JESUS IS COMING! ARE YOU READY?

"Jesus is coming" -that is a statement of fact. "Are you ready?" -that is a question relating to the statement of fact. We are told there are twenty times more references to the second coming of Christ than to His first coming in the old Testament. One out of thirty verses in the New Testament deals with it. Paul mentions baptism about thirteen times, but mentions the second coming fifty times. Jesus is coming, are you ready? Let's look at five words that will cover a lot of ground in being ready.

I. OCCUPY [LK. 19:11-13]

The word means "to do business", "to busy oneself". Everybody can do something. Witness, pray, work, give, teach, sing, clean, wash, paint, pass out tracts, give a ride, etc.

II. PURIFY [JM. 4:8, I JN. 3:2-3]

The word means exactly what you think it means, to make clean. To purify oneself. In James it's a command, in I Jn. it's a motivation.

III. WITNESS [ACTS 1:6-8, 2:32, 3:15, 5:30-32]

The word "martus" means to testify (judicially in court or figuratively elsewhere). We get our English word "martyr" from this. Pretty serious stuff.

IV. ABIDE [JN 15, I JN. 2:28]

The word "meno" means to stay in a given place, state, relation, or expectancy. Also translated as continue, dwell, endure, remain, be present, stand... etc.

V. WATCH [MT. 26:41, MK. 13:35, I PT. 5:8]

The word "gregoreuo" means to keep awake, to watch, to be vigilant. Like a soldier on guard duty. Don't let your guard down. When approached by some opportunity or advice it's a good idea to do a mental check. "Halt, who goes there?" Is it friend or foe? Because the world, the flesh and the devil are certainly no friend of grace, God and the Christian.

Rose sent me this... I'd like to think it's true.

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside. "Your son is here," she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened. Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement. The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients. Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night. Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited. Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but theMarine interrupted her.
"Who was that man?" he asked.
The nurse was startled, "He was yourfather," she answered.
"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."
"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"
"I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed."

The next time someone needs you ... just be there. Stay.

WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

FROM MY FILES #1

I drank for happiness and became unhappy.

I drank for joy and became miserable.

I drank for sociability and became argumentative.

I drank for sophistication and became obnoxious.

I drank for friendship and made enemies.

I drank for sleep and woke up tired.

I drank for strength and became weak.

I drank for relaxation and got the shakes.

I drank for courage and became afraid.

I drank for confidence and became doubtdul.

I drank to make conversation easier and slurred my speech.

I drank to feel heavenly and ended up feeling like hell.

-Author Unknown

Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

HE HAS BEEN FAITHFUL TO ME

Solomon wrote "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?" [Pr. 20:6] It is hard to find a man or woman who is truly faithful to God. But as the psalmist noted last week there is One who is always faithful, always trustworthy, always true. Beka, at her recital sang these words...

In my moments of fear
Through every pain and every tear
There's a God whose been faithful to me.
When my strength was all gone
When my heart had no song
Still in love He proved faithful to me
Every word He's promised is true
What I thought was impossible
I've seen my God do.

He's been faithful, faithful to me
Looking back, His love and mercy I see
Oh in my heart, I had questioned
Even failed to believe
But He's been faithful, faithful to me.

When my heart looked away
The many times I could not pray
Even then God was faithful to me
The days I spent so selfishly, reaching out for what pleased me
Still in love He's proved faithful to me
Every time that I come back to Him
He's waiting with open arms and I see once again

He's been faithful, faithful to me
Looking back, His love and mercy I see
Oh in my heart I had questioned
Even failed to believe
Yet He's been faithful, faithful to me.

He's been so faithful, faithful to me (He's been faithful)

This week we turn from the psalmist to the writings the Holy Spirit directed the Apostle Paul to give us.

GOD'S FAITHFULNESS:

I. WILL MAKE US BLAMELESS IN THE FUTURE

I Cor. 1:4-9 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

I Th. 5:23-24 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

II. WILL NOT ALLOW US TO BE OVERPOWERED BY TEMPTATION

I Cor. 10:12-13 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.

III. IS BASED ON GOD'S ATTRIBUTES SO IS UNWAVERING

II Tm. 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

Heb. 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.


IV. HAS GIVEN US A BIBLE WE CAN TRUST

Titus 1:6-14 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake. One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, the Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

Heb. 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

THE ONE WHO KNOWS

MATTHEW 12:1-21

Rick Jackson

I. THE ACCUSATION OF THE PHARISEES [V. 1-2]

1. They said the disciples were breaking the particulars of God's provision (sabbath law) [v. 1-2]

2. The disciples were following the pattern of God's provision [Dt. 23:25]

When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.

3. The Lord Jesus knew the principle of God's provision [Jer. 29:11]

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

II. THE ANSWER OF THE LORD [V. 3-8]

1. He cited the historical books concerning David [3-4, I Sam. 21]

2. He cited the law concerning the priests [v. 5-6, Num. 28]

3. He cited the prophets concentrating on Hosea [v. 7, Hosea 6:6]

Note the Lord's familiarity with the Scriptures!

4. He cited His Divine Authority concerning His Messiahship [v. 6, 8]

III. THE PRACTICING OF WHAT HE PREACHED [V. 9-21]

1. The wicked heart of the Pharisees wanted to trap Jesus [v. 9-10]

2. The willing heart of the Lord wanted to help them all [v. 11-13, Mark 3:5]

And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

3. The wise hearted will want to follow the Saviour [v. 14-21]

Doc sent me this one.

Remember, there is no way you can look as bad as that person on your drivers license.

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. " An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

11. Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Humpty Dumpty was pushed!

If you don't send this to at least 8 people.... who cares??

Question of the week!

Q: A fossil clock—what does it mean?

A: Because of the intense evolutionary indoctrination we’ve all received, most people assume that it takes millions of years for sediment—like sand or mud—to harden into rock. But given the right ingredients, this can actually happen quickly. Mixing cement is an obvious example, by the way.

On our website, we showed the picture of the mechanism of a clock encased in solid rock, along with sea shells. Of course, no one believes this clock was made millions of years ago. The clock was found in 1975 near a jetty at Westport, Washington. We know that there have been many shipwrecks in this area.

Obviously, the right mix of sand and other substances hardened around this clock, making it look like a clock in hard rock!

There’s really nothing spectacular about this at all—these sorts of things happen all the time in different parts of the world. But the average person doesn’t usually hear about them, and thus they go on thinking that rocks and fossils must take millions of years to form.

This “clock in the rock” will eventually be displayed in our Creation Museum near Cincinnati, where we’ll be teaching people the truth about the history of the world … according to the Bible.
For more information about fossils, see Fossils Questions and Answers.

(If the links in this blog don't work go to the Answers In Genesis link at left and use their search engine.) This information was provided by Answers In Genesis, an excellent source of material relating to Creation and evolution. Please visit their website using the link in the upper left.

WARNING!

THE PATH OF PAUL

COLOSSIANS 1:24-29

Rick Jackson

Paul has just finished reminding the Colossians of what Jesus has done, is doing and is going to do for them [v. 20-23]. He is then led by the Holy Spirit to give a personal testimony of his task as a minister of Christ.

I. THE JOY OF SUFFERING [V. 24]

What a strange thought. That there should be joy while suffering and yet we find it in the Scriptures over and over again. Note-

-this is not suffering for the sake of suffering or for the wrong reason

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Acts 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

1 Peter 4:13-16 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

-note that suffering is for a limited time and place

Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

II Cor. 1:7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation

-note that the suffering is NOT for to buy salvation in any way, but we are His hands, etc. We are the body of Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.

Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

2 Thessalonians 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

James 5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

1 Peter 2:19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.

II. THE JOB OF STEWARDSHIP [V. 25]

Paul's "job"

-was a job of service (minister, to serve, same word sometimes translated deacon)

-was a job of specific duties (dispensation, stewardship- Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles)

-was a job of Scriptural import

Acts 9:15-16 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

III. THE JOINING OF SAINTS (JEWS & GENTILES) [V. 26-27]

-mystery-a hitherto unrevealed truth, now revealed [Rom. 1:16]

it was hinted at throughout the Bible-Ruth, Naaman, etc.

John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

-manifested- [Eph. 3:1-6]

-the hope of glory- to be like Jesus

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

IV. THE JESUS OF OUR SERVICE [V. 28-29]

-He is person of our message

-He is the pattern of our maturity

-He is the power of our ministry

THREE THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

1. Cows

2. The Constitution

3. The Ten Commandments

COWS Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that our government can track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she sleeps in the state of Washington and they tracked her calves to their stalls? But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give them all a cow.

THE CONSTITUTION They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's worked for over200 years and we're not using it anymore.

TEN COMMANDMENTS The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse........You cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery" and "Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians -- it creates a hostile work environment.

WORDS WOMEN USE

SOMETHING MELISSA SENT ME (SEEMS THERE IS A LOT OF TRUTH MIXED IN WITH THIS HUMOR.)

WORDS WOMEN USE

1.) FINE: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right, and you need to shut up.

2.) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means half an hour. Five Minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3.) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine (see #1).

4.) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

5.) Loud Sigh: This is not actually a word but a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6.) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. "That's okay" means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7.) Thanks: A woman is thanking you - do not question or faint. Just say you're welcome.

8.) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying "FORGET IT! I AM DONE WITH YOU!"

9.) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "what's wrong" - for the woman's response refer to #3.

Tell the men you know about these to warn them about arguments they can avoid if they remember the terminology. Tell all the women you know to give them a good laugh, cause they know its true

JOKES ROSE SENT ME

Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he married Ruth?
A. Ruthless.

Q. What do they call pastors from Germany?
A. German Shepherds.

Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. Noah He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.

Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible? A. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.

Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?
A. An angel drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury. David's Triumph was heard throughout the land. Also, probably a Honda, because the apostles were all in one Accord.

Q.. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A. Samson. He brought the house down.

Q. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden?
A. Your mother ate us out of house and home.

Q. Which man was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible?
A. Moses. He broke all 10 commandments at once.

Q. Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy?
A. The area around Jordan - The banks were always overflowing.

Q. Who is the greatest babysitter mentioned in the Bible?
A. David. He rocked Goliath to a very deep sleep.

Q. Which Bible character had no parents?
A. Joshua, son of Nun.

Q. Why didn't they play cards on the Ark ?
A. Because the elephants were standing on the deck.

Q. What oft repeated word in the Bible teaches its the man's job to make the tea or the coffee? A. "He-brews"

"I'M SAVED, NOW WHAT?"

ROMANS 6

I. THREE QUESTIONS [V. 1-2]

1. "What shall we say then?" [v. 1a]

Paul's just explained what we have in Christ, undeserved, unable to attain ourselves, all of grace---so he asks, "What shall we say then?" "Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Glory to God. Thank you Jesus." all come to mind. But there's a couple of follow-up questions. Jimmy Johnson told the story of a young man in one of his classes who was asked by the teacher, "What color is our text?" The text was a bright red but the student knew this professor would ask follow-up questions... like, "How do you know?" or "Why?" Questions which demanded the scientific reasons for the eye perceiving the color red, the prismatic refraction of light and such like. The student not knowing the answers or not wanting to go into them looked blankly at the professor who repeated the original question, "What color is our text?" To which the student replied, "I don't know."

Paul has some follow-up questions.

2. "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" [v. 1b-2a, 5:20]

The obvious answer is the correct one! NO!

3. "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" [v. 2b]

II. THREE THINGS TO KNOW [V. 3-10]

1. Know the picture [v. 3-5]

2. Know the principle [v. 6-8]

3. Know the power [v. 9-10]

III. THREE THINGS TO DO [V. 11-22]

1. Count on it! [v. 11] Like an automatic deposit in the bank... count on it being done!

2. Don't yield to sin! [v. 12-13a]

3. Yield to God! [v. 13b-22]

THERE IS STABILITY

PSALM 119

Rick Jackson

In a universe of uncertainty (killer asteroids) there is stability. In a world of conflict (Jihad, communism, the fear of global warming) there is stability. In a nation of petty political posturing there is stability. In a state of moral ambiguity (no time for a marriage amendment?) there is stability. In a community where the liquor crowd is trying to bring in their damnable drink into the fair grounds there is stability. In a church rocked by the homegoing of one of it's faithful members there is stability. In your family, in your life there is stability. You may say, but brother Rick all you have done is mention a few of the myriad of problems facing us on every conceivable scale and yet you say "there is stability." Where? Where is the stablity?

The psalmist, like us, had many outside forces that tend to unsettle a person, but he found stablity in the Word of God and the God of the Word. The word faithfulness is found four times in Psalm 119. Each time it is the same basic Hebrew Word (or a form thereof) and Young's Concordance says it means "stability". Strong's concordance says the literal meaning is firmness (my hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name, On Christ the solid Rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand). Strong goes on to say that it figuratively means security and speaking morally it means fidelity like the Marines motto "Semper Fi". "Semper Fidelis" is Latin for "Always faithful." Besides being translated as faithfulness, it is also translated into the English as stability, steady, truly, truth, and verily. It definitely is that. So amidst chaos and uncertainty the believer has stability. Let's see how the psalmist applied it.

The psalmist had stability:

I. IN THE MIDST OF GOD-GIVEN [OR GOD-ALLOWED] AFFLICTION [V. 73-80]

Other believers are encouraged. God afflicts us (or allows it) for a reason, reminiscent of Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. The Lord is the friend that sticketh closer than a brother. The Psalmist doesn't ask to be removed from afflictions but to be comforted in them (Kevin's mom's testimony to the nurses). Unbelievers will be ashamed (at the funeral "Thank God for you Brother Rick"), believers will support one another.

II. IN THE MIDST OF PERSECUTION [V. 81-88]

When it seems the Heavens are brass we still can trust in the Word. Knowing God's Word strengthens us in persecution. God's loving kindness revives us and reminds us to live for Him!

III. IN THE MIDST OF EVERY AGE [V. 89-96]

The Creator's Word is settled and so we should be as well. This passage is similar to Colossians.

1:16-17 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

3:16-17 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Since He is the all-powerful Creator, and since He has given His Word, every person in every age can find stability in Him!

IV. IN THE MIDST OF INSIGNIFICANCE [V. 137-144]

How small we are but how great He is. Psalm 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? Psalm 144:3 LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!

Many years ago a scholar named Muretus lived. He was very educated but also very poor. He became very sick, and he was taken to the place where the destitute were kept. The doctors didn't know that he was a scholar and that he understood the scholar's Latin. One day the doctors were discussing his case in Latin and said that he was a poor creature of no value and they questioned aloud what experiments they could do on this worthless beggar. Muretus looked up and answered in their own Latin, "Call no man worthless for whom Christ died." Christ's payment for sin makes every soul of infinite worth.
Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Question of the week!

Q: Aren’t the days of Genesis 1 just an issue of language?

A: The true meaning of the days of creation is, in part, a language issue. After all, the only way words have meaning to all of us is because we stick to the rules of grammar for a particular language. But many people—including some Christian leaders—want to change the rules when it comes to the meaning of the days of creation.

The word “day” as used in Genesis 1, according to the rules of the Hebrew language, means an ordinary day in that particular context. Yet even though most theologians agree that the word “day” in Genesis 1 means a 24-hour day, many say it can’t mean that because the universe is obviously billions of years old. By doing this, they are actually saying that the fallible dating methods of fallible man are more important than the actual words of the Bible that God inspired people to write. Thus they’re making man the authority—not God.

Yes, this is an authority issue. The Word of God should be read as written and used to judge the fallible words of man—not the other way round!

This information was provided by Answers In Genesis, an excellent source of material relating to Creation and evolution. Please visit their website using the link in the upper left.

3 FACTS ABOUT T.D.

Today we are gathered together to pay respect to a man. It doesn't matter what your relationship to T.D. Scott was, your presence here today indicates he will be missed. T.D. was a member of the Bradford Baptist Church. One of the things he enjoyed at our church was the music program. At this time we will have a flute solo by Beth Vinson.

Flute solo

Truman Daniel Scott, better known as "T.D." passed away Monday night, February 12, 2007 at Shands UF, which seems somewhat appropriate for a Gator fan who was a native of Gainesville. He was raised in Bradford County and had moved back here several years ago. He was a truck driver with North American Van Lines before retiring and could tell you where the best places to eat are located all over the country. Sometime after moving back to Bradford County he came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour and I had the privilege of baptizing him on January 1, 1997. The occasion of which reminded me the next time we build a baptistry we need to make it bigger. As a member of Bradford Baptist Church he loved to hear our minister of music sing. At this time Brother Wayne Vinson is going to sing one of the songs T.D. loved.

Solo-Wayne Vinson

T.D. was preceded in death by a daughter, Wendy Ellen, his parents, Julian and Edna Scott, a brother Edwin and a sister Julia Dee Hooten. He is survived by his wife, Martha Scott of Starke, his two sons, Danny and Tracy- both of Titusville, three brothers, Neal, George and Bruce- all of Starke, and a sister, Edwina Willis of Orlando, four grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends many of whom are gathered here today. Following the service the burial will be at Conner Cemetary. At this time, Brother Wayne is returning to sing another song.

Solo-Wayne Vinson

We all called him "T.D." For years I didn't even know what "T.D." stood for. He was named Truman Daniel by his parents. In high school he played football and made many touchdowns so the nickname "T.D." was appropriate. For many years he was a Truck Driver so again "T.D." was fitting. He was a "Tough Dude" and a "Tall Dad". Basically he was T.D. I don't plan on keeping you long this afternoon but I'd like to share with you three facts about the man we call "T.D.".

T.D. IS IN HEAVEN

He's not here. This is not T.D. Have you ever gone to someone at work and then found out they weren't there? They went home. This body was TD's place of work but he's not here, he has gone home.

II Cor. 5:6-8 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

T.D. IS IN HEAVEN BECAUSE HE TRUSTED IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

Remember what Jesus said in John 14

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

TD knew he wasn't perfect. He knew the Bible teaches us that "...all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" He understood that "...the wages of sin is death;" and he understood that good news "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." He knew that if he, or you, or I, didn't get our sin situation resolved we would have to go to the place commonly called Hell. But he knew from the Bible that "... God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." and that by rising on the third day Jesus proved He was who He said He was, God in the flesh and that the payment He had made on the cross was enough to pay for all our sins. And so, knowing these truths, TD put his faith in the crucified and risen Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Eph. 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

On the way to the hospital early Monday morning TD noticed the driver of the ambulance was worried about him. So he told him, "Hey driver. Don't worry about if I'm gonna make it to the hospital or not. I love the Lord!" Later as various doctors and nurses worked on him at the hospital he witnessed to them and that brings me to the third fact I want to share with you this afternoon.

T.D. IS IN HEAVEN BECAUSE HE TRUSTED THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND HE WANTS YOU TO TRUST HIM TOO!

TD was praying for many of you. Some of you relatives and friends who haven't trusted Christ yet. He was praying for you to trust Christ. Some of you who have trusted Christ but aren't living for Him, he was praying for you to turn your life over to Christ and live for Him. You really need to get this settled. Some of you know that in the weeks before TD went to the hospital two of his brothers went to the hospital with heart problems. We all thought they might be the next to go but it was TD who unexpectedly went to be with the Lord. He was ready. Are you? You can get ready right now. TD talked to me about preaching his funeral though neither of us thought it would be this soon. He said, "Brother Rick, I want you to give them the Gospel. Let 'em know how to be saved. It sure would be good if somebody got saved at my funeral." I said I would, and you know he was right. It sure would be good if some of you would trust Christ this afternoon. Stop playing with thing thing and get it settled.

Rom. 10:9-13 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Let's pray.

PAPER CLIPS & THE HOLOCAUST

According to www.truthorfiction.com this is a true story BUT DON"T send them any paper clips as the project has been completed and discontinued.

A Measure Of Hope: The Whitwell, Tenn., Holocaust Project Has Spread Far
Beyond the Classroom
By Dita Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 7, 2001; Page C01

WHITWELL, Tenn. -- It is a most unlikely place to build a Holocaust memorial, much less one that would get the attention of the president, that would become the subject of a book, that would become an international cause.
Yet it is here that a group of eighth-graders and their teachers decided to honor each of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust by collecting 6 million paper clips and turning them into a sculpture.
This is remarkable because, for one thing, Whitwell, a town of 1,600 tucked away in a Tennessee Valley just west of the Smokeys, has no Jews.
In fact, Whitwell does not offer much opportunity to practice racial or religious tolerance of any kind. "Our community is white, Christian and very fundamentalist," says Linda Hooper, principal of the middle
school, which has 425 students, including six blacks, one Hispanic, zero
Asians, zero Catholics, zero Jews.
"During coal-mining days, we were a mixed community," explains the town's unofficial historian, Eulene Hewett Harris. "Now there are only a handful of black families left."
Whitwell is a town of two traffic lights, 10 churches and a collection of fast-food joints sprinkled along the main drag. It was a thriving coal town until 1962, when the last mine closed. Some of the cottages built by
the mining companies still stand, their paint now chipped and their cluttered porches sagging. Trailers have replaced the houses that collapsed from age and neglect during lean economic times.
Only 40 miles up the road is Dayton, where the red-brick Rhea County Courthouse made history during the 1925 Scopes trial, the "monkey trial," in which teacher John T. Scopes was convicted of violating a Tennessee law that made it unlawful "to teach any theory that denies the story of Divine Creation" and to teach Darwinian evolutionary theory instead. Almost eight decades later, most people in this Sequatchie River Valley hold firmly to those beliefs under the watchful eyes of their church leaders.
"Look, we're not that far away from the Ku Klux Klan," founded only 100 miles west, in Pulaski, Tenn., says Hewett Harris. "I mean, in the 1950s they were still active here."
Such is the setting for a memorial not only to remember Holocaust victims but, above all, to sound a warning on what intolerance can wreak. The Whitwell students and teachers had no idea how many lives they were about to touch.
Math and History
The Holocaust project had its genesis in the summer of 1998 when Whitwell Middle's 31-year-old deputy principal and football coach, David Smith, attended a teacher training course in nearby Chattanooga. A seminar on the Holocaust as a teaching tool for tolerance intrigued him because the Holocaust had never been part of the middle school's curriculum and was mentioned only tangentially in the local high school.
He came back and proposed an after-school course that would be voluntary.
Principal Hooper, 59, loved the idea. "We just have to give our children a broader view of the world," she says. "We have to crack the shell of their white cocoon, to enable them to survive in the world out there."
She was nervous about how parents would react, and held a parent-teacher
meeting. But when she asked the assembled adults if they knew anything
about the Holocaust, only a few hands went up, hesitatingly. Hooper,
who has lived in Whitwell most of her life and had taught some of the
parents in elementary school, explained the basics.
Just one parent expressed misgivings: Should young teenagers be shown terrifying photos of naked, emaciated prisoners? Hooper admitted she wasn't sure. "Well," the father asked, "would you let your son take the class?"
Yes, she replied, and the father was on board.
There wasn't a question about who would teach it: Sandra Roberts, 30, the English and social sciences teacher, always a captivating storyteller..
In October 1998, Roberts and Smith held the first session. Fifteen students and almost as many parents showed up. Roberts began by reading aloud -- history books, "The Diary of Anne Frank," Elie Wiesel's "Night" --mostly because many of the students did not have the money to buy the books; 52
percent of Whitwell's students qualify for free lunch.
What gripped the eighth-graders most as the course progressed, was the sheer number of dead. Six million. The Nazis killed 6 million Jews. Can anyone really imagine 6 million of anything? They did calculations: If
6 million adults and children were to lie head to toe, the line would stretch from Washington to San Francisco and back.
One day, Roberts was explaining to the class that there were some good people in 1940s Europe who stood up for the Jews. After the Nazis invaded Norway, many courageous Norwegians expressed solidarity with their Jewish fellow citizens by pinning ordinary paper clips to their lapels.
One girl -- nobody remembers who it was -- said: Let's collect 6 million paper clips and turn them into a sculpture to remember the victims.
The idea caught on, and the students began bringing in paper clips, from home, from aunts and uncles and friends. Smith, as the school's computer expert, set up a Web page asking for donations of clips, one or two, or however many people wanted to send.
A few weeks later, the first letter arrived. One Lisa Sparks from Tyler, Tex., sent a handful. Then a letter landed from Colorado. . . .
By the end of the school year, the group had assembled 100,000 clips.
It occurred to the teachers that collecting 6 million paper clips at that rate would take a lifetime.
Help From Afar
Unexpected help came in late 1999 when two German journalists living in Washington, DC, stumbled across the Whitwell Web site. Peter Schroeder, 59, and Dagmar Schroeder-Hildebrand, 58, had been doing research at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, tracing concentration camp survivors to interview.
Schroeder-Hildebrand was author of "I'm Dying of Hunger," a book abouta camp survivor who devised imaginary dinners to survive; Peter had written "The Good Fortune of Lena Lieba Gitter," about a Viennese Jew who escaped the Nazis and devoted her life to civil rights.
The Whitwell Web site came up during a routine search under "Holocaust." The idea of American children in a conservative Southern town collecting paper clips intrigued the couple. They called the school, interviewed teachers and students by telephone, then wrote several articles for the nine newspapers they work for in Germany and Austria.
Whitwell and the Schroeders were hit with a blizzard of paper clips from the two countries. The couple soon had 46,000, filling several large plastic containers. The thing to do, they decided, was to drive them to Whitwell, 12 hours away.
They received a hero's welcome. The entire school showed up.
None of the eighth-graders had ever met anyone from outside the United States, let alone anyone from Germany, the country of the Holocaust perpetrators. At the end of the four-day visit, the students told their principal, "They are really quite normal."
The Schroeders were so touched they wrote a paperback about Whitwell. "The Paper Clip Project," which has not been translated into English, was published in September 2000, in time for Germany's largest book fair in Frankfurt.
The blizzard of clips became an avalanche.
Whitwell eighth-graders came to Washington in March last year to visit the Holocaust Museum. They went home carrying 24,000 more paper clips collected by the Schroeders. Airport security had trouble understanding why a bunch of teenagers and their teachers were transporting boxes and boxes of paper clips to Tennessee.
Linked to the Past
Just a year later, the Holocaust project has permeated the school. The after-school group is the most favored extracurricular activity -- students must compete in an essay contest for its 20 to 25 places. They've become used to being interviewed by local television and national radio. Foreign countries are no longer mysterious, with hundreds of letters bearing witness to them.
The group's activities have long spilled over from Robert's classroom. Across the hall, the students have created a concentration-camp simulation with paper cutouts of themselves pasted on the wall. Chicken wire stretches across the wall to represent electrified fences. Wire mesh is hung with shoes to represent the millions of shoes the victims left behind when they were marched to death chambers.
And every year now they reenact the "walk" to give students at least an inkling of what people must have felt when jackbooted Nazi guards marched them off to camps. The students are blindfolded, tied together by the wrists, roughly ordered onto a truck and driven to the woods. "I was truly scared," recalls Monica Hammers, a participant in last year's walk. "It made me think, and it made me realize that I have to put myself into other people's shoes."
Meanwhile, the counting goes on. It is daunting. On a late winter day, as the picturesque valley floor shows the first shimmer of soft green, 22 students gather for their Wednesday meeting. All wear the group's polo shirt, emblazoned: "Changing the World, One Clip at a Time." The neat white shirts conform to the school's dress code: solid-colored shirts devoid of large logos, solid-colored pants, knee-length shorts or skirts, worn with a belt. Many of the girls have attached colored paper clips to their collars.
These are no loose-mannered kids -- they reply "yes, ma'am" and "yes, sir." Even lunch in the cafeteria is disciplined and relatively quiet. Yet, there is an obvious and warm bond between students and teachers.
The group's first item of business is opening the mail that has accumulated during the past three days. That takes half of the two-to three-hour meeting. A large package has arrived from Germany, two smaller ones from Austria and more than a dozen letters. Laura Jefferies is in charge of the ledger and keeps a neat record of each sender's address, phone number and e-mail address. One group of students responds to the e-mails sent via their Web site, http://www.marionschools.org/.Roberts opens the packages, which have been examined in the principal's office to make sure they contain nothing dangerous. "We've had a few negative letters from Holocaust deniers, but we have never received a threat," says the silver-haired Hooper. "But even if we did, we would go on. We cannot live in fear; that would defeat the entire purpose."
The large package, from a German school, contains about 40 letters, with paper clips pasted onto each page. Roberts sighs. "This is a huge amount of work," she says. "There are days when I wished we could just stop it. But it has gotten way beyond us. It's no longer about us. There is no way we could stop this now."
When the students fall behind, it's Roberts who spends hours sorting and filing.
The students crowd around Robert's desk and receive a letter at a time.
They carefully empty all paper clips onto little piles. Drew Shadrick, a strapping tackle on the football team, is the chief counter and stands over a three-foot-high white plastic barrel, about the size of an oil drum.
He counts each clip, drops it into the barrel, keeping track on a legal pad.
Two other barrels, which once contained Coca-Cola syrup and were donated by the corporation, are filled to the rim and sealed with transparent plastic. "It takes five strong guys to move one of those barrels," says Roberts.
Against the wall this day are stacks and stacks of boxes. In early February, an Atlanta synagogue had promised 1 million paper clips, and sure enough, a week later a pickup truck delivered 84 boxes bought from an office supply store. Half are still unopened.
All sorts of clips arrive -- silver-tone, bronze-tone, plastic-coated in all colors, small ones, large ones, round ones, triangular clips and artistic ones fashioned from wood.
Then there are the designs made of paper clips, neatly pasted onto letter paper. If removing the paper clips would destroy the design, the students count the clips, then replace them in the barrel with an equal number purchased by the group. The art is left intact.
Occasionally a check for a few dollars arrives. The money goes toward buying supplies. Both Roberts and Smith won teacher awards last year, and their $3,000 in prize money also went toward supplies, and helping students pay for what has become an annual trip to Washington and the Holocaust Museum.
The students file all letters, all scraps of paper, even the stamps, in large white ring binders. By now, 5,000 to 8,000 letters fill 14 neat binders.
The letters are from 19 countries and 45 states, and include dozens of rainbow pictures, and flowers, peace doves and swastikas crossed out with big red bars -- in the shape of paper clips. There are poems, personal stories.
"Today," one letter reads, "I am sending 71 paper clips to commemorate the 71 Jews who were deported from Bueckeburg."
One man sent five paper clips to commemorate his mother and four siblings murdered by the Nazis in Lithuania in November 1941.
"For my handicapped brother," says another letter. "I'm so glad he didn't live then; the Nazis would have killed him."
"For my grandmother," says another. "I'm so grateful she survived the camp."
"For my son, that he may live in peace," wrote a woman from Germany.
Last year, a letter containing eight paper clips came from President Clinton. Another arrived from Vice President Gore, a native of Tennessee, thanking the students for their "tireless efforts to preserve and promote human rights," but including no clips.
Every month, Smith writes dozens of celebrities, politicians and sports teams, requesting paper clips. He gets many refusals, form letters indicating that the addressee never saw the request. But clips came in from Tom Bosley (of TV's "Happy Days" fame), Henry Winkler (the Fonz), Tom Hanks, Elie Wiesel, Madeleine Albright. Among the football teams that contributed are the Tennessee Titans, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Indianapolis Colts and the Dallas Cowboys.
So many clips in memory of specific Holocaust victims have come in that one thing has become clear: Melting them into a statue would be inconceivable. Each paper clip should represent one victim, the students believe, and so a new idea has been hatched.
They want to get an authentic German railroad car from the 1940s, one that may have actually transported victims to camps. The car would be turned into a museum that would house all the paper clips, as well as display all the letters.
Dagmar and Peter Schroeder plan to travel to Germany next week to find a suitable railroad car and have it transported to Whitwell.
They are determined to find such a car and the necessary funding. Like counting the clips, the task is daunting.
Whitwell's Legacy
Whatever happens, for generations of Whitwell eighth- graders, a paper clip will never again be just a paper clip, but instead carry a message of patience, perseverance, empathy and tolerance.Roberts, asked what she thought she had accomplished with the project so far, said: "Nobody put it better than Laurie Lynn [a student in last year's class]. She said, 'Now, when I see someone, I think before I speak, I think before I act, and I think before I judge.' "And Roberts adds: "That's all I could ever hope to achieve as a teacher."
She gives this week's assignment: "Tomorrow, I want you all to go and sit next to a person at lunch whom you never talk with, a person that nobody wants to sit with at lunch. I want you to stop one of those people in the hall and say: 'Hi! What'd you do last night?' Now, don't make it obvious --they may know that it's just an assignment. That would hurt."
Drew pipes up: "Well, I've already tried that, but that kid -- that, you know, he just sits there and stares, what can I do?"
"Keep at it -- don't give up," says Roberts.
Class dismissed.
Latest count: 2,108,622 paper clips. 3,891,378 to go. [as of when this article was written, over 28,000,000 now-don't send more]
Paper clips are gratefully accepted by: Whitwell Middle School, Holocaust Project, 1130 Main St., Whitwell, TN 37397
(c) 2001 The Washington Post Company

Middle School Students in Tennessee Are Collecting 6 Million Paper Clips for a Memorial to Jewish Victims of the Nazi Holocaust-Truth! but Discontinued!

Summary of eRumor: This email says it's an article from the Washington Post about a group of students in Whitwell, Tennessee. They are from the Whitwell middle school and as a part of a course on the Nazi holocaust during World War II, an idea got started to construct a memorial to the 6 million Jewish victims of the holocaust: to collect 6 million paper clips and use them for the memorial. The idea has gained international attention, partly because of a book published in Germany about the project.
The Truth: This article and story are true. The effort was so successful, however, that at last count, they had nearly 28 million paper clips and have thanked everybody for participating, but are asking that there be no new efforts at collections.

THE RECONCILING WORK OF JESUS CHRIST

COLOSSIANS 1:20-23

The word reconciliation (katallasso or a form thereof) means to change thoroughly, to be changed thoroughly. Christ is in the work of changing! Not Him, he never changes and needs not to change. But us and the universe, as we shall see.

1. It is a completed work [v. 20] "And, having made peace..." "It is finished!"

2. It is a costly work [v. 20] "through the blood of his cross"

I Peter 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

The paramount difference between Christianity and pagan religions is that Christianity has a God who SHED His blood in love for a lost world, while the pagan gods are continually calling for blood... the blood of the people who worship a stone god that cannot see, hear, nor speak. Our God, gave His own blood -once for all, forever, never to be repeated; but the poor heathen returns again and again and again with blood, blood, and more blood! -Oliver B. Greene

3. It is Christ's work [v. 20] "by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him I say,"

Eph. 2:13-19 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

4. It is a comprehensive work [v. 20] "whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."

Rom. 8:21-23 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

5. It is a change-inducing work [v. 21-22, 13]

6. It is a continuing work [v. 23]

It is completed and done but it has set us on the path of new life in Jesus Christ! We also look forward to the new bodies He has purchased for us!

Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

II Cor. 5:18-20 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

HIGHS & LOWS

Sunday we had Pete Rice preaching at Bradford Baptist Church. Pete has been one of my favorite preachers since the 1970s. He has been a great blessing in my life and Sunday was no exception. It's always a blessing to hear him preach and to have him in my church preaching from my pulpit, and then to share two meals with him...well, it was a "high" day.

Monday morning I got a call from my sister that her brother-in-law, T.D. Scott, had been taken to the hospital in Gainesville, FL (30-40 miles away) earlier that morning because of numbness from his waist down. They didn't think it was life threatening but they just wanted me to know. My wife and I scrapped all our plans for that day and immediately prepared to go see him.

T.D. was in good spirits in his hospital room. He shared how the ambulance driver had seem worried and concerned for him. He said he told the driver, "Listen. If I don't make it to the hospital, don't worry about it. I love the Lord!" We laughed as he said he didn't think it calmed the driver at all! I told him, "It was still a good testimony." (And it was too!) After a nice visit we left to get brunch and then come back to Starke. Later T.D. told his wife to go back home and feed the animals. He was concerned she get home before the traffic got bad.

At 6:47 PM we got the call that T.D. had died unexpectedly at the hospital. We went to his house and spent two hours with his family and friends. Come to think of it, that's just what T.D. was doing. He went Home to spend eternity with family and friends. His parents and at least one brother were waiting on him. Various other relatives were awaiting his arrival. What a grand time they are having... that's a high.

His family and friends here miss him... I know his pastor does. That's a low. Oh, we understand He's with the Lord (high) but we'll miss his laugh, his firm handshake, his hugs, his encouraging words. Heaven has become sweeter still to those of us who know this man. But the only ones who will see him again are those who know this man's Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ!

T.D. knew he was a sinner as the Bible says we all are. He knew that because of our sin we all have earned death and Hell. But he also had learned Jesus died to pay for our sins, and rose again to prove that the payment He had made was enough and to prove that He was who He said He was, God in the flesh. And knowing this, T.D. had put his faith in Jesus by calling upon the name of the Lord. T.D. received the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and as a result is in Heaven right now! Have you trusted Him? Why not?

John 1

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 14

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

JOKES FOR THE OLDER CROWD

A distraught senior citizen phoned her doctor's office. "Is it true," she wanted to know, "that the medication you prescribed has to be taken for the rest of my life?" "Yes, I'm afraid so," the doctor told her. There was a moment of silence before the senior lady replied, "I'm wondering, then, just how serious is my condition because this prescription is marked 'NO REFILLS'."

An older gentleman was on the operating table awaiting surgery and he insisted that his son, a renowned surgeon, perform the operation. As he was about to get the anesthesia he asked to speak to his son. "Yes, Dad, what is it?" "Don't be nervous, son; do your best and just remember, if it doesn't go well, if something happens to me . your mother is going to come and live with you and your wife...."

Aging: Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for

Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know "why" I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved

When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.

I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.

One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.

Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

Old age is when former classmates are so gray and wrinkled and bald, they don't recognize you.

If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old.

The famous Olympic skier Picabo Street (pronounced Peek-A-Boo) is not just an athlete....She is now a nurse currently working at the Intensive Care Unit of a large metropolitan hospital. She is not permitted to answer the hospital telephones. It caused too much confusion when she would answer the phone and say,Picabo, ICU

When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her out to some place expensiveSo I took her to a gas station

An older couple were lying in bed one night. The husband was falling asleep but the wife was in a romantic mood and wanted to talk.She said: "You used to hold my hand when we were courting." Wearily he reached across, held her hand for a second and tried to get back to sleep. A few moments later she said: "Then you used to kiss me. "Mildly irritated, he reached across, gave her a peck on the cheek and settled down to sleep. Thirty seconds later she said: "Then you used to bite my neck." Angrily, he threw back the covers and got out of bed."Where are you going?" she asked. "To get my teeth!"

Male or Female?

You might not have known this, but a lot of non-living objects are actually either male or female.

FREEZER BAGS: They are male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them

TIRES: Tires are male, because they go bald easily and are often over inflated.

HOT AIR BALLOONS: Also a male object, because to get them to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under them.

SPONGES: These are female, because they are soft, squeezable and retain water.

WEB PAGES: Female, because they're constantly being looked at and frequently getting hit on.

TRAINS: Definitely male, because they always use the same old lines for picking up people.

EGG TIMERS: Egg timers are female because, over time, all the weight shifts to the bottom.

HAMMERS: Male, because in the last 6000 years, they've hardly changed at all, and are occasionally handy to have around.

THE REMOTE CONTROL: Female. Ha! You probably thought it would be male, but consider this: A man likes them, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push, he just keeps trying.

Murphy's Lesser Known Laws

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.

Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

If you lined up all the cars in the world end to end, someone would be stupid enough to try to pass them, five or six at a time, on a hill, in the fog.

If the shoe fits, get another one just like it.

The things that come to those who wait will be the things left by those who got there first.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking.

Flashlight: A case for holding dead batteries.

The shin bone is a device for finding furniture in a dark room.

A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.

When you go into court, you are putting yourself in the hands of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

The king and the witch

Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur's youth and ideals. So, the monarch offered him his freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer and, if after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death. The question?...What do women really want? Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. But, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end. He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone: the princess, the priests, the wise men and even the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer.Many people advised him to consult the old witch, for only she would have the answer. But the price would be high; as the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged.The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no choice but to talk to the witch. She ag reed t o answer the question, but he would have to agree to her price first. The old witch wanted to marry Sir Lancelot, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend!Young Arthur was horrified. She was hunchbacked a and hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like sewage, made obscene noises, etc. He had never encountered such a repugnant creature in all his life. < /FONT>He refused to force his friend to marry her and endure such a terrible burden; but Lancelot, learning of the proposal, spoke with Arthur.He said nothing was too big of a sacrifice compared to Arthur's life and the preservation of the Round Table. Hence, a wedding was proclaimed and the witch answered Arthur's q uestio n thus:What a woman really wants, she answered...is to be in charge of her own life.Everyone in the kingdom instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and that Arthur's life would be spared And so it was, the neighboring monarch granted Arthur h is fre edom and Lancelot and the witch had a wonderful wedding.The honeymoon hour approached and Lancelot, steeling himself for a horrific experience, entered the bedroom. But, what a sight awaited him. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen lay before him on the bed. The astounded Lancelot asked what had happened The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her when she appeared as a witch, she would henceforth, be her horrible deformed self only half the tim e and the beautiful maiden the other half.Which would he prefer? Beautiful during the day....or night? Lancelot pondered the predicament. During the day, a beautiful woman to show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of his castle, an old witch? Or, would he prefer having a hideous witch during the day, but by night, a beautiful woman for him to enjoy wondrous intimate moments? What would YOU do?What Lancelot chose is below. BUT....make YOUR choice before you scroll down below. OKAY?







Noble Lancelot said that he would allow HER to make the choice herself. Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life.Now....what is the moral to this story? Scroll down The moral is.....If you don't let a woman have her own way... Things are going to get ugly!!

You might be a Floridian if...

You might be a Floridian if...

"Down South" means Key West

"Panhandling" means going to Pensacola .

You think no-one over 70 should be allowed to drive.

Flip-flops are everyday wear. Shoes are for business meetings and church.

No, wait, flip flops are good for church too.

Socks are only for bowling.

Orange juice from concentrate makes you vomit.

Tap water makes you vomit.

Sweet tea can be served at any meal.

An alligator once walked through your neighborhood.

You smirk when a game show's "Grand Prize" is a trip to Florida .

You measure distance in minutes.

You have a drawer full of bathing suits, and one sweatshirt.

You get annoyed at the tourists who feed seagulls.

You never use an umbrella because you know the rain will be over in five minutes

All the local festivals are named after a fruit.

A mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level.

A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store, but everything to do with shade.

Your winter coat is made of denim .

You can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites.

You're younger than thirty but some of your friends are over 65.

You know the four seasons really are: almost summer, summer, not summer but really hot, and Christmas.

It's not "pop." It's "soda" or "coke."

Anything under 70 is chilly.

You've hosted a hurricane party.

You go to a theme park for an afternoon, and know when to get on the best rides.

You pass on the right and honk at the elderly.

You ARE the elderly.

You understand the futility of exterminating cockroaches.

You can pronounce Okeechobee, Kissimmee , Withlacoochee , Okahumpka and Loxahatchee.

You understand why it's better to have a friend with a boat than have a boat yourself.

You've driven through Yeehaw Junction.

Bumper stickers on the pickup in front of you include various fish, the NRA and a confederate flag.

You were 8 before you realized they made houses without pools.

You were 12 when you first met someone who couldn't swim.

You've worn shorts and used the A/C on Christmas.

You know what the "stingray shuffle" is and why it's important!

You could swim before you could read.

You have to drive north to get to The South.

You know that no other grocery store can compare to Publix.

Every other house had blue roofs in 2004-2005.

You've gotten out of school early on Halloween to trick or treat before it got dark.

You know that anything under a Category 3 just isn't worth waking up for.

You dread lovebug season.

You are on a first name basis with the Hurricane list.

They aren't Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances...but Charley , Frances , Ivan and Jeanne.

You know what a snowbird is and you hate them.

You know why flamingos are pink.

You think a six-foot alligator is actually pretty average.

You were twelve before you ever saw snow or you still haven't.

Question of the week!

Q: When someone rejects Genesis, will they then reject the whole Bible?

A: The following is a terrible warning for the church today as to what happens when one compromises on the Word of God.

In the 1950s, a famous evangelist named Charles Templeton received wide media attention across America. Great crowds flocked to hear him. Large numbers of people came forward when he challenged them to trust Christ.

But in 1994 he published a book called Farewell to God in which he totally rejected the Christian faith. He died a few years ago as a man embittered against the Christian faith.

What happened to Templeton is a warning for us all today. He went to Princeton University and was taught to believe in the evolutionary teaching of “millions of years.” He recognized that if this were true, then God used death, bloodshed, suffering and disease for millions of years as part of His creative process—and then called this very good.

All through his book, Templeton wrote that there can’t be a God of love because of all the death and suffering in the world. The teaching of “millions of years” destroyed Templeton. Don’t compromise, as he did, and destroy your faith.

For more information about Templeton, see The slippery slide to unbelief at the Answers In Genesis website (link at left). This information was provided by Answers In Genesis, an excellent source of material relating to Creation and evolution. Please visit their website using the link in the upper left.

Quote of the week!

EL CAJON, Calif. (BP)--In 1914 Thomas Edison’s laboratory caught on fire. When he realized how big the blaze was, Edison sent word to his family and friends, “Get down here quick. You may never again see anything like this!”

Edison lost 2 million dollars in equipment and the record of a life’s work. Walking through the rubble with his son Charles, he said, “There’s a great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”

How many would be able to respond with gratitude after such loss? Giving thanks to God, Edison started anew. Many great inventions came after his laboratory burned.
-- David Jeremiah

WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST?

COLOSSIANS 1:12-19

Rick Jackson

In Matthew 22 Jesus asked the Pharisees, "What think ye of Christ? Whose Son is He?" They gave a half-right answer and He gave them such a Scriptural response that they never dared ask Him any more questions. The verses we are about to look at in Colossians are some of the most powerful and pertinent verses that answer the question that Jesus asked. Every cult and false group is wrong on either the person of Christ or the work of Christ. In II John we have the following stern admonition given.

9Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
10If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
11For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

Col. 1:12-19 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

I. JESUS CHRIST IS THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD [V. 15a]

This means He is the exact likeness (reprresentation, revelation) of the Father

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: [Heb. 1:3]

No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. [Jn. 1:18]

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? [Jn. 14:9]

God the Father is invisible: "No man hath seen God at any time." Jesus said, "God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." The sovereign God--omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent is invisible, but the universe was not left without a God who could be seen: Jesus wrapped God up in flesh, brought Him down to man, and presented Him to man in a body--the very image of the invisible God. -Oliver B. Greene

II. JESUS CHRIST IS THE FIRSTBORN OF EVERY CREATURE [V. 15b]

"Firstborn" speaks of status not creation. In the firstplace those that were created were not born-Adam & Eve, Satan and the angels, etc.

Secondly many who were born held the status of firstborn though they were not the physically firstborn in their respective families (Jacob, Joseph-two tribes Manasseh & Ephraim, Solomon Ps. 89:27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.), Jesus birth was not His beginning, He had no beginning according to Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

The word here (prototokos) means He has priority over all creation (In a moment we will see why), He is sovereign over all creation!

III. JESUS CHRIST IS THE CREATOR [V. 16-17]

There is the reason for His priority over all creation... He is not part of creation, He is the Creator!

1. He created all things- John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made

2. All things were created for Him

3. He is before all things- John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. Jesus Christ is eternal

4. By Him all things consist

IV. JESUS CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH [V. 18]

He is the head of the church, not the pastor, not the pope- Christ Himself!

V. JESUS CHRIST IS THE BEGINNING

(arche) the Architect, the Founder, the Beginning and the Ending, the Alpha and Omega, the Author and Finisher of our faith

VI. JESUS CHRIST IS THE FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD

Firstfruits (I Cor. 15), first in a glorified body, first resurrected (others had been resuscitated)

VII. JESUS CHRIST IS PREEMINENT IN ALL THINGS

(word only used here) Because of Who He is and what he had done

VIII. JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONE IN WHOM ALL FULNESS DWELLS [V. 19, 2:9]

That is, all the totality of the divine powers and attributes are in Him permanently! The word "dwell" means to be at home permanently, it's not something that was added.

"The full fullness of God dwells in Him." JVM

Phil 2:5Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

With all He is, it's not only important what you think of Him, but what does He think of you!

Pictures of the week!

SUPER BOWL COACHES

NFL Coaches speak of the difference in their lives.

Ever notice how some atheletes will point to the sky or make a casual comment about God in their interview? The coaches of the 2007 Super Bowl have gone way past this. During the game the announcers spoke of how the coaches never raised their voice or used fowl language. There is a reason why. During the acceptance of the championship trophy, coach Dungy went on to say that both coaches have a real relationship with Christ. He even put up a web site and took out a full page ad to further explain this relationship. In our day to day lives, are we this bold about THE ONE who paid our debt? Take a look at this website... www.beyondtheultimate.org

Tony Williams

If the link doesn't work you can clip and paste the address into your browser.

DEFINITIONS THE GREAT SANDINI SENT ME

The Washington Post's MENSA Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are some of the 2006 winners:

1. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund,which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

2. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

3. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

4. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

5. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

6. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

7. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

8. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

9. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's, like, a serious bummer.

10. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

11. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

12. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

13. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

14. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

GET READY & GET IN THE GAME

EPHESIANS 6:10-19

Well the Super-bowl is tonight. Many millions will be tuned in while others could care less. There are a certain group of men however who are vitally interested in the game and that's the players. Can you imagine any of them being too busy to go today? Not only will every player try his hardest to be there but every one wants to be in the game! Barring illness or some other situation which they would be powerless over every guy wants in the game. Every man will be prepared.

Christians have something way more important than the super bowl and we all ought be prepared and ready to get involved.


I. BE PART OF THE TEAM [v. 10] -Be sure you're saved!

II. KNOW THE OPPOSING TEAM [v. 11-12] "the evil genius" -knowyour enemy!

III. DO YOUR PREP WORK AND BE READY FOR ACTION [v. 13] -I Cor. 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

IV. KNOW THE PLAYBOOK [v. 14a] -be familiar with the Word of God

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

I Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

V. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR PADS ON [v. 14b]

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

1 John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

VI. WEAR YOUR CLEATS [v. 15]

1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

VII. PROTECT THE BALL [v. 16] -Rom. 10:17 Faith cometh by hearing...

VIII. WEAR YOUR HELMET [v. 17a] -Col. 2:8

IX. PROPERLY EXECUTE THE OFFENSIVE PLAYS [v. 17b]

Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

X. STAY IN CONTACT WITH THE COACHES [v. 18a]

XI. HELP YOUR TEAM-MATES [v. 18b-19]

Heb. 10:24-25 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.