From Gary... Caught

This picture, with its simple message says it all- almost. Animals will eat until they get sick; sometimes even after that. They are what they are- ANIMALS!!! People should be able to recognize when they do something wrong (The Bible calls this SIN), but often refuse to either recognize what they are doing IS WRONG, or refuse TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. If the aberrant behavior is repeatedly practiced, even the worst activities imaginable can seem enjoyable to the extent that it can become a permanent lifestyle.  I like Paul's letters to the Corinthians because they deal with genuine, down-to-earth problems and their associated attitudes. Fortunately, the Corinthians church listened to Paul and changed. In the second letter, Paul writes...

2 Corinthians, Chapter 7

  8  For though I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I see that my letter made you sorry, though just for a while.  9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that you were made sorry to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly way, that you might suffer loss by us in nothing.  10 For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world works death.

Facing sin and doing something about it can be very difficult- but it is NOT IMPOSSIBLE!!! The Corinthian church was living proof of this.  They made a choice and stopped sinning and so can we. Not only did they stop sinning but they became even more zealous for the cause of Christ.

11 For behold, this same thing, that you were made sorry in a godly way, what earnest care it worked in you. Yes, what defense, indignation, fear, longing, zeal, and vengeance! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be pure in the matter.

Do you have a problem with some sin in your life? Listen to what God says about, pray about it, make a decision to turn from it- and actually change your life!!!  If the Corinthian church could- so can you!!!

A God Like That by Kyle Butt, M.A.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=906

A God Like That

by	Kyle Butt, M.A.

If a hundred atheists, agnostics, or unbelievers were asked why they do not believe in God, they might give a hundred different reasons. Certainly, no single reason has emerged as the quintessential answer for unbelief. The problem of evil, pain, and suffering would rank at the top of the list, as well as the claim that “religion” is unscientific.

There is, however, another primary reason that many people give for not believing in the God of the Bible. They say that they would believe in a god if he acted different than the one in the Bible, but they simply “cannot” believe in a god that would act like the one discussed in the “holy book.” An excellent example of this argument comes from an article written by Ronald Defenbaugh. In it, he chronicled his life, pointing out specific times when his unbelief was confirmed by a particular action or idea taught by a “religious” individual or institution. In a paragraph detailing his early years of raising a family, he stated:

One evening, a friend about the same age as us rode home with us from one of our children’s sporting events. This was the first time I realized I may have a real problem with believing. She was a good friend of my spouse’s, a member of our Church and very religious. I don’t remember how the subject came up but salvation was our subject of conversation. She stated that even though my father had been an honest, caring person who did nothing but good, he would not receive salvation. He could only go to Heaven if he accepted Christ as his Savior. I remember thinking that I wanted no part of a deity that sent my father to Hell under those circumstances. Why would a baby, or my father, or even me be sent to Hell just because we didn’t accept Christ as our Savior? What about the Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists? Again, what about me? This started me thinking that I probably was without belief. Or at least I didn’t understand it. It didn’t fit my logic (2003).

While his reference to God sending a baby to hell is without any biblical support, his understanding of the teaching of the concept that the God of the Bible will send to hell all individuals who have reached the age of accountability (the level of mental maturity at which a person is capable of understanding the concept of his or her own sin) and who have not accepted Jesus Christ, is absolutely accurate (John 8:24). Understanding this precept very clearly, he stated that he “wanted no part of a deity” like that. It is almost as if he is implying that if the God of the Bible were a little different, or if He better “fit” Defenbaugh’s own ideas, then he might be willing to believe in such a God.

Let’s analyze this position. Those who “cannot” believe in a God like the one in the Bible, conveniently accept as true all the characteristics of God that make Him look like a heartless tyrant. For instance, they accept that the God of the Bible is a deity Who has ordered executions of “immoral” nations that do not worship Him. They also accept that the God of the Bible will confine certain individuals to eternal destruction due to the “wrong” decisions of those individuals. (The word wrong is in quotation marks because the actions the Bible labels as wrong and the actions accepted as wrong by many unbelievers often are quite different.) After flipping through the Bible and compiling a list of all the things that they think a true god should not do, they then declare that they cannot believe in a god that would do such things.

In doing this, they neglect to accept the other characteristics of the God of the Bible that would make acceptable His actions and decisions. For instance, 1 John 3:20 states that God “knows everything.” There is not an unbeliever alive who would claim to know everything. Could it be that the things known by the God of the Bible, which are unknown to the skeptic, might just be the very things that could sufficiently explain God’s actions? Isaiah 55:8-9 states: “ ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’ ” If the skeptic accepts from the Bible the ideas about God with which he disagrees, is he not equally obligated to accept the statements about God that explain the depth of God’s character? If the thoughts of God and the ways of God are far above all the ways of man, could it be that, in the great cosmic scheme of things, an all-knowing God might have some plans of which the skeptic is not fully informed?

To postulate a capricious God Who confines people to eternal destruction simply because those people do not “dot a few i’s” or “cross a few t’s” seems an easy straw man to destroy. Yet, when the “rest of the story” is told, the picture becomes much clearer. The fuller portrait of the God of the Bible is of a deity Who is all knowing (1 John 3:20) everlastingly righteous (Psalm 119:142), loving (John 3:16), compassionate and merciful (James 5:11), anxious for all men to be saved (2 Peter 3:9), and willing to give them numerous opportunities to do so (Acts 17:26-27).

The later portion of Defenbaugh’s article reveals the true essence of rejecting the God of the Bible. Defenbaugh commented that atheism “means no belief—no belief at all, godly, ungodly or otherwise. No Satan, Hell, Heaven, God, Jesus, Angel, Holy Ghost, no nothing. I am free of all constraints. The only person I have to answer to is Man—each man.” Once again, Defenbaugh hit the nail on the head when it came to his concept of the God of the Bible. God demands certain things from His human creation. But since Defenbaugh does not want to comply with those things, he has chosen instead to disbelieve, so that he can be “free of all constraints.” Yes, it truly is easy to answer “each man” since all human opinion carries equal weight. But “God is not a man” (Numbers 23:19), and “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25). In reality, after the Bible’s entire picture of God is allowed to shine through, in all its glory, no other god could measure up to “a God like that.”

REFERENCES

Defenbaugh, Ronald (2003), “Why I Couldn’t Deconvert,” [On-line], URL: http://www.secweb.org/asset.asp?AssetID=263.

From Mark Copeland... The Betrayal Of Jesus (Mark 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

 

From Gary... Reset, reset, reset, reset...

Sometimes I just wish I could fix everything in the world by just using the "reset".  But, would that really work? If Biblical history is any indication- No, it would not!!!

Remember...

Genesis, Chapter 7
 4 In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. Every living thing that I have made, I will destroy from the surface of the ground.” 

  5  Noah did everything that Yahweh commanded him. 

  6  Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth.  7 Noah went into the ship with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the floodwaters.  8 Clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps on the ground  9 went by pairs to Noah into the ship, male and female, as God commanded Noah.  10 After the seven days, the floodwaters came on the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep were burst open, and the sky’s windows were opened.  12 It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights. 

God gave the world a "second chance" with the cleansing of the flood, but something even more dramatic than that was needed.

Consider...

2 Corinthians, Chapter 5
17 ...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.  18 But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation;  19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Everyone has the daily choice to "reset" their life with Christ. Push your button daily- new day, new commitment. But, the choice is YOURS- listen, do you hear it raining?

Are All Sins Equal? by Kyle Butt, M.A. Colton Scott

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=2831

Are All Sins Equal?

by	Kyle Butt, M.A. Colton Scott

At Apologetics Press, we receive numerous questions on various topics. One of the more commonly asked questions is, “Are all sins equal?” In order to answer such a question, we must go to the only definitive source that can speak with authority concerning sins: the Bible. When we do, we see that the answer depends upon the context in which the question is asked.

In one sense, the answer is, “Yes, sin is sin.” James 2:10-11 says: “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” From these verses, we see that any sin is enough to convict a person as a sinner. John said as much when he wrote: “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). So, even though cultures may view certain sins as more or less important than others, the Bible teaches that any deviation from God’s law is enough to keep an individual from the presence of the Lord if that sin is not forgiven.

This point is further underscored in the story of the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-27). The rich young ruler explained to Jesus that he had kept all of the commandments from the time of his youth. Jesus responded to him by saying, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” At these words, the young ruler left sorrowfully. Though he had kept all of the commandments save one, he was still living in sin, due to the fact that he valued his wealth more than his relationship with God. According to Jesus’ statement, the young man only lacked “one thing,” yet it was still enough to keep him from the presence of the Lord. So, in this context, all sins are the same.

However, the fact that any sin can condemn a person does not mean that all sins are judged the same, or have the same spiritual consequences. The Bible plainly states, in numerous places, that God considers some sins to be “greater,” or more evil than others. For instance, in Exodus 32:21, Moses asked Aaron: “What did this people do to you, that you brought so great a sin upon them?” Obviously, this is comparative language, indicating that Aaron’s sin was more evil, or had greater implications than some other sin. We see this concept carried over into the New Testament as well. In Matthew 5:19, Jesus said that whoever breaks “the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.” Clearly, certain commandments were considered “least” and, by comparison, others must have been considered “greater.” The concept of “greater” commandments is found in Matthew 23:23. There Jesus chastised the Pharisees for “neglecting the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.” His point was very clear; the failure to tithe a tiny amount of spices was much less of a sin than the failure to administer justice and mercy to one’s fellow man.

Perhaps the most explicit demonstration of this principle is expressed in Jesus’ conversation with Pilate. In John 19:11, Jesus said to Pilate, “[T]he one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” His statement could not be more direct. The individual responsible for delivering Jesus over to Pilate had committed a sin greater than the sin committed by Pilate.

With this in mind, a person may wonder how all sins can cause a person to be lost, but some sins are judged to be greater than others. A simple illustration will suffice to make this situation clear. Suppose that a person borrows money from the bank to buy a $10,000 car. That person pays the bank back $9,000, but stops making payments on the car. What will happen? The bank will repossess the car, even though the person paid off all of the balance except $1,000. Any unpaid balance is enough to lose the car. Now suppose a person borrows $10,000 on a car and does not pay any of it back. What will happen? The bank will repossess the car. In these two cases, does one person have a greater debt than the other? Certainly, the one who still owes $10,000. But are both debts, even though they are of unequal value, enough to cost both borrowers their cars? Yes. [NOTE: At Apologetics Press we have answered related questions such, “Are There Degrees of Punishment and Reward?” (see Butt, et al., 2000), and “Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit—‘The Unpardonable Sin’” (Butt, 2003).]

CONCLUSION

We can see that the Bible explicitly and clearly tells how God views sins. Sins vary in terms of judgment and weight, yet any one sin is enough to cause a person to lose his or her soul if left unforgiven. In view of this truth, let us all strive to faithfully obey God so that the blood of His Son Jesus Christ can continually cleanse us from all of our sins, from the least to the greatest (1 John 1:7).  

REFERENCES

Butt, Kyle and Alden Bass and Bert Thompson (2000), “Are There Degrees of Punishment and Reward?” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=212.

Butt, Kyle (2003), “Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit—‘The Unpardonable Sin,’” Apologetics Press,http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=1218.

From Mark Copeland... The Garden Of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-42)

                                         "THE GOSPEL OF MARK"

                  The Garden Of Gethsemane (14:32-42)

INTRODUCTION

1. Following the last supper, Jesus and His disciples went to
   Gethsemane... - Mk 14:32
   a. A garden outside the city, across the Kidron brook and on the
      Mount of Olives
   b. It’s name meaning "olive press", and was possibly a remote          walled garden
   c. A place where Jesus often went with His disciples - Jn 18:1-2

2. Note the contrast between the Garden of Eden and the Garden of
   Gethsemane...
   a. In Eden, the first man (Adam) fell by yielding to temptation and
      disobeyed God
   b. In Gethsemane, the second man (cf. 1Co 15:47) conquered by
      yielding to the will of God

[Yes, "The Garden Of Gethsemane" was a place of victory for Jesus (and
consequently for us as well).  But the victory did not come easy, as we
consider first that...]

I. THE GARDEN WAS A PLACE OF SUFFERING

   A. WHERE JESUS EXPERIENCED GREAT DISTRESS...
      1. He went to pray, accompanied only by Peter, James, and John - Mk 14:32-33
      2. Before He began praying, He was "troubled and deeply
         distressed" - Mk 14:33
      3. Later, Luke records that He was "in agony", and His sweat
         became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground - Lk 22:44
      5. He was likely troubled for He knew that His hour had come - cf.
         Jn 12:27
      6. He knew what was imminent, for He had told His disciples
         earlier - Mk 10:32-34

   B. WHERE JESUS ENDURED INTENSE SORROW...
      1. He described Himself as "exceedingly sorrowful, even to death" - Mk 14:34
      2. The writer of Hebrews refers to His "vehement cries and tears" - He 5:7
      3. His grief and sorrow was partly due to the fact that He was
         taking upon Himself our own grief and sorrow! - cf. Isa 53:4-5

   C. WHERE JESUS ENCOUNTERED SOLEMN LONELINESS...
      1. He wanted His closest disciples to watch with Him - Mk 14:33
         a. Those who had been with Him from the beginning - Mk 1:16-20
         b. Those who were privy to one of His greatest miracles - Mk 5:37-43
         c. Those who saw Him transfigured on the mountain - Mt 9:1-2
         d. Including the disciple "whom He loved" - Jn 13:23; 19:26;
            20:2; 21:7,20,24
      2. Yet after each episode of praying, He found them sleeping - Mk 14:37,40,41
         a. When He desired fellowship for comfort, there was none to be
            found
         b. The Psalmist foretold this would happen - cf. Ps 69:20

[Alone in His distress and sorrow, our Lord found "The Garden Of
Gethsemane" to be a place of great suffering for Him.  Then something
happened.  Before He left to face the mob led by Judas to arrest Him,
Jesus found that...]

II. THE GARDEN WAS A PLACE OF STRENGTH

   A. WHEN JESUS EXPRESSED AGONIZING PRAYER...
      1. The agony in His prayer is:
         a. Seen by His posture:  "He...fell on the ground" - Mk 14:35
         b. Heard in His words:  "Abba, Father, take this cup away from
            Me" - Mk 14:36
      2. It was "godly fear" Jesus expressed, and for such His prayer
         was heard - He 5:7
         a. Not that the cup (of suffering) was removed
         b. But that He would be able to drink it

   B. WHEN JESUS EXTENDED ENTIRE RESIGNATION...
      1. As evidenced by His words:
         a. "Not what I will, but what You will." - Mk 14:36
         b. "if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it,
            Your will be done." - Mt 26:42
      2. When man first said "My will, not Thine be done..."
         a. It opened the flood gate of sin
         b. It turned man out of the Paradise of God
      3. But when Jesus said "Not as I will, but as You will..."
         a. Victory over sin and access to the Tree of Life became
            possible
         b. For it prepared Jesus to go to the cross to make it possible

   C. WHEN JESUS ENJOYED SPECIAL COMFORT...
      1. Jesus received an answer to His prayer - cf. Lk 22:43
         a. Not the answer He requested (let this cup pass from Me)
         b. But strength from an angel!
      2. Like the apostle Paul would pray later - cf. 2Co 12:7-10
         a. Asking the Lord to remove his thorn in the flesh
         b. Receiving an answer different than requested, but sufficient
            to meet the need!

   D. WHEN JESUS EVINCED RENEWED RESOLVE...
      1. Strengthened, Jesus was ready to face the hour at hand - Mk 14:41
      2. He was ready to meet His betrayer and those with him - Mk 14:42

CONCLUSION

1. So "The Garden Of Gethsemane" was a place of both suffering and
   strength...
   a. Jesus entered the garden suffering
   b. He left the garden strengthened

2. Notice what turned the place of suffering into a place of strength...
   a. Prayer that was fervent and persistent
   b. Prayer that submitted to the will of God
   c. Prayer in which one was strengthened
   d. Prayer that enabled one to face the cup of life given Him

There will be times when we must enter our "Garden Of Gethsemane":
times of distress, sorrow, loneliness.  But such times can also be a
time of comfort and strength, provided we spend them in prayer, willing
to accept the Father’s will in our lives... - cf. Php 4:6-7

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

 

From Gary... Warnings, instructions and prayer

Stupidity caused by greed- in other words- lawyers!!! While they do have their place in obtaining "justice", yet most of the time it seems their activities just seem to foster GREED.  However, some warnings on medicine are NOT FRIVOLOUS; they may just save your life!!!  Looking beyond the above foolishness (especially the bottom one), what if a warning was actually worth listening to? Consider the following:

Ezekiel, Chapter 33 (WEB)

  1 Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,  2 Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and tell them, When I bring the sword on a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman;  3 if, when he sees the sword come on the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;  4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet, and doesn’t take warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and didn’t take warning; his blood shall be on him; whereas if he had taken warning, he would have delivered his soul.  6 But if the watchman sees the sword come, and doesn’t blow the trumpet, and the people aren’t warned, and the sword comes, and take any person from among them; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.  7 So you, son of man, I have set you a watchman to the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.  8 When I tell the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die, and you don’t speak to warn the wicked from his way; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at your hand.  9 Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he doesn’t turn from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your soul.  10 You, son of man, tell the house of Israel: Thus you speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are on us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live?  11 Tell them, As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn, turn from your evil ways; for why will you die, house of Israel?

Why post on this topic? The answer is simple- I don't want the penalty of verse six.  This is the warning to the country I love; The United States of America: Wake up!!! Realize that radical Muslims are poised to begin a major campaign against our country and if something is not done soon, there will be massive bloodshed in our country!!!!  

In our society, everyone has a right to worship as they please (for now, anyway), but if a group wants to kill, rape, pillage and destroy our country, it should be removed from our boundaries as you would remove CANCER from your own body.  Let peace abound in our great land- remove the wickedness of radical Islam from our midst!!! My conscience is clean; I have warned you all. How you respond is up to you. I pray that whatever you do, it will be done peaceably, if possible.  Join with me today in prayer for our great nation- that it musters the intestinal fortitude to combat religious evil in our midst!!!!