Search this site
IRONSTRIKES
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Beliefs
  • Formation
  • For Women
  • Meetings & Events

Are you like your 5 closest friends?

11/20/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. I have heard this repeated dozens of times. As a young pastor, I chafed each time I read this or heard someone quote the statement. It is hard to articulate what it was about it that rubbed me the wrong way. Perhaps I did not care for the fact that I had to choose my friends by calculating how much value they would bring or the help I would receive! So as I ignored this statement, I did notice some things among my colleagues. Namely, people gravitated to people who viewed the world as they did and to people who held the same opinions. At one meeting a group I was hanging out with spent nearly every spare moment criticizing the politicians at the local, state and national level. Then it was the leaders of our denomination, which then extended down to individual evangelists, missionaries, and even fellow pastors. It was downright depressing! As I watched my friends, I noticed when one spoke against a particular person they all nodded agreement. Not one positive thing was said, and nothing of any value or substance came from the conversation. Allow me to highlight a couple of observations: Proverbs 4:23 made sense after this encounter. “ Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” My friends were not just sharing their thoughts or their minds; they were mostly sharing their hearts. Every time I speak I am mostly sharing what is in my heart. Granted if I am speaking, I am trusting I am sharing things I believe and have learned or observed, but mainly what comes out is a picture of my heart. It is a painful confession. For there have been times that I have said things that I am distressed that the words and sentiments are a reflection of my heart. As a painful as it may be, it is a fact! It applies to all of us, including myself.

Another thing I learned from that group conversation from 30+ years ago: most of us are not very self-aware! People were criticized for things that when those of us in the group was criticized for the same stuff caused us to be offended. At times criticizing others makes us feel as though the pressure is off of us. How amazing is it that people who complain about being criticized are at times some of the best critics themselves? I must say that the people doing the talking that day were and are good people. The habit of complaining and criticizing has become so ingrained that it is difficult to recognize it as it is happening. If someone would have stood up and said ‘friends, let us change the subject and start speaking encouragement and blessing to one another.’ I am sure the conversation would have turned more positive. You see we weren’t guarding our hearts very well and we were demonstrating that you may be the average of the people you hang out with! To be self-aware, you have to focus your attention on others and not yourself. Self-awareness comes when I see myself as a person entirely dependent on the grace and mercy of God. Self-awareness is when I understand that there is power in our words, a power to bless and power to curse.

For the past few years, I have asked the Lord to convict me when my words are not edifying. Lord keep my heart tender and sensitive to your voice and sympathetic to the people around me. May people feel more blessed than burdened after coming into contact with me. But mostly Lord, help me to guard my mouth, for in reality everything does flow from my heart.

This post was written by Dr Ron Blake.  You can find his original post here:  wesleyshorse.com/what-if-it-is-true-you-really-are-like-the-five-people-you-associate-with-the-most/



0 Comments

Uncle Buddy:  Being led by The Spirit

11/19/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Apostle Paul tells us in Gal. 5:18 that we are to be led by the Spirit, but don't let any man imagine that he can be led by the Spirit until after a number of things have taken place in his life. First, he must be convicted by the Holy Ghost until he realizes that he is a sinner, and in the next place he must repent of his sins, and in the next place he must confess his sins, and then he must forsake his sins, and then he must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. These things all must take place in the life of a man before he can be born of the Spirit. And when he is born of the Spirit, that brings him into the family of God, and now as a son or a daughter of the Almighty he can consecrate himself wholly to God, lay himself on the altar, take his hands off, and believe, as Abraham did, "what he had promised, he was able also to perform" (Rom. 4: 21), and then he will be filled with the Spirit. Now these things must take place before a man can be led by the Spirit.

At a glance the reader can see that nothing will be easier than for that man to be led by the Spirit, and the Holy Ghost will become his Leader, his Guide, and his Instructor. Christ has said that, when the Holy Ghost "is come, he will guide you into all truth." That is another way to say that the Holy Spirit will lead you. He also said that He would bring all things to your remembrance; that is, the Holy Ghost will take the very words of Jesus just as He spoke them and so write them in your heart and in your mind that it will be well-nigh impossible ever to forget them.

So we see that to be born and filled and led will make the most peculiar creature in the world out of a man. And a peculiar creature is not a man that does peculiar things. Understand, he might do peculiar things, but the peculiar things are not always an evidence that the man has this wonderful experience of full salvation. But, nevertheless, a man that is really led by the Holy Ghost will go many places and do many things and say many things that will seem strange to other people. At the time the man does or says these things he may himself be almost unconscious that he is doing or saying them. He may never know just why he said them, and yet God knows why he said them.

The man that is led by the Holy Spirit will never pass through a day that we used to call "blue days," lonesome and sad and downcast, although he may have many trials and hardships and many battles with the devil. But if his heart is filled with the Spirit and he is led by the Spirit, he will have a joyous, victorious life. In fact he will be more than conqueror, because when a man is led by the Spirit it proves that he is willing to be led. No man can make a leader until he is willing to be led himself; no man can make a teacher until he is willing to be taught; and no man can make a commander until he himself is willing to obey.

A beautiful thing about the Spirit-filled life is that no power in earth or hell can drive the Holy Ghost out of the life of the man that is being led by Him. Poverty can never do it; afflictions and disappointments can never do it. To be snubbed by a friend and sneered at by an enemy will never drive Him out. Bless God, as long as I myself am willing to keep the Holy Ghost as my Leader, there is not enough power on earth or in the pits of outer darkness to ever rob me of my Leader! How thankful we ought to be that God in His goodness and love and mercy has provided a way by which a man passing through a world of sin and darkness should have such a wonderful Leader and Guide as the blessed Holy Ghost! Bless His name! My heart leaps for joy as I remember that He said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Heb. 13: 5). And for thirty years I have gone no place that the Holy Ghost didn't lead me, and, thank God, I never will. Bless His name forever!

Robinson, Reuben A. (Bud). The Collected Works of 'Uncle Bud' Robinson (Kindle Locations 3090-3117). Jawbone Digital. Kindle Edition. 


0 Comments

Child of The King

11/18/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
My Father is rich in houses and lands,
He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands!
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full, He has riches untold.

I’m a child of the King,
A child of the King:
With Jesus my Savior,
I’m a child of the King.

My Father’s own Son, the Savior of men,
Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them;
But now He is pleading our pardon on high,
That we may be His when He comes by and by.

I’m a child of the King,
A child of the King:
With Jesus my Savior,
I’m a child of the King.

I once was an outcast stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice, an alien by birth,
But I’ve been adopted, my name’s written down,
An heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown.

I’m a child of the King,
A child of the King:
With Jesus my Savior,
I’m a child of the King.

A tent or a cottage, why should I care?
They’re building a palace for me over there;
Though exiled from home, yet still may I sing:
All glory to God, I’m a child of the King.

I’m a child of the King,
A child of the King:
With Jesus my Savior,
I’m a child of the King.


Date:   1877
Author:  Harriet E Buell
Music:  John B Sumner
 
Story:

Harriett Buell wrote the words for A Child of the King one Sunday morning while walking home from her Methodist church service. She sent her text to the Northern Christian Advocate, and it was printed in the February 1, 1877 issue. 

Romans 8:16-17 … we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ… 

Whether you are great or small in God's kingdom, you are still God's child. An infant is as truly a child of its parents as is a full‑grown person. You are beloved by God.

Bible Verse:

Romans 8:17 - And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together

This hymn and story were taken from this website:  www.popularhymns.com/child_of_the_king.php

0 Comments

Be radical this Sunday

11/17/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
It happens every week in churches throughout the world.  Whether in gold colored plates, buckets, or boxes passed around or left at the back of the gathering place, an offering is received.  Though a standard practice, in our consumer-based, “get all you can” culture that rewards the accumulation of wealth, participating in this weekly portion of the worship service is actually a radical statement of faith. 


The offering has been around from the beginning.  God’s people have always been called to give so that they may bring honor to God and provide for those in need (Genesis 8:20).  Among God’s people in the earliest days, no grain was to be harvested until an offering was given (Leviticus 23:14).  This tradition is carried forth through the New Testament and beyond when the newly-formed Church would “give to anyone who had need,” often even selling their property to do so (Acts 2:45)!

We have become accustomed to offerings in church life.  At times, the offering has been viewed as an interruption or as an example of the church involving itself in crass commercialism.  Jokes about preachers and offerings abound! 

However, in Scriptural perspective, giving offerings predates almost every other portion of the worship service.

Here’s why: Because we are never more like God than when we give. ​​ 

​God is most clearly illustrated in our lives when we take a portion of what the world around us says is “ours” and offer it up, reminding ourselves and others that “every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17).

The biblical concept of tithing (giving 10% of our earnings) is a statement to our world that proclaims we believe that God can do more with the remaining 90% than we could do if we kept the full 100%.  This is a radical statement of faith! 

The offering also bears witness in a materialistic culture tied to material things that there is no need to “sell our souls for the almighty dollar,” since the God whom we serve is the one who is truly almighty. When we trust Him with even a portion of what He has given us, He is more than able to meet our needs while we bless others in His name.

This week, pray for the offerings that will be given throughout the world in forthcoming worship services. Pray that those in charge of the worship services will treat the offering as the prophetic witness to the faith in God that it was meant to be from the beginning, and not some interruption or some simple plea for funds. Pray that those who benefit from the Church’s giving will be prompted to turn their attention toward God, who is the true Provider of all.

May we understand and experience the love of God who gave for us as we give with cheerful and thankful hearts.

Almighty God, whose loving hand has given us all that we
possess: Grant us grace, that we may honor You with our
substance, and, remembering the account which we must one
day give, may be faithful stewards of Your bounty, through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (from The Book of Common Prayer)


This devotional was written by Charles W. Christian who  is managing editor of Holiness Today.  You can find this devotional here:  holinesstoday.org/most-radical-thing-you-will-do-on-sunday

0 Comments

Accolades

11/16/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth,  for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. – Jeremiah 9:24
 

It feels really good to be great at something, doesn’t it? Perhaps, when you were a child, you were a great soccer player, or you could run really fast. People may have approached you and given you praise for doing a great job. Or, maybe you earned that Master’s degree after years of hard work and made many people proud of your accomplishment.
 
These examples make us happy, and there is nothing really wrong with receiving recognition for skill and hard work. Sometimes the hard work and talent we possess can translate into rewards, more income, and even opportunities that we never thought we would have. The problem comes when we begin to think we are defined by our talent or hard work. It can be tempting to start to revel in the idea that we are the sole creators of our own personal universe. When we allow ourselves to go too far into this realm of thinking, we abandon the need to give God the glory for what He has given to us.

If we were to close our eyes and allow ourselves to recall all of the times where God was immeasurably faithful to us, then it would be increasingly more difficult to take the full credit for everything in our lives.
 
In this passage, the Lord is reminding Jeremiah the prophet that He is the one who is ultimately in control. The people of God were far away from Him at this point in their history (again) and the patient designer of all creation was helping Jeremiah to understand who He is.
 
Today would be a great day to thank God for all He has done in your life. Even the great struggles are worthy of adding to the list, because God brought us through them, and now we can help others in their struggles.
 
Give Him the glory. Keep none of it for yourself. At the same time, when someone commends you for a job well done; simply say “thank you”. Then, let your life constantly point to Him.
 
Prayer for today: Father, thank you for everything you give me. I ask, today, that you make my life a testimony to your goodness. Amen.

This post was written by Rev DeCrastos.  
​You can find his blog here:  www.ministrysauce.com​


0 Comments

The difference between knowledge and knowing

11/15/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. Colossians 1:3-6 


CONSIDER THIS

The thing that stands in the way of my truly understanding God’s grace is that I’m pretty sure I already truly understand it. Go back and read that sentence again.

While the Gospel is a message, it cannot be confined to messages. While the gospel is the Truth, it cannot be captured by a series of propositional truths. Before the Gospel is anything else, the Gospel is God. Gospel means good news and the good news is God. The good news is not that God loves us. The good news is that God is love. The good news is not that Jesus saves. It is that Jesus is himself salvation.

We think we truly understand God and the Gospel because we have an understanding of what God has done for us. This is good, as far as it goes, but it does not go anywhere near far enough. When our understanding of the Gospel is limited to what God has done for us, our understanding of sharing the Gospel will be limited to telling others what God has done for them.

To be sure, the Gospel is the message of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, but in a far greater sense, the Gospel is who Jesus Christ is to us and in us and through us for the world. The Gospel is not a body of knowledge about who God is and what God has done. The Gospel is actually knowing God. “Now this is eternal life:” Jesus prayed, “that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3.

We have lived through a period of world history wherein the measure of mastery consisted in knowing about a subject. The Christian faith is not meant for this paradigm. Real Christianity can never be reduced to knowing about God. We must go on to knowing God. To think one can master the subject of God is the ultimate idolatry. Real Christianity is about understanding oneself as subject to God and becoming mastered by Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not God’s solution to our sin problem. The Gospel is that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting our sins against us.” (see 2 Corinthians 5:19) The Gospel is a reconciled relationship through which God lives in us and we in him. The Gospel is not the knowledge but the knowing. The domain of knowledge is in a body of information. The domain of knowing is in the Body of Jesus Christ. And none of this is meant to eschew or despise knowledge but rather to say that knowledge is a penultimate understanding. Ultimate understanding means knowledge about God must give way to knowing God.

In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.

To become a real Christian is our aim. Most often, it requires us to humble ourselves and confess that we might not be there quite yet—not that we aren’t on the way, but that the Way just might be a whole lot more than we ever imagined.


THE PRAYER

Abba Father, we thank you for your son, Jesus, who is both the Way and the way-maker. He is the Life and the life-giver. He is the Truth, not as a construct of knowledge but as a person, the Word made flesh. I want to know Jesus more than I know about him. I want to know him personally, and intimately and powerfully. To this end we pray in Jesus name, Amen.

This devotion is from The Seedbed Daily Text.  To sign up for these devotions, click here



0 Comments

God of the past, present, and future

11/14/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5: 17, NIV)

As Wesleyans, we Nazarenes are people of hope.  We proclaim, as did John Wesley, the “optimism of grace.”  We do this because we believe God not only helps us with the sins and mistakes of our past, but He also gives comfort and assurance in regard to our present and our future.

Nazarene theologian W.T. Purkiser believed that God not only deals with the actual sins of our past (the willful choices we have made to disobey God), but through the renewal that comes at salvation, God also allows the redemptive work of Christ to be “the starting point for God’s continuing action through the Spirit in spreading the fruits of His victory to individual human hearts and lives” (Purkiser, Beliefs That Matter Most, BHP, 1959). 

This means that God’s forgiveness of our past sins opens the door for a present assurance that God is continuing the work of growth in grace. 

Those familiar with the life of John Wesley know that his earliest ongoing struggle was assurance: How can I be assured that God loves and forgives me?  Wesley, like all of us, found the answer in the saving and sanctifying grace of God.  “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins…” (Col. 2:13, NIV). 

Purkiser goes on to say that while salvation deals primarily with our past, sanctification is about our future.  In other words, when we receive the forgiveness of God through Christ, we are primarily concerned about the past.  However, when we in turn respond to God’s continual call of grace by consecrating ourselves fully to His ways, we are looking toward the future.  In Purkiser’s words, we “make an offering inspired by the mercies God has already given. . . .” (Purkiser, p. 73).  It is, in the words of Hebrews 12:1-2, a “reasonable act” that moves us into a more assured present and a more hopeful future!

Today, we ask God to be the “Lord of the past” for us, forgiving our sins and thoughtless ways that once defined us (2 Cor. 5:17).  We ask God also to be the “Lord of our present,” granting “peace that passes all understanding” (Phil. 4:7) to “guard our hearts and minds” today.  Finally, through His sanctifying grace, resting in the eventual glorification that is the ultimate inheritance of those who are His (1 Cor. 15:42-44), we move toward the future in step with the ways and purpose of God: the God of the past, present, and future.


Prayer:
God of our past and present, thank you for the hope you give for our future, being formed more and more into the image of your Son Jesus Christ by the sanctifying power of your Spirit.  Grant us your peace and joy through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.



This devotional was written by Charles W. Christian who  is managing editor of Holiness Today.  You can find this devotional here:  holinesstoday.org/god-of-past-present-future  


0 Comments

What to look for in a mentor

11/13/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Much of what I learned about life and the nuts and bolts of doing ministry I learned from my grandmother, teachers, pastors and Sunday School teachers.  These folks were my mentors long before I had heard the term mentor.  Reflecting on their lives and impact on my life I came up with a few reasons they were so influential in my life.


1 They made people feel valued and essential.

They seemed to know perhaps intrinsically that people need to feel valued.  They showed this by the respect they gave and the way they made me believe that I mattered.


2  I knew I was more than just a number to them.

Even though they were in positions of authority, they never Lorded it over me. They took time to get to know me, and I felt they cared and what they were doing was more than a job.


3 They were honest and straightforward even when delivering bad news.

They did not sugar-coat what needed to be said, they were honest and told me the truth.  The influential leaders in my life were truth tellers even when the facts stung and hurt.  It is not a favor to us when people shield us from the truth.  The people that helped me the most in life told me the truth in a kind, but straightforward way.


4 They did not place blame.

If they were wrong, they admitted it and accepted responsibility for their words and actions. Nothing is more childish than seeing someone who is always looking for someone to blame.  If you did it, own it, acknowledge it, apologize and rectify if possible and move on.  Maturity is measured by being responsible and accepting credit as well as blame.  Do not place blame on others, take responsibility.


5 They were collaborative

They asked for my help and coached me.  They built teams before teambuilding had became a buzz word. They modeled the concept that no one of us is as smart as all of us, and they operated by that principle.


6 They lavished praise.

Encouragement was not just something they said it was their lifesyle.  If you did well, they told you how well you had done.  They would explain to others how you did as well.  If criticism or correction was needed as it often was, they always did this is in private so as not to embarrass me.


7 They Challenged the status quo, and didn’t settle for mediocrity.

Remember, innovation starts at the edge of discomfort, and considerable progress happens when you take chances.  The leaders that I was privileged to be around taught me that excellence was a choice and it was the proper choice.  Regardles of how we find certain situations, it is not how things have to be, with God all things are possible.


8 They inspired.

Motivate people to be their best even when they don’t know their potential. The people who had the most significant impact on me were people who believed in me before I believed in myself.  My influencers saw something in me when I was not sure that I could do much of anything or become a person that God could use.  I did not understand motivation and inspiration in those days, but I saw it displayed by the people in my life.


As I look back over the years and see the outsized impact that these people had in my life,I am reminded how much our lives are shaped by the people who invested their time.   Some of them would not be aware of the difference they made in my life, and their example inspires me today to offer the encouragement, inspiration, and motivation to others.
​

This post was written by Dr Ron Blake.  You can find his original post here:  wesleyshorse.com/what-to-look-for-in-a-mentor/



0 Comments

This Great Salvation

11/12/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
In the 2d chapter of Hebrews and third verse, we have one of the greatest questions that God ever asked man. The question is enough to scare a man to death. It is the unanswerable question. God says, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" Just why the Lord asked man a question he couldn't answer, is a mystery, but still He did it. I suppose that neither our heavenly Father, nor man, can answer the question. For if a man neglects the salvation of his soul, there is no escape, for we read in Hebrews 9th chapter 27th verse, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, so after this the judgment." Therefore, we are all headed toward that great day and we will have to go and stand before the King, and it may be possible that we will find out that through the goodness of our heavenly Father, He asks us this question in order to wake us up, and to alarm and arouse our dead, slumbering conscience, that we might arise and bestir ourselves, and if possible make the escape from an eternal doom. But as we see there is no escape and we Can't answer the question, thank the Lord there is still hope, for we can talk about the greatness of our salvation.

First, salvation is great because God himself is the author of it, and everything God does is great. His little things are some of His greatest things. In the days of King Solomon they used the little red ants for their college presidents. And when Solomon met a lazy, trifling, good for nothing fellow he sent him off to college, and when he got there he met a red ant, and Solomon said, "Learn wisdom." Again Solomon said, "The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces."

The ant represents works, and the spider represents faith. Solomon said, "The ant layeth up her store in the harvest time, and the spider is in kings' palaces." To show you that the ant had more sense than lots of men, in Jeremiah 8th chapter 20th verse, Jeremiah said, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." So if the ant had sense enough to lay up his store in harvest time, and man fails to do it, then the ant is more sensible than man. And the spider had taken hold with her little hands, and had gotten into the king's palace, and everybody wants to get into the palace of the king. The spider, being a representative of faith, takes hold with her hand and spins her web out of that which is invisible. No man can see with his physical eye the material that the spider uses in making her beautiful gown.

And so faith is invisible, but by faith we take hold with our hands, and spiderlike, we finally weave us beautiful garments, the most beautiful things the human eye ever beheld, as they are woven by that which is invisible. Now again the old Book says that our life is like the flying of the shuttle. There are two things about a shuttle, the first is it goes with great speed, but the most beautiful thing about it is, it pulls the thread as it travels along, and the threads are various colors.

When we have trouble the shuttle pulls a black thread; when we have happiness it pulls a beautiful red thread, and when we have joy it pulls a white thread, and when we are overflowing with love it pulls a beautiful blue thread. And when the garment has been woven behold we have all colors in it, and it takes these colors all mingled together to make the beautiful garment. If it was all trouble the garment would be of only one color, or if it was all happiness it would only be of one color, but all of these, the different trials and blessings mingled together, will make up the beautiful robe of righteousness that we are to weave with the hand of faith. And we will understand what Solomon meant when he said, "The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces." So we see that God's least things are some of His greatest things, and they teach us some of the most beautiful lessons as we journey from earth to heaven.

Salvation is great because it is both a secret and a mystery. In the 25th Psalm and 12th verse we read "the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant." We next notice in the 3d chapter of Ephesians that St. Paul said that "Salvation is a mystery that hath been hid from the ages, but is now revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ." Now there is something peculiar and strange concerning secrets and a mystery. As strange as it is, they have always had a wonderful fascination to the human family. The average man or woman is loaded down with secrets. Men sit up at night and watch their secrets. Women have worn the soles off of their shoes trotting over town looking for a secret.

Some men have rode the goat all night in search of a secret, and some women have looked for and trotted after the Eastern Star in the hope that they might hear or find out some secret. We find that salvation is both a secret and a mystery united, and we found that secret and a mystery are not exactly the same. Yet they are so closely related .that you can scarcely tell where one ends and the other begins. I can give you a plain, practical, common sense illustration:

Along about the first night in the month of April a man goes out into his garden and plants an Irish potato. Nobody saw him plant it there, that was a secret. But two weeks later the potato comes up and the secret gets out. Two months later he goes to this potato hill and will scratch out a washpan full of Irish potatoes. This one little potato multiplied itself into one dozen big potatoes.

Now there is the mystery connected with the secret. But you say, "How can you apply this to a Christian experience?" Well, we will do this: We will say that away back under the dispensation of the Father the plan was laid and the potato was planted, and when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, the potato came up, and the secret got out, as they generally do, and on the day of Pentecost, when there were three thousand converted, that was "potato-digging" day. There was the secret and the mystery united, and worked out so plain that if a man can get one idea through his noggin, he can understand both a secret and a mystery.

The cost of this great salvation -- Another reason why salvation is the greatest thing in the world is because it cost more than anything else in the world. It is the only thing that ever cost much. But salvation cost God His Son, and Jesus Christ every drop of His blood, and thirty-three years absence from His home, and it cost heaven its brightest Jewel. The beautiful city of God was without the Christ for thirty-three years. We can't imagine what heaven would be without Jesus, and yet the home of God had no Son in it for thirty-three long years. During that time the Son of God walked the Judean hills and worked at the carpenter's trade to make His bread. He preached on the streets of the cities and slept on the mountainside at night. He did all this for a lost, perishing, doomed, hopeless world. Bless His name! He was in search of fallen humanity. Man had fallen and had lost his holy estate and the Son of God was in search of him, and thank God, He found him, and the beautiful Story of the shepherd in search of his sheep is nothing more nor less than the Son of God looking for me. Don't let us forget that the Devil had the human family on the auctioneer's block and was bidding us off and buying us in for the express purpose of damning us forever.

Thank God, Jesus appeared on the scene just in time to put in the highest bid and purchase a diamond in the rough, and bring home the lost sheep. It has been said that He bought man with the gold of His blood, and the silver of His tears; therefore, the redemption of man is the costliest thing in the world. We have often heard people say that everything costs; that they had paid a hundred dollars for their cow, but God has said long ago, that "the gold is mine, and the cattle is mine," therefore the cow really cost us nothing, for we paid for God's cow with God's money, but it is different when it comes to the price of your soul. For Jesus tasted death that we might taste of life: He became the Son of man that we might become the sons and daughters of the Almighty.

Jesus left heaven and came into this world that He might open up a way by which we could get out of this world and go into heaven. He put on humanity that we might put on divinity. When He bore the Roman scourge it was for you and for me. He had looked down from the throne and seen men under the lash, but Jesus had never been whipped until He came to redeem us. He went under the lash and endured it in order that a way might be opened up by which man could get out of the life of sin and bondage into a life of freedom and happiness. Jesus had seen the human family without a home, but He was never without a home until He came to redeem us and then we hear those beautiful words, but oh, so sad, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."

Dear reader, isn't that strange talk for a person to use when He himself had built the world that He was walking on? and yet it was true. For we read His own words that He had created all things, and by Him all things were created and that He upholdeth all things by the right hand of His power, and yet He took the place of a pauper. When He was born into this world it was so arranged that He should be born in a wagon yard or a livery stable, that He was to work at the carpenter's trade, and paid His taxes. He literally traveled through this world as a lonely wanderer, and when He hung on the cross He was even refused a drink of water, and instead of a cup of cool refreshing sparkling water, He received a cup of gall, and yet this was the King of the world. But the first crown He ever wore as a King was the crown of thorns. While the world was trying to disgrace Him and heap shame and contempt on Him, their very attitude toward Jesus, and His attitude toward them has won for Him a name that is above every other name. And today there is not an infidel club in the world, but has to put on its billheads when they announce their services, the birth of Jesus. I say, shame on an infidel club that denies Jesus Christ, and yet can't hold an infidel meeting and get out their announcements but what they put on every billhead the birth of the Son of God. Every note that is given in a bank, and every deed to a tract of land and every mortgage that a man gives on his ranch, or a team of mules would be worthless  without the birth of Jesus Christ on it. And all of this makes me shout, bless God, when I think that Jesus Christ with all the derision that is heaped on Him is the most popular being that ever was in this world, and to think that this wonderful Savior is mine!

Salvation is great because it offers a remedy for sin. Salvation is the only thing that is known to man that offers a remedy for sin. Man has tried many inventions, he has worked overtime to think out some plan that would put him on his feet and deliver him from an internal bondage and struggle that he has carried all of his life, but they have all failed. They have tried civil law, and civic righteousness, education, and charitable institutions, and so far all remedies that man has ever invented have utterly failed. Some men for a remedy have denied that there was any sin; others have denied the existence of eternal punishment, hoping by so doing to find a remedy.

Others have sneered at the Devil and swore until they were black in the face that he was not in existence; others have declared that we have a universal salvation, that all men will be saved, both good and bad. Other men in their bewilderment and sad predicament have decided that only a special few, that they term the elect, will be saved; and they imagine that the elect will be saved, it matters not how mean they are, and that all the rest of the human family was long ago predestined to damnation and will be eternally lost, it matters not how good they are. But after all, this is no remedy for the curse of sin. So we see that all human inventions and manmade remedies are tee-total failures. We remember that King David said that his enemies had made them gods of their own; he said they had eyes and didn't see and had ears and didn't hear; he said they had throats and could not speak through them, and he said the sinners of his day were as bad off as the gods they had made. The reader will see that the self-made gods were only man's remedy to get rid of sin, and yet all have failed. In our day we have a wonderful hurrah going on about the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Some preachers have even quit the pulpit and given up preaching Christ, and are going up and down the land lecturing on the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Then others have decided that the only God there is, is the God that is in man, that man himself is a divine being and that he is able to handle the situation. But they have all gone down in defeat, and will go down, for there is but one remedy in all the wide, wide world and that is the salvation offered to man through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, which is the only remedy for sin.

Salvation means deliverance from sin, and salvation is a double gift and a double blessing, because sin is a double tragedy and God provided a double remedy. In the 51st Psalm, King David said, "Blot out my transgression," and in the second verse he said, "Cleanse me from my sin," and we find that God provided a double remedy for this double disease. That is, pardon for the guilty, and cleansing for the believer, and in order to provide a double remedy, necessarily the atonement had to be doubled, for we find in Romans 5th chapter 8th verse, "But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Here the reader will see the atonement reaching down to the sinner. But in the next place we see the atonement reaching down to the Church, for in Eph. 5th chapter 25th and 26th verses, "Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself, a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." Here the reader will see the atonement reaching the Church, and while the sinner needs pardon, the Church needs cleansing, and thank God, we have the remedy for both through the shed blood of the crucified Son of God, which is the only remedy for sin in the whole world. Bless God, we have the remedy! We have got the goods, and in spite of an unbelieving Church, and a wicked world, we are delivering the goods just the same. Bless God!

Salvation is great because of the extent of it. When we think of the extent of salvation our minds well-nigh reel and stagger, for we must evidently think of the depth to which man has fallen, and then to the heights of glory to which God intends to lift him. First, we must see the new birth, and the idea of being born of the Spirit carries with it a wonderful mystery. How it is that one moment a man can be a guilty sinner, and far out in a world of sin, and the next moment a truly regenerated believer, and far up in the world of righteousness, and yet that takes place when a man is born of the Spirit. For St. Paul tells us in Col. 1st chapter 13th verse that the meaning of the new birth is to be a deliverance from the power of darkness and to be translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. So there we see first that salvation means deliverance from the powers of darkness, and second, a translation out of that dark world into the kingdom of light, for in John 8th chapter 12th verse Christ said, "I am the light of the world, and he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." And the idea of the new birth is really something new in the world, while it looks to us like it is old because we have heard of it all of our lives, yet the new birth was never heard of in the world until Jesus was born.

When He introduced the subject to the great and learned Nicodemus, it was the most astonishing thing that ever entered the head of that wonderful Jewish teacher. I don't wonder that the doctor scratched his head and said, "How can these things be?" He had thought much of sin, but he didn't know how to get out of it, but how new it was when Jesus said, "Nicodemus, the way to get out of sin is to be born out of it." Nicodemus had thought that changing climates and changing localities and changing your surroundings and your environments was probably a good remedy, but all the changes he had made had had no effect in the world on his moral condition, and he never heard of a remedy until he met Jesus. Thank God, some of the rest of us have heard of that remedy, have accepted it, and have shouted ourselves hoarse over the fact that, bless God, we have got it now. So Jesus is the author of the new birth. And it was something new under heaven. But it is just as new today as it was then, and our nation is now drifting to the place where many are rejecting the new birth because it is inexplicable by the theological teachers of our universities.

Beloved, when it comes to an explanation of the new birth the president of a university has no advantage over the washwoman. And for all this I say, "Glory to God!" That wonderful question of Nicodemus, "How can these things be?" is still ringing down over the hills of Judea, but it has reached down over the plains of earth, it has crossed the mighty deep. Beloved, an explanation of the new birth is not found under a plug hat, nor under the lapel of a double breasted broadcloth coat; thank God, it can be fully understood in the bosom of an uneducated man. One of the greatest mysteries connected with the salvation of a man's soul is seen in the fact that the unlearned knows as much about it as the cultured and brilliant.

I remember one morning when my heart was leaping for joy and bubbling over with the perfect love of God, a college president seemed to be insulted and with a look of defiance on his face, he said to me, "Sir, you are just a gosling and have not shed off your down yet, and and how dare you stand up and profess to be made perfect in love?" I said, "Doctor, I have been saved for twelve years, and if the Son of God can't make a man perfect in love in twelve years, I defy you to prove that He can do it in twelve thousand." The doctor failed to make good, and I kept the blessing, thank God. But here is another little point that I don't want to forget while we are talking about the new birth. When Jesus said, "Ye must be born again," He absolutely left you without a choice.

He didn't say you could take it or let it alone and get to heaven. He said, "Ye must," and beloved, if "ye must" then "ye must." And then He added this clause, "Without it ye can not see the kingdom of God." And when the learned turn up their noses and sneer, God never modifies it nor rounds off the corners, and has never taken it back from that hour till this. It stands out there in letters of fire, and reaches down to the gates of hell and up to the beautiful walls of the city above, and will stand out forever, and ever and ever, "Ye must be born again, or you can not see the kingdom of God."

I used to sing in the Salvation Army, "How well I remember in sorrow's dark night, how the lamp of His love shed its beautiful light. More grace He has given, and burdens removed, and over and over His goodness I've proved. And shall I turn back into the world, oh no, not I, not I, and shall I turn back into the world, oh no, not I." Many a dark drizzly night I have stood on the street corner and sung that song and beat the drum and called the wanderers to Jesus, and I have seen them kneel on the cold, muddy streets and in less than a minute I have seen them born of the Spirit and translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, and have seen the tears plow a furrow down through their dirty faces. Thank God! Amen!

Salvation is great because of the fullness of the blessing. Dear reader, we want you to see that a wonderful experience is promised to the sons and daughters of our heavenly Father in the 17th and 18th verses of the 5th chapter of Ephesians. Now listen to these wonderful words of the inspired apostle: "Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is, and be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit." Here we have a direct command from the inspired apostle to be filled. It doesn't mean half full, or three-quarters, but to be full. And we must remember, and we do remember, and then we don't propose to forget, that the most beautiful life in the world is a Spirit-filled life. No life is so beautiful as the Spirit-filled life. No life is so useful as the Spirit-filled life. In fact, the hope of your own soul and the hope of your family and the hope of your church of which you are a member, and the hope of the world in which you live, is only seen in this wonderful Spirit-filled life. No man is a success for God or himself that is not completely filled, led and controlled by the Holy Ghost. Without the Holy Ghost we would be failures. Without Him we would be helpless, indeed, without Him we would be hopeless. But, thank God, with Him difficulties are saddle horses, surrounding circumstances are stepladders, and impossibilities are springboards to leap off of and land right in the middle of a glorious victory. When the Holy Ghost comes, Christ said, "He will take the things of mine and show them to you." More than that, He said, "When he is come, he will bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you." He even went so far as to say, "For I will give you a mouth and a wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to gainsay or resist."

This refers, of course, to the incoming of the blessed Holy Ghost which. is to do two things for you. First, He is to cleanse the temple, and second, He is to fill it. Then we might add a third clause and say that He is to rule it. For the Holy Ghost is today the executive of the Godhead in this world. And the men of the church that stubbornly reject Him have closed every avenue of victory and have shut the door of hope and success in their own face.

There is no institution in the world that is deader and more lifeless and hopeless than a church without the Holy Ghost. We can take the American church and we will see at a glance that she never had better buildings, their pews were never better made, their carpets are the best, their organs can not be improved on, they have a beautiful ritual, and, bless your heart, they know it.

They can sing a verse and the pastor and the official board, their choir leader and all the congregation can say AH-MEN, and draw it out as long as your arm, and stand up so precisely, it looks like if they were to smile it would break their faces all to pieces, and they would ruin their religious service, and yet as beautiful as those things are, they are no more signs of life and juice and unction and glory, not a bit more than if there were no such things in existence. The machinery is good, but there is no oil on it. We might ask, What is the matter with this wonderful institution?

No thinking man has to study for a minute to get the answer. They have just rejected the Holy Ghost, and they are running their institution without God. In many places we fear that He has taken His everlasting flight and He may never return. It is true that a church of this description will add members to its enrollment. They will send out cards beautifully printed, the very type itself is well set, the cards are gilt-edged, some will sign them up and drop them in the collection basket; others will come in by hitting the trail. Many others will come in on Decision day; and we are not abusing those methods; we are only stating that they can gather in members by those methods, but, beloved, does that look to you like an old-fashioned revival of heart-felt, Holy Ghost religion?

Sad to say that many of the people that come by those methods never go back to see how the institution is progressing. At a glance you can see they have no interest there because they have received nothing. But you let the pastor preach a series of sermons on the awfulness of sin and the horrors of hell and the glory of heaven, and eternal life until conviction seizes the hearts of men and they weep their way to a place of prayer, and are really born again and come into the Church of Jesus Christ by the gateway of the new birth, then her altars will be the most sacred place to them of any place in the world, and you can hardly keep them away from church. Then later on let the pastor preach a series of sermons on the Spirit-filled life, the power of the incoming of the Holy Ghost, the burning, surging glory of the sanctified experience, and the beauty of perfect love and such glorious themes until his entire church becomes so hungry for the fullness of the blessing until they will weep their way to a place of prayer, consecrate all, look up through their tears with simple faith and receive the Holy Ghost, and beloved, you will have a church that will march through this old world and the Devil will weep as the angels rejoice while the saints shout for joy.

This church will be composed of a company of sky-openers and fire pullers, sin-killers, Devil-drivers, trench-diggers, water haulers; and it takes all of the above to make a true soldier, and the Spirit-filled life will make you a soldier of the cross.

Bless God for the privilege of preaching this great salvation and seeing multiplied thousands pull till the skies open and dig till they strike water, and today they are feasting on the fat of the land, for they are living in the land of Canaan. You remember the beautiful song that we sing, that "It is good to live in Canaan where grapes of Eschol grow, it's good to live in Canaan where milk and honey flow." We will now act like the church where they all say AH-MEN. For, glory to Jesus, the word "Amen," means, "Yes, Lord, and I'll pay my part."

Robinson, Reuben A. (Bud). The Collected Works of 'Uncle Bud' Robinson (Kindle Locations 2905-3089). Jawbone Digital. Kindle Edition. 



0 Comments

Blest Be The Tie That Binds

11/11/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.

Before our Father's throne
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
Our comforts and our cares.

We share our mutual woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.

When for a while we part,
This thought will soothe our pain,
That we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.

This glorious hope revives
Our courage by the way,
While each in expectation lives,
And longs to see the day.

From sorrow, toil, and pain,
And sin we shall be free;
And perfect love and friendship reign
Thro' all eternity.

Date:  1782
Author:  John Fawcett
Music:  Hans G. Nageli

Story:

The Reverend John Fawcett was the minister of the Baptist church at Wainsgate, England. 

In his time he was one of the greatest scholars in the land and an able preacher. He wrote several books, published a volume of hymns and founded a school for the education and training of young preachers.

An essay on 'Anger' written by him so impressed George III that the king offered him any benefit a monarch could confer.

John Fawcett had been left an orphan at the age of 12. He had to work very hard during his youth, regularly putting in 14 hours a day in what was termed in those days a 'sweat shop'. By candle light he learned to read and studied hard to improve his education.

Ordained at 25 he had taken the little church with its 100 members for a modest salary; paid partly in potatoes and wool.

Now, after seven years, he had received a call to the great Carter Lane church in London and was preparing to make the move.

The day came to say farewell to his congregation. The horse and dray stood outside his house and, one by one, the items of furniture were loaded.

Finally, the last item was hoised up and made secure. The Reverend Fawcett began his round of farewells. There were young couples he had joined in marriage; those whom he had comforted through sickness and trial; the children he has held on his knee; and the old whose sorrows he had shared.

They were a humble people; few of them could either read or write, but they loved their minister and their devotion to him finally overcame.

The drayman was instructed to unload - John Fawcett would stay a little longer. He stayed, in fact, for another 54 years until his death in 1817.

He never did take up the offer from King George III. Commenting on the incident he said he 'needed nothing a king could supply,' so long as he could live among the people he loved ... those humble people whose devotion had inspired him to write his famous hymn.

Bible Verse

Acts 4:32 - And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

​The picture at the top of this page is a downloadable wallpaper for your computer.  Click on the picture to access the file.

This hymn, story and wallpaper were taken from this website:  www.popularhymns.com/blest_be_the_tie_that_binds.php


0 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>

    Rules for commenting:

    1.  Be respectful  
    2.  Refer to rule #1

    All comments may not be approved.

    Note that many identifying details about individuals in these posts are not accurate.  Their identity is protected, except for those individuals who are being honored or are public figures.

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Categories

    All
    Abortion
    Abraham
    Abstinence
    Abuse
    Accountability
    Adam
    Adam Yauch
    Addictions
    Admiration
    Adultery
    Affair
    Amos
    Angels
    Anger
    Anniversary
    Anoint
    Anonymous
    Anxiety
    Atheism
    Avoidant
    Bad Boy
    Battle
    Beastie Boys
    Beautiful
    Bestiality
    Betrayal
    Bird
    Blame
    Bobby Petrino
    Bondage
    Book Review
    Brian Head Welch
    Brothel
    B.T. Roberts
    Camping
    Cancer
    Challenge
    Change
    Chaotic
    Character
    Children
    Choice
    Christmas
    Church
    Church Camp
    Closed Door
    Compulsions
    Confession
    Confident
    Control
    Courage
    Covenant
    Creator
    Crown
    Crucifixion
    Darkness
    Death
    Deception
    Decision
    Demons
    Depression
    Detachment
    Devotions
    Dez Bryant
    Differences
    Dilemma
    Dirty
    Discipleship
    Disgusting
    Divorce
    Domestic Violence
    Domination
    Doubt
    Dreams
    Dr Hart8bb80a7b00
    Dwayne Allen
    Dysfunction
    Easter
    Eden
    Ego
    Eleazar
    Elitism
    Empty
    Envy
    Ephesians
    Equality
    Erectile Dysfunction
    Esau
    Eternity
    Euthanasia
    Evil
    Exhibitionism
    Eyes
    Facebook
    Faithfulness
    Fantasy
    Fasting
    Father
    Favorites
    Fear
    Fellatio
    Fighting
    Fishing
    Flashing
    Flattery
    Flesh
    Force
    Forgiveness
    Gentleman
    Girls Gone Wild
    G.K. Chesteron
    Goals
    God
    Good Friday
    Grace
    Gratitude
    Greek
    Guard
    Guilt
    Heart
    Heaven
    Hebrew
    Hell
    Henri Nouwen
    Histrionic
    Hogging
    Holiness
    Hollow
    Honesty
    Honor
    Hope
    Humility
    Humor
    Ichabod
    Idols
    Impurity
    Individuality
    Input
    Insane Clown Posse
    Integrity
    Intent
    Intimacy
    Isaac
    Islam
    Jack Schaap
    Jamaica
    Jealousy
    Jimmy Needham
    Job
    Joy
    J.R.R. Tolkien
    Judgmentalism
    Justice
    Kindness
    King David
    Kittens
    Komboloib7e292a311
    Korn
    Larry Norman
    Leave It To Beaver
    Lies
    Light
    Listening
    Loneliness
    Love
    Lust
    Lying
    Macho
    Manners
    Marriage
    Masculinity
    Masturbation
    Maturity
    Mca
    Meditation
    Messianic
    Meticulous
    Mighty
    Missions
    Money
    Monogamy
    Moses
    Motivations
    Movies
    Music
    Normal
    Obedience
    Obscenity
    Open Door
    Parenting
    Passiveaggressive2ed940c88b
    Pastor
    Path
    Perfection
    Personality Disorders
    P.O.D.
    Politics
    Pornography
    Pornograpy
    Power
    Practical
    Prayer
    Predator
    Prejudice
    Premature Ejaculaton
    Preparation
    Pride
    Problems
    Promises
    Protection
    Providence
    Purity
    Quechua
    Quiz
    Racism
    Regret
    Religious
    Repentance
    Reputation
    Research
    Respect
    Responsibility
    Rest
    Resurrection
    Revival
    Righteousness
    Robots
    Roughhousing
    Routine
    Rules
    Rut
    Sabbath
    Sacrifice
    Sadism
    Salvation
    Sanctification
    Satisfaction
    Selfishness
    Self Love
    Self-love
    Service
    Sex
    Sexism
    Sexuality
    Sexual Response
    Sexual Response
    Shame
    Sin
    Singing
    Snobbery
    Soldier
    Sovereignty
    Stalking
    Stephen Hawking
    Step-parenting
    Strong
    Success
    Succubus
    Suicide
    Swearing
    Sword
    Teenagers
    Temper
    Temptation
    Tenth Ave North
    Testing
    Theology
    Thinking
    Thomas Cogswell Upham
    Tim Tebow
    Tournament Male
    Tradition
    Trafficking
    Trapped
    Trauma
    Triggers
    Trust
    Truth
    U2
    Uncle Buddy
    Unity
    Violence
    Virtue
    Vulnerability
    Warrior
    Watchman Nee
    Waywardness
    What Is A Man
    Women
    Worry
    Worship
    Wussification
    Year In Review
    Zombies

    Archives

    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

IRONSTRIKES

Men Forging Men