A "yoke" run "wild"

Cute, very cute!!! If I had a humorous nature, I might say that this is a yoke gone wild.  On a more serious note, it does make me wonder when our first thoughts happen.  What is your first memory?  Mine is when I was 5 or 6 (probably 6) and climbed on the school bus with flowers in my hand for a little girl who rode to school with me.  I have no idea who she was, what she looked like, or whatever became of this kindergarten cutie, but I do remember that I liked her a lot.  I wonder how far back memories can go?  Does anyone out there remember events from 2 years of age or younger?  Since life outside the womb is viable after about seven months, I wonder what thoughts could occur BEFORE BIRTH????  Something is going on prior to our first breath of fresh air, that is for sure.  I know this because of the following passage...

WEB: Jeremiah Chapter 1
[1] The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: [2] to whom the word of Yahweh came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. [3] It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. [4] Now the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, [5] “Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you. Before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” [6] Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Behold, I don’t know how to speak; for I am a child.”

If someone says that a fetus is less than a human being, then they call God a liar, for he says he knew Jeremiah BEFORE HIS BIRTH!!!  More than that, to end the natural birth process is to directly challenge the authority of God!!!  If God starts something and you stop it, how can that be defined other than sin?  Since a full grown chicken seems to be as dumb as a bag of nails, then the inscribed shell is nothing more than humorous fantasy, but human beings are another matter.  Our country has a lot to answer for because of our actions concerning abortion.  Have no part in abortion, resist it at every level and do what you can to end this affront to God.  I am counting the days until this is ended forever and that has far more meaning than any chicken scratches could ever have.

Hardened by Deceit by Mark Copeland

http://executableoutlines.com/text/he3_13.htm

A very important lesson for us all... Gary

Confused, lost, need directions...?

This is so confusing I actually understand it.  Suppose you are on a major road (going north) that is going to separate into two other ones and as it does you are currently in the right lane.  You want to go East (which would be on the right), so you exit left and follow the road as it goes underneath the road you were formerly on and then goes right (East).  Confused?  I don't blame you!!!  Other than this little convoluted explanation, the sign makes no sense at all.  But, I understand that this could happen, so why not accept its possibility and go with it.  Akin to this, we find in our Bibles, the book of Revelation and its apparently confusing imagery.  Take a moment and read these few verses and see if the direction it takes you makes sense...

WEB: Revelation of John Chapter 1

[1] This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John, [2] who testified to God’s word, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, about everything that he saw.

[3] Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is at hand.

[4] John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne; [5] and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood; [6] and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

[7] Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen.

[8] "“I am the Alpha and the Omega,”" says the Lord God, "“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”"

[9] I John, your brother and partner with you in oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God’s Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ. [10] I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet [11] saying, "“What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”"

Pet peeve here... it is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, not of John.  While I am at it, it is not Revelations, its REVELATION.  Good! That is over; I have vented for the day!!!!  But, what I really wanted to mention is that the events of this revelation were to happen soon.  The language used in the book is primarily symbolic and not literal because being literal would have been easily understood by the Roman government of the day and resulted in the extermination of all the Christians.  The seven churches were real congregations and the problem was real, but the language is figurative.  Is this confusing or what?  That is the idea, confuse those who probably would have never read the Old Testament prophets and say what you will.  Today, people make all sorts of crazy predictions and outlandish comments on this book that I have to wonder if they have ever read the Old Testament at all.  But, know this; just as I was thinking of an actual road when I explained the odd road marker above, so the Christians of the first century would have understood their reality coupled with the Old Testament Scriptures.  The clear message of Revelation is that God will overcome all evil (including the mighty Roman Empire) and in the end Christians will find joy, peace and eternal life with God.  Can you say these things about your life?  Need directions?  Just ask; I will be glad to show you the signposts....

Rejoice Always by Mark Copeland

http://executableoutlines.com/text/1th5_16.htm

An exhortation worth remembering... Gary

That fourth question...

This is a sunrise picture from my daughter's dining room.  Its a gorgeous sunrise, and that alone is interesting, but the chandelier caught my attention.  For you see, my family were poor farm people and never in their wildest dreams could have imagined owning such a thing!!!  Yet, just a couple of generations later... success!  Not without huge amounts of hard work by my daughter and her husband, though.  Still, its hard for me to conceive of such financial success, but it can still happen in America.  Which makes me wonder what we really know about others and how often do we put ourselves in their shoes.  Today, in Bible class, we were listening to a lecture on baptism from the book of Acts and I began to understand something new about the topic.  And these three passages came to mind...

WEB: Acts Chapter 8

[26] But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise, and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert.”

[27] He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship. [28] He was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.

[29] The Spirit said to Philip, “Go near, and join yourself to this chariot.”

[30] Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

[31] He said, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He begged Philip to come up and sit with him. [32] Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this,

“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter.
As a lamb before his shearer is silent,
so he doesn’t open his mouth.


[33] In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away.
Who will declare His generation?
For his life is taken from the earth.”


[34] The eunuch answered Philip, “Who is the prophet talking about? About himself, or about someone else?”

[35] Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached to him Jesus. [36] As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?”
[37] [38] He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

[39] When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch didn’t see him any more, for he went on his way rejoicing.

WEB: Isaiah Chapter 56

[1] Thus says Yahweh, “Keep justice, and do righteousness; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. [2] Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast; who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

[3] Neither let the foreigner, who has joined himself to Yahweh, speak, saying, “Yahweh will surely separate me from his people;” neither let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”

[4] For thus says Yahweh, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast my covenant: [5] to them I will give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. [6] Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh, to minister to him, and to love the name of Yahweh, to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and holds fast my covenant; [7] even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

   WEB: Deuteronomy 23:1. He who is wounded in the stones, or has his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the assembly of Yahweh.

 As we read the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch, I wondered why he put his question the way he did.  I had always thought of the Eunuch having a sense of urgency and this is seems to be the case.  But, I wondered, WHY would he be concerned with someone preventing him from being baptized???  The answer that came to me this afternoon was that not only was the Ethiopian a foreigner, but he was a eunuch as well.  So, under the law of the Old Testament, he was excluded from the assembly (the synagogue or church of the Old Testament).  But under the NEW TESTAMENT, even a mulitated stranger had hope!!!!  God was now available to everyone; the door to heaven was unrestricted.  The window on the world that the EUNUCH now looked through had a new SONRISE (not sunrise) and that is more valuable than any financial success anyone could ever have!!! Its no wonder he went on his way rejoicing!!!!!

The Knowledge of Jesus Christ by Mark Copeland

http://executableoutlines.com/text/ph3_8.htm

A study worth reading... Gary

The "I" Team

Leave it to someone to come up with this little bit of absurdity.  A team is a collection of people knit together somehow to accomplish something.  If there is a team, then there is no "I".  Why someone who manipulate "team" is beyond me; I can only guess why.  Like it or not, we are all part of a "team"; its called the human race.  We all the same condition: We are human beings with the same condition; we are born, we grow old and die.  But, a select few of us have another "team", that is, we are gathered together with Christ unto heaven, where we will "win" forever.  The apostle Paul puts it this way...

World English Bible: Ephesians Chapter 2
[11] Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “uncircumcision” by that which is called “circumcision,” (in the flesh, made by hands); [12] that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. [13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ. [14] For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, [15] having abolished in the flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace; [16] and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby. [17] He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. [18] For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. [19] So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, [20] being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; [21] in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; [22] in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.

Each of us are individuals, with our own peculiar characteristics and talents.  But Christ has brought us together in HIM to be a body, a group, "a team" that has restored fellowship with God.  If there is an "I" in this team, its Christ and that's really what is important, isn't it?