Time is Ticking

Time is ticking, ticking by,

Birds are singing, babies cry,

Hearts are mourning things long dead,

Words ill spoken, should not said.

So regretful, those who mourn

Over things should not been born,

Wish that they could all erase,

And the truth not have to face.

We cannot erase the past,

Even if we pray and fast.

What we did will long live on

Even when we’re dead and gone.

So, what is our attitude?

Past is past, that is the truth.

But there may be consequence

For the things we did, no sense.

Yes, we can be forgiven,

Die with Christ to self and sin,

Live for Him now every day,

Read our Bibles, bow and pray,

Walk with Jesus every day,

Do all that he has to say,

Live for Him and not for self

Put the flesh up on the shelf.

Still we may be called to pay

For what we did another day,

For everyone has not forgiven

The sins we did, that we were livin.

An Original Work / September 22, 2023

Hope of Eternal Life with God

“Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.” Deuteronomy 6:1-3 ESV

This was Moses speaking to the children of Israel. And he was letting them know that they, the people of God, must adhere to (obey) the commandments of the Lord that God gave to Moses to give to the people. They were to walk in the fear of the Lord in the keeping of his commandments, which means to take God and his word seriously, to believe him and what he says, and then to obey him because we believe him and his word. And if they obeyed the Lord, it would go well with them.

Now, we are not under the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, and dietary laws and restrictions they were under, which also included the requirement of circumcision. So, as believers in Jesus Christ we do not have to obey all those external laws that Jesus did away with when he died on that cross for our sins. But God did not do away with his moral laws, and he did not do away with the requirement that we obey him and his commandments (under the New Covenant).

So, obedience to our Lord’s commandments under the New Covenant is required of all who profess the name of Jesus as Lord and as Savior of their lives. And we are taught in the New Testament that if we do not obey the Lord, and if we do not adhere to his teachings under the New Covenant, but we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of obedience, righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, moral purity, and honesty, we do not have the hope of salvation from sin and of eternal life with God. We will die in our sins.

So, don’t believe the lies that so many are teaching these days which are telling you that you don’t have to repent of (forsake) your sins, and that you don’t have to obey the Lord, but that all you have to do is “believe” in Jesus, which is rarely biblically defined. For belief (faith) is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ, so it comes from God, it is gifted to us by God, and it is persuaded of God. So it is going to align with God’s moral character, and with his expressed will and purpose for our lives, and with his Word.

And the faith required of us for salvation is not of our own doing, not of the will nor of the flesh of man. So we don’t get to determine what that faith looks like. God does. His word does. So all throughout the New Testament Scriptures we are given a very clear picture of the faith that it takes for us to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. We must die with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and we must walk in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), in practice, and we have eternal life with God.

Beginning with Matthew 7:21-23 we are taught that not everyone who says to Christ, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father. And in Luke 9:23-26 we are taught that if we are to come after Jesus Christ, to be his by faith in him, we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living for self and in sin, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, then we have the hope of eternal life with God.

So, please take this to heart. For Romans 6:1-23 gives us the same message. For if our faith in Jesus Christ is genuine, it means we have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So we are no longer to allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies, to where we obey its sinful passions. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience is what we obey, it leads to righteousness, and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God.

So, just know that Old Testament and New Testament teachings instruct us to forsake our sinful practices and to now walk (in conduct, in practice) in holiness and in righteousness, and in obedience to our Lord and to his commandments, only for us it is his commandments under the New Covenant, which are taught to us all throughout the New Testament. But if we continue making sin our practice, and if obedience to our Lord is not our practice, then we do not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]   

Hope of Eternal Life with God

Video Talk

February 1, 2024

https://youtu.be/ZnWvYhUASck

Caution: This link may contain ads

Trust and Obey  

Words by John H. Sammis, 1887

Music by Daniel B. Towner, 1887

When we walk with the Lord 

in the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will, 

He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey. 

Not a shadow can rise, 

not a cloud in the skies,

But His smile quickly drives it away;

Not a doubt or a fear, 

not a sigh or a tear,

Can abide while we trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear, 

not a sorrow we share,

But our toil He doth richly repay;

Not a grief or a loss, 

not a frown or a cross,

But is blessed if we trust and obey.

But we never can prove 

the delights of His love

Until all on the altar we lay;

For the favor He shows, 

for the joy He bestows,

Are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet 

We will sit at His feet.

Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.

What He says we will do, 

Where He sends we will go;

Never fear, only trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB4KcleYiWM

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With No Doubting

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8 ESV)

So many people are quoting verse five out of context and they are leaving out the rest of what this says. And so they are giving their listeners the impression that they can ask God for wisdom and it will just be given to them, unconditionally. But that is not what this says. It says we have to ask in faith without doubting or we won’t receive anything from the Lord.

So, what is faith? Well, the word means “persuasion,” and in this case “divine persuasion.” And what is God going to persuade us to do? From what we read in the Scriptures, he persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of our sins and to follow him in obedience in living holy lives, pleasing to him.

But faith is also believing God and his Word, and belief involves putting that word into practice in our everyday lives. For if all we do is just give lip service to God, then that is not genuine faith which saves. For by faith we die with Christ to sin and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but as slaves to his righteousness.

So, if we doubt God, what does that mean? It means we don’t believe him, for we are questioning his Word and his wisdom. And those who do this while they profess faith in Jesus Christ are called “double-minded.” And that is a person of two minds and souls, who continually vacillates between opinions, one moment saying he believes God and the next moment not.

And if we are double-minded, and we keep vacillating between following the Lord and not following him, and if we go back and forth between obeying him and obeying sin, then we do not have salvation from sin. And I am not saying here that we must be absolutely perfect! This is about someone who professes one thing with his lips but who lives the opposite.

So, don’t be double-minded. Be people of faith who stay the course and who stand on the truth and who do not go back and forth in opinion and belief as though changing like shifting shadows. Be who God called you to be and stay there. And then be faithful to the Lord and to his calling on your life, and don’t allow yourself to be easily swayed by the opinions of man.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

With No Doubting

Video Talk

June 23, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76LrWK2ZTmQ

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Walking in The Light  

An Original Work / November 16, 2011

Based off 1 John 1-2

When I lift up my voice, and

Sing praise unto God,

I will fellowship with my

Lord and Savior, King.

In Him there is no darkness.

He is in the light of truth.

If we walk in His light,

From sin He purifies. 

If we repent of our sins,

He’ll forgive us now,

When we humble ourselves, and

Before Jesus bow.

The man who says, “I know Him,”

But does not obey His truth,

There is no truth in him.

In darkness still he’s found.

Do not love the world of sin,

For it is hell bound.

If you follow the world, you’ll

Not in Christ be found.

The world and its desires 

Will not last; they’ll expire.

The one who does God’s will,

Receives eternal life.

See that what you have heard from

Christ remains in you.

Then, you’ll remain in Christ, and

In His Father, too.

This is what He promised us –

His eternal life with God.

So, continue in Him, and

You’ll receive a crown.

https://vimeo.com/114160122

Your Word

Praise You with an upright heart as

I learn of Your righteousness.

I seek You with all my heart;

Do not let me stray from Your law.

I have hidd’n Your word in my heart

That I might not sin against You.

Open my eyes that I may see

Wonderful things in Your word.

I am a stranger on earth.

I have chosen the way of truth;

My heart is set on Your word.

I will walk about in freedom,

For I have sought out Your truth.

Teach me knowledge and good judgment, 

For I believe in Your law.

Your hands made me, and they formed me;

Give me understanding, Lord.

I put my hope in Your word.

Your word is a lamp to my feet

And a light unto my path.

You are my shield and my refuge;

In Your word I put my hope.

My heart trembles at Your word, Lord.

May my lips o’erflow with praise.

May my tongue sing of Your truth, Lord.

Your salvation, Lord, long I.

Your word, Lord, is my delight. 

An Original Work / December 27, 2011

Based off Psalms 119

https://vimeo.com/125862410 

A Lamp to My Feet

“Your word is a lamp to my feet

    and a light to my path.”

“The wicked have laid a snare for me,

    but I do not stray from your precepts.

Your testimonies are my heritage forever,

    for they are the joy of my heart.

I incline my heart to perform your statutes

    forever, to the end.” (Psalms 119:105,110-112)

If the Word of God is truly a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, then we are walking in the ways of the Lord, and we are no longer walking in the ways of the flesh. Sin is no longer our practice. Righteousness, holiness and obedience to our Lord and to his commands under the New Covenant are what we now practice in conduct, in thought, in word, and in attitude. It doesn’t mean we are perfect people or that we get everything right all the time (1 John 2:1-2), but it means our Lord is the one directing our path.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

But when this represents our lives, and when we are following the example of Jesus, and we are emulating him and his walk of faith in how we conduct our lives, Satan is going to be against us, and those who are listening to him and not to God are going to be our enemies. Now they won’t all come against us. Many will just ignore us and have nothing to do with us. But others will find it their purpose in life to try to take us down and to try to prove that what we are sharing as the truth is not the truth.

But when this happens to us, and it will soon be much worse according to the predictions of the prophets of old and of the NT apostles, we are not to be afraid. We are not to lose faith as though something strange were happening to us, for Jesus foretold us that these things will take place. He told us we would be hated and persecuted for the sake of his name, and that we would be falsely arrested, and falsely charged of wrongdoing, and that we would be brought before the courts, but that we are not to worry what we should say, for the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say.

So, when you come up against persecution, trust the Lord with your life. Believe in his sovereignty. Believe he is still in control over all things and that nothing can touch us unless God allows it, and he will bring good out of it. And keep holding on to the truth of God’s Holy Word, and keep preaching it, and keep living it, even if many or all people turn against you and do evil against you because of your walks of faith in Jesus Christ.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

A Lamp to My Feet

Video Talk

June 24, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZfDH3HQ9pU

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Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387

Why Are You Angry?

When misunderstandings happen

Why are you angry?

How did I offend?

I meant only good

To encourage a friend.

I’ve been where you were,

Not exact, but close by,

So why did my words

With your actions deny?

Why did you not talk

With me, let me know why

You didn’t like what I said?

You just said “Goodbye!”

Thought I was helping

Explain what you shared.

Empathized with you,

I felt every care.

I meant no offense,

Not to hurt, but to help.

I love you in Christ,

Am not thinking of self.

I wish there’s a way

We could talk this all through.

Our friendship I hope

We can surely renew.

Will you give me a chance

To explain where I am?

Will you hear from my heart

What I truly meant?

It saddens me so 

That you walked away,

Not a word from your lips

So I’d know how to pray.

An Original Work / July 23, 2022

Know My Heart

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!

    Try me and know my thoughts!

And see if there be any grievous way in me,

    and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalms 139:23-24 ESV)

What are some circumstances which come to your mind where you might be led to pray this prayer? One of the ones which comes to my mind is when I am being falsely accused of things I know I did not do, or that I believe I did not do. Sometimes the flesh rises up within me, and emotionally and maybe even verbally I resist that accusation without even praying about it first. So then I have to humble myself and pray this prayer.

And I have to ask the Lord if there is any truth at all to what the other person is saying about me. For, as you know, we can be blinded to some things going on in our own lives and minds and attitudes and behaviors, but this is not talking about deliberate and habitual sin. We know we are doing wrong if we choose to consciously disobey the Lord. What I am talking about are those hidden faults that we don’t see that King David talked about.

For sometimes other people can see things in us that we can’t see. Now this is not saying that they are always right or that they are always wrong, but sometimes, too, they are not seeing clearly with the right kind of vision, for they may be judging us according to worldly standards, and by themselves, and by the culture, and by their traditions, and by their own prejudices, and by their own faulty way of thinking regarding how things ought to be.

So, don’t resist them unless it is blatantly obvious that what they are saying is not true, but take what they say to the Lord in prayer and ask the Lord if what they are saying about you is true. Ask the Lord to examine your heart and to show you what is in your heart and in your thinking and your attitudes. And sometimes the Lord will show you things you did wrong and/or that you need to confess and work on and change.

And if someone gives you good counsel, don’t be prideful and resist it. Now, be discerning about the counsel you receive, for not all counsel is godly, and not all counsel is of God, and not all counsel is going to fit with your particular set of circumstances. But we all need to send all counsel we receive through God’s spiritual lens and let him show us what he wants us to do, for even some good counsel may not be what God has for us to do.

And that brings me to another situation, and that has to do with voices in our heads, which can be the voice of God, or the voice of Satan who loves to attack us in our minds, or the voice of people from our past who said hurtful things to us, or the voice of the world. We can hear all these voices speaking to us in our minds, not all of them, and not all the time, but God is not the only voice we hear in our minds.

And so we have to sort out these voices we hear and pray and ask God what is of him and what is not, and it isn’t always that clear, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, so what he whispers in our ears may not always be obvious that it is coming from the enemy of our souls, for he doesn’t always lead us to obvious sins, but he may just try to distract us, or to try to make us feel guilty when we have nothing to feel guilty about.

Anyway, we have to test all voices we hear speaking to us, whether they are verbal or they are just in our minds. And we need to test them against the Scriptures, taught and studied in context. And we need to pray for spiritual discernment and for the Lord to show us what is from him and what is not. For sometimes those voices that speak to our minds are not of God, and they may put doubts and fears in our minds, or they may try to lead us in the wrong direction, so we need the Lord to try us and to show us the truth.

And then we need to pray for the Lord to lead us in the right direction. For, again, we are going to have all kinds of voices speaking to us, and some of them may be accusing us falsely while others may be trying to give us counsel, and some of them may be helping us to see what we cannot see about ourselves. So we need the help of the Lord to sort this all out so that we can follow the Lord and his leading, and not go the wrong direction.

Know My Heart

Video Talk

June 22, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky8tFC8iD14

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Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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