6/16/13

From Gary.... From Majestic beauty to Eternal Greatness




(Click on the above link for info from its creators)

For the past 15 years or so, I have been accessing this website in order to view the wonders of the universe.  Prior to that, I was exposed to the heavens by just going outside and viewing the heavens.  It was there that I realized the wonder of the universe and began to understand that there must be a creator behind all of this splendor.  At this point, Psalm 8 comes to mind...

Psalm 8
  1  Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth,
who has set your glory above the heavens!
  2 From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength,
because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.
  3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;
  4 what is man, that you think of him?
What is the son of man, that you care for him?
  5 For you have made him a little lower than God,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
  6 You make him ruler over the works of your hands.
You have put all things under his feet:
  7 All sheep and cattle,
yes, and the animals of the field,
  8 The birds of the sky, the fish of the sea,
and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
  9 Yahweh, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Since the early 60's I have been thinking of the heavens and searching for an understanding of its creator.  This website has often focused my thinking and reminded me of how insignificant I am- and how great GOD IS!!!  I can only imagine how many of the 1 billion visitors to APOD have thought the same thing!!!  Visit the site when you have opportunity and reflect on the greatness of the Almighty!!!


PS.Here is the link:  

From Jim McGuiggan... My Grace Is All You Need


My Grace Is All You Need

In response to Paul's fervent pleas that he needed to be freed from the tormenting thorn in the flesh the Lord said, "My grace is all you need." The verb is another present tense verb that suggests an ongoing truth. "My grace is always (or continues to be) all you need."
How does the word "grace" function here? The line of the thought is made a bit more difficult because of how it's linked with the next phrase. "My grace is all you need for my power is made perfect in weakness." The preposition rendered "for" usually indicates a causal connection. "Because my power is made perfect in weakness my grace is all you need" seems to be the thought.
I tend to think that Paul is implicitly confessing that the "triumphalist" view to some degree was his own or at least, it could easily have become his own. We're told the thorn was to keep him from strutting and that suggests he was tempted to view revelations and success and manifest power not only as glory badges but as the kind of things that should accompany his status as an apostle. (Maybe that's stretching a little.)
His expressed exultation when he discovered that his weakness was the way to God's glory makes it sound like a genuine discovery. It's as if up to that point he might well have thought the revelations were an essential part of his apostolic profile and therefore needed so that he could fulfil his ministry effectively. The Lord protected him from the dangers arising from the revelations and assured him that his pain and loss weren't hindrances but rather that they were the media in which God's saving power was made "fully present" (Furnish). When he learned this he almost burst into joyful applause. If this catches the tone of it then it would suggest that Paul's eyes were opened through his pain and loss and that he was rescued from what his opponents were still blinded by. It's as if he said, "I used to think I had to have all the 'glory marks' of apostleship but when I was weakened and instructed by God my eyes were opened. I came to understand not only the truth of the gospel more clearly but also the essential means by which it is made known." At such a moment he not only approved of Christ's agenda he recognised and approved the method and means.
Paul's plea for deliverance may well have been motivated by a raw desire for ease and that would be perfectly understandable. But once his eyes were opened the loss was transformed and became an occasion for and a means of "gospeling". So there's more in Paul than the desire for ease; there's an underlying and stronger hunger to glorify God. Still, his experience is agony and at one point he felt the need to have it removed.
"I need you to remove this debilitating weakness."
"All you need is my grace."
"I need you to take away the agony that is weakening me."
"Because my power is made perfect in weakness all you need is my grace to sustain you in your weakness."

Of course it would be true that while he's in agony Paul would be preoccupied with that agony and he might not feel like evangelizing but that can't be what he has in mind here. When he speaks of "weakness" he isn't speaking of physical/emotional pain and loss simply as physical or emotional experiences. He views them in the context of God's way of redeeming and in contrast to the triumphalist point of view. That being the case and the fact that he does seem to have learned this from God in the wake of revelations and through the thorn experience we know Paul worked out his theology as he lived out his life and ministry with God (Holloday).

©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... The Betrayal Of Jesus (Mk.14:43-52)


                          "THE GOSPEL OF MARK"

                    The Betrayal Of Jesus (14:43-52)

INTRODUCTION

1. Certainly one of the saddest moments in the life of Jesus was His
   betrayal by Judas...
   a. One of Jesus’ closest disciples, even one of His twelve apostles
      - Mk 14:43-46
   b. Followed by being abandoned by the rest of the apostles - Mk 14:47-50
   c. And possibly Mark; many think he was the young man that fled naked
      - Mk 14:51-52

2. But our focus is on Judas:  What led him to betray his Lord and
   Savior?  How could one who had been with Jesus...
   a. Seen His miracles, heard His teachings
   b. Betray Him with a kiss?

3. And what about us, who claim to be Jesus’ disciples today...?
   a. Could we be guilty of betraying Jesus in some way?
   b. Are there things that misled Judas that could have a similar
      effect on us?

[What might we learn from "The Betrayal Of Jesus"?  Lest we follow the
same path of Judas, let’s reflect for a few moments on what we can glean
from the Scriptures...]

I. JESUS WAS BETRAYED BY A CLOSE FRIEND

   A. JUDAS WAS NO STRANGER TO JESUS...
      1. As already mentioned, he was one of the apostles - Mk 3:14-19
      2. He was among those whom Jesus loved - cf. Jn 13:1
      3. Yet as prophesied, Jesus was betrayed by "a familiar friend"
         - Ps 41:9

   B. BEING CLOSE TO JESUS IS NO GUARANTEE...
      1. Just being His disciples is no assurance we could not betray
         Him
      2. Like several of the churches in Asia Minor, we could...
         a. Leave our first love - Re 2:4-5
         b. Begin to tolerate false doctrine - Re 2:14-16
         c. Permit false teachers to spread their doctrines - Re 2:20
         d. Fail to perfect our works, and not be watchful - Re 3:1-3
         e. Become lukewarm - Re 3:15-16
      3. Yes, we can betray Jesus by denying Him who bought us - cf. 2Pe 2:1

[Therefore we need to heed Jesus’ admonition to be "faithful unto death"
(Re 2:10), and not assume that close proximity to Jesus in the past
guarantees faithfulness in the future.]

II. JESUS WAS BETRAYED BY A LOVER OF MONEY

   A. MONEY WAS A PROBLEM FOR JUDAS...
      1. He often pilfered from the money box of the disciples - Jn 12:4-6
      2. The opportunity to make some money led him to betray Jesus-Mt 26:14-16

   B. MONEY CAN BE A PROBLEM FOR US...
      1. The deceitfulness of riches can render us unfruitful - Mk 4:19
      2. The desire for riches and the love of money can lead us to
         stray from the faith and drown in destruction and perdition
         - 1Ti 6:9-10
      3. The Laodiceans’ preoccupation with wealth made them lukewarm
         - Re 3:16-17

[Could we be guilty of betraying Jesus by our desire for riches, letting
such things take precedent over our service to God and His church?]

III. JESUS WAS BETRAYED BY A SHOW OF AFFECTION

   A. JUDAS BETRAYED JESUS WITH A KISS...
      1. He could have pointed...perhaps he sought to soften the blow of
         betrayal - Mk 14:44-45
      2. Jesus noted the obvious contradiction - Lk 22:48

   B. DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION DON’T ENSURE FAITHFULNESS...
      1. Many people are very emotional in their religion
         a. As displayed in their worship
         b. Believing it to be evidence of being "Spirit-filled"
      2. Yet emotions alone are not a reliable guide
         a. They can easily mislead us - cf. Pr 16:25; Jer 10:23; 17:9
         b. They are often present in the unstable believer - cf. Mk 4:16-17
      3. This is not to discount the place and value of emotions
         a. We are to love God with all our heart and with all our mind
            - Mt 22:37-38
         b. The Spirit does produce fruit in our lives that affects our
            emotions - Ga 5:22-23
         c. But we must keep them in the proper order:
            1) Our emotions must come from faith, not faith coming from
               emotions
            2) Otherwise we are led by emotionalism, not faith
      4. True faith comes from the Word of God - Ro 10:17; Jn 20:30-31

[If we believe that displays of affection in our religion can make up
for our failure to heed God’s Word, we deceive ourselves and betray
Jesus in the process!]

IV. JESUS WAS BETRAYED BY A MISTAKEN DISCIPLE

   A. JUDAS MISTOOK THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS ACTION...
      1. He evidently didn’t think Jesus would be condemned - Mt 27:3-4
      2. This has prompted some to think that Judas was motivated by
         more than money
         a. That perhaps his betrayal would force Jesus to act, show His
            true power
         b. That in such a way it would demonstrate who Jesus truly was

   B. WE CAN BE GUILTY OF MISTAKEN SERVICE...
      1. Thinking our service is acceptable, when it is not - Mt 7:21-23
      2. Thinking we can improve on God’s way, when His ways may not be
         ours - Isa 55:8-9
      3. We need to head the Preacher’s advice - cf. Ecc 5:1-2
         a. Come to hear and do what He says
         b. Not presume to know what pleases God and offer what we think
            is best

[In our zeal, we may be guilty of acting based on mistaken knowledge
(cf. Ro 10:1-3).  Dare we possibly betray Jesus by presuming we know
what is according to His will and plan?]

V. JESUS WAS BETRAYED BY AN OVERWROUGHT FOLLOWER

   A. JUDAS REACTED TO HIS SIN THE WRONG WAY...
      1. He was overcome with grief - cf. Mt 27:3
      2. He took the wrong course of action by hanging himself - cf. Mt 27:5

   B. WE CAN REACT TO OUR SINS THE SAME WAY...
      1. There are two kinds of sorrow - 2Co 7:10
         a. Sorrow of the world that produces death
         b. Godly sorrow that produces repentance
         c. The first sorrow is preoccupied with self; the second is
            sorrow for sinning against God
      2. It is natural to be sorrowful for our sins
         a. But we should not wallow in our grief
         b. But repent, as did Peter who denied Christ
      3. Paul is another example of one who did not let sins of the past
         hinder service in the present
         a. He focused on God’s grace which gave him another chance
            - 1Co 15:9-10
         b. He directed his attention on striving for the upward call of
            God - Php 3:12-14

CONCLUSION

1. While Jesus was betrayed by all these things, let’s not forget the
   influence of Satan...
   a. Satan used Judas to betray Jesus - Lk 22:3-4
   b. Satan put it in Judas’ heart to betray Jesus - Jn 13:2
   c. For this reason Jesus referred to Judas as "a devil" - Jn 6:70-71

2. Yet how did Satan influence Judas?  By some of the very things we’ve
   noticed...
   a. Through his love of money
   b. Through his emotionalism
   c. Through his mistaken ideas
   d. Through his preoccupation with self
   -- Even Peter was influenced by Satan through some of these things
      (cf. Mt 16:23)

And so while we may decry the treachery of Judas, we should humbly learn
from his mistakes, taking to heart the words of Peter:

   "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks
   about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  Resist
   him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings
   are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." - 1Pe 5:9-10
 
Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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