9/3/13

From Gary... How you doin'?



Sunday was interesting.  I led Sunday morning singing (if you can believe that one!!!) and Larry Shatzer did the sermon.  He made mention of his belief in how simple a person he was (several times) and I believe him.  He is very intelligent however and to be able to preach at his advanced age is a blessing to all who hear him.  It occurred to me that in some ways my life has become simple as well.  Watering Linda's plants, feeding the birds, taking the dogs for their daily walks and all the other mundane tasks (except for writing this little blog) I do daily have become a matter of routine.  And while I was talking with my good friend Harry yesterday, I realized that friendship means wanting to know how things are with the other person. Paul puts it this way...

Philippians, Chapter 2
 19  But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing. 

Having said all of the above: generically, I am fine.  My neck has been giving me problems the last few days, but the chiropractor should take care of that this morning.  Linda is in New York, visiting her family and the dogs are good dogs.  The white one, Buddy, has calmed down some.  When other dogs approach, I often pick him up and he calms down.  The Apricot Red one, Pal, hasn't made a mess in the house for some time now.  (It is strange that as long as I leave the leash attached to him there are no problems.)  The picture at the top is of the intersection of Brahman / Palamino and in the distance you can see the dog walk. Currently, I have made over 5 thousand posts (between the two blogs), with about 97 thousand hits.  Frankly, it is not much fun getting old, but there are rewards.  I really don't make the same stupid, stupid mistakes I did in youth and life makes more sense than ever. And, lest I forget, heaven is that much closer.  Well, that is what is happening with me.  If we have  not communicated in a while - call, write, email, text- whatever.  I would love to know how you are doing....

From Jim McGuiggan... YOUR FRIEND, HERBIE

YOUR FRIEND, HERBIE

     I owned a book years ago called Children's Prayers. A little boy must have surveyed the cost of a life lived with the God who makes war against all that hurts and cripples and suffocates people. Seeing what God stands against and that he purposes to right all wrongs and wanting to be a part of it the boy wrote this brief note: "Dear God, count me in. Your friend Herbie."

      The courage of some children is astonishing. Haven't I personally seen little children throw themselves against a drunken brute of a man who was attacking their mother! Literally thrown out of the way they came at him again.

      The sensitivity and compassion of children is profoundly moving. Wasn't I there in a house on the Shankill Road all those years ago when twelve year-old Jim was sobbing at the loss of his granddad and eight year-old Aaron sat on the arm of the chair, tear-filled and silent, with his arm around his best friend's shoulder!

      Such images stay with us 
vivid and creative even after twenty or sixty-five years. To rise and in the name of God to confront the world is the courage we need. To say with conviction: "Dear God, count me in" is no small thing. And along with our courage, to have compassion and support for the hurting is to be like Jesus.
     Out of the mouths and lives of children God is calling his People to gallantry! 

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Mark Copeland... Bewitched And Befooled (Galatians 3:1-5)



                     "THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS"

                     Bewitched And Befooled (3:1-5)

INTRODUCTION

1. When Paul wrote of his concern to the churches in Galatia...
   a. He described them as "foolish" - Ga 3:1,3
      1) For seeking to be perfected by the flesh - e.g., via
         circumcision
      2) For suffering many things in vain, as their salvation was
         endangered - cf. Ga 5:4-8
   b. He wondered if they had been "bewitched" - Ga 3:1
      1) A word (baskaino) which means "to be fascinated" (Strong),
         "charmed" (Thayer)
      2) Led astray by charming misrepresentations
   c. He sought to reason with them - Ga 3:1-5
      1) Was not Christ clearly portrayed to them as crucified?
      2) Had they not received the Spirit by the hearing of faith rather
         than by the works of the Law?
      3) Had not the One who supplied the Spirit done so through the
         hearing of faith?

2. Could we face similar dangers today...?
   a. Might someone "bewitch" and "befool" us through false
      representations?
   b. Should we not be led by calm reasoning rather than fascinating
      claims?

[We may indeed find ourselves "Bewitched And Befooled", for the
Scriptures reveal there is...]

I. A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER

   A. DANGER CLEARLY DECLARED...
      1. Jesus and John warned of false prophets - Mt 7:15; 1Jn 4:1
      2. Paul warned of false apostles, ministers of Satan - 2Co 11:
         13-15
      3. He warned of being cheated through philosophy and principles of
         the world - Col 2:8
      4. He warned of some departing from the faith- 1Ti 4:1-3
      5. He warned of being turned aside to fables - 2Ti 4:3-4
      6. Peter warned of false teachers with destructive heresies, by
         covetousness exploiting with deceptive words - 2Pe 2:1-3
      -- Such warnings clearly confirm the danger of being "Bewitched
         And Befooled"

   B. DANGER CLEARLY PRESENT...
      1. We are beleaguered by traditions of men (e.g., Catholicism and
         denominationalism)
      2. We are assaulted by philosophies of men (e.g., humanism,
         secularism, postmodernism)
      3. We are allured by false teachers who appeal to greed (e.g.,
         gospel of health and wealth)
      4. We are challenged by false doctrines denying God and Jesus
         (e.g., evolution, the 'Jesus Seminar')
      5. We are assailed by changing trends (easy divorce, same-sex
         marriage)
      -- The world has clearly been "Bewitched And Befooled"; what about
         us?

[Yes, there is "a clear and present danger" that we face today.  If we
are to avoid being "Bewitched And Befooled", then consider from our text (Ga 3:1-5) what is...]

II. THE SOLUTION

   A. REMEMBER WHAT HAS BEEN CLEARLY PORTRAYED...
      1. Jesus and Him crucified - Ga 3:1
         a. Proclaimed by the apostles - 1Co 1:23-24; 2:2
         b. Proclaimed in the Lord's Supper - 1Co 11:26
      2. Never forget that Jesus was crucified for our sins
         a. Thus the Law of Moses with its works (e.g., circumcision)
            can't save us
         b. Nor can any doctrine which denies God and the need for
            Jesus' death
      -- There is no other gospel that can save us - Ro 1:16; Ga 1:8-9

   B. REMEMBER HOW ONE RECEIVES THE SPIRIT...
      1. It is by the hearing of faith - Ga 3:2
         a. Promised to those who believe, repent and are baptized - 
            Jn 7:37-39; Ac 2:38
         b. Given to those who are the children of God - Ga 4:6
      2. Never forget that our spiritual lives began in the Spirit - Ga 3:3
         a. We are born of the Spirit - Jn 3:5; Tit 3:5
         b. We are strengthened by the Spirit in the inner man - Ep 3:16
      -- There is no other means by which we can grow as Christians - Ro 8:9-14

   C. REMEMBER WHO SUPPLIED THE SPIRIT AND WORKED MIRACLES...
      1. It was God - Ga 3:5
         a. Who poured out the Spirit abundantly through Jesus Christ
            our Savior - Tit 3:6
         b. Who bore witness by the signs, wonders, miracles, and gifts
            of the Holy Spirit - He 2:4
      2. Never forget that God bore witness to Christ and His apostles
         - He 2:3
         a. Miracles confirmed those sent out by the Lord - cf. Mk 16:
            19-20
         b. What miracles have been done by false teachers, foolish
            professors, pompous theologians who would mislead us today?
      -- There is no other way to know the will and word of God other
         than through the apostles of Jesus Christ - 1Jn 4:5-6

CONCLUSION

1. Many people today have been "Bewitched And Befooled"...
   a. Evidenced by the many different religions
   b. Exhibited by the rapidly changing moral standards
   -- Too many people are being misled so they do not obey the truth

2. If we desire not to be "Bewitched And Befooled"...
   a. Then follow Jesus who was crucified for our sins
   b. Listen to Him and His apostles with "the hearing of faith"

Only then can we be sure to "know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free." - Jn 8:31-32


Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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