"Blessed
be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies,
and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that
we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort
wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
If there is something coming between you and Jesus?
Before you obey Him, do you decide if what He asks of you is wise and prudent?
Then you need to realize that Jesus does not have lordship over your life.
You are still holding on to the controls of your life. Your trust in
yourself proves that your trust in Him is small.
This month we will be talking about strengthening our knowledge
and understanding of the Word of God. Let us prepare ourselves to meet the
challenges of today by being constant in prayer, meditation, and study of the
Word. The result will be a strengthening of our faith and trust in our
Lord.
Let us humble ourselves before our Lord and pray...
If you are
not sure if you qualify as a believer, then please visit our
Do
you know for sure? page first. Let's
begin our study...
"Wherefore laying aside all
malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil
speakings,
As newborn babes, desire the
sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
If so be ye have tasted that
the Lord is gracious.
To whom coming, as unto a
living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and
precious,
Ye also, as lively stones,
are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Wherefore also it is
contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone,
elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be
confounded.
Unto you therefore which
believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone
which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the
corner,
And a stone of stumbling, and
a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being
disobedient; whereunto also they were appointed.
But ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye
should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light: which in time past were not a people, but are
now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained
mercy."
1 Peter
2:1-10
A SHOCKING REVELATION
"Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and
prudent in their own sight!" Isaiah 5:22
The rich young man had it all. He was a good guy known for
his commitment to the Law. Yet he had a secret fear. An encounter
with Jesus puts it all into perspective in this story in Matthew 19:16-22...
"And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what
good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
And He said unto him, "Why callest thou me good? There
is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep
the commandments."
He saith unto Him, "Which?"
Jesus said, "Thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit
adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, honour thy
father and thy mother: and, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
The young man saith unto him, "All these things have I kept
from my youth up: what lack I yet?"
Jesus said unto him, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell
that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven:
and come and follow me."
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away
sorrowful: for he had great possessions."
The young man was shocked. He honestly believed himself to be righteous.
Outwardly he had kept these Commandments. He couldn't think of anything
that he had not done to be righteous. He knew himself to be wise because
he had kept God's commands. He believed he deserved to have eternal life.
Jesus exposed the true nature of this young man's heart with one simple
command. You see the young man loved his treasures more than he loved
others and more than he loved Jesus. Since he felt himself to be good and
righteous, he saw no reason to sell his possessions and give away the proceeds.
That would not have been prudent. In fact to him it made no sense.
He thought he wanted to follow Jesus, but the cost was more than
he wanted to pay. He was unwilling to make a sacrifice of his possessions for Jesus.
Given the choice between his possessions and Jesus, it is sad that the young man chose his
possessions. The problem here is not in that the young man had many
possessions, but that they were more important to him than following Jesus.
Selling his possessions and giving away the
money would have made him look foolish. Surely he must have wondered how
he would survive on nothing. It was a ridiculous notion. He would be
a laughing stock.
Truth is, he was unwilling to be humbled.
The problem is even greater than it first appears when we realize that his possessions
brought him a measure of security and status. He was a young man of means,
a rising star in his community. He was probably respected and
well-liked, for outwardly he was a keeper of the Law. It is clear that he
trusted in the security and status he received from others, rather than in God.
Jesus wanted the young man to depend on Him for
all his needs.
The young man wanted to follow Jesus on his own
terms. He was unwilling to make any sacrifice for Jesus; not his wealth,
not his pride, not his security, nor his status. He wanted eternal life,
but he didn't want Jesus. He was disappointed, but not disappointed enough
to yield to Jesus' command.
What keeps you from turning fully to Jesus?
Maybe like the rich young man, you are not following Jesus, but
are following a
form of religion that is based on your own understanding and desires.
Eternal life is given to those who trust Jesus and choose to
follow Him with their whole heart, mind, and soul. Jesus offers us a place in Heaven for eternity. He
forgives our sin and takes away our guilt and shame over our wickedness.
He changes our heart from self-centeredness and selfishness to one of submission
and love. He gives us a new life.
If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, please go to:
Do You Know for Sure? for further explanation. Then use your
"back" button to rejoin us for this month's study.
"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; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Saviour;" Titus 3:5-6
MUSINGS... Strength and Comfort Comes from the Word
"My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God..." Psalm 42:6a
"Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we
should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." James 1:18
"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." John
17:17
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I
have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments."
Psalm 119:105-106
"But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself
rather unto godliness." 1 Timothy 4:7
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times
some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines
of devils" 1 Timothy 4:1
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the
common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that
ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the
saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old
ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into
lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."
Jude 1:3-4
"Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your
calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:10-11
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with might; for there
is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou
goest." Ecclesiastes 9:10
"This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath
quickened me. The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not
declined from thy law. I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord, and have
comforted myself. Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked
that forsake thy law. Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my
pilgrimage. I have remembered thy name, O Lord, in the night, and have kept thy
law. This I had, because I kept thy precepts." Psalm 119:50-56
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God,
and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall
bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or
whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
"But grow in grace, and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18a
HOW TO BEAT THE HEAT
"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."
Titus 1:9
On a scale of 1 to 10, how is your fellowship with the Lord? If He seems
silent or is non-existent, then maybe you've turned away from the
Lord. "Never!" you might say. Believers, it can happen.
This is bad news. We don't even want to consider that we might have been
sucked into the world's ways little by little. Without our realizing it,
those little compromises begin to block the Light of truth from our hearts and
minds.
We all make mistakes. Like the frog boiling away slowly in the kettle,
unaware that he is slowly being cooked, we
may often find ourselves slowing becoming numb to sin, unaware that it will lead
us to a loss of favor with our Lord.
Believers, we often don't realize how far away from the Lord we have gone.
Our works or deeds often demonstrate where our loyalties lie
and reveal the true state of our heart. Others notice, but we are blinded
to the truth.
The Bible teaches us that our hearts are deceptively wicked and
even we can't know all that is in our heart. We're too biased, thinking
ourselves to be a better person that what God knows we are.
"For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man
that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think;
but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of
faith." Romans 12:3
To determine if we have turned away, we need to regularly run through a checklist of sorts
to reveal areas where we have gone our own way.
Is the standard by which you live and
make judgments in keeping with God's standard?
A good litmus test to discover if your Biblical beliefs are inconsistent with
your worldview is to think about your opinions about common issues of concern in our society. Do your opinions line up with the Word of God or are they
in conflict? The Word of God is true so if your opinions are in
opposition, then it's you that is off track, not the Word.
"Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that
are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience
is defiled." Titus 1:15
It is a serious thing to walk a line that hovers between claiming the
righteousness that comes from Jesus and the acceptance that comes from the world
at large. It is impossible to have both.
"Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot
be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils." 1 Corinthians
10:21
How do the truths of the Bible fit into
my life?
Too often we separate the truths of the Bible from daily living. We fail
to implement what we know and understand as we carry out our daily tasks.
It could be said that Biblical truths are reserved for Sundays. When we walk out of church, we
take off our Sunday clothes and put on our worldly clothes.
We soon find ourselves trying to juggle our two "selves".
We take on the characteristics of a "split personality" by being one way at
church and another way at home. Many would call that hypocrisy.
"Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and
drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But
put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill
the lusts thereof." Romans 13:12-14
Where's the disconnect?
The problem lies in our lack of understanding of God's Word. The
Bible tells us in the book of Titus to hold fast the faithful word as we have
been taught. This means that we are to know and understand the Word of
God. If we know what the Bible says, then we can understand that we are to
keep His commands.
The Bible is our standard to live by.
Knowing what the Bible says about issues brings clarity of viewpoint and gives
us much needed direction in daily living both at home and on the job. We have the
means to clearly distinguish between evil and good.
If impurities have muddied your doctrine, then you must spend
more time in the Word of God. That's the only way to reclaim the truth.
Avoiding the wisdom of mankind is crucial to getting back on track.
"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God." Romans 12:2
The Solution...
Maybe you have need of a teacher? You read the Word, but
it doesn't make sense. Your understanding seems clouded and you may feel
that it makes no sense. If you have a sincere desire to understand and you
are a born again believer, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truths of
God's Word to you.
Years ago when I was still ignorant of Biblical doctrine, I
remember setting a goal for myself to read the Bible from cover to cover, like a
novel. I struggled for days to understand what I was reading and its
significance to my life. Finally in frustration, I put down my Bible and
prayed, pouring out my frustration to the Lord. How could I be the person
He wanted me to be if I had no idea what that person looked like? When I
dried my tears, I decided to try again. I picked up my Bible and began to
read. As I read, clarity came. I cannot explain it, except to say
that the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the truth.
Confess your sin and seek the help you need from the Lord to gain
knowledge and understanding. Then you may need to break off some
associations that are in direct conflict with the truths of the Word.
Repent of the works that you have done that are in opposition to the Lord.
The Holy Spirit will get you back on track if you are willing.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and
know my thought: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in
the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24
Pull yourself together! You can beat the heat of
compromise by jumping out of the world's pot!
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:1-2
"Every word of God is pure: he is a
shield unto them that put their trust in Him." Proverbs 30:5
TRUST HIM
by Joanne Lowe
“But without faith it is impossible
to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is
a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 (KJV)
We can teach, preach, sing, write, give to charity, and do all other good
things, but unless we believe God then all this is in vain. God is not impressed
with our titles, our education, our homes, our boats, or our money. What pleases
Him is how much you and I trust Him and what we do to show Him that we trust
Him.
We need to check out our faith level. What is the temperature of our faith
today; is it hot or cold? Are we earnestly seeking Him above everything and
everyone? Is He first priority in our lives?
Many times we grow weary serving Jesus because of the criticism and sarcasm that
we receive from people. We need to remember that people also criticized Jesus
and were sarcastic to Him. He also grew weary in His Heart of being hurt.
Even today, we are being sarcastic and criticizing Jesus when we say these
devastating, cruel words to one another. It breaks the Heart of Jesus when we
hurt one another. How is your faith level today? Are you trusting Jesus for
everything?
"Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he
thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on
his head." Romans 12:20
GRANDMOTHER'S
SCRAPBOOK
"Inspired by great-grandmother's scrapbook, compiled before
1918."
To Mother
by Fay Inchfawn
I would that you should know,
Dear mother, that I love you—love you so!
That I remember other days and years;
Remember childish joys and childish fears.
And this, because my baby's little hand
Opened my own heart's door and made me understand.
I wonder how you could
Be always kind and good!
So quick to hear; to tend
My smallest ills; to lend
Such sympathising ears
Swifter than ancient seer's.
I never yet knew hands so soft and kind,
Nor any cheek so smooth, nor any mind
So full of tender thoughts. . . . Dear mother, now
I think that I can guess a little how
You must have looked for some response, some sign,
That all my tiresome wayward heart was thine.
And sure it was! You were my first dear love!
You who first pointed me to God above;
You who seemed hearkening to my lightest word,
And in the dark night seasons always heard
When I came trembling, knocking at your door.
Forgive me, mother, if my whims outwore
Your patient heart. Or if in later days
I sought out foolish unfamiliar ways;
If ever, mother dear, I loosed my hold
Of your loved hand; or, headstrong, thought you cold,
Forgive me, mother! Oh, forgive me, dear!
I am come back at last—you see me here,
Your loving child. . . . And, mother, on my knee
I pray that thus my child may think of me!
*From: The Verse-book of a Homely Woman, written about 1880.
"Honour thy father and thy mother:
that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."
Exodus 20:12
HOME SCHOOL TIPS
Information on the Convention On the Rights of
the Child Treaty
Most people count on a summer break to refresh and regroup for
the coming school year. Homeschoolers have the flexibility to adjust our
schedules according to our needs and desires. However, it is wise that we
use every opportunity we have to educate our children for the time may come when
we will be unable to homeschool. Let us not take for granted the wonderful
privilege we have to teach our children and exercise control over our children's
education.
Once again the forefront of our thoughts are focused on
potential efforts to push forward the ratifying of the United Nations sponsored
Convention On the Rights of the Child treaty.
President Obama has indicated his support for this treaty, while acknowledging
no program or policy can substitute for a mother or a father.
The United States and Somalia have currently not ratified this treaty, but that
could change given the changing political climate in our nation.
If you are not familiar with this treaty, it sets forth the
cultural, social, civil, political, and economic rights of the child. To
understand the implications of this treaty for families, read Dr. Michael
Farris' article,
Nannies in Blue Berets.
Compliance is ensured by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child
who monitors compliance of the 193 ratifying nations. Ratifying nations
must submit regular reports on the status of children's rights in their
respective countries.
In response to the new threat, Dr. Farris is supporting a Constitutional
amendment to preserve parental rights.
Dr. Michael Farris explains why an amendment is necessary in a video at a
website called Parentalrights.org .
To read the joint resolution before Congress, go to:
"Grant not, O Lord, the desires of
the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves.
Selah." Psalm 140:8
THOUGHT PROVOKERS
"All the true revivals have been born in
prayer. When God's people become so concerned about the state of religion
that they lie on their faces day and night in earnest supplication, the blessing
will be sure to fall." - E. M. Bounds
THE NATIONAL
DAY OF PRAYER IS MAY 7TH
Bounds, E. M. " Purpose in Prayer."
The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds On Prayer. Grand Rapids:
Baker Books. 362.
"Hear, and
understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that
which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man." Matthew
15:10-11
Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add pineapple juice to cream
cheese. Add vanilla pudding to cream cheese and stir. Add
pineapple to whipping cream, then add to cream cheese. Mix well.
Pour into Graham cracker crust. Smooth evenly. Chill one hour.
Arrange chicken in a greased 13x9 inch dish. Top with cheese slices.
Combine soup and milk, stirring well. Then pour over chicken.
Sprinkle stuffing mix. Drizzle with butter. Bake at 350
degrees for 45-60 minutes until chicken juices are clear.
Pour broth into large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir in
rice, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 18-20 minutes,
until broth is absorbed. Sauté onions in oil until translucent, then
stir in lemon zest. Combine onions, lemon juice, and cilantro to
cooked rice. Fluff with fork. Let stand 4-5 minutes, then
serve.
"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." 1
John 2:16
TIP OF THE MONTH
- Clothing Storage
Before storing winter coats, have them cleaned at a dry cleaner's.
Store fur collars and coats at an atmosphere controlled storage facility.
Wash and dry sweaters then store in drawer or bin; do not hang.
Wash blankets, dry, and fold for summer storage.
Wash
mittens, scarves, and hats. Place in plastic storage container in your
hall closet.
Clean boots and polish.
Before storing, make repairs to clothing such as sewing on buttons or mending a
tear.
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT 
Letter from the Editor...
IN THIS ISSUE
The
Believer's
Mission...
MUSINGS... Strength and Comfort Comes from the Word
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HOME SCHOOL TIPS
THOUGHT PROVOKERS
