, an accountability partner, mentor or as they say in A.A. a sponsor, is an invaluable tool. A mentor is someone that has walked the path before you. He has seen the highs and the lows, reached the plateaus and moved on. He understands the process, and in turn will help you.

Obviously I love to write. I write most of my prayers to God. Step Four should be a written inventory of what is keeping you from becoming more like Christ. We simply write the nature of our character defects. Do not rush this step. Take all the time you need.

While there is not a right or wrong way to being this process, here is an outline that will help you begin. This list is not original. It comes from talking to people I know that are in 12 Step Recovery programs such as Alcoholic Anonymous.

Begin by writing down your resentments. Resentment is defined as "indignation or ill will felt as a result of a real or imagined grievance." A synonym is anger. What or who are you resentful toward? What causes this anger? What effect is it having on your life and your relationship to God? What was your role in causing this behavior?

Fears. What are you fearful of? What causes this fear? What effect is this having on your life and your relationship to God?

Sexuality Instincts. This includes how you relate to people of the opposite sex. Not just sexual encounters. What is your behavior and attitude about this? How does it affect your life and relationship with God?

Financial security. What are your behaviors and attitudes toward money and the management of your finances? What is causing these attitudes? What are the effects on your life and your relationship with God?

Emotional security. Again, what behavior and attitudes are causing you emotional problems? Emotional insecurity can lead to depression, fear, worry, self-pity and anger.

What relationships are causing me emotional insecurity?

Social instincts. Do you have any social connections that cause you pain? Do you behave in an irrational way, to make yourself out to be someone that you are not, due to your social insecurity?

I am sure there are more items to list. In short, what behavior and attitudes are causing you separation from God? In short, what behavior and attitudes are causing you separation from God? What are you doing that is harmful to others? What are you doing that is harmful to yourself?

At the end of this inventory, please write the positive characteristics of yourself. There is good in everyone. Don't use this list to beat yourself up. Rather, use it as a benchmark, a starting point from which to grow. Your best effort to do a complete and honest inventory shows your willingness to truly turn your life and will over to God.

Lord, search our hearts, our behaviors and attitudes. Reveal to us what is displeasing to you. Lord, and also help us to see the good that you have put in us. Help us to build on what is good and rid our lives of what is bad. In Christ's name. Amen.

May the Lord bless and keep you, and may you always know the joy of the Lord.

Answered Prayer: He Says No

2007-02-07T20:58:00.001-08:00

How God Answers Prayer - Part 2

Previously, in this series, we learned that one way that God answers prayer is:

Literally and Immediately.

Today we will learn that another way that God answers our prayers is:

He refuses to honor the petition. He says no.
According to 2 Corinthians 12:7-12 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. ¹¹ I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the "super-apostles," even though I am nothing. ¹² The things that mark an apostle "signs, wonders and miracles" were done among you with great perseverance.
The Apostle Paul requests God three times to remove the thorn in the flesh given to him. Instead of taking it away, God said "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
In other words, when Paul was weak, God was glorified. It showed him and others that God is the source of Paul's strength. Therefore Paul boasts in his weaknesses that he is unable to do anything apart from God. He takes joy in the fact that he has weaknesses, because God is Savior and Lord. It humbles him and helps him to keep from boasting in his own strength. Instead he boasts of God's strength.
According to Matthew 26:38-40 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." ³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." ⁴⁰ Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter.
Jesus asked God to let the cup of his death for the sacrifice of sin pass from him, to make another way for sinners to be saved. God did not answer Jesus' request, and therefore, after dealing with the agony in his own flesh, He recognized and glorified God - and he went to the cross. For joy was set before him, in that God was the provider and Lord, and in spite of the pain it may cause him, He would take joy in it.
So we find that God refuses to honor the petition. He says no.

Series to be continued.

God Bless You, My Friends!

May the Lord bless and keep you, and may you always know the joy of the Lord.

Twelve Steps for Christian Living Part 1

2007-02-07T00:50:00.001-08:00

Romans 7:18 (NLT) I know I am rotten through and through, so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't.

Over the next few months, I want you to take a journey with me along a path of recovery. I am going to "borrow" liberally from the original Twelve Steps program that was designed in the 1930s by Bill Wilson for recovering alcoholics. I have tweaked the steps to help us become more Christlike. I am not an expert on these steps, but the more I learn about them, the more I find they can apply to all of us, as a tool for helping us understand ourselves and manage our lives through God's help. The Twelve Steps is a spiritual program, and I pray that through this series, we can develop a closer relationship to our God Who is greater than us and is still in control. Come now; let's go on this journey and see where God takes us.

Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our sinful nature -- that our lives had become unmanageable.

Galatians 5:19-21a (NLT) When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin.

We are all born with this sinful nature. The sin of Adam is imputed to all his descendants; therefore we are all in need of recovery. Without God managing our lives, we cannot experience life to the fullest. Step One is a very difficult step, because it is both counterintuitive and countercultural. Certainly our American way is that we can do life how we want to do life. We don't need help from anyone, and certainly not from an unseen God. Maybe you are like me and play the part of the "Lone Ranger," falsely believing that you control everything around you.

But on our own, we are powerless over our sinful nature, and we need a catalyst to help us overcome this built-in desire to sin. That change agent, of course, is Christ. As Paul writes in the passage above, when we follow our sinful nature, our lives become unmanageable. Perhaps you are addicted to your work, and your home life has become unmanageable. The Christian way of living seeks a life like Christ -- a life that is balanced and submitted to God's will.

Romans 3:10,23 (NLT) As the Scriptures say, "No one is good-not even one." For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard.

The Bible is very clear that none of us can do life on our own, and we certainly cannot live an eternity with God, without admitting to ourselves and to God that we need a Savior. Have you at least taken that first step? If not, I will be glad to help you. Apart from Christ our Savior, these 12 Steps are not powerful from a Christian perspective. We Christians need the power of God living inside of us, in order to overcome our sinful nature. When we accept Christ as our Savior, He takes residence in us through the Holy Sprit, to help us live manageable lives.

But most of you on this mailing list probably have already accepted Christ. Now is the time for us to reflect, to go countercultural and to realize that we are powerless over something or some things in our lives. And here is the important part: Our lives have become unmanageable.

Father, help us to admit our shortcomings. Get us out of this unmanageable life journey that we are on and onto the path of recovery from our sinful nature and our out-of-control living. Help us to do life right. In Christ's name, Amen.

May the Lord bless and keep you, and may you always know the joy of the Lord.

Unity vs. Uniformity

2007-02-06T00:16:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4:3 "being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

This text is interesting, because it does not say that we should preserve a unified denomination. It does not say that we should all be Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, or any other denomination. Rather the unity that we are to preserve is the unity of the Spirit. We can observe that the books of the New Testament are written to the church in Rome (Romans 1:7), to all the saints in Philippi (Philippians 1:1), to the church of God which is at Corinth (2 Corinthians 1:1), and so on. Even in the New Testament, we see that unity was not a denominational issue that sought for uniformity, but rather what is in mind here is as the text says, "Unity of the Spirit."

It is not unlike how our bodies are made up. For example, a leg has many parts to it. There are muscles, ligaments, and bones. However, they all form one leg. So while each church has aspects and elements that are individual, they are still all part of the same Spirit. The unity that we have with one another, as followers of Christ, is grounded, not in our all being the same, but in the Spirit.

Thus, while we seek for unity, we do not seek for uniformity. This is even true within the same individual church. As we look around our churches, we see the great variety that exists within the church. On a larger scale, we see this from denomination to denomination. We don't seek uniformity in all the things of God, but rather we seek unity that is grounded in the Spirit. I can remember going to a church in my denomination which practiced a more modern worship than I am accustomed to. I wore a suit; almost everyone else was in shorts and T-shirts. Of the several hundred people there, I was the only one in a tie. Not even the pastor had a tie on. I was greeted by an elder after the service with, "Kind of overdressed, aren't you?" While we might not have had uniformity in attire, that did not mean we could not have unity in the Spirit.

Let us never become so caught up with uniformity in our Christian practice, that we overlook the real need for unity in the Spirit. Scripture calls for the latter. Just as we don't wish for flowers to all be the same color, or cars to all be the same model, so we also don't seek uniformity in the church. Uniformity might seem to be nice, but it is the wrong focus. We ought to emphasize our need to be "diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Soli Deo Gloria,

May the Lord bless and keep you, and may you always know the joy of the Lord.

(The new Lamp unto my feet)

The new "What does the bible say"

Daily Bible Readings

Daily walk through the Bible

The Silent Sermon

2007-02-03T23:58:00.000-08:00

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the minister decided to visit him. It was a chilly day. That evening, the minister found the man at home all alone sitting by a blazing fire.

Guessing the reason for his minister's visit, the man welcomed him, and led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited. The minister made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, he took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent.

The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead. Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.

The minister glanced at his watch and chose this time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more, with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the minister reached the door to leave, his host said, with a tear running down his cheek, "Thank you so much for your fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday".

May the Lord bless and keep you, and may you always know the joy of the Lord.

Without An Earthly Reward

2007-02-01T22:04:00.000-08:00

by Ed Price

There was once a woman who worked for a large company. One day her employer had a meeting with his entire work force. He requested them to sign up to contribute to a charitable organization -- a number of large charities rolled into one. He said that each person could declare the contribution on his income taxes, so it wouldn't cost anything. Furthermore, he said, the company would give a bonus to the person who pledged the most and they'd get their picture in the newsletter for all to see. He added that all the businesses in town were in competition to see who would contribute the most.

The woman thought about this. Several days before, she had been reading her Bible and had come across a passage that suddenly took on new meaning. She looked it up again.

"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matthew 6:2-4 NIV)

That's the way to do it, she thought to herself, and that's the way I WILL do it. Suddenly she was filled with joy.

First of all, she took five dollars out of her wallet and gave it to the company treasurer as her contribution to the big charity. Then she took the hundred dollars, that she had been saving for a new VCR, and went to the grocery store. She bought all kinds of non-perishable foods and cleaning products -- cans of soup, cereal, canned vegetables, powdered milk, pancake mix, soap powder, dish washing liquid, bars of soap, and an enormous bag of caramel popcorn. Then she went home and put everything into three large boxes.

The next morning at 4 a.m., she put the boxes in her car and drove to the local food bank. She unloaded her groceries and placed the boxes by the front door, dropping a hand-written note into one of the boxes. It read: "For the poor, in the name of Jesus." Then she quickly got back into her car.

As the woman drove down the darkened street, she felt wonderful. She had given entirely out of love with no hope of an earthly reward. There would be no "thank you's" -- no picture in the company newsletter. No one would ever know who the benefactor had been. It felt really good.

She could imagine the food bank officers scratching their heads, wondering who had made the contribution. She could imagine the joy of a poverty-stricken mother receiving much needed food for her hungry children. And then she chuckled as she imagined the delight on some child's face when confronted by that enormous bag of caramel popcorn.

No one had seen this generous woman lay her parcels down before the door of the food bank. But her Father in heaven, who saw in secret, knew exactly what she had done and, even now, was preparing a reward for her beyond her wildest dreams.

May the Lord bless and keep you, and may you always know the joy of the Lord.

(The new Lamp unto my feet)

The new "What does the bible say"

Daily Bible Readings

Daily walk through the Bible

Without An Earthly Reward

2007-02-01T21:55:00.000-08:00

by Ed Price

The woman thought about this. Several days before, she had been reading her Bible and had come across a passage that suddenly took on new meaning. She looked it up again.

That's the way to do it, she thought to herself, and that's the way I WILL do it. Suddenly she was filled with joy.

May the Lord bless and keep you, and may you always know the joy of the Lord.

(The new Lamp unto my feet)

The new "What does the bible say"

Daily Bible Readings

Daily walk through the Bible

Don't We All?

2007-01-31T14:02:00.000-08:00

I was parked in front of the mall wiping off my car. I had just come from the car wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work. Coming my way from across the parking lot was what society would consider a bum. From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money. There are times when you feel generous but there are other times that you just don't want to be bothered. This was one of those "I don't want to be bothered times." "I hope he doesn't ask me for any money," I thought. He didn't. He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop but he didn't look like he had enough money to even ride the bus.

After a few minutes he spoke. "That's a very pretty car," he said. He was ragged but he had an air of dignity around him. His scraggly blond beard kept more than his face warm. I said, "thanks," and continued wiping off my car. He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money never came. As the silence between us widened something inside said, "Ask him if he needs any help." I was sure that he would say "yes" but I held true to the inner voice. "Do you need any help?" I asked. He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget. We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments. I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. He spoke the three words that shook me. "Don't we all?" he said. I was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a bum in the street, until those three words hit me like a twelve gauge shotgun. Don't we all? I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare, but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day. Those three little words still ring true.

May the Lord bless and keep you, and may you always know the joy of the Lord.

(The new Lamp unto my feet)

The new "What does the bible say"

Daily Bible Readings

Daily walk through the Bible