Bible Ballistics: BBs #87 Fresh Springs or Foul Stagnation??

Years ago I was visiting my sister in Kentucky, where they lived in a rustic old 2 story farm house. I decided to rinse out a new lacy blouse I had just gotten, so I went to the sink, put the blouse in, and turned on the water and walked away for a minute or two. When I came back to turn off the water and finish the job, imagine my horror when I saw ghastly black flecks all over my new, white, lacy blouse!!! I couldn’t imagine what had happened to my blouse, so I called my sister, who began to laugh as she explained that the ‘cistern’ was almost empty and the water truck would be there later: but my blouse was now a spotted, ruined mess!!

Never having experience with ‘cisterns’, I learned very quickly from this encounter—and I didn’t like what I learned. Cisterns are dug deeply to keep rainwater or pumped in water fresh and cool so it won’t stagnate before use. But if the cistern gets low there are rock bits and slime that comes in the tap if you are unaware of the level of the cistern.

Ok Blanche, what does this have to do with us? Well, friends it’s just a picture to help us understand something that God said to Israel long ago–A message that is so apropos to us today.

Jeremiah 2:11-13, “Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. 12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. 13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”

What about America? Have we “changed their glory for that which doth not profit”? We have abandoned the God of all creation, the “fountain of living waters”, the God who has blessed America: and in His place, dug for ourselves, “cisterns, broken cisterns, which can hold no water”. Not just cisterns, but broken ones, cisterns that won’t, that can’t hold water—but we expect to sustain ourselves on ‘stagnant water’. Foul water that is not only harmful but also insufficient, as our cisterns can’t even contain it for our continual sustenance.

So??? Here’s our shot for today. What are you depending on? Fresh, clean living water that God supplies, or foul, stagnant water that you have supplied for yourself? The choice is yours, but think on these words of Jesus as we close:

John 4:14, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Revelation 21:6, “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.”

John 7:37-38, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Think on these things!!!

Bible Ballistics: Are You Guarding Your Heart???? Vol. 4 #15

I wrote on this same subject just a few weeks ago and yet I fell burdened to write again on this same matter. After a recent conversation with someone very dear to me, this subject began to haunt my mind and soul again, then hearing someone else refer to Philippians 4:8 in regard to the things we say, and write, and do, I felt compelled to write again on this issue.

I think we have become so desensitized to the influence of the world on our hearts and minds, that we have forgotten to put on our armor and defend against the onslaught of the enemy of our souls. (See Eph. 6:10-19) Satan is trying to destroy the purity, fruitfulness and power of God’s own children, and he is often using the world around us to do it.

Yes, of course we can find forgiveness when we fail, whether it is in speech, print or action, but we MUST recognize that those things are issues of the heart, not just the outer, fleshly part of the man, woman, boy, or girl—but the heart!!

Jesus himself addressed this issue when He said that it’s not what goes in our mouth (food) that defiles us, it’s what is in our heart!! And what we allow in our hearts WILL come out. So how do we remain pure and faithful? We take action. I’d like to share some scriptures to remind us and be a guide for how we are to take care of our heart, and thence our words, and our actions.

Psalm 141:3-4a, “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. 4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity:” We must rely on God’s provision through His Spirit and we can walk in righteousness. (See Gal. 5:16 & 25 “walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”)

Matthew 15:17-19, “Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies….”

We MUST keep our hearts pure from the corruption and vile speech of the world. If we accept and repeat the vulgarity of the world, we have either allowed ourselves to be overcome by the evil around us or we are so deceived and weak-minded that we are being of no use to God because we have forgotten the Lord who calls us to ‘holiness’.

Matthew 12:36, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”

All men, saved and lost, will give an account. (See 1 Corinthians 3:13 and Romans 14:10 & 2 Cor. 5:10 for the saved and Rev 20:11-15))

Philippians 4:8, “Finally Brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Check those thoughts at the door of your mind, and if they don’t pass this 8-fold test—refuse them. If it’s not from the Spirit of God, it’s usually from the enemy. Remember our enemy comes to ‘steal, to kill and to destroy’—don’t allow the enemy to ruin your testimony and influence for Jesus by worldly vulgarity and loose morals.

James 3:10-12, “ Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.”

Remember that your words are telling the world what you have inside! Are you a blessing or a curse to those around you? What kind of fountain are you spilling forth on the world? Check your heart.

There’s a story told of a little boy who said bad, vulgar words one day to and about others. When caught and corrected by his father he apologized and was truly repentant and sorry for his misdeed (sin). The next day the father gave him a feather pillow and cut the top of it and had the boy scatter the feathers outdoors and bring the cover back. The father smiled and took the ticking cover and set it aside, saying nothing. The next morning he called the boy and sent him out with the ticking to recover the feathers he had strewn the day before. The little boy returned home with his heart saddened and distraught, as he came home with no more than 1/3 of the case full of feathers and told his father he had recovered all he could find. The wise father told him “It’s that same way with your words, once they are spoken and carried by the winds, damage is done that you can never undo.” We need to learn with the boy and remember the lesson in regard to our words as well. Our Father certainly forgives when we repent and seek His forgiveness, but just as you can pull a nail out of a board—you can never eliminate the ‘hole’ left behind.

1 John 1:9 declares that boldly. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Our God forgives and cleanses but He doesn’t always undo the scope and results of our sin on others. A word once spoken and cast into the heart of another can never be ‘undone’—forgiven, yes—but never undone!!

2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds😉 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

It’s a spiritual battle, but we have the tools to win!! We must bring every thought captive to Jesus before it goes out of our mouth, our keyboard, or back into our minds and hearts through media influences.

Guard your heart–be protective of what is allowed into your heart!! What you hear, what you see and watch on TV, what you feed your mind with. Remember—garbage in—garbage out. If I’m redeemed and put God’s Word in—His words will come out. But if I don’t put HIS Word in—what I do put in will produce a crop.

Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” What crops are you planting?????? They will bring a harvest.

“Sin will take you farther than you wanted to go,

keep you longer than you wanted to stay,

and cost you more than you intended to pay.” Source Unknown

And remember the tongue out of God’s control sins.

James 3:6, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”

Are you on guard?? Amen and Amen.

Bible Ballistics: BBs #85 Desperate Futility or Deep Faith??

We’ve heard it– another prominent person ends their life. One who was outstanding at his trade: who had won all the recognition, accolades, awards and rewards of celebrity fame. Yet, life had been a struggle for him, as it is for all of us, but he had found no peace in all the worldly trappings. This precious life, given to each of us by God, was ended in desperation. A desperation that Jesus died to alleviate!!

Jesus said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” John 10:9-11

We can come to this ‘good shepherd’, or be pawns of the ‘thief’ who comes to ‘steal, and to kill, and to destroy’. Without Jesus, we have no defender against the cruel demons that plague men’s souls, we are children of disobedience, deceived by the enemy (see Eph. 2:1-3) But God came in the flesh to redeem those who would believe. It appears that this latest victim of the ‘thief’ had no inclination toward the Savior nor recognized his need for ‘redemption’, but while only God knows that, and He does; let us consider some significant truths.

Even genuine believers are sometimes deceived into doing harmful things to themselves and others. And we are called to help the weaker brothers; that we might all be found blameless when Jesus returns. But those without the Savior face an eternity of torment worse than what they’ve experienced in life. Not pleasant but true!!

In contrast, one seemingly ‘insignificant’ saint passed into eternity Monday, with little fanfare. She stepped out of the weariness of a failing body, into the arms of Jesus. Her last weeks and months had not been pleasant, but even in her pain and frailty, her thought was almost constantly, “I want to go home, to be with Jesus”. She held the line with grace, and confidence in the one to whom she belonged. Her passing leaves a great sorrow in the hearts of those who loved her, even though she received few accolades in her life. She gave love, laughter and joy to innumerable people, including me. I thank God that I had the privilege to know her and share in just a small part of her life. Her accolades are in eternity with her Savior. And while you won’t hear about her on the news, Jesus has welcomed one of His own into glory. Why? Because she had placed her faith in Jesus not the trappings of the world.

I’d just like to close with some sober scriptures for each of us to ponder.

Hebrews 9: 27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” We will all die—no second chances.   Where will you be? Those that you love?

2 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: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” If we choose Jesus here, we’ll be with Him forever there-in heaven. To not choose Him is Hell, for eternity.

Philippians 1:23-24, “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: 24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.” While I’m here, I am here with a purpose–to serve Him by helping others.

So?? Here’s our shot for today.

Don’t be deceived by the artificial trappings of the world—

they are empty clouds—

they will fail you.

Be sure you make the right choice—

because God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9b

James 1:22, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

It’s your choice—desperate futility or deep-rooted faith?  Heaven or Hell?

Bored in Church – Point of View.

A great word form Kirby Anderson.  I wish I could have said it so concisely and well.  My thanks to Point of View for permission to share this post..