Category Archives: Abiding In Jesus

Through All Things…HE IS Here!!! Bible Ballistics: BBs #739

30 Wednesday Jun 2021

Posted by in A Father's Love, Abiding In Jesus, All About Jesus!, All Sufficient God!, Amazing Grace, Encouragement, God of all comfort!, God's Faithfulness, HOPE, Trust God, Trusting Jesus, Truth

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #739 Through All Things…HE IS Here!!!

 

“But now thus saith the LORD that created thee,

O Jacob,

and he that formed thee,

O Israel,

Fear not:

for I have redeemed thee,

I have called thee by thy name;

thou art mine.

2 When thou passest through the waters,

I will be with thee;

and through the rivers,

they shall not overflow thee:

when thou walkest through the fire,

thou shalt not be burned;

 neither shall the flame

kindle upon thee.

3 For I am the LORD thy God,

the Holy One of Israel,

thy Saviour…..”   Isaiah 43:1-3

I would like to share a few things this morning that I pray will lift our hearts and encourage us today in whatever trials we may be encountering.  GOD IS ALWAYS HERE! THERE!  EVERYWHERE!  Just look up and call upon HIM!

“My sheep hear my voice,

and I know them,

and they follow me:

28 And I give unto them

eternal life;

and they shall never perish,

neither shall any man

pluck them out of my hand.

29 My Father, which gave them me,

is greater than all;

and no man is able to pluck them

 out of my Father’s hand.

30 I and my Father are one.”  John 10:27-30

Jesus IS God, and HE loves you and me and calls us to lean upon HIM in every situation; I have found HIM faithful, and HE has NEVER failed me—EVER!  So run to HIS throne today, no matter how frightened, frustrated, confused, tired or weary you may be—HE IS THERE for you/me right now!

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest,

that is passed into the heavens,

Jesus the Son of God,

let us hold fast our profession.

15 For we have not an high priest

which cannot be touched

with the feeling of our infirmities;

but was in all points tempted

like as we are,

 yet without sin.

16 Let us therefore come boldly

unto the throne of grace,

that we may obtain mercy,

and find grace to help

in time of need.”   Hebrews 4:14-16

We can come “boldly” to our loving Lord, not in arrogance or presumption, but with bold confidence, knowing that HIS open arms are ever waiting for us to run into, no matter the situation.  He is ever working on our behalf, bringing us to glory—HIS GLORY to share!

“Being confident of this very thing,

that he which hath begun a good work in you

will perform it until the day

of Jesus Christ:”   Philippians 1:6

HE IS my confidence and can be yours!  Amen and Amen!!!

All About The Cross??? Bible Ballistics: Vol. 17 No. 11

28 Monday Jun 2021

Posted by in A Father's Love, Abiding In Jesus, Abundant Life In Jesus, All About Jesus!, Choices And Consequences, Choose You This Day!, Cross, Crucified With Christ, If not now? When?, It's All About The Cross, Responding Rightly, REvival, Salvation, The Crucified Life, The Gospel

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Bible Ballistics: Vol. 17 No. 11  All About The Cross???

 

I have a few things to share with you today, and I feel that they are most important in relation to the veracity of the Gospel—the Gospel that is under such attack from compromise, ridicule and the supposed-need to make a Gospel that is  “attractive” to the world; rather than the biblical Gospel that revolves around Jesus substitutionary, atoning, sacrifice—His blood shed for you and me on the CROSS of Calvary!  I beg to differ with those choosing to compromise truth for any reason—success, numbers, popularity– and I think scripture plainly declares the sufficiency of the Gospel of the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord, and the need to trust to the cross and not the modern version of man-made ways to God.  Only Jesus can transform lives and give eternal life!

The Gospel isn’t props or programs or pretense—it is the greatest work of love that has ever been offered to the world—all mankind who will receive it:  Jesus, The God-Man-Savior, came as God in the flesh to redeem fallen man—all mankind (except the God-Man-Savior, Jesus), for “all have sinned”! (See Romans 3:23 and 6:23)

“For God so loved the world,

that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him

should not perish,

but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son

into the world

to condemn the world;

but that the world through him

might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him

is not condemned:

but he that believeth not

is condemned already,

because he hath not believed

in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation,

that light is come into the world,

and men loved darkness

rather than light,

because their deeds were evil.”   John 3:16-19

This is why HE came—to save us from SIN!

“And she shall bring forth a son,

and thou shalt call his name JESUS:

for he shall save his people

from their sins.”  Matthew 1:21

John the Baptizer made the same proclamation of Jesus!

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith,

Behold the Lamb of God,

which taketh away

the sin of the world.”  John 1:29

I know some of you must get tired of this constant effort to rehearse the Gospel again and again, but it is the message that we bring, and without it we have no hope; it is all about SIN, what have you done with your SIN?  The Gospel of Jesus never grows old to my heart, but as I see so many other “plans” to God offered around us, and proclaimed as truth, I must stand fast in God’s truth!  And like Paul, it is the cross to which I cling, and ever shall.  As a friend once asked me, “You have only one song, don’t you?”; and as I told her ‘Yes’ then, I still hold to HIS CROSS!

“And I, brethren,

when I came to you,

came not with excellency of speech

or of wisdom,

declaring unto you the testimony

of God.

2 For I determined not to know any thing

among you,

save Jesus Christ,

and him crucified.”  1 Corinthians 2:1-2

There is only ONE WAY to God, to heaven, and HIS name is JESUS CHRIST THE LORD; crucified, risen and sitting at the right hand of God Almighty until HIS return (and I don’t believe it can be very long before HE comes)!  Paul put the Gospel in “a nutshell”, so to speak; may we heed it and be sure that our faith is in The Lord Jesus and not in some gimmick of man—not vain (imitation) faith!

“Moreover, brethren,

I declare unto you the gospel

which I preached unto you,

which also ye have received,

and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved,

if ye keep in memory

what I preached unto you,

unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all

that which I also received,

how that Christ died for our sins

according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried,

and that he rose again the third day

according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas,

then of the twelve:”   1 Corinthians 15:1-5

Please be sure that you are born again by The Holy Spirit of Jesus/God!  You may fool others, you may even fool yourself, but you will never fool God.

“Nevertheless the foundation of God

standeth sure,

having this seal,

The Lord knoweth them that are his.

And, Let every one

that nameth the name of Christ

depart from iniquity.”  2 Timothy 2:19

And one last call to examine ourselves to see if we be “crucified” with Christ, or if we are just playing games with God and man, the words of our Lord are the test.

“And he said to them all,

If any man will come after me,

let him deny himself,

and take up his cross

daily,

and follow me.

24 For whosoever will save his life

shall lose it:

but whosoever will lose his life

for my sake,

the same shall save it.

25 For what is a man advantaged,

if he gain the whole world,

and lose himself,

or be cast away?

26 For whosoever shall be ashamed

of me and of my words,

of him shall the Son of man be ashamed,

when he shall come

in his own glory,

and in his Father’s,

and of the holy angels.”  Lk 9:23-26

More from Jesus, a most stern warning!

“Not every one that saith unto me,

Lord, Lord,

shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;

but he that doeth

the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day,

Lord, Lord,

have we not prophesied in thy name?

and in thy name have cast out devils?

and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them,

I never knew you:

depart from me,

ye that work iniquity.”  Matthew 7:21-23

Paul put it all in a most concise challenge to us all.  The choice is yours, but choose wisely, there is a test.  Have you been “crucified with Christ”, or are you “crucifying HIM” daily with your own plan?

“I am crucified with Christ:

 nevertheless I live;

yet not I,

but Christ liveth in me:

and the life which I now live

in the flesh

I live by the faith of the Son of God,

who loved me,

and gave himself for me.”   Galatians 2:20

May you hear from Jesus today—I pray that we each will!

Amen and Amen!!!

Double Of Nothing IS ____??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #735

16 Wednesday Jun 2021

Posted by in Abiding In Jesus, Abundant Life In Jesus, All About Jesus!, All Sufficient God!, Faithful is He that has Promised!, Faithfulness, If not now? When?, IN Jesus!, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Jesus Knows

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #735 Double Of Nothing IS______???

 

I am a bookkeeper by nature—but it wasn’t always that way.  When I was in High School, I hated math; my dad did his best to convince me to take ‘bookkeeping’, but I just kept telling him that I hated math and didn’t heed his advice (for he saw something that I couldn’t see then!)!  Sure enough, when I was about 22 or so, math finally clicked in my little pea brain!  So, of course I came to love “bookkeeping”!

Well, my friend Jesus knows what we don’t; even when HE asks us to go, or do, or accomplish some task that doesn’t make sense to us—we can trust that HE KNOWS something that we don’t know, yet.  How often I’ve regretted not taking a “bookkeeping” class, so I’d have more of a grasp of the things I’ve done in the keeping of financial records through the years.  All because I failed to take the wise advice of my earthly father!  How much more do we need to heed the advice of our Heavenly Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ THE LORD!  We all know that “double of nothing” is “nothing”!  It’s a family joke in our household about double of nothing; for when we married Zane asked me to quit work and stay home and tend to our home, which I most willingly agreed to, and he told me then he’d double my wages every week!  He jokingly tells people that, and I always chime in, “It took me 5 years to figure out that double of nothing, was nothing!”  Ha ha ha!  But in the spiritual realm it’s a tragedy that we have failed to realize that without JESUS, we are simply treading water, trying to double our ‘nothing’!  I would simply like to share one of my favorite passages with you this morning and call it a day.

“I am the true vine,

and my Father is the husbandman.

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit

he taketh away:

and every branch that beareth fruit,

he purgeth it,

that it may bring forth more fruit.

3 Now ye are clean through the word

which I have spoken unto you.

4 Abide in me,

and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit

of itself,

except it abide

in the vine;

no more can ye,

except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine,

ye are the branches:

He that abideth in me,

and I in him,

the same bringeth forth much fruit:

for without me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me,

he is cast forth as a branch,

and is withered;

and men gather them,

and cast them into the fire,

and they are burned.

7 If ye abide in me,

and my words abide in you,

ye shall ask what ye will,

and it shall be done unto you.

8 Herein is my Father glorified,

that ye bear much fruit;

so shall ye be my disciples.

9 As the Father hath loved me,

so have I loved you:

continue ye in my love.

10 If ye keep my commandments,

 ye shall abide in my love;

even as I have kept

 my Father’s commandments,

and abide in his love.

11 These things have I spoken unto you,

that my joy might remain in you,

and that your joy might be full.”    John 15:1-11

May you take this ‘food for thought’ and ponder the import of Jesus’ own words to His disciples before HE left this earth.  True then—true now! Are you abiding in “the vine” or trying to be and do things on your own?  As an old song says, “Without HIM, I could do nothing!” (Without Him, by Mylon Lefevre), and I don’t even want to try!  Won’t you “cast all your cares upon HIM”?  He’s ever calling you to abide—not run, not rush, not think up your own plans, programs, and propositions!  Abide in HIS plan and you’ll “bear much fruit” (but remember, you may not always see the crop!)!

“And now,

saith the LORD that formed me

from the womb

 to be his servant,

to bring Jacob again to him,

Though Israel be not gathered,

 yet shall I be glorious

in the eyes of the LORD,

and my God

shall be my strength.”  Isaiah 49:5

HE is here, calling YOU to abide!  What will your reply be?

“Humble yourselves therefore

under the mighty hand of God,

that he may exalt you

in due time:

7 Casting all your care upon him;

for he careth for you.”  1 Peter 5:6-7

Amen!!!

Make That Call??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #732

02 Wednesday Jun 2021

Posted by in A Father's Love, Abiding In Jesus, All About Jesus!, Be not conformed to this world, Bloom Where You're Planted!, Choose You This Day!, Discernment, Doers or intenders?, Don't Wait, Just DO it!, Knowing Or Going?, Obedience, One Day Too Late?

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #732 Make That Call Today???

 

I would like to share a bit of a challenge with you today, one which I’ve been reminded of from time to time throughout the years, and one which I try to practice regularly, even continually: and that’s to “listen” to God’s promptings on our hearts!  As we read our Bibles and pray, God will bring people to our remembrance who have affected our lives—those who have helped us, encouraged us, or taught us some great life lesson, or even challenged us to change in a positive way.  I think God isn’t just prodding our memory but perhaps prompting us to “DO” something!  Maybe we need to write a note—yes, a real pen and paper correspondence, almost a lost art today—or make a phone call (Facebook doesn’t count, I’m talking about real human connection)—or maybe even a visit, or Facetime, Zoom or some other “face to face” connection!  A call to say thanks, I was thinking of you!  Why? You ask!  Because time is fleeting and one day that person won’t be here, or you won’t be here to have that opportunity to “make someone’s day”!  TODAY is all you or I have—let’s use it; and here are some scriptures to help us along our way! God has put people in our path for a reason, let’s fulfill our purpose!

“But exhort one another daily,

while it is called To day;

lest any of you be hardened

through the deceitfulness of sin…

…. 15 While it is said, To day

 if ye will hear his voice,

harden not your hearts,

as in the provocation.”  Hebrews 3:13 & 15

It is so easy to become hardened not only through the “deceitfulness of sin”, but by the crazy hustle and bustle of “busy-ness” today; yet we are called to consider what God has for us to “BE” and “DO” this “day” and not be so distracted by the demands of “tomorrows” which may not come.  We are to be faithful workers for our King and, servants who pay attention to our Lord’s voice.  Not only spreading encouragement, help and correction but also the message of salvation to those who are lost.  It is so easy—so very easy—to be caught up in the demands of ‘living’, the call of the ‘things’ in our life, or just, as Oswald Chambers says, to be distracted by the “mundane”!  Look up>follow!

“For he hath made him

to be sin for us,

who knew no sin;

that we might be made

the righteousness of God

in him…

…..6: 1 We then,

as workers together with him,

beseech you also

that ye receive not the grace of God

in vain.

2 (For he saith,

I have heard thee

in a time accepted,

and in the day of salvation

have I succoured thee:

behold,

now is the accepted time;

behold,

now is the day of salvation.)”.   2 Corinthians 5:21-6:1-2

Who are you thinking about right now?  Don’t just sit there, get up and “DO” something:  make that call, write that note, walk next door, send those flowers, Facetime that loved one, whatever you can do, DO it!  Today!  Oh, the joy of hearing joy in the voice of someone whom you can encourage and lift up; or the smile of that one whom you haven’t checked on in a while, or the response to a note that made “the day” for someone you care about.  There are so many things that we leave undone, so many opportunities missed, let’s get busy today—sharing Jesus in whatever ways HE directs!  Let’s get your/my focus on listening to Jesus and making a difference in other’s lives not just our own!

“Therefore I say unto you,

Take no thought for your life,

what ye shall eat,

or what ye shall drink;

nor yet for your body,

what ye shall put on.

Is not the life

more than meat,

and the body

than raiment?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying,

What shall we eat?

or, What shall we drink?

or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things

do the Gentiles seek:)

for your heavenly Father knoweth

that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first

the kingdom of God,

and his righteousness;

and all these things

shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow:

for the morrow shall take thought

for the things of itself.

Sufficient unto the day

 is the evil thereof.”   Portions of Matthew 6:25-34

Nuff’ said—GO—BE—DO God’s will for you!  Today-Amen!